Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
A Nike Inc sneaker worn by a college basketball superstar split in half less than a minute into a highly anticipated game between DukeUniversity and North Carolina, prompting an outcry on social media as the company sought to figure out what caused the problem.
Zion Williamson, a 6-foot-7-inch freshman forward for the Duke Blue Devils who is anticipated to be the top 2019 NBA Draft pick, suffered a mild sprain to his right knee because of the incident on Wednesday night, according to his coach Mike Krzyzewski.
The official Duke Basketball Twitter handle (@DukeMBB) tweeted Thursday evening that Zion was "progressing as expected, and his status is day-to-day."
A closeup video replay showed Williamson slipping and crumpling to the ground, clutching his knee in pain. His left shoe is seen split in half, with part of the sole ripped off the base of the sneaker.
Williamson did not return to play in the match-up, which ended with No. 1-ranked Duke losing 72-88 to the No. 8-ranked Tar Heels team.
"We are obviously concerned and want to wish Zion a speedy recovery," Nike said in a statement. "The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance. While this is an isolated occurrence, we are working to identify the issue."
Shares of the sportswear maker closed down 1 percent on Thursday, a day after the incident, wiping off some $1.46 billion from Nike's market capitalization since Wednesday's close.
Oppenheimer analyst Brian Nagel said in a note that he was optimistic "any lasting damage to the company and its shares will prove minimal."
Williamson was wearing the Nike PG 2.5 basketball shoe when he was injured, Nike confirmed to Reuters in an email. The line of sneakers, launched in summer of 2018, sells for $95-$105 on Nike's website.
The shoe received mixed reviews and a rating of 4 out of 5 stars on Nike.com as of Thursday.
Nike is Duke's exclusive supplier of uniforms, shoes and apparel under a 12-year contract that was extended in 2015 and has had an exclusive deal with the private university since 1992, ESPN reported.
Nike's latest quarterly results showed signs of a rebound as it speeds up new product launches and expands partnerships with online retailers. The Beaverton, Oregon-based company has forecast sales growth for 2019 approaching low double-digits.
Williamson, who averaged 21.6 points a game, has been tipped as the "next Lebron James" and is expected to be selected first in the NBA Draft this June.
Krzyzewski said it was unclear how long Williamson would be out because of the injury.
Former President Barack Obama, director Spike Lee and star NFL running back Todd Gurley attended Wednesday's game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the home court of the Blue Devils.
A video from the match posted on Twitter showed Obama sitting courtside, expressing shock and mouthing the words, "his shoe broke!"
The incident lit up social media, with celebrities and some of basketball's biggest stars expressing shock and dismay.
"Hope young fella is ok!" tweeted LeBron James (@KingJames) on Wednesday. "Literally blew thru his [shoe]," he added, using a shoe emoji.
"Again let's remember all the money that went into this game.... and these players get none of it," Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell), a former first-round NBA draft pick and current guard for the Utah Jazz, tweeted on Wednesday. "And now Zion gets hurt... something has to change."
Nike's social media sentiment dropped following the malfunction, according to social media analytics firm Zoomph. With 1.6 billion impressions and a reach of 170 million users, people were twice as likely to express negative sentiment about the athletic apparel maker, Zoomph data showed.
This is not the first time Nike has faced controversy over the craftsmanship of its sportswear. In 2017, the company faced a backlash when several NBA jerseys worn by basketball stars, including James, ripped apart.
India's Mushtaque Ahmad elected as Vice-President of AHF
India's Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad and Asima Ali were on Friday elected as the Vice-President and Executive Committee member of the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) for a four-year term in Gifu, Japan.
Mushtaque Ahmad is currently serving as the President of Hockey India, while Ali is the Vice-President of the national federation.
Besides Ali, Mushtaque Ahmad too have now become a member of the AHF executive board.
The AHF Executive Board manages the affairs of the continental federation, implements the decisions of the AHF Congress, supervises over the AHF CEO and professional staff, as well as appoints the AHF Committees.
On its part, Hockey India congratulated both the individuals for their appointments to AHF.
"It is with immense joy that I wish President, Hockey India, Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad and Vice-President, Hockey India, Asima Ali, on being elected as members of the AHF Executive Board through their respective new positions," Hockey India Secretary General Rajinder Singh said in a statement.
"Both Ahmad and Ali have worked tirelessly in Hockey India's endeavour to promote the sport across the country, and transform it into one of the most professionally managed federations in India."
Hsieh marches into Dubai semi-finals after ousting Pliskova
Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei pulled off another stunning upset to reach the semi-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Thursday, when she staged a remarkable late rally to beat fourth seed Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 1-6, 7-5.
The unseeded Hsieh, who knocked Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber out of the last 16 on Wednesday, was on the ropes at 5-1 down in the deciding set against the big-serving Pliskova, but won the last six games to deny the Czech victory.
Hsieh will battle Pliskova's compatriot, two-times Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, for a place in Saturday's final after the second-seeded Czech despatched Slovakian Viktoria Kuzmova 6-4, 6-0 in a one-side quarter-final lasting 62 minutes.
Kvitova, who was champion in Dubai in 2013 and runner-up at this year's Australian Open, sent down 21 winners and won 74 percent of her first serve points while making 12 unforced errors as she dominated from start to finish.
"I didn't give (Kuzmova) any time to do her job, maybe turn the match in her way," Kvitova said after the win.
"(Hsieh is) a tough and tricky opponent. I played her in Sydney in a really tough match. Will be probably some rallies tomorrow, and I need to be ready for every shot she's going to bring to the game."
On the other side of the draw, unseeded Swiss youngster Belinda Bencic ousted world number two Simona Halep 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in a seesaw quarter-final.
Bencic, ranked 45th, broke Halep's serve seven times during Thursday's contest before claiming victory on her third match point as her Romanian opponent ran out of steam.
The 21-year-old will face defending champion Elina Svitolina in the other semi-final after the Ukrainian eased past Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-3 in the day's last match.