Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Qatar signs deal with Accor to manage World Cup fan accommodation

Qatar has awarded Europe’s largest hotel group Accor to manage apartments and villas that will house fans visiting Qatar during next year’s World Cup, the Cup’s organising committee said on Thursday. Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy said in a statement it had signed an agreement with Accor to run operations and services across its host country real estate portfolio through the end of 2022.

Baseball-Cleveland team sued by roller derby team over Guardians name change

Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians, which is changing its name to the Guardians, was sued for trademark infringement on Wednesday by a local roller derby team also named the Guardians. The lawsuit was filed three months after the Indians announced it would change its name https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/cleveland-baseball-team-change-name-guardians-2021-07-23 following the 2021 season in response to years of pressure from Native American groups and human rights activists that viewed the Indians name used since 1915 as racist and degrading.

Esports talent in S.Korea gets boost from big business, easing of gaming ban

South Korean teenager Yoon Ki-chan gets just three hours of sleep a day but spends more than three times that playing online games – with the blessing of his parents and teachers – as he dreams of becoming a top pro League of Legends player. Yoon and his peers are the next generation of gamers in South Korea, a fast-growing esports powerhouse whose players have won Riot Games’ League of Legends World Championship six times since the most-watched esports event began in 2011.

Baseball-Astros win first World Series home game in four years

The Houston Astros won a World Series game at Minute Maid Park for the first time in four years on Wednesday after beating the Atlanta Braves 7-2 in Game Two, leaving the best-of-seven Series tied at 1-1. The Astros had last won a World Series home game on Oct. 29 2017 when they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 on their way to their only championship.

Olympics-IOC to make decision on weightlifting and boxing ‘as soon as possible’

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will make a decision as early as possible on whether boxing and weightlifting will be at the Paris 2024 Games, president Thomas Bach said on Thursday. “We are quite concerned because in these two federations there are problems of good governance and that is why we are currently monitoring them very closely,” Bach told French sports daily L’Equipe.

NHL roundup: Panthers roll past Bruins to remain unbeaten

The Florida Panthers — off to the best seven-game start in franchise history — defeated the visiting Boston Bruins 4-1 on Wednesday night in Sunrise, Fla. Florida (7-0-0) got one goal each from Mason Marchment, Eetu Luostarinen, Anthony Duclair and Owen Tippett (empty net). The Panthers also benefited from Sergei Bobrovsky’s 30 saves, three assists from Gustav Forsling and two assists from Sam Reinhart.

Cricket-Unfazed by uncertainty, Afghans chase T20 Cup semis dreams

Afghanistan players are not fretting over what the future may hold for the team and are instead pre-occupied with the task of making the semi-finals of the Twenty20 World Cup, spinner Rashid Khan said on Thursday. The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) will meet next month to discuss the game’s future in the south Asian country under the Taliban rule.

Tennis-Clinical Raducanu beats Bogdan to reach Transylvania Open quarter-finals

U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu eased into the Transylvania Open quarter-finals with a controlled 6-3 6-4 win over home favourite Ana Bogdan in the second round on Thursday. Raducanu followed up her maiden WTA Tour win over Polona Hercog — a battling three-set victory on Tuesday — with a much improved performance against Bogdan and looked steady on serve, winning 87.5% of her first serve points.

NBA roundup: Thunder shock Lakers with 26-point comeback

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points to help the host Oklahoma City Thunder rally from 26 down to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-115 on Wednesday night. The comeback matched the largest in Thunder history and helped the team claim its first win of the season despite several late miscues.

NHL-Beach says he is ‘John Doe’ in Blackhawks sexual assault investigation

Kyle Beach said on Wednesday he is the player who raised sexual assault allegations against a Chicago Blackhawks coach in 2010, following the release of a report into the incident by the National Hockey League. Beach was referred to as “John Doe” in the report released on Tuesday, which found the Blackhawks had failed to act on his allegations that video coach Brad Aldrich had sexually assaulted the then 20-year-old during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs.

(With inputs from agencies.)