Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Olympics-Ice hockey-No plans to remove China team from Winter Games – IIHF

The Chinese men’s ice hockey team will not be removed from the tournament at next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) said on Tuesday. China is guaranteed a spot in the ice hockey tournament due to its status as host nation, but IIHF president Luc Tardif said in September that the men’s team could be prevented from playing due to its “insufficient sporting standard”.

Tennis-Japan’s Nishikori ends 2021 season due to back injury

Japan’s Kei Nishikori has ended his season due to a back injury, the former world number four has said. The 31-year-old, currently ranked 49th in the world, played at last month’s ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, where he lost in the second round to Dan Evans.

Soccer-Blatter, Platini indicted by Swiss authorities over 2 million Swiss francs payment

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and ex-UEFA president Michel Platini have been indicted over unlawfully arranging a payment of two million Swiss francs ($2.19 million), the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) of Switzerland said on Tuesday. Swiss prosecutors have been probing Blatter, 85, over accusations he arranged the payment from world soccer’s governing body FIFA to Platini in February 2011.

NHL roundup: Lightning pin first regulation loss on Caps

Anthony Cirelli recorded the go-ahead goal and added two assists as the Tampa Bay Lightning dealt visiting Washington its first regulation loss, beating the Capitals 3-2 on Monday. In a matchup between perennial Eastern Conference powers, the Lightning defeated Washington for the second time in just over two weeks. They earned a 2-1 overtime road win against the Capitals on Oct. 16.

Tennis-Paire unconcerned if unvaccinated don’t play Australian Open

France’s world number 47 Benoit Paire says he does not care that unvaccinated players are unlikely to be able to play in the Australian Open in January, and thinks it could work out to his advantage. Tennis Australia are still negotiating the rules that will govern player access to Australia with government officials, but the prospects look bleak for any players unvaccinated against COVID-19.

Soccer-Nuno latest victim of Premier League’s sacking culture

Manchester United’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday was billed as the last chance saloon for United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but it turned out it was opposite number Nuno Espirito Santo who was being kicked out of the swinging doors on Monday. Antonio Conte, the former Juventus and Chelsea manager, who was, according to some media reports, about to take over from Solskjaer at United is now the favourite to be the new Spurs boss.

NBA roundup: Bulls overtake Celtics in 4th quarter

DeMar DeRozan had a game-high 37 points on 15-of-20 shooting and added seven rebounds, Zach LaVine had 26 points and seven assists, and the Chicago Bulls rallied past the Boston Celtics for a 128-114 road win on Monday night. The Celtics led by as many as 19 points late in the third quarter before the Bulls responded with a 29-9 surge between quarters to take a 106-105 lead on Ayo Dosunmu’s 3-pointer with 6:54 remaining. Chicago outscored Boston 39-11 overall in the final quarter.

Horse racing-Verry Elleegant storms home to win Melbourne Cup

Verry Elleegant won the A$8 million ($6 million) Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse on Tuesday, storming home in the final straight to win by three-and-a-half lengths from local favourite Incentivise. The six-year-old mare, rated a 14/1 chance by bookmakers, gave jockey James McDonald and trainer Chris Waller their first wins in the gruelling two-mile handicap known as “the race that stops the nation”.

Tennis-Nadal plans to return at Abu Dhabi exhibition next month

Rafa Nadal is aiming to return from injury at an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi next month before playing another tournament in his buildup to the Australian Open, the world number five said. Nadal struggled with back issues at the start of this year and pulled out of Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics. He last competed in August at the Citi Open in Washington.

Tennis-Canada stun holders France as Billie Jean King Cup finals kick off

Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and Rebecca Marino won the deciding doubles rubber to help stun defending champions France 2-1 on the opening day of the new-look Billie Jean King Cup finals on Monday. Formerly called the Fed Cup, the event was renamed last year in honour of American 12-time major winner King and restructured into a ‘World Cup of tennis’ format concluding with 12 nations competing over one week for the title.

(With inputs from agencies.)