Tomas Berdych withdraws from Rio over Zika concerns

Jason Day and Adam Scott have hit back at Olympic chiefs for questioning the integrity of the world’s best golfers over their boycotting of the Rio Games.

Health officials from Brazil claim that the rate of Zika infections has significantly declined, and that when the Olympics start they predict that infections will be nearly zero.

Over 20 golfers-including the world’s top four players-have announced they won’t participate, per BBC Sport.

Milos Raonic and Simona Halep became the firsts from the tennis contingent to pull out of the next month’s Rio Olympics over the Zika virus concerns. But, with each passing day more people are joining the growing list of athletes to pull out of Rio because of Zika virus concerns.

Brazil has hosted several large-scale worldwide events in recent years, such as the 2012 United Nations Sustainable Development Conference, 2013 Confederations Cup and 2014 World Cup, but the Olympics is the most global event of them all. I hope the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee and all Romanians will respect my decision.

Since their inaugural appearance in the Olympic football tournament in 1952, the pressure to secure gold has been huge, but in August it will reach unprecedented heights as, for the second time in two years, the five-time world champions are being asked to triumph at a major global tournament at home.

Dominic Thiem is the other member of the top 10 to skip the Games, while John Isner, Nick Kyrgios, Bernard Tomic, Feliciano Lopez and Novak Djokovic’s Wimbledon conqueror Sam Querrey will all be absent, although none cited Zika as their main reason.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) moved yesterday to reassure players and fans over the threat posed by Zika at the Olympics which start on August 5.

Sharapova is serving a doping suspension while Azarenka announced Friday that she is pregnant and won’t compete again in 2016.

“We play the Presidents Cup, there’s no prize money”.

Reigning champions Andy Murray and Serena Williams will defend their Olympic titles, the ITF had already confirmed. Kathleen McKane won five medals (one gold) in the 1920s.

“This kind of thing isn’t typical in Brazil”, said Sergio Cabreu, a 68-year-old retiree who lives in a building around the corner.

Barcelona star Neymar – also part of the 2012 squad – will lead his country in the men’s football tournament next month and Damiao is confident the hosts will prevail this time around.