Bayern Munich Defender Matthijs de Ligt Nears Comeback After Right Knee Injury 

Bayern Munich player Matthijs de Ligt attends the FC Bayern Munich's annual general meeting in Munich, Germany, 12 November 2023. (EPA)
Bayern Munich player Matthijs de Ligt attends the FC Bayern Munich's annual general meeting in Munich, Germany, 12 November 2023. (EPA)
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Bayern Munich Defender Matthijs de Ligt Nears Comeback After Right Knee Injury 

Bayern Munich player Matthijs de Ligt attends the FC Bayern Munich's annual general meeting in Munich, Germany, 12 November 2023. (EPA)
Bayern Munich player Matthijs de Ligt attends the FC Bayern Munich's annual general meeting in Munich, Germany, 12 November 2023. (EPA)

Bayern Munich defender Mattijs de Ligt is nearing a comeback from the right knee injury which ruled him out for most of the last month, the club indicated Monday.

Bayern said the Netherlands center back was back on the field and “completed an individual session at the training ground on Monday morning.”

De Ligt tore part of a knee ligament on Nov. 1 in Bayern's surprising 2-1 German Cup loss to third-division club Saarbruecken. That prompted concerns he could be a long-term absentee from a first-team squad which only includes two other central defenders, Kim Min-jae and Dayot Upamecano.

Bayern has won all four of its games since then with Kim and Upamecano starting together at center back, including a 4-0 win over Borussia Dortmund. Bayern plays Copenhagen in the Champions League on Wednesday.

De Ligt's injury also ruled him out of the Netherlands' European Championship qualifying games against Ireland and Gibraltar.



China’s Huang and Sheng Win First Gold of Paris Games at Air Rifle Mixed Team Event

 China's Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao pose on the podium after winning the gold of the shooting 10m air rifle mixed team during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Chateauroux Shooting Centre on July 27, 2024. (AFP)
China's Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao pose on the podium after winning the gold of the shooting 10m air rifle mixed team during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Chateauroux Shooting Centre on July 27, 2024. (AFP)
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China’s Huang and Sheng Win First Gold of Paris Games at Air Rifle Mixed Team Event

 China's Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao pose on the podium after winning the gold of the shooting 10m air rifle mixed team during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Chateauroux Shooting Centre on July 27, 2024. (AFP)
China's Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao pose on the podium after winning the gold of the shooting 10m air rifle mixed team during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Chateauroux Shooting Centre on July 27, 2024. (AFP)

China's Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao won the first gold medal of the Paris Games on Saturday in the 10 meters air rifle mixed team event.

Keum Ji-hyeon and Park Ha-jun of South Korea claimed silver and Alexandra Le and Islam Satpayev of Kazakhstan were awarded bronze.

Three years after Yang Qian and Yang Haoran won the gold in Tokyo, compatriots Huang and Sheng made sure China retained it.

The reigning world champions topped the qualifying round ahead of their Korean rivals at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre.

The gold medal round was not really a cakewalk though despite them racing to a 14-8 lead after the first 11 shots.

Keum and Park staged a late comeback to reduce the gap at 14-12 but the Chinese pair prevailed 16-12 in the end.

Le and Satpayev gave Kazakhstan their first medal of the Paris Games with a 17-5 romp against the German pair of Anna Janssen and Maximilian Ulbrich.