Spectator who was blinded during Ryder Cup criticizes cup officials

Corine Remande (49) a golf fan who had travelled from Egypt to Paris to attend last weeks’ Ryder Cup tournament and was blinded by a ball hit by US golfer Brooks Koepke, spoke out over her ordeal.

Spectators at this year's Ryder Cup Photo: Thomas Bourdeau / RFI

“It happened so fast, I didn’t feel any pain when I was hit,” Remande told reporters. “I didn’t feel like the ball had struck my eye, and then I felt the blood start to pour. The scan on Friday confirmed a fracture of the right eye socket and an explosion of the eyeball.”

Remande collapsed at the spot and was then almost trampled by spectators rushing to see American golfer Tiger Woods pass by.

“What shocked me too was that the spectators were taking pictures of me, but no one was calling for help,” she said.

She said she reproached Ryder Cup organizers for “not making contact” after the incident to see how she was doing, adding that there was “no warning shout from the course official when the ball was heading towards the crowd.”

As a result, she contemplates legal action to make sure that she will be able to pay her medical bills and cover permanent disability are paid.

A Ryder Cup spokesperson denied the allegations, telling reporters that there had been communication between Ryder Cup organization and Remande, insisting that the organizers will “offer support for as long as necessary.”

Meanwhile, golf player Koepka told reporters on Wednesday he was “heartbroken” over Remande’s permanent disability.

China wins double gould in chess Olympiad, US, Russia second and third; France dissapoints

China won the massive Chess Olympiads in the Georgian town of Batumi. The 143th Chess Olympiad had teams from 190 participating countries.

In the derby match of the final round in the Open section, 2016 Baku winners USA and China played out four draws and Russia defeated France 2,5-1,5 thanks to Ian Nepomniachtchi's victory.

The three teams shared the first place with 18 points each, but the tie-break favored China to claim the gold. USA got silver, while Russia took the bronze thanks to a strong finish.

Poland played surprisingly good throughout the event but narrowly missed the podium, finishing on shared 4th with England.

And in a nail-biting finale of the Women section China held Russia to a tie.

Aleksandra Goryachkina beat Shen Yang, but World Champion Ju Wenjun equalized after almost a 100-moves long battle with former Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk.

France, meanwhile managed to get only to a disappointing ninth position, in spite of a strong team consisting of current world number 7 according to Fide’s rankings (with an ELO rating of 2780) Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Etienne Bacrot, Laurent Fressinet, Romain Edouard and Christian Bauer.