Ice Hockey: A Chinese ice hockey player has been given a lifetime ban after being found guilty of intentionally assaulting an opponent with his stick during a domestic game, state media reported. Lang Bingyu elbowed the head and neck of Huang Peng and then stabbed the left corner of his opponent’s mouth, knocking out three teeth and leaving him requiring 42 stitches in his cheek, the Xinhua News Agency said. China’s winter sports authority ruled Lang was banned from ever taking part in any matches or training sessions administered by China Ice Hockey Association.

Basketball, NBA: The Philadelphia 76ers have suspended rookie centre Jahlil Okafor for two games after his involvement in off-court incidents in the past few weeks, the NBA team said. Okafor, the number three overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft out of Duke, was most recently involved in a fight outside a Boston nightclub last week and was found driving recklessly on a bridge. Prior to their game on Wednesday against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, the Sixers announced the suspension that was effective immediately and said they would provide support for him to succeed on and off the court.

Swimming: Jazz Carlin claimed Great Britain’s first gold medal of the European Short Course Championships in Netanya on another successful day in Israel yesterday. The 25-year-old Welsh swimmer edged out Boglarka Kapas of Hungary to win the 800 metres freestyle in a time of eight minutes 11.01 seconds. Sharon Rouwendaal of the Netherlands took bronze. Meanwhile, Siobhan-Marie O’Connor set a new British record of 57.59 seconds on her way to qualifying second fastest for the 100m individual medley.