Wrestling: Japanese wrestling queen Saori Yoshida received a necklace with a gold-coloured pearl yesterday for winning a record 13 straight Olympic and world championship gold medals over 10 years. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda handed her the jewellery worth an estimated $20,300 as part of the government’s “People’s Honour Award” given to figures who inspire the nation. “Here is the golden pearl you requested. It’s 13 millimetres (in diametre) because you won 13 straight titles,” Noda told the 30-year-old wrestler, clad in a kimono, in a ceremony at his executive mansion.

Doping: Uzbeki freestyle wrestler Soslan Tigiev has been stripped of his 2012 Olympics bronze medal after testing positive for a banned substance. Report of the Russian gazeta.ru informational site said the samples given by Tigiev contained the banned drug methylhexanamine. The bronze medal will now go to Hungarian wrestler Gabor Hatosz, whom Tigiev beat in the bout for the third place.

Golf: World number one Rory McIlroy dismissed reports he has already signed a multi-million dollar deal with Nike, but said there would be an announcement in the next few weeks. McIlroy said he had not committed to any sponsor for next season and remained under Titleist until the end of the year, when his deal with the US equipment-maker will be allowed to lapse. “I’m a Titleist player until the end of the year, I’ve made no commitment to any company for next year,” he said.

Sailing: Britain’s Ben Ainslie and Lijia Xu, of China, have been named the male and female winners of the 2012 ISAF World Sailor of the Year Awards at a ceremony held in Dublin. It is the fourth time that Ainslie has taken the prize following titles gained in 1998, 2002 and 2008.

Motor Racing: The Malaysian owner of the Caterham Formula One team Tony Fernandes announced he was stepping aside as head of the racing outfit at the end of the year to focus on a new venture constructing sports cars. The 48-year-old said it was best for him to move over for someone else while he focuses on developing the sports car project announced earlier this week with Renault in reviving the mythical sports car Alpine. “On the racing side we have come to the conclusion that it is better if someone else takes over the team principal role to move forward,” he said. Fernandes arrived on the Formula One scene in 2009 at the head of the Lotus stable, which made its competitive debut in the 2010 campaign.

Athletics: Russian long distance runner Inga Abitova has been banned for two years for a doping offence. The decision followed abnormalities in Abitova’s biological passport. Abitova’s ban took effect on October 11 and all her results after October 10, 2009, were annulled. The 30-year-old was 10,000 metres silver medallist at the European championships in Barcelona and was also second in the 2010 London marathon.