Singapore-based ride hailing app Grab has added motorbike taxis to its inventory in Phnom Penh, becoming the first app of its kind to offer the popular motodop service.

"We've seen a lot of people in Phnom Penh using motodops, and we thought we could help the drivers by letting them use the app to find customers," said Wee Tang Yee, Grab's country head for Cambodia and Thailand. "With traffic here, too, motorbikes seem a lot more useful [than tuk-tuks or cars] if you want to get somewhere quickly."

For now, GrabBike is only in beta and the service was launched exclusively in some central parts of the capital. Yee said the company had signed up about 100 motorbike drivers, all of whom had attended a safety and training session in addition to providing ownership documents and a valid driver's licence.

Hailed yesterday, Yoeun Ratana, one of Grab's new drivers, showed up on his personal motorbike, sporting a Captain America shield emblazoned across the front. Ratana has a full-time job as a technical assistant, but he signed up with Grab about a week ago to make extra cash.

"It's really easy to use the [Grab] app, and it only took me a day to train to be a driver," he said. But while the second source of income was nice, Ratana said the money from driving was nowhere near enough to let him quit his day job.

The base rate for GrabBike drivers in Phnom Penh is currently set at 2,500 riel, or $0.63, for the first kilometre, with customers charged an additional 1,000 riel, or $0.25, per kilometre after that. That rate was subject to change after the beta test, according to Yee, who also said he wasn't sure when the beta would end or when the full service would launch.

Grab's motorbike rates are slightly lower than the rates for auto-rickshaws from local ride-hailing apps such as PassaApp and Exnet, though those services' vehicles are capable of seating at least two people.

Businesses expect the establishment of Cambodia's first marine national park covering seven coastal islands to boost tourism in the area, while government officials said yesterday it would not affect private development scheduled for the islands.

A sub-decree signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday designated 52,448 hectares of national park off Cambodia's southern coast, but only 5,311 hectares of that area was land. The two most popular and developed islands on the list, Koh Rong and Koh Rong Samloem, have land masses of about 7,800 hectares and 2,450 hectares, respectively, and thus are not entirely covered by the designation.

Local conglomerate Royal Group, owned by Kith Meng, was granted a concession to develop Koh Rong and Koh Rong Samloem in 2008, and planned to spend $2 billion to turn large swaths of the island into a "luxury resort destination", according to Bloomberg's news service.

Those plans are unlikely to be affected by the recent announcement, according to Preah Sihanouk province's Deputy Governor Kong Vitanak.

"The national park will not impact to small business holders, investors, developers or villagers," he said yesterday.

Vitanak said that the exact areas that would belong to the national park had not yet been finalised, as officials from the Ministry of Environment were still measuring the area. A spokesman for the ministry could not be reached yesterday.

"This is the first national park in the coastal province, and it is a key to attract both international and national tourists" Vitanak said.

Taing Socheat Kroesna, director of the province's Department of Tourism, welcomed the news of the national park and said it would promote tourism as well as protect the country's coast.

"It opens the opportunity for investors who are looking for developing, in terms of protecting the natural resources," he said.

Ty Sochea, an operations manager at Koh Rong's Long Set Resort, said that if the national park was truly enforced, it would provide benefits to the island's tourism industry.

"If we have a national park on the island, I am sure our business would be better than it is now," he said yesterday. "It will give more options to tourists who will not only enjoy the beach and coral."

Royal Group's massive development plans on the two islands, which at one point included an airport, hotels, polo and golf fields and a marina, have been slow to get off the ground. The company's first completed development, the luxury resort Royal Sands Koh Rong, opened in December, more than eight years after the firm received the development concession.

The company's plans have occasionally put it at loggerheads with local authorities and villagers. In 2015, island residents held a sit-in to protest the construction of a road by the company, and the next year a Preah Sihanouk coastal working group halted Royal Group's construction of a port on the island, claiming that proper permission had not been granted.

Later in 2016, Prime Minister Hun Sen warned on his Facebook page that, "Island development projects that are not active shall be examined and taken back."

Cambodia's economic freedom score dropped seven ranks in the annual Economic Freedom Index released by the Heritage Foundation, a US-based, conservative-leaning think tank.

The 0.8 point dip in the score from last year put Cambodia's economy in the "Mostly Unfree" category, ranking 101 out of a total of 180 countries – down from the 94 spot in 2017.

The Kingdom's 58.7 score put it squarely in the middle of the Asia-Pacific region, ranking behind Malaysia (22) and neighbouring Thailand (53), but ahead of Vietnam (141) and Laos (138).

Cambodia's score was hurt by a drop in the already-low "property rights" category, as well as decreases in its "fiscal health" and "labour freedom" scores. In general, the country performed well on overall indications of economic health, but poorly on regulatory efficiency and rule of law categories.

The government did see a rise in its "judicial effectiveness" and "government integrity" scores over last year, but they still remained well below the global and regional averages.

"Pervasive corruption remains a serious obstacle to economic development and social stability" in Cambodia, the report notes in its country summary.

Mey Kalyan, a senior adviser to the government's Supreme National Economic Council, said yesterday that the ranking was not bad for Cambodia, and that it was a reasonable reflection of the strengths and weaknesses of Cambodia's economy.

"The issue on institutionalisation needs some time for development, as it needs both human resources and some policies," he said, urging patience for further reforms to take place.

Using the example of education reform, Kaylan noted that while "building a school is easy to do . . . strengthening the institutional quality of schools needs a long time. So I think that whatever point that they said we are not good yet, we can reconsider and improve it."

Preap Kol, executive director of anti-corruption NGO Transparency International Cambodia, said yesterday that the study's findings showed that creating a truly independent judiciary was sorely needed in the country.

"Corruption is still a constraint for the judicial system, affecting the fair business playing field," he said. "Though our country is an open economy, individual businesses are always backed up by a powerful person as a shareholder."

To get a better ranking, Kol suggested the government establish a truly independent judiciary for businesses in the country.

"We need to improve the judicial system, and ensure fair business competition by creating a commercial court that is independent and transparent," he said.

Rosewood Hotel Group, a rapidly expanding luxury hotel chain, is celebrating the opening of its first hotel in the Kingdom today as it embraces an aggressive expansion strategy in Southeast Asia. Its Phnom Penh hotel is located in the country's tallest skyscraper, occupying the top 14 floors of Vattanac Tower. The Post's Robin Spiess sat down with Managing Director Daniel Grau last week to discuss his hotel's impact on the Cambodian luxury hotel market.

Why has the Rosewood chosen to enter the Cambodian market?
The Rosewood has been around since 1974, but it was acquired by New World Development, a Hong Kong-based company, in 2011. Being now a Hong Kong-owned company, the focus has really been to bring the Rosewood into the Asian market. We opened our first Rosewood in the east in Beijing about four years ago, and that hotel did tremendously well.

When this location in Vattanac Tower became available, we decided it was a perfect opportunity to expand our footprint in Southeast Asia. We think it's the right time to be entering the Cambodian market; the market is developing rapidly here, and we think we have something new and exciting to bring to it. The approach we take isn't so traditional – we have a more relaxed service style, while still remaining professional and courteous.

The Rosewood first announced its intention to open this branch in 2015. What took so long?
In any project, there are challenges which inevitably delay the opening. It almost doesn't matter where you are. There are many moving parts which cause delays, but I think this is the right time for us to be opening.

How do you view the market for luxury hotels in Cambodia?
Right now, there aren't many luxury five-star hotels here in Cambodia. There are many people interested in coming to visit Cambodia, and we think it is important not only to promote the Rosewood, but to promote Phnom Penh and Cambodia as a whole. We have a long list of people who follow the Rosewood who would be interested in visiting here.

I know there are other luxury hotels interested in entering the market, as well. Siem Reap I think is more developed in terms of luxury hotels, and Phnom Penh has more room to grow. I think competition is a positive thing that keeps us on our toes and allows us to improve where we need to improve.

We notice the number of tourists coming into the country on a yearly basis is increasing, and the new airport is going to make it even easier for people to come visit this country. I think the future is bright: levels of service and appreciation for luxury brands among locals are going up.

Does the Rosewood intend to expand its presence in Cambodia in the near future? 
We have already signed with Vattanac Capital to open another Rosewood in Siem Reap. This was signed two years ago, and we are about to move forward on that project.

We have been expanding elsewhere in the region as well: we just opened a branch in Phuket [Thailand], and plan to open another few locations in Bangkok, Laos and Hong Kong later this year. There are a lot of hotels in the pipeline, and many more that have already been signed and will begin being constructed soon. It's been an aggressive expansion for what we believe is a great brand.

How is the Rosewood going to stand out among other luxury hotels?
Ninety-five percent of our team here is local. Our focus has not been to hire people with experience, but rather to hire based on personality and attitude, and then focus on training. Our focus here, first and foremost, is on the team. If our team feels good and is happy, then ultimately the hotel will be more successful.

Our aim right now is to get the service right. The profit will come on its own.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Chip Mong Insee Cement Corporation (CMIC) launched a new factory in Kampot province yesterday, with a total production capacity of 5,000 tonnes of cement per day.

The official opening of the $262-million factory was presided over by Prime Minister Hun Sen in the Banteay Meas district of Kampot, where the factory will occupy about 110 hectares of land. The plant is a joint venture between local construction conglomerate Chip Mong Group, which owns 60 percent of the shares, and Thailand's Siam City Cement Corporation (SCCC).

Aidan Lynam, CEO of CMIC, said yesterday that cement products from the new plant would help fulfill the rising demand for cement in Cambodia, which was estimated at more than 6 million tonnes last year. According to Lyman, CMIC products would be able to meet 25 percent of the market's total demand.

"We understand that the demand for cement in Cambodia will continue to grow strongly thanks to the rapid growth of the economy and population, that leads to the increase of the construction sector," he said.

CMIC's new factory is among five licensed cement factories in the country, which include plants operated by Kampot Cement, Cambodia Cement Chakrey Ting, Thai Boon Rong Cement and Battambang Conch Cement.

Le Bokor Palace, located between the tropical forest and the “Opal Coast” in Preah Monivong Bokor National Park near Kampot, was inaugurated on 14 February 1925 to host royalty and elites. The hotel was revived in 1962 by Preah Karuna Preah Bat Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk and served high-ranking officials and wealthy business people, and used to be Preah Karuna Preah Bat Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk's favourite vacation retreat.

Perched on a cliff at the top of Bokor Mountain, this historical hotel commands breathtaking views of what the French once called the Opal Coast.

The weather on top of Bokor Mountain ranges between 17°C–24°C (62.6°F -75.2°F) for the whole year round.

Bokor Mountain is not just a tourist destination, but also a health resort with natural health treatments that have positive effects on the lungs, breathe, nutrition and nervous system, and enable blood regeneration and restore strength. Le Bokor Palace is a four-storey building, toughly and neatly designed, and has a powerful presence, embellished with decks and Italian-style pergolas.

Today, Le Bokor Palace has been restored by Sokha Hotels & Resorts. "Le Bokor Palace is a historic hotel that is a national treasure, our company has fully refurbished the building, preserving the original features and recreating its colonial interior design, with bathroom fixtures imported from Italy and ornate floor tiles from Spain. After extensive renovation of this grand colonial building for opening, Le Bokor Palace includes 36 tastefully appointed luxurious rooms and suites.

Its two restaurants capture the elegance of the hotel's historic past, with Swiss and Cambodian chefs preparing both its original menu and Royal Khmer cuisine using the freshest ingredients, including organic vegetables grown on a nearby organic farm. Le Bokor Palace has been restored to preserve the legacy of its French colonial past and Preah Karuna Preah Bat Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk," commented Mr. Philippe F. Frugere, General Manager of Le Bokor Palace.

The remains of the colonial settlement – which included a Japanese house, Catholic Church, Wat Sampov Pram, Domnak Sla Kmao, Damnak Sdech, City Hall and other colonial buildings – can still be seen today, spread out across a plateau and often shrouded in mist.

Visitors staying at Le Bokor Palace, which is renowned as a natural health resort, can also visit the spectacular Mountain Lake, beautiful Popokvil Waterfall, rock formations in various shapes at the 100 Rice Fields, and a uniquely shaped rock that symbolises a gate between heaven and earth. Meditation is recommended on Bokor Mountain, especially at the 500 Rice Fields. Bokor Mountain is the only place in Cambodia that has Nepenthes flowers; the locals use these flowers for medicine.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Ms. Samrith Bunnich
Marketing Manager
Email: nickie.samrith@sokhahotels.com
Tel:+855 33 683 9999
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/LeBokorPalaceKP/
Website: www.lebokorpalace.com

Phnom Penh's NagaWorld casino posted a massive increase in profits and revenue driven by strong growth in high-value guests last year, with the amount of money gambled by VIPs at the capital's only casino exceeding Cambodia's gross domestic product for 2016.

NagaWorld's parent company, NagaCorp, is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange and released its annual financial report for last year, showing an 85 percent increase in gross gaming revenue (GGR) to $926 million, as well as a 39 percent increase in net profit to $255.2 million.

The casino saw the largest growth in its VIP operations, where "rollings" – a term referring to the amount bet by gamblers – increased by 142 percent to $21.1 billion.

That is more than the value Cambodia's 2016 GDP, which was $20.02 billion, according to the World Bank.

NagaCorp reported paying $8.12 million in income tax last year, an effective tax rate of 0.87 percent based on the company's GGR.

Cambodia has one of the lowest effective tax rates in the world for casinos. A 2015 report from accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers noted that Macau had a 35 percent tax on GGR, while Australia had a rate of between 10 and 45 percent, and Singapore had a rate of between 5 and 15 percent.

Ros Phirun, deputy director-general of the Finance Industry Department at the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), said yesterday it would be difficult to explain how the ministry taxes NagaWorld.

"There are a lot of criteria in the agreement," he said. "The agreement is written in a very thick book, so it is not easy to explain just [over the phone]."

In 2016, NagaCorp had to pay the ministry more than $15 million in additional tax payments after a government audit of its 2015 finances found "discrepancies".

Last year's $8.12 million in income tax consisted of monthly payments totalling $676,700 made to the MEF. The paid income tax was smaller than the $11.7 million performance bonus that NagaCorp CEO Chen Lip Keong was entitled to, according to the report, though it added that the company's head deferred his 2017 bonus.

NagaCorp's performance was boosted by Cambodia's uptick in arrivals from China, which jumped more than 40 percent last year to 1.2 million visitors. VIP gaming revenue led the GGR growth, and totalled $625.3 million, more than double the revenue brought in from mass market gambling, which came out to $300.6 million.

But gross profits from the VIP sector were only $153.9 million, about half of the $294.3 million in profits that came from mass market gambling. Costs associated with VIP customers and a lower win rate for the casino resulted in a profit margin of about 25 percent for VIP gaming, compared to a 98 percent profit margin for mass market gaming.

That meant that while NagaCorp's profits rose, its overall gross profit margin decreased from 69 percent in 2016 to 49 percent last year.

The company's report also touted the November soft launch of Naga2, a second complex featuring gaming and other amenities that would allow the company to expand its operation in Cambodia and handle additional visitors.

Additional reporting by Hor Kimsay

A Cambodian company is teaming up with a Thai investment partner to spend $100 million improving the quality of Cambodia's agarwood trees, according to a memorandum of understanding signed by the two companies yesterday.

Thoub Chankrassna Khmer Co (TCK), which owns agarwood plantations and an incense factory in Preah Sihanouk province, has partnered with Thai-based First Capital Group (FCG) in the hopes of improving the growth, processing and manufacturing of Cambodia's 1 million agarwood trees.

Agarwood, a fragrant wood harvested for its aromatic, religious and medical applications, is a nontimber forest product that can fetch prices upwards of $4,000 per kilogram in Cambodia. But despite high prices, Cambodian farmers have struggled to profit from their plantations, according to TCK's director Keo Sokunthea.

"Cambodian farmers have not had sufficient resources to process and extract agarwood oil," she said at the announcement of the MoU yesterday. "Most importantly, they have not been able to access the regional or international market to commercialise their agarwood trees and agarwood-related products, [which] has caused discouragement to a majority of agarwood growers, forcing them to abandon their agarwood plantations."

She added that FCG was an ideal candidate for this joint business venture, as it has been involved in agarwood business activities across the region and has access to modern technologies for producing agarwood oil and related products.

Sean Goh, CEO of FCG, said that the company planned to spend $100 million solely on improving the quality of Cambodia's agarwood trees. If Cambodia could produce top-grade agarwood resin, the country's 1 million trees could be a potential goldmine, he said.

"We use the best technology, and of course we have to take good care of the tree," Goh said. "We need to invest this capital in the improvement of quality of the trees, because of course we will get a better return when we are producing top quality [agarwood] oil."

Agarwood resin grows inside the trunks of wild Aquilaria trees. Through inoculation technology, it is possible to stimulate the growth of higher-quality agarwood resin inside the trunk of the tree, which in turn can be processed to create oil called "oud". Oud oil can fetch between $30,000 and $100,000 per kilogram, depending on the quality of the resin and the market, according to oud oil monitoring firm Sustainable Asset Management.

According to Goh, the company plans to inoculate agarwood trees in several locations in Preah Sihanouk and monitor their progress six months after inoculation. The company also plans to establish a processing factory in Sihanoukville following that process.

Cambodian kun Khmer kickboxer Lao Chantrea lands the knockout blow with his elbow on muay Thai opponent Chhan Chhai of Thailand in their ISI PALM Championship bout at CNC television studios on Sunday.

The referee stepped in to end the fight after the powerful hit to the face. Chantrea won in the third of five scheduled rounds.

North Korea's band of all-female supporters was unable to inspire the historic joint Korean women's ice hockey team as they were dumped out of the Pyeongchang Olympics with an 8-0 defeat to Sweden today.

The unified team for the Winter Games in South Korea was the product of a landmark deal between the South and North Korea – the neighbours still technically at war – after a year of high tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests.

The home crowd – seated among them the North Korean cheerleaders – roared their players as they skated onto the ice in their blue-and-red jerseys, "KOREA" emblazoned over a pale blue silhouette of the divided peninsula.

The joint team is deeply symbolic, but as a hockey side they were at the Games with little hope of making a serious impression in terms of the competition.

And so it proved as they were hammered 8-0 for the second time in a row, this time to the Swedes, ranked five in the world.

Sweden were 3-0 up in just 10 minutes and the heavy defeat means Korea play Japan on Wednesday in their final match in a dead rubber.

But even as the home team were being pounded, the 200-strong North Korean cheerleaders in red, blue and white tracksuits chanted, "Cheer up", clapping and waving mini-unification flags in unison and setting off a Mexican wave.

The unity was interrupted when a four-member South Korean cheering group, in tight white T-shirts and pink shorts, skipped and hopped to Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend.

The North Koreans responded with songs of their own – mostly old folk numbers, including a ballad longing for one's home town – showing a deep cultural divide between the two halves of the peninsula.

The Games have triggered a rare moment of reconciliation between the two Koreas.

Only a few months ago, Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests and exchanges of threats with Washington were driving tensions sky-high.

But in a whirlwind of Olympic diplomacy, hundreds of North Koreans came South last week to attend the Pyeongchang Games, and in extraordinary scenes the North Korean leader's sister Kim Yo Jong cheered the unified team together with the South's President Moon Jae-in.

'Play with one mind'

The unified hockey team was hastily assembled only two weeks before the Olympics began – and it showed in the one-sided losses to Switzerland and now Sweden.

Local fans at the stadium were more bothered about the significance of the joint team.

"I know we lack skill compared to other teams but I hope they will play with one mind," said Kim Sang-wook, 62, from Seoul.

Koo Bon-jae, a 20-year-old student from the South Korean capital, added: "I was initially against it but I was touched after seeing them on the ice together."

But not everyone was in favour and the addition of North Korean players to the team had provoked controversy in the South, with accusations that Seoul was depriving some of its own players the chance to compete at a home Olympics for political purposes.

Since the division of the peninsula the two Koreas have only competed as unified teams in 1991, when their women won the team gold at the world table tennis championship in Japan, and their under-19 footballers reached the world championship quarter-finals in Portugal.

Olympics chief Thomas Bach today dismissed concerns that North Korea has tried to "hijack" the Winter Games for political purposes, as officials revealed he will visit the isolated country after the tournament in South Korea.

Bach said he regarded North Korea's participation purely in sporting terms despite the rapid round of diplomacy between the two Koreas during the opening days of the Games.

"This is about sport and this the IOC made very clear," Bach said in an interview. "This is about the role of sport to build bridges, to open doors and nothing more.

"It's just a symbol for sport and it's a symbol for the fact that when you go over these bridges you can come to a positive result."

Brokering North Korea's involvement has been a proud achievement for Bach's International Olympic Committee, as the two Koreas marched together at the opening ceremony and formed a unified team in the women's ice hockey.

It has also set the stage for a period of intense reconciliation efforts, including the visit of Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo-jong who delivered an invitation for South Korean President Moon Jae-in to visit North Korea.

However, some South Koreans are sceptical about the sudden rapprochement, while US Vice-President Mike Pence said North Korea was trying to "hijack the message and imagery" of the Olympics.

North Korea's U-turn after months of warlike rhetoric and weapons tests prompted fears among some countries about sending athletes to Pyeongchang, and questions about whether the Games should be moved somewhere safer.

Bach's spokesman Mark Adams said the IOC president would visit North Korea after the Games, although no date has been set. The visit was agreed as part of the deal for North Korea to take part in the Olympics, he said.

'Message of peace'

In what has been called a propaganda coup, North Korea has launched a major charm offensive at the Games, where it has a delegation of more than 500 – including their large, all-female cheering squad – supporting 22 athletes.

Bach had South Korea's Moon on his left and the high-level North Korean delegation on his right when the two Koreas played their first ever Olympic fixture together, in the women's ice hockey tournament on Saturday.

He said the IOC was happy to play the role of peace-maker – but that it was up to politicians whether to take advantage.

"Sport cannot create peace but sport can build bridges. We can open doors, we can show that dialogue can lead to a positive result as we have shown there with our discussions and negotiations over the years," Bach said.

"This is what we can do and there we'll always be very restricted to sports matters. All the rest, politicians have to do. It's up to them whether they then use this momentum for their talks."

Bach also revealed that he wasn't sure that the two Koreas would go ahead with their joint march until they finally walked into Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium for Friday's opening ceremony.

"We always said we're going to believe it the moment we see them really coming in," he said.

"Seeing this moment happening was great emotion and great joy to be able to send this message of understanding, of peace, this Olympic message from Korea to the world.

"It's of particular importance that it's coming from the Korean peninsula, where we have these high political tensions."

American snowboarding sensation Chloe Kim had one thing on her mind after she nailed top score in Olympic halfpipe qualifying with a jaw-dropping display today – a well-deserved ice cream.

The high-flying 17-year-old was treated like a rock star by enthusiastic local fans because of her Korean heritage and confirmed her status as the gold medal favourite in Pyeongchang with a high total of 95.50 points.

China's Liu Jiayu qualified second with 87.75 ahead of Japan's Haruna Matsumoto (84.25).

"I want my ice cream!" screamed Kim after an acrobatic second run greeted with oohs and aahs by a packed crowd.

It might have been brutally cold and blustery, with a wind chill of minus 20 degrees Celsius (-4F), but Kim said: "I really like vanilla Swiss almond – but I'll be okay with the mango sorbet."

Looking forward to Tuesday's final, Kim added: "I was really nervous but I'm always more nervous during qualis [qualifying] so tomorrow I can really focus on what I want to do."

Long, bleached-blonde hair poking out from behind her visor, Kim was in a class of her own, executing a string of eye-popping spins and loop-the-loop tricks.

"I don't even know what I did," joked Kim, whose parents come from South Korea and who has been adopted by locals as one of their own.

"That second run felt perfect. I've been really trying to clean up all the little details and I think I did that so I'm really excited."

Korean fans screaming her name jostled to take photos of Kim as she trudged to waiting journalists after her second run.

"This is the best scenario ever," she said. "I'm so grateful to be out here and represent the US in the country my family came from."

'Grandma, stay warm'

Dangerous gusts that caused havoc in the women's slopestyle final and forced the postponement of the women's giant slalom periodically sent puffs of snow swirling across the top of the halfpipe run.

But it had little effect on the effervescent Kim.

"The pipe's been so good so I'm thankful the conditions have been so amazing," smiled the four-time X Games champion, who might have challenged for gold in Sochi four years ago – if she hadn't been too young to compete.

"My goal here was to land every run I do in the contest and I've landed two so far, so three to go!"

Despite tearing it up in qualifying Kim admitted she wasn't sure whether her biggest fan – her Korea-based grandmother – had been in the crowd.

But she revealed the family matriarch would be rocking some trendy sports gear if and when she turns up.

"My grandma's in Seoul – she might be here," Kim said.

"But I gave her some stuff I got from the opening ceremony. I gave her some Nike gear and she was really excited – so grandma, stay warm for me!"

Doping guru Grigory Rodchenkov has emerged from hiding, donning a disguise and reiterating that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to silence him for good.

The controversial whistleblower and former head of Moscow's anti-doping laboratory says he is risking his life by exposing Russian doping secrets.

In his first televised interview since fleeing his native Russia, Rodchenkov told the American news programme 60 Minutes on Sunday night that he continues to live in fear in the United States.

"The Kremlin wants me to stop talking," he told interviewer Scott Pelley.

Since fleeing to America in November 2015, he has gone into hiding because he says Putin wants him dead – a claim he has made several times previously.

The news magazine programme allowed Rodchenkov to wear a disguise and showed him putting on and walking around in a bulletproof vest.

"[The disguise] was done for security reasons," says Rodchenkov, who dyed his hair a different colour and shaved his moustache. "There is information that my life is in jeopardy and we took all necessary steps."

Rodchenkov's escape to America followed the sudden death of two senior officials from Russia's anti-doping agency. There is a warrant out for his arrest back home.

"I am not a liar. I was not telling truth in Russia, but coming to United States I am telling the truth."

Rodchenkov said he now wants to dedicate his time to exposing drug cheats and being an advocate for change.

He doubts whether the Olympics will ever have a level playing field for the athletes.

"You could believe, but in fact it is human nature," he said. "It is our sins. It has nothing to do with sports. There are 10, 15 percent who are incorrigible. You can do nothing – they are cheaters by nature."

Because Rodchenkov was one of those self-admitted cheaters, he is apologising for his role in the scandals and the deception that he says still goes on, using formulas and techniques that he helped develop.

"I am sorry to create such a problem because of my experience and knowledge," he said. "Now it is effective and working, and it is not my contribution to fight against doping."

As a result of his whistleblowing the Russians were stripped of Olympic medals and Russia was banned from this week's Pyeongchang Games.

But the International Olympic Committee allowed a large group of Russians deemed clean to take part as "Olympic Athletes from Russia".

The team of Russian athletes stands at 168, the fourth biggest contingent at the Games. Russian competitors marched behind a neutral Olympic flag at Friday's opening ceremony.

Australia cricket captain Steve Smith capped off a golden 12 months by winning his second Allan Border Medal in Melbourne today.

Smith, hailed as the country's finest batsman since Donald Bradman, polled 246 votes, well ahead of two-time medal winner David Warner (162 votes) and Nathan Lyon (156 votes).

Smith, who had earlier been named Australia's Test Player of the Year for his dominant 12 months with the bat, won his first Border Medal in 2015.

The skipper was the hot favourite to take the award following a year in which he played 24 international games across limited overs and Test cricket and scored 1754 runs at 67.46 with seven centuries.

He captained a hard-fought series loss in India, a drawn series in Bangladesh and a triumphant 4-0 Ashes victory over England at home in which he was also named man of the series.

Smith, 28, is also the reigning ICC Test Cricketer of the Year after earning that accolade last month.

He joins Ricky Ponting (2004, 2006-07, 2009), Michael Clarke (2005, 2009, 2012-13), Shane Watson (2010-11) and David Warner (2016-17) as multiple winners of the annual award.

Allrounder Ellyse Perry won the Belinda Clark Award for a second time, confirming her as Australia's best female cricketer over the past 12 months.

Perry, who previously won the award in 2016, capped off a 12-month period that also saw her named the ICC's Cricketer of the Year.

The crowning moment of Perry's year was her memorable double-century in the historic day-night Ashes Test against England in Sydney.

Her unbeaten 213 was part of a year that saw her score 756 runs across all forms of the game to go with 20 wickets at an average of 32

Jose Mourinho has refused to criticise Chris Smalling for a dive which led to the decisive goal in Manchester United's shock 1-0 defeat at Newcastle on Sunday.

Mourinho was scathing about United's defending as Matt Ritchie scored from the 65th minute free-kick awarded after Smalling threw himself to the ground before he was tackled by Jonjo Shelvey.

The Manchester United defender's yellow card was followed by further punishment as Shelvey's free-kick was headed down by Florian Lejeune before Dwight Gayle touched it into the path of Ritchie.

But he didn't turn his guns on England international Smalling.

"I've no complaints. I don't like to complain about referees in this kind of situation, but I was disappointed with our defending," Mourinho said. "I don't know if it was a free-kick, but I know we missed a challenge in the air.

"I remember a Newcastle player jumping while two of my men were looking at him and staying on the floor, then we missed the second ball.

"We try to work on organisation. They have their jobs and know their responsibility."

It was the closest Mourinho came to criticising his players in a surprisingly composed assessment of one of their worst performances of the season.

His comments to his players in the privacy of the dressing room are likely to possess a far sharper edge after they fell 16 points behind leaders Manchester City.

Paul Pogba, in particular, can expect to be a target for harsh words from the manager.

The United midfielder drifted through the match and was substituted shortly after he failed to compete with Lejeune when the defender set up the decisive goal.

Asked about Pogba's failure to influence the game, Mourinho said: "It's very difficult to put me in a position where I have to criticise my players."

However, Mourinho was far more eager to give his verdict on Newcastle's players and left nobody in any doubt he was impressed by their response to dropping into the bottom three in the wake of good results for their relegation rivals.

‘Fought like animals'

"Newcastle's players gave what they have and what they don't have – and that's a beautiful thing in football. They fought like animals," he said.

"They came here to fight for a point, then found themselves in a position of being 1-0 up.

"In that moment, they went to the limits of their effort and sacrifice and everything a manager likes to see in their team.

"I saw it in my team after we went behind. I saw that desire to try to the last second.

"I imagine that Rafa Benitez is more than pleased with the efforts of his players.

"Were they lucky? Yes, they were, but sometimes you attract that luck with your state of mind.

"I think we did more than enough to leave without a defeat."

Newcastle boss Benitez shared Mourinho's assessment of the Magpies players.

"Every player gave everything, which was fantastic," he said.

"We have been so close to winning so many games, but today we did it and it's even better. It's a boost for everyone."

Newcastle were indebted to goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, who made two fine saves in an assured debut.

"He did well for his first game. A clean sheet against Manchester United is fantastic, but everybody was working hard to defend," Benitez said.

"There was passion and commitment from everyone. These players don't give up.

"We have some limitations and problems, but you could see they were giving everything."