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NEW YORK -- Four years ago, an unexpected guest crashed a celebration in Manhattan so he could hang out with U.S. Olympians who were on their way to the London Games.The guest: Donald Trump.The president-elect, who also carried the torch in the lead-up to the Athens Games, has been a longtime sports fan and admirer of the Olympics. He also likes winning, which is what has attracted him, over the years, to a U.S. team that routinely dominates the medals.It would be no stretch then to imagine Trump as a natural supporter of the effort to bring the Olympics back to Los Angeles in 2024.But Olympic bidding is a contest decided more by secret handshakes than a scoreboard. Though it claims to be above politics, the International Olympic Committee is teeming with them -- and many of its 98 members factor in geopolitical considerations when deciding which city to entrust with their most sacred and valuable property, the Olympic Games.No surprise then that Trumps election sent a ripple through Los Angeles bid leaders. They recognize that if the United States is viewed as an unsteady player on the global stage when the games are awarded next September, it will give IOC members -- not historically a pro-American group anyway -- one more reason to favor Paris or Budapest over LA.We just finished our presidential election and some of you may question Americas commitment to its founding principles, American sprinter Allyson Felix told IOC members last week at a Los Angeles bid presentation. I have one message for you: Please dont doubt us. Americas diversity is our greatest strength.The U.S. government will not bankroll an LA Olympics, which makes it more of a side player when it comes to bidding.But every bid needs some amount of buy-in from the top, and for a long time, a direct appeal from a head of state was thought to be a key way to bolster a bid. Convinced this was the case, President Barack Obama flew to the IOCs final bid meeting in Copenhagen in 2009 to support Chicago in its attempt to land the 2016 Olympics. He got burned when his home city was the first one eliminated in the voting.Reflecting on that last month, Obama told New York Magazine, I think weve learned that the IOCs decisions are similar to FIFAs decisions: a little bit cooked.Trump has no apparent baggage with the IOC, and, in fact, an IOC member -- American hockey player Angela Ruggiero -- is one of a handful of Olympians to appear on Trumps reality TV show The Apprentice back in the day. She got fired.But if theres any real fence-mending to be done, it might be between Trump and the LA bid itself.Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, a Democrat with ties to Hillary Clinton, said over the summer that a Trump victory could turn off voters.I think for some of the IOC members, they would say, `Wait a second, can we go to a country like that, where weve heard things that we take offense to? Garcetti said.Trump won, and operatives in the LA bid have had what theyve described as preliminary discussions with the incoming administration. They have not offered details.Assuming Trump doesnt impede LAs progress, the IOC could be faced with a choice between two leaders whose populist, nationalist messages have won over voters, while causing some international discomfort: LAs biggest challenger is Paris, and French polling shows far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has a reasonable chance in that countrys election next spring. (Budapest, meanwhile, is considered a long shot.)In considering how much weight to throw behind the Olympic bid, Trump will have to decide which vision of the movement he believes in more.The IOC, after all, has been long been portrayed as an of out-of-touch, privileged group of backroom deal-cutters not all that different from the swamp of overpaid lobbyists and career politicians that Trump said he wants to drain out of Washington.But for a candidate who won by promising to Make America Great Again, the chance to surround himself with a group of red-white-and-blue winners and bring the Summer Games back to U.S. soil for the first time since 1996 might seem like too good an opportunity to turn down.---Follow Eddie Pells on Twitter at https://twitter.com/epells Sergio Romero Argentina Jersey . The 15th-ranked Canadian men lost the opening two games of their European tour: 19-15 to No. 17 Georgia and 21-20 to No. Ever Banega Argentina Jersey . 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Rio -- The Indian womens archery team lost to Russia in the quarterfinals, going down 25-23 in a shoot-off at the Rio Olympics on Sunday.The Indian team, consisting of Deepika Kumari, Laxmirani Majhi and Bombayla Devi, won two sets to level scores at 4-4 before losing the shoot-off, which had all the archers from both teams firing an arrow each.It was a heartbreaking exit for India, who fought back after a bumpy start against the world champions. After scoring just 48 of the possible 60 points to concede the first set, they responded with a vastly improved showing in the next two.The Russians, who scored 55 points to take the first set, dropped their level only by a whisker but the Indian girls were quick to swoop in. Two perfect tens among their six shots in the set and a score of 53 meant the match was now on level terms. Each set win is awarded with two points and the teams were now tied 2-2.In the third set, the Indian charge clearly rattled the Russians who had their worst set of the match, slipping to just 50 points. With Indias talisman Deepika Kumari finding her verve and Bombalya Devi also nailing a perfect ten, India took the set and with it led the contest. Even a draw in the final set would have been enough to ensure qualification for the semifinals.However, urged on by a vociferous corner, the Russian girls started strongly at this make or break stage. Despite Deepika and Laxmi scoring perfect tens once each in the set, they went down by a two point margin and the match now reached a crescendo.Each of the archers had one shot each with the sum total counting for victory. Previous scores counted for nothing and the Russians threw the early challenge by scoring a perfect ten. Bombalya missed her mark to hit a 7, putting India immediately on the back foot. A 6 by Russias second archer gave the Indians a window of opportunity and Laxmi responded with an 8.The third Russian archer hit a 9 leaving Deepika with the unenviable task of hitting bullseye to ensure a tie and keep India alive.dddddddddddd She could only manage an 8 and with it, a disconsolate Indian team exited the event, much to the dismay of a robust Indian support group at the venue.?Of the 231 points scored by India, Bombayla shot 79, Laxmirani 75 and Deepika 77 points respectively.It is disappointing, but it is also confidence-boosting since Russia is a strong team, Bombayla later told ESPN. It will help us improve our performance in the future. Competing at the Olympics is a big deal. Reaching the quarterfinals is a huge improvement from our previous performances.The event was staged at the Sambodromo, where the annual carnival in Rio begins from. The venue itself is pretty rudimentary, with unkempt approach roads and staircases, but the bewitching backdrop more than compensates for it. The competition was held on an overcast day with dark, though not menacing clouds lurking as the quarterfinals got underway.Two of the Indian girls, Deepika and Bombayla, were part of the team that put in a dismal performance at London four years ago, where the winds at the Lords cricket ground torpedoed their campaign. They arrived in Rio better prepared, but the coach Purnima Mahato felt that the conditions did not make it easy for them.?We were trailing 0-2 at the start of the day and managed to make it 4-2 later on. But the wind was quite strong when it was our turn in the final stages. Even the spectators could tell it was making it difficult, she said.?You have to readjust your aim according to the force and the direction of the wind. It was difficult to keep the bow-hand steady.The archers will now compete in the individual events that begin on Monday.? ' ' '