Local sports: Lee, Kournikova start well
Russia's Anna Kournikova and doubles partner Janet Lee of Taiwan claimed victory yesterday on the first day of the Kiwi Open. Kournikova and Lee struggled at the outset, dropping the first set before rallying to overpower their opponents, sisters Adriana and Antonella Serra Zanetti of Italy, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. Kournikova and Lee are the second seeds in the doubles component of the US$140,000 tournament at Shanghai's Xianxia Tennis Center. Kournikova is also seeded fourth in singles.
Local ladies gain a first
The 2002 Ilan International Collegiate Invitational Regatta ended yesterday, with a women's team from National Taiwan Normal University winning a gold in one category, the best performance ever turned by a local team in the competition. The NTNU team seized gold in the four-person, two-oar category, with Hamburg University and Taipei Municipal College of Physical Education taking silver and bronze, respectively. Australia's University of Melbourne and University of Queensland, and New Zealand's University of Otaga also managed to grab golds in other events.
Soccer: Van der Vaart blows knee
Dutch champions Ajax expect midfielder Rafael van der Vaart to be out of action for about six weeks after picking up a knee injury in the Netherlands' European Championship qualifier against Belarus, the club said yesterday. Teenage prospect van der Vaart, who will receive a full diagnosis later this week, injured a ligament in his left knee in the second half of the game on Saturday which the Dutch won 3-0. Van der Vaart missed most of the second half of last season due to two cartilage operations.
Cricket: England, India draw
The thrilling, seesawing England-India test series ended tied at 1-1 yesterday, a huge anticlimax after the fourth and decisive match at The Oval was abandoned due to rain. The first session was completely washed out and, with heavy rain still falling and surface water over large areas of the playing surface, umpires Asoka de Silva and David Orchard called the match off at lunch. England was set to resume on 114 without loss and a lead of 121.
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