■ Soccer
Adams refuses to go
Micky Adams said yesterday he will stay on as manager of Leicester City despite his overall responsibility for the three players jailed on sex charges in Spain. Weekend newspaper reports said Adams was under pressure to quit after captain Paul Dickov, Keith Gillespie and Frank Sinclair were charged with sexual assault on Friday. "Firstly, I would like to make it clear that I am continuing as manager of Leicester City," Adams said in a statement. "It would be true to say I have thought long and hard about my own situation as a result of recent events. However, I am determined to see the job through and do my very best for the club." The alleged attack occurred while Leicester was on a training camp near Carategna, Spain. Adams returned to Leicester late Friday. "Without wishing to prejudge the criminal investigations and our own club investigation, I am deeply concerned about the actions of a minority of my players," Adams said.
■ Soccer
Explosion kills fan
A Salvadoran soccer fan died and at least 20 others were injured on Sunday after an explosion on the terraces apparently caused by supporters mishandling chemicals used to create smoke, emergency workers said. The first division match between Alianza and San Salvador was scrapped after the blast at the Jorge Gonzalez stadium in the capital. The game had not started when the explosion happened. The dead man was named as Jesus Montano, 24, who was a member of the "Loyal White" group of Alianza supporters who often let off smoke and fireworks during matches. Police and Red Cross workers said fans had been handling the chemical chlorate when the blast happened.
■ Soccer
Brawl halts match
A soccer match between Hong Kong's Buler Rangers and the Chinese club Nancheng Real Estate was abandoned on Sunday following a brawl between the players in southern China, officials said. The two teams were playing in a Hong Kong First Division match in the nearby Chinese city of Dongguan when the violence flared after Rangers' Nigerian striker Cornelius Udebuluzor was fouled by a Nancheng defender in the 31st minute, Rangers officials said. Rangers was leading 1-0 at the time. Rangers' midfielder Chan Yiu-lun suffered a deep cut above his eye and bruises, while three other teammates had only minor injuries. "We have four players injured with Chan suffering the worst injury after being punched and kicked by the Nancheng players," Rangers' team manager Philip Lee said.
■ Horse racing
Gambler scores big
An international bettor who gambled 1 million Australian dollars (US$760,000) recouped his stake and more than half that again Monday when Lonhro won its final Melbourne race in the 2,000m Australian Cup at Flemington. Sportingbet gaming officials confirmed last week they had taken the A$1 million bet at A$1.55, meaning the stallion's win yesterday gave the gambler a total collect of A$1.55 million (US$1.17 million). It was believed to be the largest single bet placed on a horse in the past 20 years in Australia, Sportingbet officials said. The gambler was not identified. Lonhro, which edged to victory Monday in the closing meters of the race, won its 25th race in 33 starts. It has collected more than US$3.8 million in career prize money. Lonhro will continue racing in Sydney before being retired to stud to join his father Octagonal, winner of the 1997 Australian Cup, in late April.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but