■ Boxing
Champ arrested over ecstasy
A boxer who became Indonesia's first international champion in the 1980s has been arrested for selling ecstasy tablets to undercover detectives in a discotheque where he worked as a bouncer, police said yesterday. Ellias Pical, who held the IBF super flyweight belt between 1985 and 1989, was arrested on Wednesday at a west Jakarta club, said Jakarta police spokesman Ciptono, who goes by a single name. Pical, 48, has not been charged yet, but could face a long prison term if found guilty of drug dealing. Pical, known as "the Exocet" on account of his powerful left hook, took the title off South Korean Judo Chun in 1985 in Jakarta. He defended it six times before being beaten by Colombian Juan Polo Perez.
■ Rugby
All-African team announced
The first ever all-African rugby squad was named on Wednesday to play South Africa Students at Ellis Park tomorrow. A 23-man squad representing 12 countries will be known as the African Leopards, the African Rugby Confederation (CAR) said. Botswana, Cameroon, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia all have at least one player in the Leopards. "This is an important step forward as Africa is one of the most exciting areas of growth for rugby, and every African player will aspire to becoming a Leopard," CAR president Abdelaziz Bougja said. "This pan-African team will capture the imagination of the rugby world, and it is envisaged that the African Leopards will play regularly throughout Africa and worldwide," he said. The Leopards, coached by Deon Davids of South Africa and Alain Hyardet of France, will play in the curtainraiser to the second Mandela Challenge Plate match between South Africa and Australia.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
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