■ Athletics
Gatlin only equaled record
Justin Gatlin equaled but did not break the 100m world record at the Qatar Grand Prix last week, the sport's governing body said in Monte Carlo yesterday. The International Association of Athletics Federations said a timing error in Doha gave Gatlin a time of 9.76 seconds, which was one-hundredth of a second below Asafa Powell's world mark of 9.77. The IAAF said Gatlin's time was actually 9.766 seconds, and that should have been manually rounded up to 9.77. The time has now been adjusted to 9.77 and, pending ratification, will equal the record set by Powell in Athens, Greece, last June, the IAAF said.
■ Soccer
Libor Sionko now a Ranger
Czech midfielder Libor Sionko passed a physical examination in Glasgow on Tuesday, completing his move to Rangers from the club Austria Vienna. Sionko signed a three-year deal and becomes the second signing of new Rangers manager Paul Le Guen, who signed Dean Furman last week from Chelsea. "It is a great privilege to join Rangers and I am eager to begin my new life in Scotland," Sionko told Rangers' Web site. "I know I have signed for a massive club with many supporters and I can't wait to play in front of them at Ibrox next season." Sionko could be named to the Czech World Cup squad to replace Vladimir Smicer. Smicer has a knee injury and has not played in three months.
■ Basketball
Ralph Sampson enters plea
Former NBA star Ralph Sampson pleaded not guilty in Richmond, Virginia, on Tuesday to charges of lying to federal authorities about his finances in a child support case. His trial was scheduled for July 17. Sampson waived the reading of the indictment and answered routine questions during a 10-minute court appearance. He is charged with perjury, making a false claim, mail fraud and making a false statement. If convicted in the nonjury trial, he faces a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of US$250,000 on each count, federal prosecutor Sara Flannery said. He remains free on bond with travel restrictions. Sampson was drafted No. 1 overall by the Houston Rockets in 1983.
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