■ Golf
Fred Couples withdraws
Former US Masters champion Fred Couples has withdrawn from next week's Singapore Open due to illness. Couples fell sick with a viral illness during Saturday's World Golf Championship at Akron, Ohio, and his doctor has advised him not to travel, Singapore Open organizers said in an statement yesterday. Couples, who won the Masters in 1992, was to be one of the headliners at the tournament which begins next Thursday at Singapore's Sentosa Golf Club, which is co-sanctioned by the Asian and European Tours. Other top participants at the US$3 million Singapore Open include defending champion Adam Scott of Australia, three-time major winner Ernie Els, US Open winner Michael Campbell, England's Lee Westwood and Shingo Katayama of Japan.
■ Weightlifting
Bulgarian in drug trouble
A Bulgarian female weightlifter tested positive for steroids and is awaiting the results of her backup "B" sample. Rumyana Petkova, who competes in the 75kg category, tested positive for stanozolol earlier this month, Bulgarian weightlifting chief Andon Nikolov said yesterday. The Bulgarians were notified of the "A" test result by the International Weightlifting Federation. "Our federation will decide whether we will send our representative for analysis of the `B' test, although it is 100 percent sure that the result will be the same," Nikolov said. If the second sample is also positive, Petkova would face a two-year ban "Some people haven't learned their lesson and continue doping," Nikolov said. Petkova finished sixth at the European Championships in Wladislawowo, Poland, in May, and was included in the national team for next month's World Championships in San Diego.
■ Rugby Union
Thion suffers rib injury
Biarritz' French international lock Jerome Thion looks set to miss the French champions mouthwatering clash on Sunday with Toulouse after suffering a rib injury. Thion complained of a pain in his ribs early on in the 54-0 whitewash of Bayonne on Wednesday and exited in the 12th minute. First prognosis was that Thion, who stood in for the suspended Fabien Pelous as captain in the November test last year against South Africa where he suffered a fractured larynx after being hit by Springbok skipper Jon Smit, had a badly bruised right side rib, although, he was to undergo further tests yesterday. Sunday's match is a rematch of last season's championship final which Biarritz won in convincing fashion 40-13.
■ Rugby Union
Caucaunibuca has typhoid
Fijian rugby winger Rupeni Caucaunibuca told the Fiji Times newspaper that he was not able to rejoin his French club Agen because he is recovering from typhoid fever. Caucaunibuca said yesterday he was recently admitted to a Fiji hospital and lost 12kg. Symptoms of typhoid include slow pulse, stomach pain and a rash. He said his illness was the only reason that he did not report to Agen, where he has been the leading try scorer in French rugby for the past two seasons. French newspapers reported that Caucaunibuca was quitting the club because of homesickness. The star winger told the Fiji Times he intended to return to Agen for the coming French season when his health allowed.
RSS