■ Cricket
Rashid ready to bowl
Teenage leg-spinner Adil Rashid, the first Yorkshire-born Asian to play for the English county, is ready to start bowling again after being diagnosed with a stress fracture of the back. The 18-year-old, who made a sensational Championship debut last season by bagging six wickets for 67 runs in an innings victory over Warwickshire, will turn his arm over for the first time since the injury in the nets in January. "I'm really looking forward to getting in some practice," Rashid told Yorkshire County's official Web site.
■ Tennis
Rafael Nadal raring to go
Rafael Nadal is determined to kickoff next year at full throttle and make up for the bitter disappointment of his injury-ravaged start to this year. A crippling foot injury ruled the world No. 2 out of the first six weeks of this year, an absence which also included the opening Grand Slam event in Australia. But next year, the French Open champion is wasting no time in his build-up to Melbourne where the Australian Open begins on Jan. 15. Nadal will begin his season next Monday at the Chennai Open and then travel to Sydney for the Medibank International. At both events he will be top seed.
■ Soccer
Banide happy at Monaco
At just 38 years old, Monaco coach Laurent Banide can call upon plenty of expert guidance if required -- his father Gerard twice occupied the hot seat at the principality club. Banide, the youngest coach in the French championship, took over from Laszlo Boloni two months ago when Monaco slumped to second-from-bottom of the table after a 3-1 home defeat to Toulouse. Banide was Boloni's assistant and he was offered the chance to succeed him.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and