■ Soccer
Maradona postpones trip
Argentine football legend Diego Maradona will postpone his Asian tour to give him time to recover from his recent stint in a rehabilitation clinic, an Argentine embassy official said yesterday. Maradona, 46, was due to head to Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand next week, but the tour has been postponed until late next month after his treatment for alcohol abuse, the official said. The star was released from a Buenos Aires clinic on May 6. "He needs time for physical therapy in order to recover from his treatment for alcoholism," the embassy source said.
■ Soccer
Nakamura honored again
Celtic's Japanese midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura completed an honors double on Sunday when he collected the Scottish Football Writers' Player of the Year award at the association's annual dinner. Last month, he was voted players' Player of the Year following an outstanding season for the Scottish champions. Nakamura remained unfazed by any language barrier, saying: "Playing is more important than the language and if you can play on the pitch you can learn the shouts."
■ Tennis
Morigami wins first WTA title
Japan's Akiko Morigami won her first WTA tournament after overcoming Marion Bartoli of France 6-1, 6-3 to win the Prague Open on Sunday. Bartoli broke Morigami's serve in the first game but, visibly hampered by a muscular injury, lost the next six games to lose the set in less than half an hour. The 24th world-ranked Bartoli had attention from a physiotherapist in the locker rooms before trying to get back in the match despite her handicap. It proved too tough a task, however, against a focused opponent who served impeccably and used the drop shot to good effect. The second set was decided in the fifth game when Morigami, ranked 60th in the world, broke Bartoli's service.
■ Cricket
Moody quits Sri Lanka post
Tom Moody quit as coach of the Sri Lankan cricket team to join Western Australia, state officials said yesterday. "We have been able to secure an internationally respected mentor with an impeccable record and in the prime of his coaching career," said Graeme Wood, chief executive of the Western Australian Cricket Association. Moody will take over as head coach of Western Australia state on July 1, Wood said. Sri Lankan authorities, in a statement from Colombo, said Moody had "conveyed his inability to continue with Sri Lanka Cricket at the end of his contract due to personal and family commitments. Sri Lanka is grateful to Tom for his valuable contribution to the success of the Sri Lanka national cricket team."
■ Tennis
Hewitt may court Roche
Lleyton Hewitt would be interested in hiring Tony Roche following the coach's split from Roger Federer, his manager said yesterday. Hewitt has been without a fulltime coach since Roger Rasheed quit the job in January. Roche had coached world number one Federer on a part-time basis from 2005, but the pair parted ways on Saturday. Newspapers have speculated that Roche may link up with Hewitt and the player's manager David Drysdale told reporters the former world number one would be interested. "I think he does need that little bit of extra support with him, I know he's getting frustrated at the moment because he's doing a lot of work and he's not getting the results," Drysdale said.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care