■ SOCCER
Henry still an Arsenal fan
Thierry Henry would love to return to former club Arsenal in some capacity in the future, the Barcelona striker said on Wednesday. "It does not matter what will happen with my new team, I'll never find the affection I was shown at Arsenal," Henry told Sky television. "In part that's because I don't think my legs will let me play for another club for eight years. You always return to the place you belong to and so I hope one day to be able to work with that club. I have this club in my blood." The 30-year-old said he had followed Arsenal's games since leaving for Spain in the close season. "I'm proud to have played for Arsenal and to be a fan of theirs," he said.
■ GOLF
TV commentator suspended
A commentator on US cable television's Golf Channel was suspended for two weeks on Wednesday by the company for saying last week that young players who wanted to challenge Tiger Woods should "lynch him in a back alley." Kelly Tilghman was laughing during the exchange on Friday with analyst Nick Faldo at the Mercedes-Benz Championship and Woods' agent at IMG said he didn't think there was any ill intent. But the comments became prevalent on news shows on Wednesday and American black activist Al Sharpton joined the fray by demanding she be fired immediately. Golf Channel didn't know who would replace Tilghman.
■ SWIMMING
Kovacs opts out of Games
Former Olympic champion Agnes Kovacs won't compete at the Beijing Games because she lacks motivation and is tired after being cleared of doping charges last year. "After giving it a lot of thought, I will not prepare for the Beijing Olympics," Kovacs said on Monday. "But my life will be complete only if I take part in the national championships. So, officially, I am not retiring yet." Hungary's national swimming championships are in July, the month before the Beijing Olympics. Kovacs won gold in the 200m breaststroke at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She also won a bronze in the same event at the 1996 Atlanta Games, as well as two world and seven European gold medals.
■ EQUESTRIAN
Swiss pull out of dressage
Switzerland's dressage team will not take part at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The move follows the withdrawal of the team's top rider, Silvia Ikle, who doesn't want to expose her horse to travel-related stress and the humid conditions in Hong Kong during the summer. "Ikle's decision not to participate has consequences for the entire national dressage team," the Swiss equestrian federation said Tuesday in a statement. Switzerland said it had only qualified for the event because of the performance of Ikle and her horse, Salieri.
■ SOCCER
Coach rules out change
Thailand coach Charnwit Polcheewin says he has no interest in coaching Vietnam's national team because he loves his country too much. The Thai national team boss, reportedly a candidate for the vacant Vietnam post, said he was too patriotic to consider coaching another country, even if the salary was bigger. "I'm not interested because I couldn't do it," Charnwit said yesterday. "I know the money would be better than what I earn but I'm Thai, I always will be and I'm happy where I am. We have World Cup qualification to think about now, that's my focus.
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