■ GOLF
Goosen pulls out of Masters
Defending champion Retief Goosen has withdrawn from the Qatar Masters because of eye problems. The South African golfer underwent corrective laser surgery 10 days ago and said his vision in one eye began to blur during practice on Tuesday. He traveled to Dubai for further treatment, but returned to Doha on Wednesday saying he had to pull out of the European Tour event. "I am obviously very sad that I am unable to defend my title," Goosen said. "I came all this way to play but unfortunately the eye is causing a problem." Goosen has been replaced in the field by Sweden's Henrik Nystrom.
■ SKIING
Karbon breaks her thumb
Giant slalom star Denise Karbon broke her thumb in training on Wednesday but the Italian Skiing Federation said it would not stop her from competing. Karbon has been in fine form this season, winning the first four World Cup giant slalom events. But she slipped on the snow during her warm-up routine on the Pozza di Fassa slopes at Trentin in northeast Italy and fractured a bone in the thumb of her left hand. Her doctor, Herbert Schoenhuber, told Ansa news agency that the injury should not stop her from competing in the sixth giant slalom of the season at Ofterschwang in Germany tomorrow.
■ BOXING
Calzaghe to fight in Vegas
Undisputed super-middle weight champion Joe Calzaghe of Wales will fight American Bernard Hopkins in a non-title light-heavyweight bout in Las Vegas on April 19. A win would propel the WBC, WBA and WBO super-middleweight title holder, who turns 36 in March and has admitted he is close to retiring, into a possible career finale against Roy Jones Jr or Jermain Taylor. Calzaghe has already intimated that he would love his swansong to take place at the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York where his Italian heritage would secure a rapturous reception.
■ OLYMPICS
Beijing protesters detained
Chinese police detained more than 20 people after "scores" of protesters blocked a major Beijing road in a rally against a power station being built for the Olympic Games, state press said yesterday. The protest took place late on Wednesday on the city's fourth ring road, near the site of the August Games, the Beijing News said. Law enforcement officials were immediately dispatched to the scene, with 24 police vehicles surrounding the protesters and police detaining more than 20 demonstrators, who were placed under investigation, the paper said.
■ BASEBALL
MLB to play games in China
Major League Baseball games are visiting China for the first time, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres to play exhibition games on March 15 and March 16 at the baseball venue for the 2008 Olympic Games. Baseball is eager to crack the huge potential market in China. Unlike soccer and basketball, baseball and football are invisible on playgrounds in China and absent from TV coverage. "Hopefully we can help you develop a love for the game as we love it in the United States," San Diego Padres vice president Dave Winfield said at yesterday's announcement in central Beijing which was also attended by new Dodgers manager Joe Torre.
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