■ BIATHLON
Kaisa Varis banned for life
Finnish biathlete Kaisa Varis was given a lifetime ban on Monday by the International Biathlon Union (IBU) for using the blood booster EPO. The IBU announced the decision after a meeting in connection with the ongoing world championships in Ostersund in northern Sweden. Varis tested positive for EPO after an event at Oberhof, Germany, on Jan. 6 and the "B" sample confirmed the finding. As a cross-country skier, Varis also tested positive for EPO in 2003 during a competition in Val di Fiemme, Italy, and was given a two-year ban. She was excluded from the 2006 Winter Olympics by Finland's Olympic committee, switched sports and took up biathlon.
■ SOCCER
Trapattoni tipped for top job
Ireland are expected to name former Italy manager Giovanni Trapattoni as their new coach today. The Football Association of Ireland has called a board meeting for today, most likely to confirm the appointment of a successor to Steve Staunton. Former England manager Terry Venables was also among the candidates for the position, which became vacant in November when Staunton was fired for failing to guide Ireland to the European Championship, but Irish newspapers have reported that Trapattoni will take the post in May when his contract with FC Salzburg expires. The three-man selection panel of Don Givens, Ray Houghton and Don Howe was reported to have met with the 68-year-old Trapattoni on Sunday.
■ SOCCER
Ufuk Talay to play in Japan
Sydney FC midfielder Ufuk Talay will play for Japanese second division outfit Avispa Fukuoka on a year's contract, the A-League club said yesterday. Talay, who played in the first three A-League seasons with Sydney FC, winning the championship under Pierre Littbarski in 2006, will arrive in Japan on Friday. The 31-year-old dead-ball specialist returned to Sydney in 2005 after playing 10 seasons in Turkey. Talay follows former Sydney FC captain and defender Mark Rudan to play in Japan.
■ GOLF
Three events included
Asia's top golfers will be able to put money won at the US Open, British Open and the HSBC Champions tournaments towards this year's Order of Merit, officials said yesterday. Asian Tour Executive Chairman Kyi Hla-han said 50 percent of players' earnings from the three events will be included in the merit race. "The decision to count earnings won from these events is to recognize our players' efforts and to provide them with added incentive to excel on the world stage," he said. Asian players can reach the two majors through international qualifying, while the top five on the merit list are eligible for the HSBC Champions in Shanghai.
■ RUGBY UNION
Spies nears return to action
Springbok No. 8 Pierre Spies is expected to return to full training at the end of the month after spending seven months on the sidelines. A statement issued by the Blue Bulls on Monday said the province's doctor was satisfied with Spies's recovery and as long as everything went to plan he would start to take part in contact sessions at the end of the month. The 22-year-old loose forward was withdrawn from the World Cup squad in July after being diagnosed with blood clots on his lungs. No date for his competitive return has been set.
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