■SWIMMING
No charges for Phelps
A South Carolina sheriff said Monday he was not going to charge swimmer Michael Phelps after a photo of the 14-time gold medalist showed him smoking from a bong. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said he couldn’t ignore the photo but defended his investigation. “Michael Phelps is truly an American hero ... but even with his star status, he is still obligated to obey the laws of our state,” Lott said. The photo showed Phelps at a party in November when he visited the University of South Carolina. Phelps has called his judgment bad and said he would learn from his mistake. USA Swimming suspended Phelps for three months in the wake of the photo, and Kellogg Co said it would not renew its endorsement deal with him. The photo surfaced in a British tabloid, News of the World, on Feb. 1. The swimmer, who won a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Games, did not dispute its authenticity.
■DIVING
China to launch pro league
Powerhouse China will launch the sport’s first professional league before the end of the year as it seeks to capitalize on the success and celebrity of its near-invincible Olympic team, media said yesterday. The league is likely to kick off with a two-week stint in December and foreign divers would be invited to take part, China’s head diving coach, Zhou Jihong, told Xinhua news agency. “I am aware of the various challenges, such as sponsorship, venues and promotion ... But the new diving league will definitely debut at the end of this year,” Zhou said. Chinese mastery on the platform and the springboard saw the hosts snare seven out of eight titles in August’s Beijing Games and top-flight divers rank among the country’s best paid and most famous athletes.
■CRICKET
Games to include cricket
Cricket will be included in next year’s South Asian Games to be staged in Dhaka, a regional Olympic official said. “India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal have already agreed to participate in cricket,” Kutubuddin Ahmed, secretary-general of the Bangladesh Olympic Association, said after a meeting in Kathmandu on Monday. A Twenty20 competition at under-21 level would feature in the games for the eight-nation grouping, to be staged from Jan. 29 to Feb.9 next year, he said.
■BASKETBALL
Suns guard arrested
Phoenix Suns guard Jason Richardson was arrested on Sunday night on charges of reckless driving, extreme speeding and endangerment after being clocked at 90kph over the speed limit. The 27-year-old was taken into custody after driving 145kph in a 55kph zone with his three-year-old son in the back seat without a restraining child safety seat, a legal requirement in Arizona. Police said Richardson admitted speeding and police saw the child in the car without proper restraint, prompting them to book the eight-year NBA veteran, who was released several hours later.
■ICE HOCKEY
Taipei Rhinos retake lead
The Taipei Rhinos retook the league lead on Sunday with a 4-2 win over the Chiayi Sharks in Corry Comeau’s last game. Earlier the hapless Kaohsiung Mustangs remained dead last with a 3-6 loss to the Sababa Bears, while in Sunday’s final game the Taipei Tigers blanked a Taichung Lions squad plagued by injury and illness 5-0. In Saturday’s games, the Hsinchu Raptors skated past the Mustangs 5-3 and the Bears edged the Sharks 7-6.
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