■WRESTLING
Indians seek food for thought
Indian wrestlers preparing for next year’s Commonwealth Games are asking for more nutritious food at the national camp in Pune, local media reported yesterday. Some of the wrestlers have complained that although the government has earmarked huge amounts of money for the New Delhi games, not enough was trickling down for the preparation of athletes. “We are not getting [a] proper diet ... how can you expect us to deliver good results,” an unnamed wrestler told the Hindustan Times newspaper. “They are giving us double-toned milk and vegetables prepared in refined oil. We are not getting anything special to supplement our diet,” he said. Many of the wrestlers come from traditional wrestling academies and enjoy a rich diet of buffalo milk and ghee (clarified butter) as a cooking medium.
■BADMINTON
Malaysians bid to lose bulk
World No. 6 doubles pairing Zakry Latif and Fairuzizuan Tazari are battling the bulge before badminton’s All England Championships next month. The Malaysian duo need to ditch excess baggage if they are to live up to their billing in Birmingham between March 3 and March 8, local media reported. Latif and Tazari have been off the competitive stage since December’s Super Series Masters due to Zakry’s knee injury and the two are now racing against the clock after piling on the kilos. “We are on a special diet of less carbohydrates,” Tazari told the New Straits Times. “We have been training hard and our on-court understanding is excellent. [But] we gained weight because of the long absence. It’s important to lose our excess baggage in order to excel in the All England. We are on a special diet ... and should return to our ideal weight by next week.”
■BASKETBALL
Barkley facing jail time
Charles Barkley will serve time in jail after pleading guilty on Monday to charges of driving drunk. According to Scottsdale court records, the 45-year-old former NBA star pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges related to the same drunken driving arrest. Barkley is set to begin a five-day jail sentence on March 21. The Hall of Famer must pay more than US$2,000 in fines and attend an alcohol treatment program. Under Arizona law, he’ll also be forced to install an ignition interlock device on his vehicles. Barkley was stopped by police on Dec. 31 shortly after leaving a Scottsdale nightclub. He was arrested after failing a sobriety test. He had a blood-alcohol level of .149 percent, nearly twice the legal limit of .08 percent in Arizona when he was pulled over.
■CHESS
Bulgarian breaks record
A Bulgarian grandmaster appears to have broken the world record for the highest number of chess games played simultaneously, organizers said on Monday. Kiril Georgiev played a total of 360 games simultaneously, winning 284, drawing 70 and losing six, during a marathon that lasted 14 hours and 8 minutes in Sofia’s Inter Expo Center, the organizers said. The record number of games and the winning percentage of 88 percent will allow Georgiev to apply formally for entry into the Guinness Book of World Records. His percentage total is reached by having each win count as a point and each draw as a half point. That means Georgiev scored 319 points out of a possible 360. The Guinness Book says the current record for most simultaneous games played was set in 2005 by Susan Polgar, the Hungarian-American four-time women’s world champion. Polgar played 326 games, winning 309, drawing 14 and losing only three.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and