■TROTTING
Race track offers free dung
Paris race-goers are to get a free bag of horse-dung this weekend: not any old poop, but a bagful of champion trotters’ stuff. In an operation titled “Champions’ Dung,” the Paris-Vincennes trotting track will be handing out “high-end, 100 percent natural, guaranteed non-genetically modified, French-origin” fertilizer on Saturday, organizers said. Advance samples were released on Tuesday in a red velveteen jewellery-style box with a leaflet featuring horse manure on a red silk cushion. “When champions grow so do our plants,” it said. The operation is aimed at dealing with the problem of the 20kg of dung per horse produced daily by the country’s million-strong horse population. “Horse dung has a great reputation,” said Cheval Francais, organizers of trotting in France. “When used on indoor plants or on balconies it improves the bloom, the colors and the life of flowers. In a garden it does wonders for tomatoes, potatoes and roses.”
■CRICKET
England recall Vaughan
England picked former captain Michael Vaughan yesterday in a 25-man performance squad from which its Ashes team will be drawn. The 34-year-old Vaughan captained England to a series victory over Australia four years ago but has not played internationally since stepping down from the role in August. Adil Rashid is the only uncapped player in a squad that will also provide the team to play West Indies in a two-Test home series. The remainder, which includes eight players who figured in the 2005 Ashes squads, have at least played limited overs matches. James Foster was recalled as one of three wicketkeepers, almost seven years after his last Test.
■SOCCER
Czech star in sex scandal
Czech Republic captain Tomas Ujfalusi has ended his international career after he was spotted in a restaurant allegedly with prostitutes last week. Photographs of Ujfalusi in the company of several girls and teammates were published in two Czech tabloids after the Czech Republic’s 2-1 home loss to Slovakia. With the 31-year-old Atletico Madrid defender were Galatasaray striker Milan Baros, West Ham defender Radoslav Kovac, Frankfurt striker Martin Fenin, Reading midfielder Marek Matejovsky and Sochaux striker Vaclav Sverkos, the tabloids said. Ujfalusi, married to a former Miss Czech Republic, in a statement from his agent on the CTK news agency, said: “I give up playing for the national team based on the current situation in the Czech Football Association and in Czech media. It is the result of the situation after the latest qualifying matches.”
■BADMINTON
Seeded Taiwanese loses
Taiwanese players enjoyed mixed fortunes on the first day of the Asia Championships in Suwon, just outside Seoul, yesterday. The biggest casualty was Hsieh Yu-hsin, the No. 5 seed, who lost 15-21, 14-21 to Han Ki-hoon of South Korea, while Japanese eighth seed Kenichi Tago beat Lin Yu-jui 21-15, 21-19. Hsueh Hsuan-yi cruised past Sajan Krishna Tamrakar of Nepal 21-4, 21-8 and Chou Tien-chen downed Uzbekistan’s Emil Mirgalautdinov 21-7, 21-10. Liao Sheng-shiun had a tougher contest against Mohamad Arif Abdullatif of Malaysia before triumphing 21-19, 21-19. Among the other seeds to tumble were No. 16 seed Chong Wei Feng of Malaysia who lost to Du Pengyu of China, Thailand’s No. 13 seed Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk who was defeated by Jang Young-soo of South Korea and Chetan Anand of India, seeded three, who lost to Japan’s Kazuteru Kozai.
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
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
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