■SOCCER
Cup will be Park’s last
Manchester United and South Korea midfielder Park Ji-sung will play in his third and final World Cup tournament in South Africa next year, South Korean newspapers said yesterday. “The World Cup in 2010 will be my last,” Park told reporters at South Korea’s training facility, the daily Chosun Ilbo said. “I don’t think my stamina will last until the next one in 2014,” said the 28-year-old, who was instrumental in his country’s run to the last four of the 2002 finals on home soil. South Korea have already qualified for their seventh straight Cup finals appearance, with Park tied as the team’s top scorer during this campaign on four goals.
■SOCCER
Ditched striker complains
Peru striker Hernan Rengifo criticized the country’s soccer federation after he was left behind in the team hotel following Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier in Colombia, local media reported. “What happened with the team and the journey will remain on the consciences of the directors,” the Polish-based player told sports daily El Bocon. “They know their responsibilities.” Peruvian media said that the squad left their team hotel in Medellin earlier than planned, but that nobody told Rengifo of the change. His absence was only noted after the team’s charter flight had returned to Lima, the media said. “The directors know what they did, they’re responsible for everyone in the team,” Rengifo said. “So many things have happened in Peruvian football that it’s not surprising that unusual situations keep happening.”
■BADMINTON
British duo stage upset
World No. 19 Anthony Clark and Nathan Robertson sprung a major surprise to score the best win of their career together on Sunday when they won the men’s doubles title at the Singapore Open super series tournament. The British duo swept aside world champions and Olympic gold medalists Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia 21-12, 21-11 in just 26 minutes. Robertson said in a media release: “We just played our best game today. It was close to perfect as I think we made just two errors in the whole match. I don’t think anyone will underestimate us any more after this.” The fired-up pair now head for the Indonesian Open starting today. The men’s singles title went to Bao Chunlai of China who beat Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana 21-19, 16-21, 21-15.
■RUGBY union
Dunning signs with Force
Wallabies test prop Matt Dunning has signed a two-year deal with the Western Force, the team said yesterday. Dunning, who has just resumed playing after missing this year’s season with an achilles tendon injury, will join the Force next year after spending nine seasons with the New South Wales Waratahs. The Force’s general manager Mitch Hardy said Dunning was a welcome addition. “Matt is a very experienced tighthead prop and a player who has been an integral part of the Wallabies for a number of years,” Hardy said.
■MOTOCROSS
Rider dies after crash
Race organizers say Spanish motocross rider Ricardo Monzonis died after a crash during an MX2 category event. Monzonis was taken to a nearby regional hospital in Vinaros on Spain’s eastern Mediterranean coast on Sunday, but that medical teams could not save his life. The accident happened during the Ciudad de Vinaros motocross when several riders collided during a jump. Organizers said no other rider was seriously injured. The race was stopped after the accident.
■HOCKEY
Gonchar plays despite knee
Pittsburgh’s Sergei Gonchar played the last two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a partially torn knee ligament that could have sidelined him for months. Gonchar was hurt in a knee-to-knee hit by Washington star Alex Ovechkin in game four of the National Hockey League Eastern Conference semi-finals. He played through the injury, fired by the goal of winning a first Stanley Cup in an NHL career that began in the 1994 to 1995 season. Gonchar missed two games, returned for game seven of that series against Washington, played in the conference finals against Carolina and in the Stanley Cup finals — in which the Penguins vanquished Detroit in seven games.
■BOXING
Mayweather postpones fight
The July 18 fight between unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr and Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez has been postponed after Mayweather injured a rib in training. Mayweather had announced the bout on May 2, signaling an end to his 17-month absence from the ring hours before Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao delivered a devastating knockout of England’s Ricky Hatton. The American, 39-0 with 25 knockouts, was to take on Mexico’s Marquez in the same arena where he last fought, stopping Hatton in the 10th round in December 2007 to keep the undisputed welterweight title.
■CYCLING
Eisel wins second stage
Austria’s Bernhard Eisel won the second stage of the Tour of Switzerland on Sunday, sprinting to victory in the 150km run at Davos. The Columbia rider finished ahead of Germany’s Gerald Ciolek and Spain’s triple world champion Oscar Freire while Fabian Cancellara, who was 11th, kept the overall lead. After teammate Tony Martin had attacked on a first category climb, moving into the lead of the King of the Mountains classification, Eisel seized his chance in the 100-rider bunch sprint. It was his first victory since the Paris-Bourges one-day race last autumn. “I went for a long sprint, found my own line and, above all, I didn’t look back until I crossed that finish line,” Eisel said.
■SAILING
Volvo race resumes
The yachts in the Volvo race headed for Stockholm on Sunday in the ninth stage of the round-the-world event, but there was drama as Spanish entry Telefonica Blue hit a rock as the boats left the Swedish port of Marstrand. Telefonica’s keel became wedged in the rock as it was leading the stage less than two hours after the yachts set off on a 845km sprint to the Swedish capital. None of the crew were hurt and the boat was freed after 90 minutes and taken back to port for repairs. It was a hard blow for Telefonica, which is in third place overall, just one point behind US entry Puma Ocean Racing. Sweden’s Ericsson 4 has a 15-point advantage over Puma, and is expected to seal overall victory when the yachts reach Stockholm tomorrow or on Wednesday.
■GOLF
Immelman leaves US Open
Trevor Immelman, last year’s US Masters champion, has withdrawn from next week’s US Open because of tendinitis in his left wrist and elbow, organizers said on Sunday. The 29-year-old South African has been replaced in the 156-strong field at Bethpage State Park by American Clinton Jensen. World No. 43 Immelman was the second top-50 player to pull out of the 109th US Open.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two