■OLYMPICS
Race too tight to call: Rogge
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge said the race to win the right to host the 2016 Games was too close to call, and that he was delighted he didn’t have a vote. The Belgian professed himself to be very pleased after all four candidate cities — Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro — completed 90 minute presentations and answered questions in front of 93 of the 107 IOC members Lausanne, Switzerland on Wednesday. Rogge said that this was vastly different to the final presentations which will be made in Copenhagen on Oct. 2 when all four bidding cities learn their fate. “There there will be heads of state, dignitaries and celebrities which makes it a wholly different scenario,” he said.
■SOCCER
Ronaldo ends goal drought
Ronaldo scored his first goal for nearly two months on Wednesday to help his Corinthians side beat Internacional 2-0 in the first leg of the Brazil Cup final. The former FIFA World Player of the Year scored his 11th goal of the season eight minutes into the second half when he took a long pass from Elias, dribbled past Indio and shot low into the bottom corner of goalkeeper Lauro’s net. Jorge Henrique opened the scoring for Corinthians midway through the first half, finishing off a fine move on the wing by Marcelo Oliveira.
■SOCCER
Kahn hosts reality show
A Chinese television reality show hosted by former German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn was scheduled to open yesterday, producers and sponsors said. Kahn’s 10-week show, I Never Give Up, gives aspiring young Chinese goalkeepers the chance to win a place at the German Soccer Federation’s (DFB) top training academy, Berger Feld Schule. “In this show Oliver Kahn is not just looking for China’s new football talent, but sharing his advice for success in sports and life,” German airline Lufthansa, a sponsor of the TV series, said in a statement. Heilongjiang Satellite TV, based in the city of Harbin, planned to air the first program last night. Kahn, 40, who retired from playing with Bayern Munich last year, reportedly said he would be gentle with the competitors and avoid the blunt criticisms and public humiliation that have featured in similar reality shows. The show aims to reflect the “importance of individuality and personality, but most of all how the contestants handle defeat,” the official China Daily newspaper quoted Kahn as saying. “We don’t want to do an empty and meaningless, mindless casting show,” he said. The show features 10 goalkeepers aged 17 to 24, including two women.
■TENNIS
Mayer replaces Nalbandian
Argentina on Wednesday named Leonardo Mayer as a replacement for David Nalbandian on its Davis Cup team for next month’s quarter-final against the Czech Republic. The team will be led by Juan Martin Del Potro, who reached the semi-finals of the French Open and is ranked No. 5 by the ATP. Mayer, ranked No. 70, is the only new face on the team, which also includes Jose Acasuso and Juan Monaco. Mayer, 22, lost to Tommy Haas of Germany in the second round of the French Open, and defeated James Blake of the US in the first round. Nalbandian, ranked No. 16, is recovering from hip surgery and will also miss Wimbledon and the US Open. The Czech Republic vs Argentina match is from July 10 to July 12 in Ostrava in the Czech Republic.
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
Defender Steph Catley says her UEFA Women’s Champions League title win with Arsenal last week will act as motivation to secure continental glory with Australia when the country hosts the Women’s Asian Cup next year. Catley and compatriots Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross were part of the Arsenal squad that defeated Barcelona in Lisbon on Sunday last week, before flying to Melbourne to feature in the Matildas’ 2-0 win over Argentina on Friday. The game was the first in a two-match series against the South Americans as the Australians continue preparations for the continental championship in March next year, when they would
RSS