■ENGLAND
Adebayor signs for City
Manchester City on Saturday said they had clinched the £25 million (US$41 million) signing of Togolese forward Emmanuel Adebayor from Arsenal on a five-year contract. Adebayor completed his medical at Eastlands to become the latest big-money new face at City, after the recent captures of Gareth Barry, Carlos Tevez and Roque Santa Cruz. Hundreds of City fans greeted Adebayor, who said: “It made me feel really welcome and special and I can’t wait to play for City’s fans and show them what I can do. I was born to play football and that is what I want to do. I have come here to make history for this club and those supporters.”
■ENGLAND
Clubs chase Beckham
Under orders from England boss Fabio Capello to stay in tip-top shape if he wants to feature at the World Cup, David Beckham may yet return to the English Premiership with Chelsea or Tottenham Hotspur, the Mail on Sunday reported yesterday. After spending an impressive second half of last season with AC Milan, Beckham returned to US Major League Soccer outfit LA Galaxy in Thursday’s 3-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls, his first match since the end of the Serie A campaign. The Mail on Sunday report said Chelsea and Spurs were ready to bring him home, although Beckham said in midweek he was relishing an eventual return to Italy.
■MALAYSIA
Owen scores the winner
Michael Owen’s predatory instincts are still intact. That’s the message he sent after scoring the winning goal on his Manchester United debut. The 29-year-old striker came on as a second-half substitute in United’s opening game of their Asia tour and pounced on a loose ball with five minutes left after Ryan Giggs had been tackled in the penalty area. His decisive finish handed the team a 3-2 victory over a tough Malaysian XI after Wayne Rooney and Nani had put them two goals in front. “You train for weeks in preparation for that all-important first game and to score on your debut feels great,” said Owen, who joined the club this month on a two-year deal after his contract at relegated Newcastle United expired. “It’s always nice to get off the mark, not just when you join a new club, but any time,” he told the club’s Web site.
■UNITED STATES
Sturridge scores on debut
Teenager Daniel Sturridge wasted no time in making his presence felt for Chelsea, scoring one goal and helping create another in the Blues’ 2-0 victory over the Seattle Sounders in a friendly match on Saturday. Sturridge, 19, was making his debut after moving from Manchester City to Stamford Bridge and he helped make a winner out of new manager Carlo Ancelotti following his switch from AC Milan. Sturridge’s 12th-minute goal silenced the 65,289 fans — most in Seattle green — who turned out to see the first of two friendlies against overseas clubs.
■RUSSIA
CSKA rally to down Kazan
Three-time champions CSKA Moscow battled back from a goal down to clinch a 2-1 away win over reigning title holders Kazan on Saturday to inch closer to the league leaders. Kazan stay top despite the loss with 27 points after 14 matches, four points ahead of Spartak Moscow and CSKA, who both have a game in hand. “It was a very interesting match and we’re happy to win it,” CSKA’s Brazilian manager Zico said. “I’m glad that my guys continued battling after the hosts scored the opening goal. Today we persevered and won deservedly.”
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set