■CRICKET
Australia call up Hartley
Australia have called up uncapped wicketkeeper Chris Hartley for the two-day match against England Lions at Canterbury, which started yesterday. Queensland’s Hartley has been playing league cricket in England and was summoned because of injuries to Brad Haddin and Graham Manou. First-choice Haddin will not be risked, having broken the ring finger on his left hand in the warm-ups of the Edgbaston Test. And tour deputy Manou, who made his international debut in that match, has aggravated a hand injury picked up while batting on the final day in Birmingham.
■CRICKET
Pomersbach receives fine
West Australian cricketer Luke Pomersbach, who plays with Indian Premier League team Kings XI Punjab, was fined on Friday after pleading guilty to six charges that included assaulting a police officer and attempting to escape from custody. Pomersbach was fined A$3,500 (US$2,950). He has been suspended indefinitely by the West Australian Cricket Association after he was involved in a car accident in the Perth beachside suburb of Scarborough last Sunday. He assaulted one of the officers who tried to arrest him after the accident, leading to him being taken to hospital with minor injuries. Pomersbach pleaded guilty to the charges in Perth Magistrates Court on Friday, including driving with an excess blood alcohol level and obstructing police.
■EQUESTRIAN
Ahlmann to miss Games
The IOC said on Friday that German rider Christian Ahlmann would not be allowed to compete at the 2012 London Olympics because of his eight-month ban for riding a doped horse at last year’s Beijing Games. Ahlmann was initially banned for four months by the International Equestrian Federation but it was doubled after the German federation appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The International Olympic Committee introduced a rule last year that bans athletes from the next Games if they receive a doping suspension of at least six months. Ahlmann’s disqualification from the Beijing Games was formally confirmed by the IOC executive board at a meeting on Thursday.
■ICE HOCKEY
‘Teeder’ dies, aged 83
Ted “Teeder” Kennedy, a former Toronto Maple Leafs captain and Hockey Hall of Famer, died at 83 on Friday. His son, Mark, said he died of congestive heart failure at a nursing home in his hometown of Port Colborne, Canada. Kennedy spent 14 years in the NHL, all with the Maple Leafs. He won five Stanley Cups and was a five-time All-Star. The center captained Toronto from 1948 to 1955, when he won the Hart Trophy as league MVP. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1966.
■FOOTBALL
Manning deal sets record
Quarterback Eli Manning signed a six-year contract extension on Friday with the New York Giants that reportedly makes him the highest-paid player in football history. Manning, the first player selected in the 2004 National Football League Draft, is set to make US$97.5 million, with US$35 million of it guaranteed, Fox Sports said. The younger brother of Indianapolis Colts star quarterback Peyton Manning was the Most Valuable Player of last year’s Super Bowl, when the Giants upset New England 17-14. Manning has guided the Giants into the playoffs in all four of his seasons as a starter, throwing for 14,623 yards and 98 touchdowns.
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