■SOCCER
Ex-international convicted
A Stockholm court on Tuesday convicted retired Sweden goalkeeper Magnus Hedman of doping after police tests revealed traces of anabolic steroids in his blood. The Solna district court sentenced Hedman, who played for British clubs Chelsea, Coventry and Celtic, to a fine of 5,400 Swedish kronor (US$757). Anabolic steroid-use for non-medical purposes is illegal in Sweden. Hedman was tested for drug use by police in May after they found suspected illegal substances in his car. However no charges related to drug possession were filed. The 36-year-old has denied deliberately taking steroids. In an interview with Swedish tabloid Expressen he suggested the drug might have been included in a nutritional supplement he believed was vitamins. “I find it very difficult to assess when I made my mistake. I was unaware of it myself,’’ he was quoted as saying. Hedman played 58 games for Sweden and represented his country in the 1994 and 2002 World Cups.
■CRICKET
Twenty20 game washed out
The second Twenty20 international between England and Australia in Manchester was abandoned without a ball being bowled on Tuesday because of a wet outfield. The first match of the series, also at Old Trafford, was abandoned just past the halfway mark because of heavy rain on Saturday. A large crowd waited patiently inside the ground but both captains agreed with the decision. “We wanted to get out there and play but you have to be realistic. There’s an area of concern in the run-ups and it’s unfit for international cricket,” England skipper Paul Collingwood said. Australia’s Michael Clarke said he felt sorry for the fans. “It’s very difficult because there’s such a good crowd in and both teams wanted to play, but even for me, 75 kilos, walking on it, it doesn’t feel safe, so I can’t imagine, Brett Lee running in, it’s going to be safe for him. Every game we play we want to satisfy the audience but safety has to come first.”
■SOCCER
Brazil still top FIFA rankings
Brazil stayed top of the FIFA world rankings as the top three remained unchanged last month while Mexico continued their climb up the table as they enjoy a revival under coach Javier Aguirre. Brazil, who beat Estonia 1-0 in a friendly last month to extend their unbeaten run to 17 matches and notch their ninth successive win, are followed by Spain in second place and Netherlands in third. Mexico moved up six places to 24th after beating the US 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier, their second win over their neighbors in as many months. The US are 11th and remain the CONCACAF region’s highest-ranked team. Australia, the best-placed team from the Asian confederation, climbed two places to 14th, their highest-ever position. Ivory Coast, Africa’s top team, dropped two places to 20th.
■SOCCER
Fluminense name fifth coach
Crisis-ridden Fluminense have named Alexis “Cuca” Stival as the Brazilian club’s fifth coach this year in a bid to avoid relegation. Cuca, who also coached the Rio-based outfit last year, took over after the sacking of Renato Gaucho, who was only in charge for 40 days after taking over from Carlos Alberto Parreira. Cuca himself was sacked as Flamengo coach in July and will now bid to lead. Fluminese away from the bottom of the Brazilian league, which they prop up with 16 points after 22 games.
■BASEBALL
Boone back after surgery
Houston Astros infielder Aaron Boone was activated from the disabled list on Tuesday, five months after undergoing open heart surgery. The 36-year-old, who had surgery on March 26 to correct a defect, joined the team last weekend in Arizona after playing 11 games in a minor league rehabilitation assignment. “What Aaron has accomplished is amazing,” Astros general manager Ed Wade told the team’s Web site. Boone told a news conference in March he would need surgery to correct a condition that developed while he was a student at the University of Southern California. Subsequent tests indicated an acceleration in his condition, prompting the decision to operate. The procedure included an aortic valve replacement.
■GOLF
Yang sees long road to No. 1
Despite becoming Asia’s first Major winner, South Korea’s Yang Yong-eun believes it will be another 20 years before a player from the region becomes world No. 1. The 37-year-old posted one of the biggest upsets in golf history when he defeated Tiger Woods by three strokes to win the US PGA last month. His victory was seen as a huge breakthrough for Asian golf, but Yang is not getting carried away. “There’s still a long time before a male Asian player will top the golf world,” he told the Straits Times in Singapore. “We’re probably two decades away from the time that Asian players will have as much of a foothold as their female counterparts have.” Asian women are well represented in the upper echelons of the sport, with nine of the current world’s top 20 from the region. In contrast, there are only three Asian men in the top 50 — Yang at 33, India’s Jeev Milkha Singh at 43 and Japan’s Shingo Katayama at 49. Asian fans have the chance to watch Yang go up against Woods once again at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai in November, an event the South Korean won three years ago by beating the American world No. 1.
■BASKETBALL
Rubio opts to stay in Spain
Talented teen Ricky Rubio has opted to stay in Spain rather than make a move to the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the US club said on Tuesday. Rubio, 18, had said this year that he wanted to play in the NBA, and the Timberwolves made him the fifth overall selection in the NBA draft in June. But Timberwolves president David Khan said the player had backed out of a deal negotiated over the weekend to bring him to the US from Spanish team DKV Joventut. Instead he will move to Barcelona. Rubio “reaffirmed that it was his intention to join us in Minnesota two years from now when he will be 20,” Khan said in a statement posted on the Timberwolves Web site. Khan said the Timberwolves still hoped to have Rubio on board in two years, adding that a little more maturity would likely stand the player in good stead when eventually arrives in the NBA.
■BASEBALL
Tazawa rejoins Red Sox
Japanese pitcher Junichi Tazawa rejoined the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday after a few days in the minors. Tazawa was sent down over the weekend but was recalled when Major League Baseball teams could expand their rosters. The 23-year-old righty made his MLB debut last month and went 2-3 with a 6.65 ERA for Boston. He is set to start on Saturday against the Chicago White Sox. Daisuke Matsuzaka, out since June 20 with a right shoulder injury, is scheduled to make his third minor league rehab start on Friday for Pawtucket.
Taiwanese world No. 1 women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei on Saturday overcame a first-set loss to win her opening match at the Madrid Open. Top seeds Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium, with whom she last month won her fourth Indian Wells women’s doubles title, bounced back from a rocky first set to beat Asia Muhammad of the US and Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia 2-6, 6-4, 10-2. Hsieh and Mertens were next to face Heather Watson of the UK and Xu Yifan of China in the round of 16. Thirty-eight-year-old Hsieh last month reclaimed her world No. 1 spot after her Indian
EYES ON THE PRIZE: Armed with three solid men’s singles shuttlers and doubles Olympic champions, Taiwan aim to make their first Thomas Cup semi-final, Chou Tien-chen said Taiwanese badminton star Tai Tzu-ying yesterday quickly dispatched Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei in straight sets, while her male counterpart Chou Tien-chen beat Germany’s Kai Schaefer, as Taiwan’s women’s and men’s teams won their Group B opening rounds of the TotalEnergies BWF Thomas and Uber Cup Finals in Chengdu, China. World No. 5 Tai beat Goh 21-19, 22-20 in a speedy 33 minutes, her fourth straight victory over the world No. 24 shuttler since they first faced each other in the quarter-finals of the 2018 Malaysia Open, where Tai went on to win the women’s singles title. Malaysia followed up Tai’s opening victory
Chen Yi-tung (陳奕通) secured a historic Olympic berth on Sunday by winning the senior men’s foil event at the 2024 Asia Oceania Zonal Olympic Fencing Qualifiers in United Arab Emirates. Chen defeated Samuel Elijah of Singapore 15-4 in the final in Dubai to secure the only wild card in the event, making him the first male Olympian fencer from Taiwan in 36 years and only the sixth Taiwanese fencer to ever qualify for the quadrennial event. The last appearance by a Taiwanese male fencer at the Olympics was in 1988, when Wang San-tsai (王三財) and Cheng Ming-hsiang (鄭明祥) competed in Seoul. The
A soccer jersey carrying a national map including disputed Western Sahara has become a hot commodity in Morocco after a diplomatic dispute with Algeria. Retailers said RS Berkane jerseys have been flying off the shelves after a Confederation of African Football (CAF) Cup match against Algerian club USM Alger was canceled last month over the jerseys. “We are overwhelmed by the influx of messages and requests,” said Brahim Rabii, representative of the official RS Berkane jersey distributor. Algeria broke off diplomatic relations with Morocco in 2021, partly over the issue of Western Sahara. The former Spanish colony is largely controlled by Morocco, but claimed