■TENNIS
Lu loses in Metz
Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun made an early exit from the ATP Moselle Open in Metz, France, on Monday. Seventh seed Andreas Beck of Germany beat the Taiwanese No. 1 male player 6-4, 6-2. The German left-hander saved all five break points he faced in the encounter, while converting three of the five break point opportunities he created to prevail after 72 minutes. In Monday’s other match at the indoor hardcourt tournament Bjorn Phau of Germany defeated compatriot Rainer Schuttler 7-6 (7/1), 7-6 (7/5).
■SOCCER
Lehmann lands in hot water
Former Germany and Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has been dropped by VfB Stuttgart for at least one game after visiting the Munich Oktoberfest beer festival without permission, the Bundesliga club said on Monday. Lehmann will miss today’s German Cup second round match against fourth-division VfB Luebeck and faces a grilling by coach Markus Babbel over the weekend visit which followed his team’s 2-0 defeat by Cologne. “On Thursday, [director of sport] Horst Heldt and I will speak to Jens about this affair. After that, we will see what happens next,” Babbel said on the club’s Web site. Lehmann said it had been a charity visit. “The visit to the festival was part of a charity event which was planned a long time ago,” he said. “In any case, it was not agreed with the club. Naturally, I accept measures taken by the sporting management.”
■BASEBALL
Japanese legend has surgery
Japanese legend Sadaharu Oh has had successful surgery for an intestinal blockage and had his gallbladder removed, his club said yesterday. Oh, 69, who guided Japan to victory in 2006 in the inaugural World Baseball Classic and is now chairman of Softbank Hawks, had the surgery at a Tokyo hospital on Monday, the club said. “He is in a stable condition after the operation,” said club spokesman Hiroshi Kimura. “He walked back to his room on his own after a check-up today.” The home run king will likely be discharged in a week to 10 days, the spokesman said. Oh had his entire stomach removed because of cancer in a successful operation in 2006, but no cancerous cells were found in the latest procedure, the spokesman said. The Japanese baseball legend complained of stomach pain earlier this month and was hospitalized on Sept. 14, Softbank said. Oh set a global record of 868 homers during his playing career between 1959 and 1980 with the Yomiuri Giants, earning him the first-ever People’s Honor Award in 1977 from the Japanese government.
■COMMONWEALTH GAMES
Drivers could dent city hopes
Dangerous driving in New Delhi could dent the Indian capital’s hopes of showing itself off as a truly global city during next year’s Commonwealth Games, the country’s Home Minister said. Speaking at a police function in the Indian capital yesterday, Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said the police also had a responsibility to obey the rules of the road. “We cannot expect mega city policing to function properly if people do not change their behavior,” the PTI news agency quoted him as saying. “We still find vehicles jumping red lights and police vehicles are not excluded, they too jump red lights. Then there are vehicles running without registration plates, some are crossing roads where they should not. People are not using overground or underground passes. We want to encourage people to change their mindset,” the minister said.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care