■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.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two