■SOCCER
Nigerian pleads innocent
A Nigerian soccer star sentenced to 40 lashes in Sudan for driving under the influence of alcohol insisted on Thursday on his innocence and said he could not imagine himself being flogged. “I am not guilty of this crime ... and I cannot even imagine myself being flogged so I don’t put my mind there,” said Stephen Worgu, 20, who plays for Sudanese first division outfit al-Merreikh of Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city. On Tuesday, a Khartoum court condemned the soccer player to 40 lashes and ordered him to pay a fine of 50 Sudanese pounds (US$20) for alcohol consumption and 200 Sudanese pounds for driving under the influence. Worgu, who signed a contract with al-Merreikh last year for US$2.6 million, was stopped in the Sudanese capital on Aug. 21. “They took me to the police station. I was the one that drove the car to the station,” he said, adding he could not understand what was said because he does not speak Arabic. He was later told by friends that he had been stopped for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol. “They say I drank araki ... I asked my lawyer what is araki? He said it is a local drink that contains alcohol,” he said. “The lawyer was like saying, ‘This guy earns good money, how he can drink araki?’”
■SOCCER
Klose in flu quarantine
Germany and Bayern Munich striker Miroslav Klose has been quarantined after his twin sons contracted the A(H1N1) influenza virus. “This is why Klose did not join the national squad in Bonn ... and he did not train on Thursday for Bayern,” the club said on their Web site. It was unclear whether the 31-year-old would attend a memorial tomorrow for Germany keeper Robert Enke, who committed suicide on Tuesday, or if he would play for the national team in Wednesday’s friendly against Ivory Coast.
■SOCCER
Hercules oust Almeria
Almeria were knocked out of the King’s Cup by second division Hercules after losing 1-0 in their last-32, second leg match on Thursday and 3-1 on aggregate. By far the biggest shock of the round came on Tuesday when Real Madrid were dumped out 4-1 on aggregate by lowly Alcorcon, the second year in a row the La Liga giants have been eliminated by a side from the third tier of Spanish soccer. Last year’s finalists Athletic Bilbao lost 4-2 to second division Rayo Vallecano over two legs and La Liga sides Sporting Gijon and Tenerife were also eliminated.
■SOCCER
Cordoba gives Plate win
Jorge Cordoba hit the winner as River Plate secured a 2-1 home leg victory over Ecuador’s Liga de Quito in the Copa Sudamericana semi-finals on Thursday. In the other semi-final, Fluminense of Brazil beat Cerro Porteno 1-0 in Paraguay on Wednesday.
■CRICKET
China to make debut
Afghanistan and China will be star attractions in the 12-nation Asian Twenty20 Cup, which starts in Dubai next Saturday and serves as a qualifying round for next year’s Asian Games, official said Thursday. While Afghanistan surprised the world by finishing among the top six in the World Cup 2011 qualifying rounds to gain one-day international status earlier this year, China will be making their debut in an Asian Twenty20 event. Sharjah and Abu Dhabi will host matches of the event from which top three teams will join Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka for the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.
■OLYMPICS
Torch reaches Viking outpost
The Olympic torch has reached the northernmost tip of Newfoundland, stopping in an ancient Viking settlement. Relay runners arrived in bright sunshine in L’Anse aux Meadows on Thursday. Wind-driven waves smashed against the rocky shoreline, sending a sea mist into the air. The runners took the flame inside a hut, where it was met by people dressed in Viking costume. The flame proceeded to the town of St Anthony amid traditional Newfoundland music. The torch was expected to arrive in St John’s yesterday. The relay finishes in Vancouver in February for the start of the Winter Games.
■OLYMPICS
Female ski jumpers in court
The British Columbia Court of Appeal in Vancouver on Thursday heard arguments about why female ski jumpers should have the right to compete at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Fourteen women are appealing a British Columbia Supreme Court ruling that found the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC) does not have the power to change a decision made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC voted in 2006 against including women’s ski jumping in next year’s Games, saying the sport had not developed enough to meet the basic criteria for participation. The women skiers argue that VANOC is subject to Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and its failure to include women’s ski jumping is discrimination since there will be men’s ski jumping at the Games. US jumper Lindsey Van said the case was about fighting for the Olympic ideal. “You have to have hope and show up or you’re already defeated,” she said.
■ATHLETICS
Liu Xiang wins hurdles title
China’s former world record holder Liu Xiang has easily won his third Asian 110m hurdle championship, posting a time of 13.50 seconds in driving rain in Guangzhou, China. The 2004 Athens Olympic champion led from the start late on Thursday to win his second competition since returning from surgery on an Achilles tendon injury that kept him out of last year’s Beijing Games. The win automatically qualifies Liu for next year’s World Athletics Championships. Teammate Shi Dongpeng finished second, while South Korea’s Park Tae-kyong won the bronze. Last month, the 26-year-old won his third national 110m hurdle championship at the China Games, winning in a time of 13.34.
■FORMULA ONE
Lotus still looking for cash
Lotus Formula One is still seeking sponsorship to help the new Malaysian team survive in its first season next year despite a tight budget. Launched two months ago as a collaboration between the Malaysian government, who hold no equity in the team, and a trio of entrepreneurs, Lotus insisted it had the means to compete. A team director told Malaysia’s Bernama news agency the company would look to attract investors from various corporate bodies, including government-linked companies (GLCs). “What is wrong with asking for sponsors from GLCs like Petronas?” Kamarudin Meranun said. Malaysia’s state oil company was a long-time backer of the BMW-Sauber team. Lotus’ start-up capital of around US$47 million is a fraction of Ferrari’s budget, estimated at between US$300 million and US$400 million. Foreign-based Malaysian engineers would also reduce bills. “The [team] put up an advertisement to fill 225 posts, we received over 6,500 applications,” Kamarudin 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
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
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
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later