■ ASIAN GAMES
Diamonds for records
Hong Kong athletes will receive a diamond worth 100,000 yuan (US$14,770) if they break a world record at November’s Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. Breaking an Asian record at the Games would earn the athlete a diamond worth 50,000 yuan from a local sponsor, a report on the China News Service said yesterday. At the last Asian Games in Doha four years ago, the only world marks set were in weightlifting and shooting.
■ CRICKET
Gul ruled out of series
Pakistan paceman Umar Gul will miss the remainder of the Test series against England because of a torn hamstring, the team’s management said on Tuesday. Gul, who was hurt on Saturday during the second Test defeat in Birmingham, is to sit out the third match at The Oval next week and the fourth and final game at Lord’s. Pakistan manager Yawar Saeed said the fast bowler would have his injury examined again next Wednesday to determine his involvement in the limited-overs section of the tour. “We are hoping he will be available for the Twenty20 and one-day series next month,” Saeed said.
■ SOCCER
Fans beat Ancona president
Ancona president Flavio Mais is recovering in hospital after he was attacked by three of the club’s fans on Tuesday. Mais was attacked by the “ultras” just minutes before he was due to host a meeting with disgruntled supporters. Ancona dropped out of Serie B at the end of last season because of a lack of sufficient funds to guarantee their future. The club had earlier on Tuesday also failed to register to Serie D due to a lack of funds. A 38-year-old man has been held in connection with the attack while two more are being sought. The extent of Mais’ injuries is not yet known. Ancona were playing in Serie A as recently as 2003-2004.
■SOCCER
New boys sign four players
Premier League newcomers Blackpool have signed four players with manager Ian Holloway making his first acquisitions of the close season to help bolster the squad, the club said yesterday. Defender Craig Cathcart joined from Manchester United on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee, along with midfielders Ludovic Sylvestre, Malaury Martin and Elliot Grandin. ex-France under-21 winger Grandin, now 22, signed on a two-year deal as a free agent from CSKA Sofia having failed to settle at the 31-times Bulgarian champions. “He wasn’t happy here and moving to another club was the best option for him,” CSKA coach Pavel Dochev told reporters. Martin, 21, has joined on a one-year contract as a free transfer from Monaco having been on trial for the past month. Former Barcelona trainee Sylvestre, 26, arrived from Czech side Mlada Boleslav on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee. Blackpool open their Premier League campaign at Wigan Athletic on Saturday.
■ SOCCER
Senderos set for long layoff
Switzerland and Fulham defender Philippe Senderos is set to miss most of the season after reportedly rupturing an Achilles tendon. Senderos was injured training alone after withdrawing from the Swiss squad to play Austria in a friendly yesterday, the Tribune de Geneve daily said. Senderos will likely undergo an operation by the same surgeon in Finland who treated David Beckham for an Achilles injury in March, the newspaper reported. The 25-year-old defender joined Fulham in June after failing to command a regular first-team place at Arsenal.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but