BASKETBALL
Fake injury earns Arenas fine
Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas has been fined an undisclosed amount by his team after making himself unavailable for a preseason game because of a fake injury. The three-times All-Star claimed to be hampered by a knee injury and was replaced by Nick Young for Tuesday’s home game against the Atlanta Hawks, which the Wizards won 107-92. However, Arenas later told reporters he had pretended to be injured so that Young would gain a spot in the starting lineup. “I talked to him [Arenas] both in front of the team and individually so we will fine him and move on,” Wizards coach Flip Saunders told reporters on Wednesday. “I said to him: ‘I am most disappointed personally because I believe in you and there has been a trust factor.’ I told him: ‘You have to be honest with me.’ It’s just like dealing with your kids. Your kids make mistakes. You deal with the mistake and you move on.” Asked if Arenas would be suspended, Sanders replied: “No.”
SOCCER
Rooney denies injury claims
Wayne Rooney looks set for a collision with his boss at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, after claiming he has been injury-free all season. Ferguson said Rooney had been suffering from a “straightforward ankle injury” when asked to explain why the striker did not travel to Valencia recently for a Champions League clash. The United manager blamed the injury again when he left Rooney out of the game at Sunderland 11 days ago, saying at the time: “I have to take the view that this injury has been niggling away for a while and he kept on playing.” Rooney, however, claims he has been injury-free this season. When asked after England’s midweek draw with Montenegro if his ankle had caused any problems, Rooney replied: “No, I’ve had no ankle problem all season.” Then when asked “Why did Alex Ferguson say you had?”, Rooney laughed and replied: “I don’t know.”
SOCCER
Benayoun blues for Chelsea
Chelsea will be without Yossi Benayoun for virtually the rest of the season after he underwent an operation to repair a torn Achilles tendon. The 30-year-old faces six months rehabilitation treatment following the operation on the injury which he discovered when he went away for international duty for the recent Euro 2012 qualifiers with Croatia and Greece. “Yossi Benayoun underwent surgery on his Achilles [tendon] on Monday,” read a statement on the club’s Web site. “The Israeli international returned to the club from international duty last week, and will now be out of action for approximately six months.” Benayoun had not played since Chelsea’s League Cup defeat at home to Newcastle on Sept. 22 because of a calf injury.
TENNIS
Federer learning Mandarin
He may never shout at umpires or linesmen, but if he ever needed to, Roger Federer might soon be able to voice his displeasure in Mandarin after taking his first lesson at the Shanghai Open. The Swiss third seed said he and his inner circle had their first class in the language. Federer, who speaks four tongues fluently, said the private lesson went well for him, but not so well for others in his group. “It was a private lesson for the team. But they gave up after 10 minutes, and I was the guy who was saying the words and sentences,” he said. “I was the guy who was really learning, not them. One lesson so far,” Federer said. “We’re going slow, little by little. It’s not an easy language. It’s hard, you know, but maybe I’ll pick up a few sentences here and there.”
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