BASEBALL
Nicaraguan player charged
A Nicaraguan player has been charged with sexually assaulting a Taiwanese woman while he was in the country for an international match earlier this year, a prosecutor said yesterday. Huembes Gustavo Lopez, who was on the Nicaraguan squad for the Intercontinental Cup in central Taiwan in October, faces up to four years in prison if convicted, the prosecutor said. The 28-year-old allegedly met the woman near the hotel where he was staying and took her to his room to chat, before the woman reported to police the following morning that she had been assaulted. Lopez has been detained in Taiwan since his arrest in October as he failed to pay a bail of NT$200,000, prosecutors said. The Nicaraguan team’s coach Edgard Matamoros has apologized on the player’s behalf and said he would respect the authorities’ decision.
SOCCER
Schalke’s Hao on China team
Schalke 04 midfielder Hao Junmin is the only foreign-based player in China’s 23-man squad for next month’s Asian Cup in Qatar. The Chinese Football Association kept faith in domestic league players in picking a squad containing three goalkeepers, eight defenders, 10 midfielders and two forwards for the continental championship, Xinhua news agency reported. Wuhan-born Hao, 23, became the first Chinese player to play for Schalke 04, having joined the Bundesliga side early this year. China are in Group A with hosts Qatar, Kuwait and Uzbekistan in the Jan. 7 to Jan. 29 championship.
SOCCER
Pardew angry with Enrique
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has criticized defender Jose Enrique for revealing on Twitter that he would miss Tuesday’s Premier League match at Tottenham. The Spaniard wrote in broken English four hours before the match: “we decide is better dont play.” Pardew was annoyed that key team news had been leaked. “Did he tweet it, did he?” Pardew asked reporters after a 2-0 loss at White Hart Lane. “Players can’t be giving that sort of information out.” Pardew said: “It’s difficult to police ... we need to make it as a club policy that it has to stop.” Asked if Enrique would be fit for Sunday’s match against West Ham, Pardew replied: “I’ll check his tweet.”
BASKETBALL
Bucks’ Boykins suspended
Milwaukee Bucks point guard Earl Boykins has been suspended for one game without pay for making intentional contact with a game official, the NBA said on Tuesday. The incident occurred with 5.3 seconds left in the third period of Milwaukee’s 95-80 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Monday. Boykins served his ban in Tuesday’s game against the Bulls at the United Center in Chicago, the league said in a statement.
FOOTBALL
Ryan named to Pro Bowl
Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan was named to next year’s Pro Bowl game as the Falcons led all NFL teams with seven selections, the league announced on Tuesday. Falcons all-star receiver Roddy White and defensive end John Abraham also earned a spot in the game for Atlanta, which has the best record in its conference at 12-3. Ryan however won’t start for the NFC squad as that honor goes to Philadelphia’s quarterback Michael Vick, who served 18 months in jail for his role in a brutal dog-fighting ring. New England’s Tom Brady will start for the AFC.
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