SOCCER
I’m in Man City: Aguero
Argentina striker Sergio Aguero claimed on Wednesday that he had completed his £38 million (US$62 million) transfer to Manchester City, although the English Premier League club had yet to confirm the deal. “I am now a City player. Happy to be in this club and this city. Thanks to all for the welcome and the reception,” Aguero wrote on his Twitter account. The 23-year-old Atletico Madrid star, who is the son-in-law of Argentina legend Diego Maradona, earlier underwent a medical in the city. He is seen as the answer to City’s problems in attack, where Carlos Tevez has reiterated his desire to leave the club.
SOCCER
Marseille win Trophy
Marseille picked up the first silverware of the French season after an incredible finale to their Champions Trophy game with Lille saw them prevail 5-4 through a 95th-minute penalty. League and French Cup winners last year after a 56-year trophy drought, Lille led 3-1 with five minutes remaining, but saw Marseille draw level through goals from Jeremy Morel and Loic Remy. Andre Ayew put Marseille ahead for the first time in the match with a penalty on the stroke of full-time, but Lille hit back immediately with a header from new signing Marko Basa. The match in the Moroccan city of Tangiers looked set for penalties, but Jordan Ayew won another penalty after tumbling theatrically in the Lille box and his elder brother Andre kept his cool to give Marseille victory and complete his hat-trick.
SOCCER
Barcelona win Audi Cup
Highly rated midfielder Thiago Alcantara scored both goals as European champions Barcelona defeated Bayern Munich 2-0 on Wednesday to win the pre-season Audi Cup. Barcelona, playing without the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Carles Puyol, were rarely threatened by a Bayern side who kick off their league campaign next weekend. “We deserved this victory because we made the most of our chances,” said 20-year-old Thiago, who found the net in the 42nd and 75th minutes.
FOOTBALL
Holmes, Williams retained
Two of the most coveted free agents were locked up by their own teams on Wednesday as the Jets reached agreement with wide receiver Santonio Holmes and the Panthers moved to keep running back DeAngelo Williams. Holmes, a former Super Bowl Most Valuable Player while with Pittsburgh, agreed to a five-year deal worth nearly US$50 million with US$24 million guaranteed, the NFL Network reported, citing a source with knowledge of the negotiations. Acquired last offseason from Pittsburgh, the 27-year-old Holmes had 52 catches for 746 yards and six touchdowns. The Panthers, who announced on Tuesday they were retaining defensive end Charles Johnson with a six-year deal worth up to US$72 million, opened their purse again on Wednesday in agreeing on a five-year, US$43 million deal for Williams, the network said.
RUGBY UNION
Palu has knee surgery
Australia backrower Wycliff Palu has undergone knee surgery to repair cartilage damage, continuing a race to regain fitness for this year’s World Cup. Palu is not expected to play for the Wallabies in the current Tri-Nations tournament because of a cracked shoulder blade and the knee problem flared during a recent camp with the Australian squad. A Wallabies spokesman said the surgery was minor and would not extend Palu’s time on the sidelines.
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
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
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier