CRICKET
ICCT stages Taipei event
Indian Cricket Club Taiwan (ICCT) will be holding the 2011 India Premier League cricket tournament tomorrow at the Shezi Baseball Ground (社子島棒/壘球場) off Tonghe W Rd Sec 2 (通河西街二段), beside the Tamsui River in Taipei, which will continue through to 11pm. The aim is to expose Taiwanese to the game of cricket and to use the sport to strengthen friendships and bridge the gap between cultures and communities. It is a tennis ball competition, so the cricket will be social. The event comprises of four teams, with six group matches and a final. Spectators will be very welcome.
SOCCER
Unions threaten Qatar 2022
FIFA was to be warned by labor organizations yesterday that it faces an international campaign to move the 2022 World Cup from Qatar unless it ensures the host nation respects workers’ rights. International union representatives were to present FIFA president Sepp Blatter with a letter telling him of the campaign “No World Cup in Qatar without labor rights.” FIFA agreed to meet the unions after a trade union report on migrant workers in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates criticized “inhuman” conditions this year, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) said in a statement. The ITUC said unions were “continuing to receive reports of unsafe working conditions and abuse of workers’ rights as Qatar sets out to build nine stadiums in 10 years using mostly migrant labor.” Labor organizations “would mobilize workers and football fans to target each of FIFA’s football associations and the international body to stop the World Cup in Qatar if labor rights are not respected,” the ITUC added. “With 308 national trade union centers in 153 countries, the international trade union movement has the members, the power and the mandate to take action to stop the Qatar World Cup.”
GOLF
SKorea gets 2015 Cup
The 2015 Presidents Cup matches will be played in South Korea, the first time the event between teams of US and international golfers will be held in Asia. A specific site for the matches has yet to be determined, the USPGA Tour said in a press release announcing the plan. K.J. Choi, K.T. Kim and Y.E. Yang, three South Korean golfers, are playing on Greg Norman’s international squad in this week’s matches in Melbourne, Australia. The biennial competition was created by the USPGA Tour in 1994 to give international players not eligible for the Ryder Cup, which is a US against Europe competition, a chance to play against the US.
SOCCER
Schalke hit by injuries
Schalke 04 striker Jefferson Farfan will be out until next year after sustaining a knee injury in Peru’s World Cup qualifier against Ecuador, the Bundesliga club said on Wednesday. In another blow for Huub Stevens’s team, captain Benedikt Hoewedes sustained a similar injury in Germany’s 3-0 win over the Netherlands. Schalke said in a statement that Farfan, who has scored 22 goals in 102 Bundesliga appearances, had torn an anterior ligament in his knee and would have to rest for four weeks before starting two weeks of strengthening work. He limped off injured during the second half of Peru’s 2-0 defeat in Quito on Tuesday, but returned to the pitch to join in a melee following the final whistle. Schalke, fifth in the Bundesliga, said the length of Hoewedes’s absence would be known after tests yesterday.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and