BOXING
Pacquiao charged over tax
Philippine authorities filed a charge against boxer Manny Pacquiao for allegedly failing to submit documents proving he paid the right amount of taxes in 2010. The regional office has been asking him since last year to submit documents to support his 2010 tax filing, like endorsement contracts, and he has not complied, Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares said yesterday, saying Pacquiao violated a rule that says taxpayers must submit records when sought by the tax agency.
OLYMPICS
IOC stands behind Dow
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has reportedly told the Indian Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports that it would stand by Dow Chemical Co as a sponsor of the London Games despite pressure over the company’s links to the 1984 Bhopal disaster. The ministry wrote to the IOC last week, following letters from the Indian Olympic Association over recent months demanding that Dow be dropped. The Press Trust of India reported yesterday that the IOC said that Dow neither owned nor operated the Union Carbide plant when the disaster occurred. Dow bought Union Carbide in 2000. Union Carbide’s Bhopal plant is blamed for the deadly gas leak that killed an estimated 15,000 people and injured half a million people.
SOCCER
Valcke was right: Ronaldo
Legendary Brazilian striker Ronaldo said on Wednesday that FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke was right to highlight the problems plaguing organizers of the 2014 World Cup in the country. Valcke infuriated Brazil when he said that the organizing committee needed “a kick up the backside” if they were to get building work back on schedule, two years out from the global showpiece. “Valcke has already apologized to the Brazilian people. The way he made his criticisms was regrettable, but that is not to say that he wasn’t right,” Ronaldo told Bandeirantes TV in Sao Paulo. “Brazil is late in infrastructure work, there are a lot of things which are behind schedule,” added Ronaldo, a high-profile member of the organizing committee.
BOXING
Geale retains IBF title
Australia’s Daniel Geale retained his IBF middleweight world title with an unanimous points decision over Ghanaian Osumanu Adama in Hobart late on Wednesday. Geale, 31, defeated his US-based opponent 117-111, 115-113, 118-110 on the judges’ cards in his second defense of the title he first won from Sebastian Sylvester in Germany last year. Geale will look for further fights overseas against the likes of German WBA champion Felix Sturm, former US undisputed champion Jermain Taylor, Russian WBO titleholder Dmitry Pirog and Argentine Sergio Gabriel Martinez after improving his record to 27-1.
SOCCER
Real’s Marquitos dies at 78
Former Real Madrid defender Marquitos, a member of the all-conquering side that won five European Cups between 1956 and 1960, has died at the age of 78. Between 1954 and 1963, Marquitos accumulated a wealth of silverware as a part of the team that included such greats as Alfredo di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas and Paco Gento. Marquitos, whose full name was Marcos Alonso Imaz, began his career with his hometown club Racing Santander in 1951 before joining joining Madrid in 1954, just in time for the greatest period in the club’s history. As well as five European Cups, he also won one Intercontinental Cup, five Spanish league titles and one Spanish Cup.
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