SOCCER
Muamba ‘getting stronger’
Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba said he was “getting stronger every day” following his cardiac arrest, as he thanked fans for their support on Wednesday. Muamba was speaking at the Reebok Stadium before the kickoff of the Premier League match between relegation-threatened Bolton and Tottenham Hotspur. The 24-year-old Zaire-born player collapsed during Bolton’s FA Cup match against Tottenham at White Hart Lane on March 17. He was technically dead for 78 minutes and unconscious in hospital for three days, but he was eventually released from hospital last month. “I’m getting stronger every day,” Muamba told the BBC on Wednesday. “I am happy to be back, I was overwhelmed with the support I got and it helps me every single day.”
SOCCER
Campbell hangs up his boots
Former England defender Sol Campbell announced his retirement on Wednesday. Best known as a centerback with north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, Campbell also played for Portsmouth and, more recently, Newcastle United, but the 37-year-old was released by Newcastle at the end of last season and he has not been able to secure a new deal with another club, partly as a result of injury. “It was a very hard decision. It’s hard to let go when you have been a top sportsman for a long, long time,” he told Sky Sports News. Campbell started his career at Tottenham, but a controversial move to Arsenal in 2001 led to him being labeled “Judas” by sections of the Spurs faithful. Campbell won 73 caps for England.
SOCCER
Coach sacked after brawl
Fiorentina coach Delio Rossi was sacked on Wednesday after punching his own player, Adem Ljajic, during the Serie A clash against Novara Calcio, taking exception to the midfielder’s sarcasm. Fiorentina acted quickly after the match, with owner Andrea Della Valle announcing the 51-year-old’s dismissal for “a serious action from a mild person.” The club was known to be reviewing the incident even before the game ended. With his side losing 2-0 at home after just half an hour, Rossi decided to act and hauled off Serbian Ljajic to bring on Ruben Olivera. As he went back to sit in the dugout, Ljajic, 20, sarcastically applauded his coach’s decision. Rossi took exception and leapt into the dugout and seemed to punch Ljajic in the face.
SWIMMING
Autopsy proves inconclusive
An autopsy of world champion Norwegian Alexander Dale Oen, who collapsed and died in Arizona this week at the age of 26, has found no conclusive cause of death, a newspaper in the state reported late on Wednesday. Authorities suspect that Dale Oen, the world 100m breaststroke champion, suffered a heart attack on Monday at an altitude training camp in Flagstaff. The autopsy conducted on Tuesday found no evidence of how he died, the Arizona Republic newspaper reported. “The initial autopsy revealed no anatomic cause of death and no trauma associated with the death,” Barbara Worgess, a health officer for the Coconino County Public Health Services District, said in a statement.
ICE HOCKEY
Flames sign Cervenka
The Calgary Flames have signed Czech center Roman Cervenka to a US$3.775 million, one-year contract. The deal was announced by the team on Wednesday. The 26-year-old from Prague spent the past two seasons with Avangard Omsk of the KHL in Russia, and he had 54 goals and 46 assists in 105 games.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set