CRICKET
Second day washed out
Bad weather washed out the entire second day’s play in the third and final Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, yesterday. The entire field at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium was covered as incessant rain since early morning, the heaviest in the region in the past two months, kept the players indoors. Umpires Steve Davis and Simon Taufel waited until 3pm, before they abandoned play for the day when the weather showed no signs of clearing. Light rain has been forecast for the remaining three days. The match is evenly poised after an enthralling opening day on Sunday when Pakistan reduced Sri Lanka to 44-3 after being shot out for 226 in their first innings. The interruption gave Pakistan wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal time to recover from a hairline fracture on his left hand.
SOCCER
Terry appears in court
Chelsea and England defender John Terry arrived in court yesterday for his trial on charges of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand during a Premier League match last year. Terry, 31, is accused of a racially aggravated public order offense following the emergence of video footage which appeared to show him abusing the Queens Park Rangers defender, who is mixed race, during a Premier League match in October last year. Terry, who was wearing a gray suit and pink tie, did not speak to reporters as he arrived at the court in central London. A few supporters outside shouted: “Good luck, John.” At an earlier hearing his lawyers entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf. If found guilty Terry could be fined up to £2,500 (US$3,850), although the damage to the player’s commercial deals would likely be far greater.
SOCCER
Spain’s Iniesta gets married
First Europe’s most important soccer trophy, then a player of the tournament award and now marriage. It was a good week for Spain’s Andres Iniesta. Iniesta, clad in a navy-blue suit, posted a photo on Twitter on Sunday with his new wife Anna Ortiz saying: “Amazing day! Just married.” The 28-year-old midfielder helped Spain become the first nation to defend their continental crown with a 4-0 win over Italy the previous Sunday. Iniesta, who scored the extra-time winner when Spain won their first World Cup two years ago, was named best player at Euro 2012 a day later. Lionel Messi, Iker Casillas, Xavi Hernandez and Samuel Eto’o were among the guests. People lined the streets leading to the wedding in Tamarit, Spain, with Barcelona teammate Gerard Pique tweeting: “This looks like the Tour de France.”
FORMULA ONE
Sauber’s Kobayashi fined
Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi was fined 25,000 euros (US$30,800) after knocking over three of his Sauber mechanics when he drove too fast into the pits at the British Grand Prix on Sunday. Fortunately, the three mechanics suffered only minor injuries, but race stewards took a dim view of the incident in which the men were sent flying. Kobayashi swiftly apologized for the accident. “Of course, I had to push hard for points, but without doubt I braked too late in the pit lane,” Kobayashi said. “The front wheels locked, I couldn’t control the car, and this is how I overshot the pit box. I am terribly sorry this happened and I hope the three mechanics I hit get well soon.” Two of the mechanics needed treatment at the circuit’s medical center, one for an injured thumb, the other for cuts and bruises. The third suffered a bruised foot and was treated in the team’s garage.
BASEBALL
Wang visits Taiwan
MLB Washington Nationals pitcher Wang Chien-Ming returned to Taiwan yesterday for a brief visit. It is his first trip home since the disclosure earlier this year of his involvement in an extramarital affair two years ago. Wang, 32, was not accompanied by his wife or son. He is scheduled to handle private affairs during his short visit, his agent said. Wang has been struggling since his return to the majors in late May after recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered during spring training. The right-hander lost three of his four starts after being inserted into the starting rotation May 30, and was moved back to the bullpen on June 20. The Nationals announced on Tuesday last week that Wang had been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right hip strain, retroactive to July 1. Nationals manager Davey Johnson was quoted in the Washington Post as saying he hoped Wang would recover enough to start his rehab when he returns to the US from Taiwan. Wang pitched a bullpen session under the supervision of pitching coach Steve McCatty on Friday to work on his arm, according to the report.
DARTS
Taiwan takes third prize
Taiwan bagged the third prize in the team event at an annual international dart festival held in Seoul, South Korea, last weekend, behind champion Japan and second-placed South Korea. In the doubles B team event at the Phoenix Summer Festival, Taiwan’s Tsai Tzu-hao and Chen Chien-hao threw a barrage of good darts to secure fifth spot. The 11 members of Taiwan’s team, led by officials from the Taipei Municipal Athletics Federation, were among 750 participants from 10 countries at the festival. Taiwan’s overall success at the contest will help develop dart talent to become great players, said Kuo Chin-yao, chairman of the federation’s dart association, who added that darts was taken up in Taiwan much later than in Japan and South Korea.
BASKETBALL
Nigeria through to Olympics
Ike Diogu scored 25 points as Nigeria earned the final men’s basketball spot at the London Olympics with an 88-73 victory over the Dominican Republic on Sunday. The Nigerians surprised their rivals with fast breaks and solid defense. Diogu, a forward who plays for Puerto Rico’s Capitanes de Arecibo team, received the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award. “I’m very happy. We did what had to be done,” Diogu said. “We knew we were going to face teams that are heavyweights, and we did what we needed to do — win.” The Dominicans struggled to stop Nigeria’s powerful offense, but forward Yack Martinez help prevent a lopsided victory, scoring 16 points and grabbing several rebounds.
BASEBALL
Stanton has knee surgery
Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton has undergone surgery on his right knee and could miss up to six weeks of play after the Major League Baseball season resumes following the All Star break, the team said on Sunday. Stanton, the only Marlins player who was selected for the All Star game in Kansas City today, felt his knee lock up on July 2 and after an examination, had the arthroscopic procedure done on Sunday. The 22-year-old right fielder, who is batting .284 with 19 home runs and 50 RBIs this season, is expected to be out of action for between four and six weeks. “Stanton is such an imposing force in the lineup,” team president David Samson told the team’s Web site (miami.marlins.mlb.com). “Giancarlo will be back, and he will be back in time to help us.”
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