FORMULA 1
Alonso secures pole position
Championship leader Fernando Alonso secured his second consecutive pole position yesterday when he outpaced his rivals in qualifying for today’s German Grand Prix. The Spaniard was four-tenths of a second ahead of nearest rival and defending double champion, Sebastian Vettel of Germany, and his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber of Australia. German local hero and seven-times champion Michael Schumacher, 43, was fourth fastest in front of a big crowd of his dedicated fans, with another German, Nico Hulkenberg, taking fifth place on the grid for the Force India team. Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado of Williams was sixth ahead of the McLaren pair of Britons Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, whose bright promise in dry conditions in practice on Friday was not converted into grid positions in the rain. Button’s relative success in taking seventh place was the first time this year that he has outpaced Hamilton in qualifying. Another Briton, Paul Di Resta, was ninth in the second Force India, ahead of Finn Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus.
SOCCER
Man U eye Van Persie
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has confirmed the club’s bid for Arsenal captain Robin van Persie. Ferguson said United are aware other clubs are interested in the player, but added: “We’ve shown an interest and that’s where we’re at at the moment.” His comments were posted on the club’s Web site on Friday. Juventus and Manchester City have been among the bidders for the Netherlands striker, who announced earlier this month that he would not extend his Arsenal contract because of a disagreement over the club’s future strategy. Van Persie scored 37 goals in all competitions for Arsenal last season.
OLYMPICS
Monfils pulls out of tennis
Frenchman Gael Monfils has become the latest player to withdraw from the Olympic tennis competition, the International Tennis Federation said on Friday. In a statement the governing body said the world No. 15 had been injured with his place in the singles draw going to compatriot Julien Benneteau. Benneteau, who led Roger Federer by two sets at Wimbledon this year, joins countryman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gilles Simon and Richard Gasquet in the men’s singles. Defending men’s singles champion Rafa Nadal pulled out on Thursday with knee problems, while Germany’s Andrea Petkovic’s ankle injury has led to her withdrawal from the women’s singles.
OLYMPICS
Gasol is Spanish flag bearer
Basketball player Pau Gasol has been chosen to replace Rafael Nadal as the country’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony for the London Games, the Spanish Olympic federation said on Friday. Nadal, the gold medal holder in the men’s singles from Beijing, was forced to pull out of the Games on Thursday after failing to recover from a knee problem. Los Angeles Lakers center Gasol is one of the country’s most recognized sportsmen and helped Spain win silver in Beijing four years ago, when they lost in the final to the US. One of the first people to congratulate the Barcelona-born 32-year-old was Nadal. “Congratulations. I am very pleased you are the flag bearer. You are a reference and a great example to everyone. Enjoy it. You deserve it,” the French Open champion said on his Twitter account.
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
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