SOCCER
Chelsea finally get Moses
Chelsea are set to sign Nigeria forward Victor Moses from Wigan Athletic after the European champions finally met the Latics’ asking price. The Blues had seen four bids for Moses rejected by Wigan chairman Dave Whelan during the course of a fractious transfer saga that had lasted since the end of last season. Whelan had infuriated Chelsea by speaking publicly about the negotiations in a bid to drive up the price. However, Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo is on the verge of getting his man at the fifth attempt after Wigan confirmed they have accepted an improved offer and have given the 21-year-old permission to discuss a contract with the west London club. It has been reported that Wigan were demanding around £9 million (US$14.3 million) for Moses, who has risen to prominence after a series of impressive displays last season.
SOCCER
Fulham complain over Reds
Fulham launched an official complaint to the Premier League on Thursday over Liverpool’s conduct in their pursuit of US forward Clint Dempsey. Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers last month broke managerial protocol when he went public with his interest in Dempsey. Yet there has been no firm bid from Liverpool since then, leaving the player confused and Fulham boss Martin Jol furious. Jol has left Dempsey out of his squad for today’s trip to Manchester United, having already dropped him for last weekend’s victory over Norwich because he felt the player was not in the right frame of mind to perform.
SOCCER
Cissokho goes to Valencia
Valencia will sign France defender Aly Cissokho from Olympique Lyonnais subject to him passing a medical, the Spanish club said on Thursday. The 24-year-old is poised to agree a four-year contract and Spanish media said the deal was worth about 6 million euros (US$7.5 million). “He has extensive experience despite his age,” Valencia sports director Braulio Vazquez said in a statement. “Cissokho is physically very strong, he is very good in defense and will help raise the competition for places in the squad particularly on the left flank,” Vazquez added. Cissokho will help cover at left back after Valencia sold Spain full back Jordi Alba to Barcelona.
CYCLING
Oldest cyclist clinches lead
German cyclist Jens Voigt, the oldest competitor in the USA Pro Challenge, made light of wet conditions to clinch the fourth stage of the competition on Thursday by nearly three minutes. American Tejay van Garderen regained his tiebreaker race lead by finishing third in front of sixth-placed compatriot Christian Vande Velde. The 40-year-old Voigt, a three-time Tour de France stage winner in his 16-year career, pedaled alone for nearly four hours in periodic rain to complete the 156.5km course from Aspen to Beaver Creek in three hours and 54 minutes. Van Garderen and Vande Velde have the same overall race time, but Van Garderen has the race lead based on higher stage finishes.
MOTOGP
Stoner misses Czech GP
World champion Casey Stoner will miss tomorrow’s Czech MotoGP due to an ankle injury which could threaten his overall title defense. Stoner was hurt during qualifying for the Indianapolis Grand Prix, sustaining multiple chip fractures and four torn ligaments in his right ankle following a hard crash during last Saturday’s qualifying round. Despite the injury, Stoner was cleared for the race and finished fourth.
Taiwanese world No. 1 women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei on Saturday overcame a first-set loss to win her opening match at the Madrid Open. Top seeds Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium, with whom she last month won her fourth Indian Wells women’s doubles title, bounced back from a rocky first set to beat Asia Muhammad of the US and Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia 2-6, 6-4, 10-2. Hsieh and Mertens were next to face Heather Watson of the UK and Xu Yifan of China in the round of 16. Thirty-eight-year-old Hsieh last month reclaimed her world No. 1 spot after her Indian
EYES ON THE PRIZE: Armed with three solid men’s singles shuttlers and doubles Olympic champions, Taiwan aim to make their first Thomas Cup semi-final, Chou Tien-chen said Taiwanese badminton star Tai Tzu-ying yesterday quickly dispatched Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei in straight sets, while her male counterpart Chou Tien-chen beat Germany’s Kai Schaefer, as Taiwan’s women’s and men’s teams won their Group B opening rounds of the TotalEnergies BWF Thomas and Uber Cup Finals in Chengdu, China. World No. 5 Tai beat Goh 21-19, 22-20 in a speedy 33 minutes, her fourth straight victory over the world No. 24 shuttler since they first faced each other in the quarter-finals of the 2018 Malaysia Open, where Tai went on to win the women’s singles title. Malaysia followed up Tai’s opening victory
Chen Yi-tung (陳奕通) secured a historic Olympic berth on Sunday by winning the senior men’s foil event at the 2024 Asia Oceania Zonal Olympic Fencing Qualifiers in United Arab Emirates. Chen defeated Samuel Elijah of Singapore 15-4 in the final in Dubai to secure the only wild card in the event, making him the first male Olympian fencer from Taiwan in 36 years and only the sixth Taiwanese fencer to ever qualify for the quadrennial event. The last appearance by a Taiwanese male fencer at the Olympics was in 1988, when Wang San-tsai (王三財) and Cheng Ming-hsiang (鄭明祥) competed in Seoul. The
Rafael Nadal on Tuesday lost in straight sets to 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round at the Madrid Open, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the semi-finals in the women’s doubles. Nadal said that he was feeling good about his progress following his latest injury layoff. Nadal called it a “positive week” in every way and said his body held up well. “I was able to play four matches, a couple of tough matches,” Nadal said. “So very positive, winning three matches, playing four matches at the high level of tennis. I enjoyed a lot playing at home. I leave here with