SKIING
Vonn reveals depression
Skiing star Lindsey Vonn has revealed to People magazine that she struggled with depression, and was prescribed an antidepressant to treat the condition. In the latest issue, the 28-year-old says that in 2008, “I couldn’t get out of bed. I felt hopeless, empty, like a zombie. I couldn’t even cry any more.” Her then-husband, Thomas Vonn, encouraged Lindsey to seek treatment and she went to see a doctor. She describes in the interview how it seemed her life was perfect but “behind the scenes, it was a struggle.”
SOCCER
Rennes beat Valenciennes
Stade Rennais edged up to fourth in the Ligue 1 table after a regulation 2-0 win at home to Valenciennes on Friday. Midfielder Julien Feret opened the scoring after five minutes when he converted Jonathan Pitroipa’s pass and the winger netted the second himself midway through the second half when the excellent Feret returned the favor. Eighth-placed Valenciennes, enjoying being in the top half of the table having been used to the lower reaches of Ligue 1 in recent years, had their share of possession but lacked a cutting edge.
SOCCER
Man City reveal big loss
Manchester City revealed they made an annual loss of £97.9 million (US$157.9 million) during their Premier League title-winning season. While the figure would represent a massive problem for most clubs, it was actually a significant improvement for the big-spending outfit, who lost £197.5 million 12 months ago. City’s turnover last season was £231.1 million, the highest in the club’s history, and although the failure of Roberto Mancini’s team to progress from the Champions League group stage for the last two years has had an impact on turnover, the club’s Abu Dhabi-based owners are still happy with the financial performance. City owner Sheikh Mansour clearly still has to put in his own cash to make the club viable in the short-term however, as the annual statement also confirms the “capital base of the club has also been strengthened through the issuing of £169 million in new equity during the year, avoiding debt-based funding and continuing to ensure that the club is virtually debt free.”
SQUASH
Ashour wins world title
Ramy Ashour reclaimed the world title on Friday with a marathon 2-11, 11-6, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8 win over Egyptian compatriot Mohammed El Shorbagy, describing the win as his “greatest triumph.” Ashour had to come from 7-8 down in the final game to see off the 21-year-old runner-up, who had beaten the top-seeded James Willstrop in the semi-finals. Ashour had ended Nick Matthew’s bid to win a hat-trick of world titles in the semi-finals, emphasizing a significant shift of power away from the English. However, Ashour was most of all overjoyed that his success signalled a recovery from persistent injuries, two of which prevented him from finishing the world championships last year and in 2010. “Sure to win it the first time was amazing,” said the 25-year-old from Cairo, who took his first title in 2008. “But when you win it [again] after a lot of struggle, it means something different, and it feels a lot different. I am proud of myself because I have been through many hard times. I feel like I am a stronger person now.” Ashour also reclaimed the world No. 1 ranking when he beat Matthew on Thursday.
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