SOUTH AFRICA
Teams to honor Mandela
The nation’s soccer and rugby union teams are to play in a Soweto stadium on Aug. 17 to honor critically ill former president Nelson Mandela, it was announced on Tuesday. Bafana Bafana are to meet Burkina Faso in a friendly match and the Springboks tackle Argentina in an opening-round fixture of the Rugby Championship (formerly the Tri-Nations). Mandela has a close association with the teams — inspiring the Springboks to victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup and Bafana to success in the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations. Both tournaments were staged in South Africa and the then-president paid regular visits to the teams and attended the finals in which the Springboks defeated the All Blacks and Bafana overcame Tunisia. A sports ministry spokesman said the matches would be staged at the 94,000-seat Soccer City stadium, where Spain defeated the Netherlands 1-0 in the 2010 Soccer World Cup final.
SOCCER
Striker slams Evergrande
Former Borussia Dortmund striker Lucas Barrios has accused Guangzhou Evergrande of failing to pay his full salary in the latest high-profile wage dispute involving a star foreign player in the Chinese Super League. The Paraguay international is embroiled in a heated contract row with the super-rich club, drawing parallels with former Chelsea star Didier Drogba’s tumultuous exit from Shanghai Shenhua. Barrios angered the league champions and current league leaders when he flew home for a match against Chile early last month and did not return to China until Friday last week. Last month, media reports in Germany and Argentina suggesting Barrios had asked FIFA to terminate his contract as Evergrande had defaulted on payments drew a furious response from the club. “It was utterly ridiculous. The club made every payment clear and on time,” a club official told the state-run Xinhua news agency.
BOXING
Klitschko to fight in Moscow
Wladmir Klitschko is to defend his multiple heavyweight titles against mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin in a highly anticipated showdown on Oct. 5 in Moscow. Klitschko’s management says the fight, long in the making, will take place in the Olympic Arena. “This is the best fight that the heavyweight division has to offer at the moment,” Klitschko said in a statement on Tuesday. Klitschko holds the IBF and IBO belts and is also the WBO and WBA “super champion.” Povetkin, 33, is the WBA’s “regular champion.” Klitschko’s elder brother Vitali is the WBC champion. The Ukraine-born brothers have dominated the heavy division for a decade. Russia’s Povetkin is like Wladimir Klitschko a former Olympic champion and has a 26-0 record, with 18 KOs.
CRICKET
Black Caps’ Martin retires
New Zealand fast bowler Chris Martin, the third-highest wicket taker for the country in tests, retired yesterday from all forms of cricket at the age of 38. The right-arm seamer, who made his debut for the Black Caps in 2000 against South Africa, picked up 233 wickets from 71 tests to sit behind Richard Hadlee (431) and Daniel Vettori (360) on the list of New Zealand’s most successful test bowlers. Martin’s comical batting statistics also made him a crowd favorite whenever he walked out with his pads on. He has the most number of ducks (36) behind the West Indies’ Courtney Walsh (43) and tops the list of most pairs (dismissed without scoring in both innings) in a career with seven.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care