OLYMPICS
China’s star to miss Sochi
China’s most decorated winter Olympian has confirmed that she will miss next month’s Sochi Games after suffering a broken ankle, state media reported. Short track speed skater Wang Meng told China Central Television there was no chance she would participate in the Winter Olympics, which begin in two weeks. The loss of the 28-year-old star is a bitter blow for China, as she took three of the national team’s five gold medals at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Canada, the overall world champion won gold in the 500m, 1,000m and 3,000m relay. She also won the 500m at the Turin Winter Olympics in 2006, along with the 1,000m silver and 1,500m bronze. The skater, from the icy northeastern province of Heilongjiang, has developed an image as the “rebel” of Chinese sport after several run-ins with authority. Wang was banned from competition for 13 months after being involved in a drunken brawl with a coach in 2011 in the eastern city of Qingdao. She and her teammates were also forced to make a “reconciliation” following a separate drunken confrontation with security guards in Yunnan in June 2011. Prior to that, Wang was dropped from the national team for half a year in 2007 for criticizing a coach for poor tactics at the Asian Winter Games.
CRICKET
Gunman kills players
An Afghan official said a gunman on a motorcycle opened fire at a group of local cricket players, killing five of them during a game in eastern Laghman Province. A provincial spokesman, Sarhadii Zhouak, said the attack took place on Thursday in Alinghar district. He says the attacker fled the scene. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Zhouak blamed the Taliban. When the Taliban ruled the country, they severely restricted sports and public celebrations. Afghan President Hamid Karzai issued a statement condemning the attack.
RUGBY UNION
Ireland’s Earls injured
Ireland back Keith Earls is likely to miss the entire Six Nations after being ruled out for six to eight weeks through injury, his club said on Thursday. A statement on the Munster Web site said the player had suffered medial ligament damage to his left knee during Sunday’s Heineken Cup game against Edinburgh. The 26-year-old underwent a scan on Monday before meeting a specialist in Dublin where the injury prognosis was confirmed. Ireland begin their Six Nations campaign against Scotland on Sunday next week and finish with a game in France on March 15. Earls has not played for Ireland since Joe Schmidt took over as coach in April last year, having missed the November internationals with knee problems.
GOLF
Go to Open from Joburg
Three players could qualify for The Open at the Joburg Open next month. Organizers of the Johannesburg European Tour event said on Thursday the top three finishers within the top 10 not already exempt will earn a place at the game’s oldest major. The British Open is at Royal Liverpool in July, and the Joburg Open becomes one of 14 tournaments in nine countries that offer players a chance to go. Former US Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, fellow South African Branden Grace and 2005 US Open champion Michael Campbell of New Zealand have all confirmed for the Joburg Open that starts on Feb. 6.
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
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