BOXING
Khan’s charges dropped
World welterweight title contender Amir Khan of Britain will face no further action after being involved in an incident with two youths last week. “No further action will be taken against a 27-year-old man, who was arrested on suspicion of assault, following reports of an assault on Russell Street in Bolton on Friday 4 July,” Greater Manchester Police said in a statement on Monday. Khan was released on bail after being arrested in the early hours of Friday morning. He is hoping to challenge Floyd Mayweather Jr for the unbeaten American’s WBA and WBC titles.
FORMULA ONE
Schumacher hacker tracked
France has tracked down the IP address of the computer used by the alleged thief of Michael Schumacher’s medical records, prosecutors said on Monday, locating it in the Swiss helicopter firm that transported the injured Formula One champion. A doctors’ briefing on the motor-racing star’s treatment after he suffered a devastating ski accident in December last year was stolen and offered for sale for 50,000 euros (US$68,000) last month after he was transferred from hospital in the French city of Grenoble to a unit in Switzerland. French police opened a criminal probe into the theft of the document, which prosecutors said consists of several dozen pages that summarize the seven-time world champion’s treatment in Grenoble. A Zurich-based helicopter company, Rega, said on Monday that it had transported Schumacher, 45, to a clinic in Lausanne after he emerged from a coma, but said that it had “no knowledge of the investigation and had not been contacted by the authorities.”
BASEBALL
Attempted defectors fired
Villa Clara pitchers Diosdani Castillo and Yasmany Hernandez Romero have been indefinitely kicked out of their club after they recently attempted to defect, according to Cuban official media. The Vanguardia newspaper of Villa Clara Province said Castillo and Hernandez tried to leave the island about two weeks ago. “They will no longer wear the orange jersey following a grave indiscipline,” Vanguardia reported over the weekend. Villa Clara is the reigning champion of the Cuban baseball league, and orange is its signature color. Sports officials announced late last month that Castillo, Hernandez and several players from other clubs would be left off a national squad that is set to face a team of US collegians later this month.
SOCCER
‘Street World Cup’ starts
Forget the sumptuousness that surrounds the stars of this month’s World Cup in Brazil; young men and women from the fringes of society wearing mismatched shirts took center stage on Monday on the busy streets of Sao Paulo. A “Street Soccer World Cup” started on Monday in Brazil’s biggest city, with players from two dozen nations across the world all linked to movements seeking social change. The opening match of the week-long tournament was held at Largo da Batata, the scene last year of massive anti-World Cup protests attended by Brazilians angry at the event’s multibillion-dollar budget in a country lacking good quality services in key areas such as public health and education. The event is in many ways the World Cup of those living on the fringes of society and excluded from the official tournament being held in 12 Brazilian cities including Sao Paulo. On Monday, the atmosphere was festive and rivals even celebrated each other’s goals. Supported in the past by FIFA, this year’s “Street Soccer World Cup” was entirely financed with donations.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set