GOLF
Asian Tour goes to Africa
The Asian Tour has announced its first stop in Africa as it seeks new markets beyond its traditional boundaries. May next year’s US$1.3 million AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open is to be the first event tri-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, the European Tour and southern Africa’s Sunshine Tour, a statement said. “The Asian Tour is delighted to break new ground with the launch of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open,” Asian Tour CEO Mike Kerr said. The Asian Tour also cosanctions an event in Switzerland and has about 20 tournaments in Asia on its schedule for this year. In Asia, the Asian Tour competes with rival OneAsia.
BASKETBALL
Pacquiao eyes World Peace
Manny Pacquiao has expressed interest in recruiting former NBA All Star Metta World Peace to the Philippine boxing champion’s newest venture — professional basketball. Pacquiao has become playing coach of the newly formed KIA Sorentos in the Philippine Basketball Association, adding to his other careers as a world-champion boxer and local congressman. Local media this week quoted Pacquiao as saying that he personally knew World Peace and that the 34-year-old forward would be a “good import” for his team. World Peace, who changed his name from Ron Artest, is playing for the Sichuan Blue Whales in the Chinese Basketball Association after a long NBA career.
SOCCER
Wanderers’ Juric suspended
Tomi Juric’s caution for a cheeky goal celebration has made him one of three Western Sydney Wanderers players suspended for the AFC Champions League semi-finals’ first leg, the club said yesterday. The star striker was carded for putting a finger to his lips to silence the Chinese crowd after scoring a vital second-half penalty against last year’s winners, Guangzhou Evergrande. In further blows to the Wanderers, Shannon Cole and Brendan Santalab are also suspended for accumulated yellow cards and will miss the away leg against FC Seoul on Sept. 17. However, the three players will be available for the return game on Oct. 1 as the Wanderers, on their debut in the competition, try to become only the second Australian team to reach the final.
ASIAN GAMES
N Korea pulls cheerleaders
South Korea expressed regret yesterday over North Korea’s “unilateral” withdrawal of its proposal to send cheerleaders to accompany its athletes at next month’s Games. “We feel very regretful over North Korea’s unilateral announcement,” South Korean Ministry of Unification spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol told reporters. He said Seoul would not send an official request again for the dispatch of North Korean cheerleaders. “There is no change in our basic position that we will welcome North Korean cheerleaders… but we will respect their decision,” he said. Lim refuted accusations by North Korean Olympic Committee vice-head Son Kwang-ho that Seoul was not happy with the dispatch of North Korean cheerleaders. Son accused Seoul of treating the cheerleaders as a political propaganda tool aimed at creating discord. However, he did not retract the North’s plan to dispatch athletes and sports officials to the Sept. 19 to Oct. 4 Games in the South’s western port of Incheon. Initially North Korea had planned to send 350 cheerleaders to Incheon. However, Pyongyang officials walked out of a meeting last month, reportedly after Seoul proposed breaking with its custom of financially supporting sports teams visiting from the North.
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