SOCCER
Inter reappoints Mancini
Inter reappointed Roberto Mancini as coach on Friday in a bid to rediscover their glory days, when they won three successive Serie A titles under the Italian. Walter Mazzarri was earlier sacked after a string of poor results left Inter ninth in the table, 12 points behind leaders Juventus. “Welcome back to our new coach, together we will return Inter to being one of the top clubs in Europe,” club president Erick Thohir said in a club statement. Former successful Napoli coach Mazzarri, who took over from Andrea Stramaccioni at Inter in May last year, had come under immense pressure of late and the club’s new Indonesian owners have decided to act. Bringing back a crowd favorite in Mancini will help the hierarchy curry favor with fans uninspired by last year’s takeover. Media reports said Mancini has signed a deal until 2017. Fans will hope Mancini can do what he did last time when he won the club’s first trophy in seven years before dominating Serie A during Juventus’ demotion for match-fixing.
RUGBY UNION
Beale rejoins Wallabies
Kurtley Beale left Australia to join up with his Wallaby teammates in Europe yesterday, saying he wants to redeem himself after fearing his international career was over. Beale received a call-up to join the Wallabies for the last two matches of their northern hemisphere tour after being left out of the squad for disciplinary breaches. Beale has not played for Australia since the Wallabies’ loss in Cape Town against South Africa on Sept. 27. On the ensuing flight to Argentina to play the Pumas, Beale had an argument with then-Wallabies business manager Di Patston, which quickly descended into a major scandal engulfing the Australian Rugby Union and leading to the resignations of Patston and then-Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie. Beale was fined A$48,000 (US$41,700) for sending an offensive text message to Patston and sanctioned again later for being rude and disrespectful to Wallaby team management on the flight.
SKIING
Violinist to appeal ski ban
Pop violinist Vanessa Mae plans to file an appeal against a four-year ban from competitive skiing for taking part in fixed races before the Sochi Olympics. Mae calls the sanction “nonsensical” and says the matter is “now with my lawyers and we will of course be appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.” The International Ski Federation imposed the ban on Tuesday, saying four giant-slalom races in Slovenia were fixed in January to allow Mae to qualify for February’s Sochi Games. Five ski officials were also suspended. The celebrity musician competed for Thailand in Sochi, finishing last of 67 racers in the giant slalom.
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