SOCCER
China names young squad
China coach Alain Perrin put his faith in the nation’s youngsters when he named his 23-man squad for next month’s Asian Cup campaign yesterday. The Frenchman’s only selection aged over 30 was captain and Asian Football Confederation Player of the Year last year Zheng Zie. The Guangzhou Evergrande midfielder is joined by six of his club teammates in the squad for the Jan. 9 to Jan. 31 tournament, where China have been drawn in Group B alongside Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and North Korea.
FORMULA ONE
Red Bull retain Buemi
Switzerland’s Sebastien Buemi is to start his fifth year as Red Bull’s reserve driver next season, the Formula One team said on Tuesday. Former Toro Rosso racer Buemi won the world endurance championship for Toyota this season, with Britain’s Anthony Davidson, and has also raced in the new Formula E electric series. “He’s been closely associated with the team for some years now, we value his skills very highly and we have a great working relationship with him,” team principal Christian Horner said in a statement confirming Buemi’s continuation.
SOCCER
Saints sign Elia on loan
Southampton have agreed to sign Werder Bremen’s winger Eljero Elia on loan until the end of the season. Ronald Koeman’s side are short of attacking options with Jay Rodriguez’s recovery from a cruciate ligament injury taking longer than expected and Senegal’s Sadio Mane due to leave for the Africa Cup of Nations next month. Elia, who has played 28 times for the Netherlands, is seen as the perfect man to bolster Koeman’s front three. The 27-year-old is to initially join Saints on loan when the transfer window opens next month, with the option of then making his switch from the Bundesliga outfit permanent at the end of the current campaign.
SOCCER
Ibrahimovic slams rating
Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has dismissed his second-place finish on a list of Sweden’s all-time sporting greats behind tennis master Bjorn Borg. “Thank you, but to finish second is like finishing last,” he told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper through his brand manager Mika Lepisto. The 33-year-old Paris Saint-Germain striker was second in the list of 150 Swedish sportspeople, created by the newspaper as part of their 150th-anniversary celebrations. Asked where he would have put himself in the rankings, Ibra said: “On that list I would have been No. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, with due respect to the others.”
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two