SOCCER
Szukala did it for the money
In a refreshingly honest admission, Poland centerback Lukasz Szukala said that he turned down offers from England and Germany to join Saudi Arabian side Al Ittihad from Romanian champions Steaua Bucharest because the money was too good to refuse. Szukala, who has played 10 times for Poland since making his international debut in 2013, signed a two-year contract starting on July 1 and did not bother with the soccer player’s common claim that he was moving for the “challenge and interest of a new environment.” “I had offers from Germany and England, but the financial conditions offered by Al Ittihad were fantastic,” said the 30-year-old, who was voted the best foreign player in the Romanian league last year. “It was impossible to turn down their offer.” Szukala is the second Steaua player to join Al Ittihad after highly-rated midfielder Lucian Sanmartean.
CZECH REPUBLIC
‘Amphibian’ Bubnik dies
Vlastimil Bubnik, a former Czech ice hockey and soccer star, died on Tuesday at the age of 83, his family said. Pursuing the two most popular sports in the country, Bubnik won bronze playing soccer at the 1960 European Championships and matched that at the Olympic ice hockey tournament in Innsbruck, Austria, in 1964. Playing for the former Czechoslovakia, Bubnik long held the title of top Olympic ice hockey scorer, with 36 points from four Games. This feat by the sport’s “amphibian,” who played 127 games for the Czechoslovak team, was surpassed only in 2010, by Finland’s Teemu Selanne. A forward by nature, Bubnik also played 11 soccer matches for Czechoslovakia, in which he scored four goals. “I had the same passion for both sports,” he said.
SKIING
Hirscher wins night slalom
Triple overall World Cup champion Marcel Hirscher of Austria won Tuesday’s night slalom in Zagreb ahead of main rival Felix Neureuther of Germany and Norway’s Sebastian-Foss Solevaag. The 25-year-old Hirscher, leading overall, won both races to finish 0.81 seconds ahead of Neureuther, who was fourth after the first race. Solevaag finished 1.04 seconds behind the winner for his first podium. It was Hirscher’s third consecutive victory at Sljeme mountain after 2012 and 2013. Weather canceled last year’s event. Meanwhile, about 15,000 home fans focused on Croatia’s veteran star Ivica Kostelic, who ended up 18th. Kostelic and his sister, Janica — the first woman to win four Olympic skiing golds — are considered a sports miracle in Croatia, which has practically no snow conditions for skiing. Yet a series of health problems left their mark on the 2011 World Cup champion and serial Olympic silver medalist. “The season is not going as we would like, but there are still a lot of races until the end and I’m focused on them,” he said.
SOCCER
Song quits internationals
Cameroon midfielder Alex Song has retired from internationals after being left out of their 23-man squad for this month’s Africa Cup of Nations finals, he said on Tuesday. Song is not in the plans of Cameroon coach Volker Finke, who has ignored the 27-year-old since last year’s FIFA World Cup, where he was sent off for elbowing Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic. Song, on loan at West Ham United from Barcelona, got a three-match ban over the incident. “Since the World Cup in the summer and my subsequent exclusion from the Cameroon squad for the African Cup of Nations I have taken the decision to retire from international football,” Song posted on Instagram.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
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