FOOTBALL
Doug Atkins dies at 85
Hall of Famer Doug Atkins, an imposing pass rusher who inspired fear in opposing offenses for 17 NFL seasons, most notably with the Chicago Bears, died on Wednesday at the age of 85. “Doug Atkins is an all-time great who will be remembered as one of the pillars of the 1963 championship Bears,” Bears chairman George McCaskey said in a statement after the Hall of Fame confirmed that Atkins died in Knoxville, Tennessee. At 2.03m, Atkins was a towering figure among his contemporaries on the field from the early 1950s to the late 1960s. When he played, quarterback sacks were not yet an official statistic, but Atkins once reckoned that in a few of his 12 seasons with the Bears he might have had as many as 25 — which would be an NFL record today. He won an NFL championship with the Cleveland Browns in 1954 and in 1963 with Chicago, where he starred for 12 seasons before ending his career with the expansion New Orleans Saints. Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton called Atkins a “physical marvel of our era,” while he was once described in an NFL Films production as “a storm blowing over a Kansas farm house... All you could do was tie down what you could and hope he didn’t take the roof.”
TENNIS
Monfils out with injury
Gael Monfils has withdrawn from the Hopman Cup mixed team event due to an unspecified leg injury and will be replaced by French compatriot Kenny De Schepper. It was not clear whether the injury would prevent the 24th-ranked Monfils from competing in the Australian Open beginning Jan. 18 in Melbourne. Hopman Cup tournament director Paul Kilderry yesterday said: “It’s unfortunate to hear Gael is unable to play in Perth... We wish him well over the next couple of weeks ahead of the Aussie Open.”
SOCCER
Ibrahimovic to stay at PSG
Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic said he has no intention of leaving the French champions, despite his contract being due to run out at the end of the season. The 34-year-old, who played in PSG’s 1-0 friendly win over his former club Inter in Doha on Wednesday, has been heavily linked with a move to Major League Soccer and the Premier League. However, Ibrahimovic said that “nothing was on the table” regarding future offers and he was happy in the French capital, with PSG riding high in their bid for a fourth straight Ligue 1 title. “I have a beautiful relationship with PSG. I have no intention of leaving,” the Swede said when asked about his future plans.
CRICKET
Hossain charged in torture
Bangladeshi police have charged national cricketer Shahadat Hossain with assaulting an 11-year-old girl he employed illegally as a maid. Police said Hossain, who has played 38 Tests for Bangladesh, and his wife, Nritto Shahadat, were charged on Tuesday with assault and torture. “The allegations against Shahadat and his wife were proved in our primary investigations,” police Inspector Shafiqur Rahman said. The 29-year-old cricketer, who denies any wrongdoing, was suspended from all forms of the game on Sept. 13 over the allegations. He and his wife went into hiding after police raided their house in September following a complaint from the young girl. Police said one of her hands had been burnt with a hot cooking paddle, while other injury marks were also found on her body. Television footage showed her looking frail and thin with swollen black eyes. Hossain handed himself in to police in October after his wife was arrested.
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