SOCCER
Garcia to start from bench
Former Liverpool player Luis Garcia is likely to start from the bench when he makes his A-League debut today for the Central Coast Mariners against the Western Sydney Wanderers. The 37-year-old Garcia, who played his previous competitive match almost a year ago, looked fresh and fit when he trained with the Mariners for the first time yesterday in heavy rain. The former Spain international said he was nervous before training with his new teammates for the first time. Soaked after the 90-minute session, he joked: “They told me it was nice weather here.” Mariners coach Tony Walmsley said he would likely hand Francesco Stella an A-League debut in the No. 10 jersey and Garcia would come off the bench as his workload was carefully managed.
CYCLING
Gerrans wins stage
Australian Simon Gerrans won a feisty sprint finish to claim yesterday’s 138km fourth stage of the Tour Down Under, setting himself up for his fourth overall victory in the event. Gerrans, who also won Thursday’s third stage in a sprint, had the advantage going into the fifth stage today, a 151.5km stretch from McLaren Vale to Willunga Hill in South Australia State. “I’m absolutely thrilled with that,” the 35-year-old said, while thanking his team for making his run “as easy as possible.” Gerrans, the overall winner of the Tour Down Under in 2006, 2012 and 2014, will be hoping experience pays off when it comes to Willunga Hill. However, the Orica GreenEdge leader is taking nothing for granted, having been caught in a mass pile-up inside the final kilometer of Wednesday’s stage just after putting himself in a perfect position to take the stage win. “I still have to be very, very attentive going into Willunga tomorrow [today]. We have a nice little buffer there, but there’s still a heck of a lot of work to be done,” he said. In the general classifications, Gerrans (13 hours, 41 minutes, 58 seconds) leads fellow Australians Jay McCarthy (14 seconds back) and Rohan Dennis (26 seconds back).
RUGBY SEVENS
Quade Cooper joins squad
Quade Cooper has joined Australia’s rugby sevens program and is available for selection for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where the condensed version of the sport is to make its debut. The Australian Rugby Union yesterday announced that Cooper would be released by his French club, Toulon, for the Sydney, Paris and London stages of the Sevens World Series. An attacking flyhalf, Cooper has 58 Test caps for the Wallabies and has played at two World Cups. Australia finished third in 2011 and were runners-up to the All Blacks last year. “As a rugby player growing up, you never think you’ll have the chance to play at an Olympics, so I’ll be doing everything I can to make the squad,” Cooper said.
BASKETBALL
Knicks top ‘Forbes’ ranking
The New York Knicks are the most valuable team in the NBA at US$3 billion, one of 13 NBA clubs valued at more than US$1 billion this week by Forbes magazine. The Knicks returned to the top spot on Forbes’ list after a one-year absence when the Los Angeles Lakers claimed it last year. Forbes said the 20 percent rise in its valuation of the Knicks was fueled by the club’s new cable television deal and the fact that the Knicks have the highest premium-seating revenue in the league. The Lakers were second on the list at US$2.7 billion.
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
Rafael Nadal on Tuesday lost in straight sets to 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round at the Madrid Open, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the semi-finals in the women’s doubles. Nadal said that he was feeling good about his progress following his latest injury layoff. Nadal called it a “positive week” in every way and said his body held up well. “I was able to play four matches, a couple of tough matches,” Nadal said. “So very positive, winning three matches, playing four matches at the high level of tennis. I enjoyed a lot playing at home. I leave here with
When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated worldwide. Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the unheralded Douglas in February 1990. Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery. The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and is just
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