ATHLETICS
Gatlin regrets booing
The booing that resounded around the London Stadium when Justin Gatlin mounted the podium to receive his gold medal as 100m world champion hurt the American, he said on Monday. The medal ceremony produced astonishing scenes, with Gatlin — whose victory denied Jamaican superstar Usain Bolt a farewell gold in the individual event — being booed and Bolt’s name being chanted, despite taking only bronze. Gatlin, who prior to his second ban from 2006-2010 won Olympic 100m gold in 2004 and double individual sprint world gold in 2005, had shown great character to triumph in London earlier this month after he was booed intensively throughout the 100m heats and final when his name was announced. “It did hurt because I’m not there for myself,” Gatlin said. “I’m up there for my country. I’m up there for my supporters. I didn’t do it for myself.”
TENNIS
ATP head hails Nadal
Rafael Nadal’s return to the top of the world rankings is a testament to the Spaniard’s longevity in the game and is as impressive as any of his career achievements, Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) president Chris Kermode said on Monday. The 31-year-old Nadal became the world No. 1 for the first time since July 2014 after replacing Britain’s Andy Murray at the top spot. “To regain the No. 1 ranking nine years after having first reached it is unprecedented,” Kermode said in a statement. “Rafa has been setting records throughout his remarkable career and this one is as impressive as any.”
SEA GAMES
Organizers slam behavior
Southeast Asian (SEA) Games organizers yesterday urged fans to behave themselves after Malaysian soccer supporters caused anger by chanting “Singapore dogs” during a game. The organizing committee called the incident — footage of which has been circulating online — “highly regrettable” and said it ran counter to the spirit of the 11-nation Games. “Any incident that is contradictory to this spirit of togetherness and unity, especially hurling of insults at other participating nations in whatever form, is highly regrettable,” the committee said in a statement. “Fans are urged to refrain from chanting offensive religious or racial slurs at all times.” The chanting was recorded during Malaysia’s 2-1 win over Singapore in Shah Alam on Wednesday last week.
RUGBY UNION
Dawson recounts illness
England’s 2003 World Cup-winning scrumhalf Matt Dawson on Monday told the BBC that he has undergone heart surgery due to being bitten by a tick in a park in London last year. The 44-year-old — who won 77 caps for his country and played seven times for the British and Irish Lions — said he would never have thought he was running such a risk going for a walk in a London park with his children. “I had two days where I felt awful. Very feverish, on the sofa, crashed out,” said Dawson, who was diagnosed with Lyme disease, a bacterial infection caused by infected ticks. “It was a really scary time for me and my family. Such a tiny creature caused me to end up needing heart surgery.”
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