■ Soccer
Hiddink in tax trouble
Russia coach Guus Hiddink has been summoned to appear before a Dutch court for tax evasion, judicial sources revealed yesterday. Hiddink, who led Australia at this summer's World Cup, and his financial advisor must appear in court on Sept. 15. The fraud was allegedly committed in 2002 when he returned from leading South Korea to the World Cup semi-finals, when Hiddink claimed he was paying his taxes in Belgium. Dutch authorities doubt that he had really lived in Belgium. Hiddink denied the allegations. "I am completely honest. I will show there was no fraud and this is purely an administrative matter," he said.
■ Olympics
Two athletes' medals stolen
Former field hockey captain Katrina Powell had Olympic gold medals stolen from her home, joining pole vaulter Tatiana Grigorieva as the second top Australian athlete to have medals taken in robberies. Powell, a three-time Olympian, had the medals taken during a robbery on Tuesday at her home in Perth while she was at work. The theft came after 2000 Sydney Olympics silver medal winning pole vaulter Tatiana Grigorieva had her sporting mementoes stolen at a Brisbane office, police reported on Monday. Like Grigorieva, all of Powell's medals were stored in a safe, which was taken in the robbery. Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates yesterday offered to replace both women's Olympic medals. The International Olympic Committee has molds of the medals from past Games. "I was driving to work yesterday and heard about Tatiana's medal on the radio and thought `Oh no, that's terrible,' only to come home a couple of hours later and have all of my medals gone too," Powell said.
■ Cricket
Village team out for five
An English village cricket team narrowly missed out on one of the worst scores ever recorded after they were bowled out for five, with all the runs coming from extras, British newspapers reported yesterday. No batsman from bottom-of-the-table Goldsborough Second XI managed to muster a run to their name in the match against league leaders Dishforth, who sent their opponents back to the pavilion in 12 overs. The visiting side's only runs came from four byes and a leg bye in what is thought to be the lowest score in the 112-year history of the Nidderdale and District Amateur Cricket League in North Yorkshire, northern England. The Daily Telegraph said that Goldsborough's effort was not as bad as English Midlands side Shepstone's XI, who were all out for four extras in 1931.
■ Auto Racing
Radical BMW wings banned
Formula One's governing body has banned on safety grounds the radical-looking "Twin Tower" vertical front wings used by BMW Sauber at this month's French Grand Prix. The International Automobile Federation (FIA) wrote to all 11 teams after the race at Magny-Cours expressing concern that such devices "may impair the forward and/or lateral vision of the driver." The controversial wings passed pre-race inspections in France, but BMW team boss Mario Theissen accepted on Tuesday that the team would not be allowed to use them at this weekend's German Grand Prix. "The vertical wings obviously presented a new aero solution within the rules. We, however, respect the FIA's decision to ban such elements," he said in a statement.
HEATED RIVALRY: The pair had met 14 times previously, with Sabalenka winning eight of the encounters and entering the final as the favorite to take the title Elena Rybakina took revenge over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to win a nail-biting Australian Open final yesterday and clinch her second Grand Slam title. The big-serving Kazakh fifth seed held her nerve to pull through 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne in 2 hours, 18 minutes. It was payback after the Belarusian Sabalenka won the 2023 final between two of the hardest hitters in women’s tennis. The ice-cool Rybakina, 26, who was born in Moscow, adds her Melbourne triumph to her Wimbledon win in 2022. It was more disappointment in a major final for Sabalenka, who won the US Open
GUNNING FOR A WIN: The victory sending Arsenal to the final for the first time in six years was cathartic for a team who had lost their previous four semi-finals Arsenal on Tuesday reached the League Cup final for the first time in eight years as Kai Havertz sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea in the semi-final second leg. Mikel Arteta’s side had put themselves in pole position in the first leg and Havertz came off the bench to finish the 4-2 aggregate victory in the closing moments at the Emirates Stadium. It was a cathartic triumph for the Gunners, who had lost their previous four semi-finals in last year’s UEFA Champions League and League Cup, the 2022 League Cup and the 2021 UEFA Europa League. In their first final for six years,
Denver superstar Nikola Jokic returned from a 16-game injury absence to post a 31-point, 12-rebound double-double on Friday and propel the Nuggets to a 122-109 NBA victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic had not played since suffering a bone bruise in the left knee he hyperextended in a game against Miami on Dec. 29 last year. The Serbian big man did not miss a beat. He led all scorers, connecting on eight of 11 shots from the field, and also handed out five assists with three steals while playing just 24 minutes, 32 seconds as the
DEADLINE DAY: Rennes’ Jacquet had been linked with a transfer to Chelsea earlier this month, but was reportedly put off the move due to the Blues’ bloated squad Liverpool on Monday won the race to sign Stade Rennais defender Jeremy Jacquet on the quiet final day of the English Premier League transfer window, while Crystal Palace swooped for Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Jorgen Strand Larsen despite the collapse of Jean-Philippe Mateta’s move to AC Milan. The Reds agreed a reported fee of up to ￡60 million (US$82 million) for the highly rated Jacquet. However, the 20-year-old will not join the Premier League champions until the summer despite Liverpool’s need for defensive reinforcements. Jacquet had been linked with a transfer to Chelsea earlier this month, but was reportedly put off
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