■ Hockey
Cop shoots India defender
Indian field hockey defender Sandeep Singh was hospitalized with a gunshot wound near his hip yesterday after a security official's revolver went off accidentally on a moving train, police said. Singh, a penalty corner expert and squad member for next month's World Cup in Germany, was taken to hospital after the incident. "He was injured in the back when the revolver of the security official accidentally went off," a police spokesman said. The official was checking over-head baggage in the train when his revolver became entangled with a seat and went off and hit the player, he added.
■ Tennis
Martina nets another title
Martina Navratilova won her 176th WTA doubles title on Monday when she and Nadia Petrova downed Cara Black and Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-1, 6-2 at the Rogers Cup. Navratilova, who turns 50 on Oct. 18, is to retire for a second time after the US Open in New York. It was a fifth doubles win for Navratilova at the Canadian event, each with a different partner. She also won in 1981, 1982, 1985 and 2004, when her partner in Toronto was Groenefeld. Navratilova and Petrova, playing together for the first time, split US$59,000. Navratilova has more than US$21 million in career earnings.
■ Rugby Union
Gregan sets playing target
Australia rugby captain George Gregan hinted yesterday he would finally be ready to hang up his boots if he leads the Wallabies at the World Cup in France next year. "To get through to next year's World Cup, that'll pretty much do me," Gregan told Channel Seven when asked about his remaining goals. Gregan was speaking after a Monday night function honoring his achievements in becoming the most capped player in Test history and Australia's most capped captain. After the function, the 33-year-old Gregan said he still had the desire to lead Australia in his fourth World Cup campaign. "I'm still loving being coached and I'm still being challenged and I do want to be there come next year," he told reporters.
■ Basketball
Randolph in police report
Police said on Monday that Portland Trail Blazers forward Zach Randolph was "involved" in a sexual assault report taken last week but is not a suspect. Sergeant Brian Schmautz, spokesman for the Portland Police Bureau, said detectives are interviewing potential witnesses to the incident. "The Police Bureau will now confirm that on Aug. 14, an officer took a report of a sexual assault and that the report involved Zach Randolph," Schmautz said in an e-mailed release. "However, the Police Bureau is not identifying Zach Randolph as a suspect in the criminal investigation." Randolph led the Blazers in scoring and rebounding last season, with 18 points and eight rebounds per game, as the team finished with the worst record in the NBA at 21-61.
■ Italy
Boumsong may sign for Juve
Fallen giants Juventus, who were demoted from Serie A to Italy's second division for match-fixing, are close to signing French defender Jean-Alain Boumsong from English Premiership outfit Newcastle United, according to Italian news agency ANSA on Monday. ANSA said Boumsong's agent is in Turin trying to finalize the deal for the 26-year-old France international. Boumsong, who cost Newcastle ?8.5 million (US$16 million) when they bought him from Scottish side Rangers in January last year, has been unable to command a regular place in the team.
■ Spain
Baptista wants to stay
Brazilian midfielder Julio Baptista said on Monday he had no intention of leaving Spanish giants Real Madrid despite suggestions that coach Fabio Capello wants to get rid of him. Spanish media reports had suggested that Capello wanted to use the under-performing Baptista -- known as the "beast" -- as a makeweight in a deal to bring AC Milan's Brazilian playmaker Kaka to the "meringues" as he tries to put an end to bitter rivals Barcelona's recent dominance in the league and Europe. However the message from Baptista, scorer of just eight goals in 32 matches last term after his 24 million euro (US$30.9 million) transfer from a hugely successful stint at Sevilla where he'd scored 38 goals in two seasons, was he was not going anywhere.
■ England
Smith makes comeback
England striker Alan Smith declared himself happy on Monday with his comeback for the Manchester United reserves six months after suffering an horrific broken leg when playing for the first team. The 25-year-old former Leeds United star played for just over an hour in United's 7-2 thrashing of Preston, failing to score but he was still more than satisfied. "I have worked hard for that all through the summer," said Smith, who saw any hopes of making England's World Cup squad disappear when he broke his leg and dislocated his ankle against Liverpool in the FA Cup tie in February.
■ England
Forest suffer further indignity
Once proud English soccer giants Nottingham Forest slumped even further on Monday as the two-time European Cup winners were beaten 1-0 by Accrington Stanley in the first round of the League Cup. Accrington's star striker Paul Mullin was their goal hero as the 32-year-old -- five times their leading scorer in the non leagues before they recovered their league status after 44 years this season -- saw his 61st minute effort deflected into the net.
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
Taiwan’s Lee Hao-yu on Friday went 0-for-3 in his MLB debut for the Detroit Tigers against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, becoming the 19th Taiwan-born player to reach the big leagues. The Tigers ultimately lost 1-0 in 10 innings, ending their six-game winning streak. The 23-year-old started at third base and batted eighth for Detroit. He was promoted from Triple-A Toledo ahead of the four-game series against the Red Sox at the latter’s home stadium, replacing injured utility player Zach McKinstry. “Being right-handed, and given our schedule, I think six of the next 12 games are going to
Denmark’s double Olympic badminton champion Viktor Axelsen, long a rival of Taiwan’s former world No. 2 Chou Tien-chen, yesterday announced his retirement at age 32, saying back problems meant he could no longer “compete and train at the highest level.” Axelsen, who won gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and again in Paris in 2024, had back surgery in April last year and said he had not overcome his physical issues. “Accepting this situation has been incredibly difficult,” he said in a statement. “But I have now reached a point where my body won’t allow me to continue.” Axelsen retires as one
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