■ Golf
Fred Couples withdraws
Former US Masters champion Fred Couples has withdrawn from next week's Singapore Open due to illness. Couples fell sick with a viral illness during Saturday's World Golf Championship at Akron, Ohio, and his doctor has advised him not to travel, Singapore Open organizers said in an statement yesterday. Couples, who won the Masters in 1992, was to be one of the headliners at the tournament which begins next Thursday at Singapore's Sentosa Golf Club, which is co-sanctioned by the Asian and European Tours. Other top participants at the US$3 million Singapore Open include defending champion Adam Scott of Australia, three-time major winner Ernie Els, US Open winner Michael Campbell, England's Lee Westwood and Shingo Katayama of Japan.
■ Weightlifting
Bulgarian in drug trouble
A Bulgarian female weightlifter tested positive for steroids and is awaiting the results of her backup "B" sample. Rumyana Petkova, who competes in the 75kg category, tested positive for stanozolol earlier this month, Bulgarian weightlifting chief Andon Nikolov said yesterday. The Bulgarians were notified of the "A" test result by the International Weightlifting Federation. "Our federation will decide whether we will send our representative for analysis of the `B' test, although it is 100 percent sure that the result will be the same," Nikolov said. If the second sample is also positive, Petkova would face a two-year ban "Some people haven't learned their lesson and continue doping," Nikolov said. Petkova finished sixth at the European Championships in Wladislawowo, Poland, in May, and was included in the national team for next month's World Championships in San Diego.
■ Rugby Union
Thion suffers rib injury
Biarritz' French international lock Jerome Thion looks set to miss the French champions mouthwatering clash on Sunday with Toulouse after suffering a rib injury. Thion complained of a pain in his ribs early on in the 54-0 whitewash of Bayonne on Wednesday and exited in the 12th minute. First prognosis was that Thion, who stood in for the suspended Fabien Pelous as captain in the November test last year against South Africa where he suffered a fractured larynx after being hit by Springbok skipper Jon Smit, had a badly bruised right side rib, although, he was to undergo further tests yesterday. Sunday's match is a rematch of last season's championship final which Biarritz won in convincing fashion 40-13.
■ Rugby Union
Caucaunibuca has typhoid
Fijian rugby winger Rupeni Caucaunibuca told the Fiji Times newspaper that he was not able to rejoin his French club Agen because he is recovering from typhoid fever. Caucaunibuca said yesterday he was recently admitted to a Fiji hospital and lost 12kg. Symptoms of typhoid include slow pulse, stomach pain and a rash. He said his illness was the only reason that he did not report to Agen, where he has been the leading try scorer in French rugby for the past two seasons. French newspapers reported that Caucaunibuca was quitting the club because of homesickness. The star winger told the Fiji Times he intended to return to Agen for the coming French season when his health allowed.
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” The statement did not provide
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