■ Soccer
Player jailed for conspiracy
Ashley Sestanovich, who was a body double for French soccer star Thierry Henry, was jailed for eight years on Wednesday for helping to plan a robbery that ended in murder. The 25-year-old professional soccer player -- who had spells with Sheffield United and Manchester City -- was one of seven people sent to prison for the crime. He was convicted of conspiracy to rob a roofing firm in Streatham, south London, in June 2005, a plan that ended with one of the sons of the owner being murdered. Sestanovich got the chance to play Henry's body double in a Nike advertisement in Rome.
■ Soccer
Aurelio out for the season
Liverpool's joy at virtually ensuring they would reach the Champions League semi-finals after a 3-0 first leg away win over PSV Eindhoven was dampened on Wednesday by the news that defender Fabio Aurelio would miss the rest of the season. The 27-year-old Brazilian international defender -- the first from his country to sign for the club -- ruptured his Achilles tendon during the second-half of the match. "A scan has confirmed a complete rupture of the Achilles tendon in Fabio's right leg," said a Liverpool spokesman. "The player will undergo surgery and is expected to be out for approximately three to four months." Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez said it was a real shame for the player because he had just started to adapt really well to the Premiership.
■ Weightlifting
Chakhoyan fails dope test
Australian world champion weightlifter Sergo Chakhoyan has been banned from the sport for life after a second positive test for a banned substance, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) said yesterday. Armenian-born Chakhoyan, 37, tested positive for the stimulant benzylpiperazine, or BZP, while competing at the 2005 Commonwealth, Oceania and South Pacific weightlifting championships in Melbourne, ASADA chairman Richard Ings said. He was previously banned for two years in 2001 after testing positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol during the Goodwill Games in Brisbane. Under the world anti-doping code, a second offense brings an automatic life ban. Ings said ASADA had launched an investigation into Australian weightlifting after a series of positive tests, including Chakhoyan's.
■ Soccer
Zheng Zhi warns Charlton
Chinese international captain Zheng Zhi admitted on Wednesday that unless Charlton Athletic retain their Premiership status he could not carry on playing for them. The 26-year-old defender is presently on loan with the Premiership strugglers -- who have an option to buy him -- but will return to his Chinese club Shandong Luneng at the end of the season and then hold talks about a permanent move. However, Zheng, who scored on his debut for Charlton after arriving in December, admitted everything hinged on the club staying up. "I will do my utmost to help Charlton avoid relegation," said the 10-times capped Zheng. Charlton are presently in the last relegation spot third from bottom, one point adrift of Sheffield United. Zheng, the China captain, will feature for Shandong in the regional A3 Championship in June. "At that time Shandong and Charlton will have a new round of discussions about my future contract," Zheng said.
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
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