■ BOXING
Mundine to fight compatriot
Anthony Mundine said yesterday he will defend his WBA super-middleweight world title against fellow Australian Nader Hamdan in Sydney on Feb. 27. Mundine, who won his second title defense against Argentine Jose Alberto Clavero on Dec. 12, has won 30 fights (23 by knockout) with three defeats. Hamdan, 33, has lost three of his last five fights to take his record to 40-5. Hamdan has never had a crack at a world title in his 10-year professional career, but Mundine insists his mate is "the real deal." "I wouldn't take a fight if I thought he was going to be another easy opponent," Mundine said yesterday.
■ SKYDIVING
World champ hospitalized
World champion skydiver Loic Jean-Albert is recovering in a hospital after crashing on Tuesday, newspapers reported. The 30-year-old Frenchman crashed near Wanaka on New Zealand's South Island during a speed riding session. Speed riding involves skydivers traveling low to the ground around a preset slalom course. Jean-Albert was able to complete the course before seeking treatment from paramedics, the Southland Times reported. The newspaper said Jean-Albert, the world speed riding champion, was in a stable condition in hospital with pelvic injuries.
■ CRICKET
Players face taxing problem
India players are angry that earnings on their current tour of Australia will be taxed by local authorities. Newspapers reported on Wednesday that new Australia tax laws mean up to A$1.5 million (US$1.29 million) in payments and tour fees paid to Indian players will be claimed by federal taxes. The players do not pay taxes on those earnings in India but only on income from sponsorships, the newspapers reported. Tax laws imposed in July 2004 require all entertainers and sportsmen working in Australia to pay taxes. India team media manager MK Shridhar said the Board of Control for Cricket in India was looking at ways to get around the tax problem.
■ RUGBY UNION
England star may be jailed
England outside-half Olly Barkley risks a potential prison sentence after being charged with assault over an alleged attack on a fellow guest at a wedding in July. Barkley, who was a member of England's World Cup squad in France this year, will appear before a Magistrates' Court at Aylesbury near London on Dec. 31 to answer charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The offence carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and an unlimited fine. Pending his appearance in court, Barkley will be free to carry on playing for his English Premiership club, Bath, who stressed that the player would be contesting the charges. "Olly vigorously contests wrongdoing on his part, as he has done from the outset," a statement said.
■ TENNIS
Federer, Henin win awards
Roger Federer and Justine Henin are Tennis magazine's 2007 players of the year. It's the fifth consecutive time Federer has won the monthly publication's award. "Roger's serve is more of a weapon than it may appear, and that forehand is deadly," Pete Sampras writes in the January-February issue. "What most impressed me, though was the speed at which he can go from defense to offense. His ability to take command from any place on the court, at any stage of a point, may be his greatest gift of all.
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
Arsenal stormed six points clear at the top of the English Premier League as Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres put Fulham to the sword in a 3-0 win, while West Ham United’s defeat at Brentford offered Tottenham Hotspur a lifeline in the battle for survival. The Gunners have stumbled toward the finish line in their quest for a first league title in 22 years, blowing a sizeable lead over Manchester City in a series of nervous displays. However, the return of Saka, making his first start in six weeks, freed up Mikel Arteta’s men in a dominant performance that shrugged
China’s Wu Yize on Monday won the World Snooker Championship for the first time with a dramatic 18-17 victory over Shaun Murphy in the final. Wu held his nerve to seal his thrilling triumph in a tense last frame shoot-out at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre. The 22-year-old is the second Chinese player to win the world title after Zhao Xintong beat Mark Williams to make history as the first Asian to lift the trophy last year. Wu is also the second-youngest player to be crowned world champion at the Crucible after Stephen Hendry, who was 21 when he won in 1990. “I have been trying
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