■ FOOTBALL
Saints star stabbed
New Orleans Saints defensive end Charles Grant was injured after being stabbed at an Atlanta night club on Saturday, US media reported. Grant, who was stabbed in the neck, was not seriously injured, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported on Sunday. Grant was stabbed during an incident that also involved the shooting death of a pregnant woman, the NFL network reported. It is not known if Grant had any connection to the shooting.
■ ATHLETICS
Maurice Greene calls it quits
Maurice Greene sprang a little surprise on Monday -- he's retiring. The former Olympic and world champion cited nagging injuries for his decision, making the announcement half way around the globe and not long after the Super Bowl had ended in Glendale, Arizona. "Today is my official day of announcing my retirement," he said in Beijing, sitting down for an interview. "You're the first I've told it to." Traveling in China inspecting Olympic facilities with a group of contenders for Olympic gold, the 33-year-old Greene said injuries forced him to retire. Coaching and business interests in the US will now be his focus. "It's a little sad for me but it's happy at the same time because I've had a great career. I've done a lot of great things," Greene said. From Kansas City, Kansas, Greene was the dominant sprinter of the late 1990s and into the new century.
■ FORMULA ONE
Star endures racist taunts
Lewis Hamilton endured racist taunts from spectators at Formula One testing, Spanish media reported on Sunday. The 23-year-old Briton, F1's first black driver, was jeered and insulted when he moved between the McLaren motorhome and the team's garage at the Montmelo circuit on Saturday. Circuit director Ramon Pradera instructed staff to erect barriers around the team's paddock for Hamilton's safety, the reports said. Banners making references to Hamilton and team boss Ron Dennis were removed while the stands directly above McLaren's garage were cleared to ensure no debris could be thrown down when the car returned to the pit lane. "We would like to make a plea to the fans to behave correctly," Pradera said. "No type of offensive behavior can be tolerated." Hamilton was widely blamed in Spain for Fernando Alonso's failure to clinch a third straight championship last season after the Spaniard joined from Renault. Alonso, who has since rejoined Renault, finished third in the drivers' standings, with rookie Hamilton finishing second.
■ OLYMPICS
Koreans resume talks
South and North Korea resumed talks yesterday on plans to send a joint supporters' squad to the Beijing Olympics by train across the heavily fortified frontier, officials said. The one-day meeting, the second of its kind, took place at Kaesong just north of the border, the South's Unification Ministry said. At a rare summit last October, leaders of the two nations agreed to send a train of supporters to the Games in August and to repair the dilapidated railway up to the North's border with China. Yoo Sang-il, an Olympic official, led South Korea's delegation. The North's was headed by Hwang Chol, a department director of the Council for National Reconciliation. A regular cross-border freight train service to a Seoul-funded industrial estate at Kaesong started in early December for the first time since the Korean War.
The next generation of running talent takes center stage at today’s Berlin Marathon, in the absence of stars including Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian world record holder Tigist Assefa. With most of the major marathon stars skipping the event in the wake of the Paris Olympics just more than a month ago, the field is wide open in the men’s and women’s races. Since 2015, Kipchoge has won five times in Berlin, Kenenisa Bekele has won twice and Guye Adola once — with all three missing today. Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie and Ethiopian Tadese Takele are among the favourites for the men, while
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Taiwanese martial artists bagged one gold, four silver and three bronze medals at the World Junior Wushu Championships in Brunei, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Brunei Darussalam said yesterday. Liu Yu-tzu won the gold medal in the girl’s taijiquan A group and also picked up a silver medal in the girl’s taijijian A group. Hu Hsin-ling, Yu Min-hsun and Chen Chao-hsiang each won a silver medal in the girl’s jianshu B, boy’s nangun B and boy’s taijijian A groups respectively. Hu also won a bronze medal in the girl’s qiangshu B group, while Yu and Lin Shih-hung picked up bronze medals
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