■TENNIS
Alicia Molik retires at 27
Australia’s Alicia Molik has retired from international tennis after a long run of injuries, including a debilitating inner-ear virus. Molik peaked at a No. 8 ranking after reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals in 2005, but spent most of the rest of that season off the circuit because she was unable to balance owing to the ear virus. She won the bronze at the 2004 Athens Olympics and, despite only limited time in competition, achieved her ambition of making the Beijing Olympics last month, but was knocked out in the first round. “It’s tiring and it’s very draining,” Molik told Melbourne’s Age newspaper on Friday. “I’ve spent a lot of time thinking ... It took a while to get back and since then I’ve just struggled with a few more things that I never imagined would come along the way.”
■CYCLING
Chavanel takes Vuelta lead
Italian rider Paolo Bettini of Quick Step won the sixth stage of the Tour of Spain on Thursday, a 150.1km course from Ciudad Real to Toledo, while France’s Sylvain Chavanel of Cofidis took the overall lead. Bettini came in ahead of Belgium’s Philippe Gilbert of Francaise des Jeux, while Spain’s Alejandro Valverde of Caisse d’Epargne was third in the sprint. It was the fourth Vuelta stage triumph of Bettini’s career. The 34-year-old said was an encouraging sing for his bid for a third successive win at the world championships in Itlay starting on Sept. 23. Chavanel, who climbed to second place in the overall standings after Wednesday’s individual time trial, collected 12 bonus seconds for winning both intermediate sprints which allowed him to take the leader’s golden jersey from US rider Levi Leipheimer. Leipheimer is now 10 seconds behind Chavanel in the overall standings, while Valverde is third at 26 seconds.
■SOCCER
Club punished over violet
FIFA has ordered Romania’s soccer authorities to deduct six league points from top-division club FC Timisoara for refusing to change its playing colors. Timisoara began the season wearing a violet-colored strip despite a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling last April ordering it to change. The CAS hearing was held to decide which of two rival Romanian clubs had the strongest claim to the historical identity — including the traditional playing colors — of the team associated with the Politehnica student team of Timisoara. The ruling asked FIFA to deduct the points from FC Timisoara if it failed to comply with its legal defeat.
■PARALYMPICS
Aussie not blind enough yet
An Australian athlete in Beijing for the Paralympics has been told she cannot compete because she is not blind enough, a team spokesman said yesterday. Jessica Gallagher, 22, had been due to contest five events, the discus, long jump, shot put and the 100m and 200m sprints, before her hopes were dashed after she failed a classification test in Beijing. Although her right eye met the criteria, her left eye was found to be too good. A spokesman for the Australian team in Beijing said Gallagher was aware before she traveled to China that she was borderline and could fail the classification test. “It hasn’t come as a shock to her,” he said, adding that within 12 months it was likely that the level of deterioration in her left eye would mean she would be eligible to compete. The International Paralympic Committee has allowed Gallagher to stay after the Australian team said her osteopathy skills would be useful, the spokesman said.
Two people died on Thursday after fans and police clashed outside the Estadio Monumental in Santiago ahead of a game in South America’s Copa Libertadores, Chilean authorities said. The fatalities happened shortly before the match between Chile’s Colo-Colo and Brazilian club Fortaleza, when police blocked about 100 fans when they attempted to enter the stadium. There were conflicting accounts of how the fatalities occurred, with local media reporting that one of the dead was a 13-year-old boy. The other victim was an 18-year-old woman, according to a relative at the hospital where she was treated. The fans died after being caught underneath a
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
RSS