■GYMNASTICS
PRC stars coming to Taiwan
China’s top gymnasts will visit Taiwan to show off their skills, an official confirmed yesterday. “Twenty-one Chinese gymnasts, including 11 gold medalists at the Beijing Olympics, will visit Taiwan from May 24-May 31,” Peng Chun-ming, of Taiwan’s Olympic committee, said. “They will visit tourist spots, meet with Taiwanese gymnasts and give three demonstrations. The performances will be free of charge to the public,” he said. “The visit is part of the sports exchange programs between our Olympic committee and China’s Olympic committee,” he said.
■FORMULA ONE
Barrichello threatens to quit
Rubens Barrichello told Ross Brawn he would quit if the team favored teammate Jenson Button at the Spanish Grand Prix. In an interview with a Brazilian radio station on Sunday, Barrichello said he met with Brawn GP’s owner and made it clear he would not accept being relegated to a secondary role. “I got to the pits and I told Ross Brawn that if he did anything to let Jenson win the race, I would hang up my boots and go home,” Barrichello told Radio Jovem Pan. Barrichello said the team owed him an explanation for a change in strategy that apparently cost him the race in favor of the Briton. “Brawn was clear,” Barrichello said. “He said Button’s victory was a coincidence.” Barrichello was leading the race ahead of Button when the team changed the Briton’s strategy from a three pits stops to two. The team did not change the Brazilian’s strategy and he was eventually overtaken by Button and finished second. Brawn said the team changed Button’s strategy to keep him ahead of the rest of the pack, not to overhaul Barrichello. He said there is no way to know for sure whether Brawn was being honest with him.
■SOCCER
Star faces probe over taunts
The German Football Federation (DFB) on Monday opened an inquiry into the behavior of Werder Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese following his side’s 2-0 win over Hamburg on Sunday. The DFB’s disciplinary commission launched the procedure after viewing a video of Wiese celebrating with Werder fans after the final whistle. Perched on the fence separating the pitch from the terraces, the German international brandished a megaphone to join in with the home fans’ chants, shouting “Shit on Hamburg!” The DFB has asked Wiese to submit a written account of what happened. Werder and Hamburg are the two biggest clubs in northern Germany and have a fierce rivalry.
■CYCLING
Valverde set to miss Tour
Alejandro Valverde, the world’s top-ranked rider last year, is poised to miss the Tour de France after he was banned from racing in Italy for two years by an Italian anti-doping tribunal on Monday. The 16th stage of the Tour passes through Italy on July 21. Italy’s Olympic Committee (CONI) said blood samples Valverde gave at a doping control when last year’s Tour entered Italy for a stage matched DNA from code-named bags of blood discovered in Spain’s Operacion Puerto investigation, launched in 2006. Valverde said in a statement that an appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport had already been launched. CONI officials told reporters they hoped the UCI would extend the ban worldwide. Valverde, 29, competed in the 2007 world championships despite the UCI trying to block his participation because he had been linked to Puerto.
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,
The Philippines curling team has been rocking it in Harbin, claiming the tropical nation’s first Asian Winter Games medal yesterday with a victory in the men’s final against South Korea. The team of Marc Pfister, Alan Frei, Christian Haller, Enrico Pfister and alternate Benjo Delarmente took gold with a 5-3 win at Harbin Pingfang Curling Arena. The Philippines Olympic Committee was quick to celebrate with a post on Instagram to mark the historic gold. “This is the first-ever medal for the Philippines at the Asian Winter Games, and the highest achievement for a Southeast Asian athlete in the Games’ history! What an incredible
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju and Kao Cheng-jui were defeated by their Chinese counterparts 3-0 on Saturday in the men’s doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash. Lin and Kao received their silver medals after being defeated by third-seeded duo Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin of China 2-11, 4-11, 11-13. The Taiwan pair were left playing catch-up early in the match after the Chinese duo proved unstoppable in the first and second game. Although Lin and Kao picked up their pace in the third game and at one point took a 10-8 lead, they were crucially unable to take
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien on Tuesday dumped compatriot and second seed Hsieh Su-wei out of the women’s doubles at the Qatar Open to set up another potential Taiwanese showdown, while world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka suffered a shock defeat in the second round. Wu and partner Jiang Xinyu, who earlier this year won the ASB Classic in Auckland and the Hobart International, defeated Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 10-5 in 1 hour, 29 minutes on Grandstand Court 3 at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. Wu and Jiang on Sunday advanced to the round-of-16 with a 7-6 (7/7),