■CRICKET
Malik divorces first wife
Former Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik divorced his first wife, Ayesha Siddique, on Wednesday, ahead of his planned marriage to Indian tennis star Sania Mirza. Shams Babar, a friend of the Siddique family, said Malik had acknowledged his marriage to Siddique despite earlier denials. “Both Shoaib and Ayesha have signed the divorce papers today,” Babar said. The Siddique family on Sunday filed a police complaint against Malik over his plans to wed Mirza. In her complaint, Siddique alleged that Malik married her in June 2002 and accused him of subjecting her to cruelty and harassment by denying that the wedding took place and by trying to marry another woman.
■FOOTBALL
Saints agree Brown deal
NFL champions the New Orleans Saints have agreed to terms on a two-year contract with free agent defensive end Alex Brown, the team said on Wednesday. Brown, a former fourth-round draft pick of the Chicago Bears in 2002, has played his entire eight-year NFL career with the Bears, appearing in 127 regular season games. The 30-year-old was released by Chicago last week.
■TENNIS
Clijsters wins in Marbella
Kim Clijsters of Belgium beat Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania 6-4, 6-7 (1), 6-2 on Wednesday in the first round of the Andalucia Tennis Experience tournament in Marbella, Spain. Second-seeded Flavia Pennatta of Italy defeated Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan, 6-3, 6-1, Beatriz Garcia of Spain beat Germany’s Kristina Barrois 7-5, 6-4 and Laura Pous of Spain topped Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium 6-1, 6-3. In second-round matches, fifth-seeded Maira Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain routed Alberta Brianti of Italy, 6-0, 6-2 and Tatjana Malek of Germany defeated fourth-seeded Aravane Rezai of France, 6-4, 6-2.
■SOCCER
Suspects arrested in Turkey
Turkish police yesterday rounded up seven more suspects, among them a former international, in connection with a match-fixing probe, the Anatolia news agency reported. The second-wave of arrests came as part of the investigation launched by an Istanbul prosecutor upon a complaint from the Turkish Football Federation that has already seen more than two dozen people charged. Among those detained yesterday was Celil Sagir, the report said. The 35-year-old once played for Istanbul giants Fenerbahce and made a few international appearances between 1996 and 1997. The investigation hit the headlines last month when police detained 46 suspects. Twenty-seven were subsequently charged. The most high-profile figure to be accused so far is former international Fatih Akyel.
■CRICKET
Surrey gamble on bad boy
English county side Surrey have signed Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds for their Twenty20 campaign. His off the pitch exploits have earned him the reputation of being a troublesome presence in the dressing room. In 2005 Symonds was dropped by Australia for indulging in a late-night drinking session on the night before a one-day international and was sent home from Australia’s 2008 tour of Bangladesh and dropped from the tour of India later that year after missing a compulsory meeting in order to go fishing. He was dismissed from the Australian team at last year’s world Twenty20, his third disciplinary sanction in a year which culminated in his central contract being withdrawn.
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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
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
In-form teenager Mirra Andreeva on Thursday crashed out of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, after going down in straight sets to fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last 16. World No. 7 Andreeva, who already has two titles under her belt this season, lost 6-3, 6-2 against the 22nd-ranked Alexandrova in just over an hour. The 17-year-old Andreeva had defeated her elder sister Erika in the previous round on Wednesday, but Alexandrova quickly took control as she claimed her fourth win over a top-10 player this season. The 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in February became the youngest winner of a WTA
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