■CRICKET
Omission irks ex-players
Veteran Pakistani players yesterday expressed anger that Younus Khan had been excluded from the squad bound for England, saying the former captain was being victimized. The Pakistan Cricket Board has given no reason for excluding 33-year-old Younus from the 17-man Test squad announced in Sri Lanka on Sunday despite his indefinite ban for disciplinary offences being overturned. Former chief selector Iqbal Qasim said Younus was being punished for challenging his indefinite ban. “I feel Younus has been victimized,” Qasim said. “He fought his case and was outspoken against the treatment and was dropped.” Former captain Rashid Latif said that, along with Younus, fast bowler Mohammad Sami and batsmen Faisal Iqbal and Khurrum Manzoor also deserved a place in the squad. “I respect the selection but four players — Younus, Sami, Iqbal and Manzoor — deserved places in the team,” Latif said.
■RUGBY UNION
Bishop to miss Test
Wales center Andrew Bishop will miss Saturday’s second Test against New Zealand after suffering a broken hand during last weekend’s 42-9 first Test loss. Bishop is likely to be sidelined for four weeks after X-rays yesterday confirmed a fracture. Fly-half Stephen Jones also suffered a hand injury during the Dunedin Test but is expected to play at Hamilton on Saturday. The Welsh team has scheduled further scans of Jones’ injury before confirming his fitness. New Zealand has lost full-back Israel Dagg for Saturday’s match with concussion and may lose lock Anthony Boric with a fractured cheekbone.
■RUGBY UNION
Hleb retuning to Barca
Belarus winger Alexander Hleb will return to Barcelona from a loan spell at Stuttgart, his agent has said.
Hleb joined Barca in 2008 from Arsenal for an initial fee of 15 million euros (US$18.6 million). After a disappointing first season he was loaned out to his former club Stuttgart. His agent Uli Ferber told Catalan radio station COM on Saturday that “his plans are to return to Barcelona.” If he does return to the Spanish club, the player will have to report for preseason training on July 15. He is currently working with a personal trainer on his fitness after undergoing surgery for a broken nose.
His contract with Barcelona expires in June 2012.
■GOLF
South Korean makes history
South Korea’s Jin Jeong has become the first Asian player to win the British Amateur Championship in the competition’s 125-year history. The 20-year-old Jeong, who plays for Australia’s Waverley Golf Club, beat James Byrne of Scotland 5 and 4 in a 36-hole final on Saturday. His reward for the milestone is a place in next month’s British Open at St. Andrews and an invitation to the 2011 Masters. Jeong sank birdie putts of 30 feet, 12 feet and 18 feet on the par-five fifth, par-four sixth and par-three seventh respectively to build a five-hole lead that would prove insurmountable. “I’ve never putted better than that,” Jeong said. “I was quite nervous all week, especially before today. But I came here this week really wanting to win. I wanted this title so badly.’’ Jeong is the second Korean amateur to earn a place at St Andrews after Eric Chun secured an Open berth through the Asian leg of International Final Qualifying earlier this year. “I always hoped that my first major would be the [British] Open,’’ Jeong said. “Now I can play at St Andrews. It means everything. It’s a dream come true.”
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia yesterday advanced to the women’s doubles final at the Australian Open after defeating New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 in their semi-final. Hsieh has won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and has a shot at a 10th tomorrow, when the Latvian-Taiwanese duo are to play Taylor Townsend of the US and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the championship match at the A$96.5 million (US$61 million) outdoor hard court tournament at Melbourne Park. Townsend and Siniakova eliminated Russian pair Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva 6-7
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