ATHLETICS
Semenya eyes next month
The coach of champion, but trouble-plagued, South African runner Caster Semenya said she hopes to resume racing next year. Semenya has not competed since a back injury forced her to drop out of the Commonwealth Games in October. Michael Seme told reporters yesterday that Semenya was still being treated for the injury, but had resumed light training. He said he believes Semenya would start competing next month and that her first return races would be in South Africa.
BOBSLEDDING
US gets Worlds earlier
The bobsled and skeleton world championships are returning to Mount Van Hoevenberg one year sooner than expected. The Olympic Sports Complex track outside Lake Placid was awarded the 2013 worlds last year. However, after a meeting in Calgary, Lake Placid switched dates with St Moritz, Switzerland, which was scheduled to host the 2012 event. Jim Goff of the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority said the change was primarily made because of team travel to Sochi, Russia, for Olympic training in 2013. Goff says the FIBT and its member nations felt it would be easier for teams to travel from St Moritz to Olympic host Sochi. Races for the 2012 worlds at Lake Placid are expected to be held in mid-February.
FOOTBALL
Haynesworth suspended
The Washington Redskins have suspended defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth without pay for the last four games of the NFL regular season. The team says in a press release Tuesday that Haynesworth was punished for “conduct detrimental to the club.” Coach Mike Shanahan said Haynesworth “repeatedly refused to cooperate with our coaching staff in a variety of ways over an extended period of time.” The move caps a long feud between Haynesworth, a two-time All-Pro with a US$100 million contract, and first-year Washington coach Shanahan. Haynesworth was inactive for Washington’s 31-7 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday, which dropped the Redskins to 5-7.
TENNIS
Del Potro to return in Sydney
Argentina’s US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro looks set return to tennis at the Sydney International next month after ending this season early due to injury, officials said. Del Potro, who beat Roger Federer to win last year’s US Open but had this year been unable to shake off a troublesome wrist injury, has been granted a wild card entry for the Sydney tournament. Del Potro ended his season early in late October after missing all but three events of this year because of the wrist complaint. Tournament organizers said seven of the world’s top 10 women — including world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki — will compete at the Jan. 9-to-Jan. 15 event in Sydney, which serves as a warm-up to the Australian Open.
SNOWBOARDCROSS
Holland wins season-opener
Nate Holland of the US won the season-opening World Cup snowboardcross on Tuesday for his fourth career victory. The 32-year-old Holland beat Tom Velisek of Canada and Mario Fuchs of Austria in the final run. Holland and Andreas Promegger of Austria, who competes on the parallel slalom circuit, share the lead in the overall World Cup standings with 1,000 points each. In the women’s race, Dominique Maltais led a Canadian 1-2 by defeating Olympic champion Maelle Ricker to win her fourth career title. Yuka Fujimori of Japan took third.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
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
Francesco Bagnaia yesterday profited from a mistake by rookie Pedro Acosta to win the Japan MotoGP sprint and close the gap on overall championship leader, Jorge Martin. Spaniard Acosta crashed with four laps to go while leading the field at Motegi, allowing defending world champion Bagnaia to take first ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez. Spain’s Martin finished fourth and saw his overall lead over Italian Bagnaia in the championship standings cut to 15 points. “I am very happy because with these conditions, it’s not very easy to win and gain points,” Bagnaia said after a sprint race that took place under
Naomi Osaka is braced for a “battle” after yesterday setting up a clash with Coco Gauff in the round-of-16 of the China Open, while top seed Aryna Sabalenka also marched on. Osaka defeated 60th-ranked American Katie Volynets 6-3, 6-2 and next faces Gauff in a showdown of former US Open champions in Beijing. World No. 2 Sabalenka swatted aside Ashlyn Krueger 6-2, 6-2 for her 14th consecutive victory and plays another American in 24th-ranked Madison Keys. Looking ahead to the Gauff meeting, four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka said: “She’s very athletic, obviously.” “For me, my strongest traits are being aggressive and also my serve,
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