ASIAN CUP
North Korea win warm-up
A second-half goal from substitute Chol Hyok gave North Korea a 1-0 victory over Bahrain on Tuesday in a warm-up match before the Asian Cup. Hyok, who replaced Choe Kum-chol at halftime, collected a cross from Pak Chol-min on the left and fired past Bahrain goalkeeper Mahmood Mansoor. The friendly was part of both teams’ preparations for the Asian Cup, which starts in Doha tomorrow. North Korea will face a daunting task in Group D as they take on defending champions Iraq, three-time champions Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Bahrain are in Group C with Australia, India and South Korea. North Korea were lifted by news from Germany that striker Jong Tae-se, who plays for second division side VfL Bochum, has been released by his club for the Asian Cup. The 26-year-old forward has been suffering from a persistent knee injury and his club had hoped he would remain in Germany to concentrate on fully recovering for the second half of the season, but after talks with the player, Bochum agreed to release him for the tournament.
ASIAN CUP
Goal-shy Saudi disappoint
Saudi Arabia drew 0-0 with Angola in an Asian Cup warm-up match on Tuesday. Thousands of fans were disappointed to see the Saudi team produce a very weak performance in the absence of their star striker Yasser Al Qahtani. The home team improved in the second half, but could not find a winner. Nasser Al Shamrani, Muhanad Asiri and Nayef Hazzazi missed the Saudis’ best chances. Angola failed to muster a serious threat on goal in the entire match as they focused on defense. Saudi Arabia opens their Asian Cup campaign against Syria on Sunday. They also face Japan and Jordan in Group B.
GERMANY
Match-fixing stuns St Pauli
Bundesliga club St Pauli reacted with shock on Tuesday after a former player said in a magazine interview he took 100,000 euros (US$133,100) to fix five matches in 2008. Rene Schnitzler, who played for the club when they were still in the second division, told Stern magazine he accepted the money from a Dutchman working with a betting outfit, although he denied influencing any matches. St Pauli said Schnitzler, who is now 25 and has dropped into regional soccer after leaving the club in 2009, ended up not playing in three of the five games, which were all away. “Even when no manipulation has taken place, it is a kick in the face,” St Pauli team manager Christian Boenig told reporters. “We didn’t notice anything conspicuous and neither did the other players, had we done so we would have reported it, but it’s a very uneasy feeling when a player whom we’ve discussed tactics with and worked with in private is connected with the betting mafia. We knew Rene had problems and we had offered him help, but we were not aware they were so deep.”
ENGLAND
Gunners to loan out Vela
Mexico striker Carlos Vela is set to be sent out on loan by Arsenal until the end of the season, with Bolton Wanderers emerging as the likely destination. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says that Bolton, who had Gunners midfielder Jack Wilshere on loan for part of last season, is one of “many clubs” interested in Vela. The 21-year-old Vela has seen his first-team chances at Arsenal limited this season, with Marouane Chamakh, Nicklas Bendtner, Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott all ahead of him in the pecking order.
The next generation of running talent takes center stage at today’s Berlin Marathon, in the absence of stars including Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian world record holder Tigist Assefa. With most of the major marathon stars skipping the event in the wake of the Paris Olympics just more than a month ago, the field is wide open in the men’s and women’s races. Since 2015, Kipchoge has won five times in Berlin, Kenenisa Bekele has won twice and Guye Adola once — with all three missing today. Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie and Ethiopian Tadese Takele are among the favourites for the men, while
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
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
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