AWARDS
Li pips Tseng to win award
Chinese tennis player Li Na has been named the US Sports Academy’s Female Athlete of the Month for last month, leaving Taiwanese golfer Yani Tseng in second place and Dallas Escobedo, a freshman softball ace for Arizona State University in the US, in third. Li became the first player from an Asian nation to win a Grand Slam title when she won the French Open on June 4. World No. 1 female golfer Tseng has defended her title for the 22nd consecutive week, an LPGA report released on Tuesday showed. Although she failed to achieve a career Grand Slam at the US Women’s Open last week, it had no effect on her ranking. The Male Athlete of the Month was Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki. PGA golfer Rory McIlroy came in second, with tennis ace Rafael Nadal third.
CRICKET
Scots hold out against Irish
Scotland upset the odds to beat World Cup giantkillers Ireland by five wickets in a one-day international at the Grange on Tuesday. It looked as if Ireland, who beat Test nation England at the World Cup in India earlier this year, were on course for a sixth successive victory over their Celtic rivals after piling up 320 for 8, featuring 113 from Middlesex’s Paul Stirling. However, with Kyle Coetzer having already made 89, Richie Berrington saw Scotland to the brink of success with six sixes in 23 balls during his 56. Josh Davey, who finished on 50 not out, won the match with a four as Scotland finished on a record one-day total of 323 for 5 with nine balls remaining. The match was part of a triangular series also featuring Sri Lanka, whose opening fixture against Ireland was washed out without a ball bowled on Monday. This series was scheduled to conclude with Scotland’s match against Sri Lanka yesterday.
RUGBY
Japan win Pacific Nations
Japan stunned hosts Fiji 24-13 to capture the Pacific Nations Cup for the first time in dramatic fashion yesterday, giving Asia’s top side a huge boost ahead of this year’s World Cup. The Brave Blossoms need a four-try bonus-point victory over the Fijians and got it when Yuta Imamura skipped over just before the buzzer to trigger wild Japanese celebrations. “Great courage from the boys,” Japan coach John Kirwan said. “They were very physical ... I’m very proud of them.” Japan finished level with Tonga on 10 points in the standings, but won the tournament by virtue of their 28-27 win over the Tongans at the weekend. Tonga beat Samoa 29-19 before Japan’s fireworks tore up the script. Fiji let themselves down with some poor discipline and finished the game with just 12 players on the pitch. All four teams were using the competition as a warm-up for this year’s World Cup in New Zealand.
SOCCER
Turkish teams get go-ahead
UEFA says Turkish clubs Fenerbahce and Trabzonspor can play in next season’s Champions League despite their involvement in a widespread match-fixing probe. UEFA says the investigation is “a complex case which is still evolving,” but “there is nothing according to the UEFA statutes or regulations” to refuse entry. However, UEFA warns that clubs can be kicked out of the Champions League or banned in future seasons “if it transpires (they) obtained qualification via manipulated or fixed matches.” Prosecutors have charged dozens of suspects, including league champion Fenerbahce’s president, over corruption allegations involving 19 games. Runner-up Trabzonspor is in tomorrow’s Champions League third qualifying round draw.
Badminton world No. 3 Anders Antonsen clinched his first Indonesia Open title yesterday after beating Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, while South Korea’s An Se-young won her second championship in Jakarta. The 28-year-old Dane sank world No. 7 Chou at the Indonesian capital’s Istora Senayan arena, winning 22-20, 21-14 in a 60-minute match to secure the prestigious Super 1000 event. Antonsen came out on top in a tightly contested first game before cruising to victory in the second. In a more closely fought women’s singles final, South Korean ace and world No. 1 An fought back from one game down to beat China’s
‘STILL’: In front of a packed New Jersey arena attended by Donald Trump and Mike Tyson, UFC 316 delivered high drama as Merab Dvalishvili retained his title Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili scored a second-round submission win over Sean O’Malley to retain his bantamweight title at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 316 on Saturday, with Kayla Harrison also winning by submission in the co-main event, tapping out Juliana Pena to claim the women’s bantamweight crown. In front of a packed crowd at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, which included US President Donald Trump and retired heavyweight great Mike Tyson, Dvalishvili, a 34-year-old from the country of Georgia, won the belt in a convincing, although not aesthetically pleasing, unanimous decision. Dvalishvili (19-4) sat on top of the cage and shouted
Manchester City on Monday completed the signing of left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported ￡31 million (US$41.8 million). The 24-year-old Algeria international has signed a five-year contract and will be available for the FIFA Club World Cup, which begins later this week. Ait-Nouri is expected to be just one of a trio of new City faces for that tournament with deals close to completion for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Olympique Lyonnais playmaker Rayan Cherki. After missing out on a major trophy in the recently completed season for the first time since 2016-2017, City are hoping
Hulking Italian sprinter Jonathan Milan on Monday surged away from the pack to win the second stage of the Criterium de Dauphine in Issoire, France, to take the overall lead from Tadej Pogacar. The 1.93m, 87kg Milan had to battle to keep up on a hilly 204.6km run through central France from Premilhat. When the pack hit the home straight, he rocketed away from his rivals to collect a 10-second victory bonus and the yellow jersey. “That was really tough,” Milan said. “I was dropped at one point, and I was really on the limit, but I have to say
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