GHANA
Paintsil complaint withdrawn
Police say the wife and a neighbor of Ghana international John Paintsil have both withdrawn complaints against him in relation to a domestic incident last week. Deputy Superintendent Freeman Tetteh said that Paintsil had been accused of causing harm to his wife, Richlove, and assaulting the neighbor at Paintsil’s home in Accra on Friday. Tetteh would not comment on reports that Paintsil had allegedly stabbed his wife in the eye. Tetteh said both had dropped their cases against the former West Ham United and Fulham defender, although Tetteh said police have statements from Paintsil’s wife and the unnamed neighbor “so no one can deny” that something happened. Tetteh would not give any more details of the incident.
PERU
Alianza mulling Viagra use
Leading club Alianza Lima are considering giving their players Viagra during matches played at altitude in the local championships. In a country where some league matches take place in towns between 2,700m and 3,300m above sea level, Alianza players could be looking at reaping the benefits from the erectile dysfunction drug. “When we were in Spain during pre-season, we talked with the club doctor and he explained to us that Viagra could help improve the physical conditioning of players at altitude,” coach Wilmar Valencia said. If results showed that the male potency pill enhanced on-field performance, “the club would use it,” Valencia said. The Alianza club doctor said Viagra helped the heart pump more blood, thus allowing better oxygenization, without it falling foul of anti-doping measures. The doctor said clubs such as Brazil’s Gremio already use Viagra for matches played at altitude.
ENGLAND
Gunners to honor Bergkamp
Arsenal plan to unveil a statue of former striker Dennis Bergkamp at the Emirates Stadium before the start of next season, the Premier League club said on Wednesday. “I will do everything I can to be there when it will be unveiled. It will definitely be a special moment for me, which I don’t want to miss,” Bergkamp told the club’s Web site. “I am honored that this is going to happen. It makes me very proud. Everyone knows that I love Arsenal and that I had a fantastic time at the club.” The former Netherlands international joined Arsenal from Inter in 1995, playing 423 times for the north Londoners in his 11 years at the club and scoring 120 goals. Bergkamp won the league on three occasions and the FA Cup four times. He also made a key contribution to the club’s undefeated league season in 2003-2004.
INDONESIA
Top soccer official sacked
The nation’s soccer association, PSSI, sacked its secretary-general, local media reported yesterday, the latest controversial twist in a two-year struggle for power that shows no sign of abating. Six of the 11 PSSI executive committee members met on Wednesday and opted to remove Halim Mahfudz and replace him with Hadiyandra, the Jakarta Post reported. “The [PSSI] chairman [Djohar] said he could no longer cooperate with the former secretary-general,” executive committee member Tony Apriliani told the newspaper. Indonesian soccer has been ripped apart by the fighting between the PSSI and the Indonesian Soccer Rescue Committee (KPSI), which has resulted in the nation having two domestic leagues and two national teams. FIFA have long threatened Indonesia with punishments and bans if the row is not resolved, with the latest deadline being March 20.
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju and Kao Cheng-jui were defeated by their Chinese counterparts 3-0 on Saturday in the men’s doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash. Lin and Kao received their silver medals after being defeated by third-seeded duo Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin of China 2-11, 4-11, 11-13. The Taiwan pair were left playing catch-up early in the match after the Chinese duo proved unstoppable in the first and second game. Although Lin and Kao picked up their pace in the third game and at one point took a 10-8 lead, they were crucially unable to take
Australia yesterday won two of four races on the first day of the SailGP Sydney event on Sydney Harbour to finish the day atop the points table ahead of Britain and a French team who made an outstanding return after missing the first two events of the season. Australia also had a third and a second placing, finishing the day with 37 points, ahead of Britain with 32 points and France with 27. Britain won the second race of the day and Switzerland, who won the first race, were in fourth place overall. Australia’s prowess in the start box was again the