CHINA
Beckham lands China job
China has named former England captain David Beckham as its first global soccer ambassador to revive the game’s image after it has been hit by a match-fixing scandal and an exodus of international stalwarts from the premier league. In his new role, Beckham, who joined Paris Saint-Germain in January, is expected to help bring the Chinese Super League to the world stage and promote the game in the world’s most populous country. “I am honored to have been asked to play such an important role at this special time in Chinese football history,” Beckham said in a statement released by IMG. “I’m excited by the prospect of promoting the world’s greatest game to Chinese sports fans, as I’ve seen first-hand the growing interest in football there.” One of the most recognizable players across the globe, 37-year-old Beckham served as a special ambassador for last year’s London Olympics. Chinese officials expect his popularity and influence to restore the game’s credibility in the country. The new season kicks off on Friday.
SWITZERLAND
Goalscorer ordered off
Basel defender Aleksandar Dragovic scored twice, only to be sent off for a provocative goal celebration in their 2-1 win at Servette on Sunday. After heading the winning goal, Dragovic ran along the touchline making an aggressive gesture with his arm, before celebrating with the Basel bench. The Austrian, given a second yellow card after the referee interpreted his behavior as a provocation to the home supporters, was sent off amid chaotic scenes, with his teammates having to restrain him. “I had a bet with our assistant coach: If I scored with my head, I would have to run around the field,” he told reporters. “The gesture was aimed at him, not the Servette fans.” Servette had Omar Kossoko dismissed for throwing the ball down in disgust at a decision and getting a second yellow card. Last year, Dragovic had to apologize for playing a schoolboy prank on a Swiss minister during the medal ceremony at the end of the cup final. He gently slapped the balding politician on the back of the head as he was handing out medals to other Basel players.
SOUTH KOREA
Park left out of squad
Spain-based striker Park Chu-young has been left out of South Korea’s 23-man squad for this month’s World Cup qualifier against Qatar, the country’s soccer association said yesterday. RC Celta de Vigo took Park on loan from Arsenal for the season, but the 27-year-old has failed to score since November last year. South Korea, second behind Uzbekistan in Group A, host Qatar on March 26 in the final stage of Asian qualifiers for Brazil 2014. “We build our squad based on our opponents on a game-by-game basis,” head coach Choi Kang-hee was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency. “I think we have plenty of winning combinations in midfield and upfront.”
EQUATORIAL GUINEA
‘Butcher’ appointed coach
Andoni Goikoetxea, renowned in his playing days as “the Butcher from Bilbao,” has been appointed coach of the Equatorial Guinea national team, the west African country’s soccer association announced on Sunday. Goikoetxea, an uncompromising Basque central defender and Spain international, earned his nickname for a particularly crunching challenge on Diego Maradona which shattered the Argentine’s ankle ligaments in a league game between Barcelona and Goikoetxea’s Athletic Bilbao in 1983.
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,
The Philippines curling team has been rocking it in Harbin, claiming the tropical nation’s first Asian Winter Games medal yesterday with a victory in the men’s final against South Korea. The team of Marc Pfister, Alan Frei, Christian Haller, Enrico Pfister and alternate Benjo Delarmente took gold with a 5-3 win at Harbin Pingfang Curling Arena. The Philippines Olympic Committee was quick to celebrate with a post on Instagram to mark the historic gold. “This is the first-ever medal for the Philippines at the Asian Winter Games, and the highest achievement for a Southeast Asian athlete in the Games’ history! What an incredible
Eugenie Bouchard already has her own signature pickleball paddle. She is No. 17 in the pickleball rankings and constantly appears on the main court at events because she is always a big draw. However, just to be absolutely clear, she is not retired from tennis. The 2014 Wimbledon finalist still practices on the tennis court, still competes at tennis events and still has a Women’s Tennis Association ranking (No. 1,288). The Canadian standout just has a new sport that has caught her attention. Bouchard is one of several familiar tennis names — like Jack Sock and Donald Young — crossing over to
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien on Tuesday dumped compatriot and second seed Hsieh Su-wei out of the women’s doubles at the Qatar Open to set up another potential Taiwanese showdown, while world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka suffered a shock defeat in the second round. Wu and partner Jiang Xinyu, who earlier this year won the ASB Classic in Auckland and the Hobart International, defeated Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 10-5 in 1 hour, 29 minutes on Grandstand Court 3 at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. Wu and Jiang on Sunday advanced to the round-of-16 with a 7-6 (7/7),
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