ASIAN CUP
Myanmar knock out Taiwan
Myanmar booked their place at next year’s women’s Asian Cup in Japan on Saturday after a goalless draw at the Faisal al-Husseini Stadium in Al-Ram, West Bank, knocked out Taiwan and saw the ASEAN side finish top of Group D on goal-difference. With the two sides canceling each other out in the Group D showdown, goal-difference became the deciding factor with the teams tied on seven points each. Myanmar’s clean sheets in their wins over Palestine (9-0) and India (2-0), as well as the fact they scored three more goals against the hosts than Taiwan, saw Yoshinori Kumada’s side through to next year’s finals and Yen Shih-kai’s team exit the competition. In the earlier match, Palestine and India drew 1-1, a result that saw India finish third, also on goal-difference with both team’s having a solitary point.
BRAZIL
Neymar to sign for Barca
Rising star Neymar announced on Saturday on his Instagram account that he is about to sign for Barcelona. “On Monday, I sign a contract with Barcelona. I want to thank the Santos fans for nine incredible years,” wrote Neymar, 21, who is currently a forward for the storied Brazilian team Santos. Santos had received offers for Neymar from both Barcelona and their archrivals Real Madrid, according to Spanish newspaper El Pais, quoting the club’s vice president. Neymar has been a first-team regular for Santos for the past four years, scoring 156 goals and providing 77 assists in 256 matches. In 2011, he guided them to their first Copa Libertadores triumph since the days when Pele represented the club in the 1960s and has already established himself at international level, scoring 20 times in 32 appearances for Brazil. “It’s a different moment for me, sad (bidding farewell) and happy (new challenges),” he wrote. Neymar played his last game for Santos yesterday against rivals Flamengo. “I want the chance to enter the field one more time ... and hear the fans cry out my name,” he wrote.
UNITED STATES
Rogers signs for the Galaxy
Former US soccer international Robbie Rogers has joined the Los Angeles Galaxy, the team said on Saturday, putting him in line to become the first active openly gay male athlete to compete in a US professional team sport. Rogers, who came out as gay in February with an announcement that also included his decision to step away from the game, was to be on the Galaxy’s roster for yesterday’s home game against Seattle if his international transfer certificate arrived in time. The announcement by the Galaxy comes less than a month after NBA veteran Jason Collins became the first active athlete from the four major US men’s professional sports leagues to come out publicly as gay. However, Collins is a free agent and he has not competed since his announcement.
UNITED STATES
City beat Blues in Big Apple
French midfielder Samir Nasri scored twice as Manchester City defeated Chelsea 5-3 on Saturday in a crowd-pleasing friendly at Yankee Stadium in New York. In addition to Nasri’s brace, Gareth Barry James Milner and Edin Dzeko also scored to give Manchester City a second victory over Chelsea in three days, despite a second-half brace from Ramires and a goal from a Juan Mata free-kick. The Premier League rivals followed up their seven-goal clash in St Louis, Missouri, on Thursday — which City won 4-3 — with another free-wheeling contest in front of 39,462 on a chilly night at the home of the New York Yankees.
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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