SOCCER
Bale trains with Real
Gareth Bale trained with Real Madrid on Wednesday for the first time since his move from Tottenham Hotspur to the Spanish capital. Madrid published a photograph on their Web site of Bale being greeted by Cristiano Ronaldo at the club’s Valdebebas training ground after returning from international duty with Wales. Bale, 24, joined Madrid for an undisclosed fee that many reports say was higher than the world-record 94 million euros (US$125 million) paid by the club to Manchester United for Ronaldo in 2009. Bale played the final half-hour of Wales’ 3-0 defeat to Serbia in Cardiff in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday. It was his first taste of action this season, but he may well make his debut for his new club in tomorrow’s trip to Villarreal in La Liga.
SOCCER
No Kerimov warrant: Interpol
Interpol on Wednesday said it has not issued an international arrest warrant for the billionaire owner of Russian soccer club Anzhi Makhachkala, Suleiman Kerimov, who is wanted by Belarus as part of a criminal probe into the potash sector that has already strained ties between Moscow and Minsk. Belarus last week opened a probe against Kerimov into suspected abuse of authority which has a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison. Minsk said then that Kerimov, who is based in Russia, should be placed under arrest and that it has issued an arrest warrant for his detention. Interpol said it received a request from Belarussian authorities on Sept. 2 for a Red Notice to be issued for Kerimov. It said that a week earlier, it had also received a separate “request from Belarus requesting that Red Notices be issued against four other individuals linked to the same case.” However, these “Red Notice requests are currently under review,” the statement added. The Belarussian charges relate to a probe that saw the chief executive of Russia’s main potash producer Uralkali, Vladislav Baumgertner, detained at Minsk airport and placed in custody at the end of last month. Belarussian investigators allege an illegal scheme by Baumgertner and other Uralkali managers to enrich themselves at a cost of US$100 million to Belarus.
SOCCER
Hunt out for four months
Crystal Palace signing Jack Hunt is unlikely to make his debut for the promoted Premier League club until next year after breaking his ankle in training. The 22-year-old defender, who signed from Huddersfield Town at the end of last month, will be out for up to four months, the BBC reported on Wednesday. “Absolutely devastated to have broken my ankle in training,” Hunt said on Twitter earlier this week. “Got to take the positives, clean break and no operation needed.” The rightback made 104 appearances for Championship side Huddersfield before making the switch to Selhurst Park.
TENNIS
Jovanovski into semis
Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia was the only seeded player to make it to the semi-finals of the Tashkent Open, beating Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) yesterday. The top-seeded Jovnovski won as the three other seeded players in the quarter-finals all lost. Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor of Spain defeated third-seeded Yvonne Meusburger of Austria 6-3, 6-0, Mandy Minella of Luxembourg beat fourth-seeded Nastassja Burnett of Italy 7-6 (7/4), 7-5, and Olga Govortsova of Belarus beat fifth-seeded Alexandra Cadantu of Romania 6-3, 6-2. In the semi-finals, Jonanovski will play Torro-Flor, while Govortsova will meet Minella.
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday said that she hoped she would be able to play tennis under the Belarusian flag after the International Olympic Committee lifted its ban on the country’s athletes competing in the Olympics. World No. 1 Sabalenka has had to compete under a neutral banner as a consequence of her country’s support for Russia following its ally’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The IOC earlier on Thursday lifted its ban on Belarusian athletes competing in the Olympics, although restrictions on Russian athletes remain in place. Asked whether the women’s tour would drop the ban on her representing her country, Sabalenka said:
China’s Wu Yize on Monday won the World Snooker Championship for the first time with a dramatic 18-17 victory over Shaun Murphy in the final. Wu held his nerve to seal his thrilling triumph in a tense last frame shoot-out at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre. The 22-year-old is the second Chinese player to win the world title after Zhao Xintong beat Mark Williams to make history as the first Asian to lift the trophy last year. Wu is also the second-youngest player to be crowned world champion at the Crucible after Stephen Hendry, who was 21 when he won in 1990. “I have been trying
Real Madrid announced on Friday they had fined Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde 500,000 euros (US$588,000) each after a training ground clash that saw Valverde transported for medical care. The club did not impose any sporting sanctions on the two players, saying in a statement that the fine “thereby concludes the internal procedures” launched against them. Valverde is going to miss today’s Clasico against Barcelona as a result of the head injury he suffered during the altercation. The club said he would be out for up to two weeks. Tchouameni took part in training on Friday and could feature at Camp
RSS