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.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
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