SOCCER
Defour back at Anderlecht
Belgium international midfielder Steven Defour has moved back home to champions Anderlecht in a club-record 6 million euro (US$8.02 million) move from FC Porto. The 26-year-old, sent off in his only appearance at the World Cup in Brazil in June, signed a five-year contract on Wednesday. Defour, who has won 44 caps for Belgium, was previously the object of much scorn from Anderlecht fans for provocative performances during his time at rivals Standard Liege. “I know that I did play on the edge in matches against Anderlecht and it was not an easy decision [to sign for them], but I always had respect for the club,” he told reporters. Defour is likely to make his debut on Sunday when Anderlecht visit Westerlo.
SOCCER
Everton sign Atsu
Everton have completed the signing of winger Christian Atsu on loan from Chelsea, the Premier League club said on Wednesday. The 22-year-old Ghana international could make his debut in the opening league game of the season against Leicester City tomorrow.
GOLF
Aussies star in Fiji
Australians performed strongly as the first round of the inaugural Fiji International at Natadola Bay ended with a seven-way split for the lead yesterday. Of the seven players who shot a four-under-par 68, six were Australian, with Wang Ming-hao of China the only non-Antipodean with a share of top spot. A further 11 players were one shot back on 69. Jake Higginbottom, in a share of the lead, said conditions at the US$1 million tournament, the largest sporting event ever staged in the Pacific island nation, were perfect for him and his Australian compatriots. “We got a little bit lucky with the weather, which allowed us to get scores like that,” he said. Local hero Vijay Singh, a three-time major champion who designed the course, ended the day well off the pace with a one-over 73, leaving him 52nd in the tournament, which is co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia and OneAsia. “It was a very interesting round I would say,” he said. “I made three doubles, I don’t know the last time I did that in a round of golf, but for some reason my driver wasn’t working. I’m very disappointed in my round, but what the hell, that’s the way it goes and there’s three days to go.”
RUGBY LEAGUE
Sonny Bill cannot sit still
New Zealand superstar Sonny Bill Williams has reportedly hinted he may return to Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) in what would be a third stint in the sport. Williams is to leave the league champions Sydney Roosters at the end of this season and return to New Zealand rugby union for the next two years. “It is my last year at the Roosters… for now,” Williams told the Sydney Morning Herald. “Last year when I came back to the game I didn’t think I would be staying for two years or winning a competition. So anything is possible. It just comes down to hard work and that self-belief. Of course there is always a chance [I will return] but I am 29 now.” Williams began his career in rugby league, winning the 2004 NRL title with the Canterbury Bulldogs in his debut season, before controversially walking out on the team mid-contract to play rugby union in France. He was equally successful in the 15-man code, contributing to the 2011 World Cup win by the All Blacks and snaring the 2012 Super 15 title with the Waikato Chiefs, before returning to the NRL to play with the Roosters last year.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
TWO IN A WEEK: Despite an undefeated start to the year playing alongside Jiang Xinyu of China, Wu Fang-hsien is to play the Australian Open with a Russian partner Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien yesterday triumphed at the Hobart International, winning the women’s doubles title at the US$275,094 outdoor hard-court tournament, while McCartney Kessler lifted the trophy in the women’s singles. Fourth-ranked Wu and partner Jiang Xinyu of China took 1 hour, 15 minutes to defeat Romania’s Monica Niculescu and Fanny Stollar of Hungary, 6-1, 7-6 (8/6) at the Hobart International Tennis Centre, their second title in a week. Wu and Jiang on Sunday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, beating Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US. Their winning ways continued in Australia as they stretched
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
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