BOXING
Boxer Khan meets royalty
Boxing star Amir Khan met Prince Charles on Tuesday and discovered that the heir to the British throne had sustained more injuries playing polo than the former world champion had suffered in the ring. The pair met in Sunderland, England, where the Prince of Wales was visiting a National Citizen Service project backed by Khan where youngsters help older people learn to use social media. “We had a bit of a chat about boxing and we had a chat about his polo and how many injuries we’d had. He’d had more injuries in that than I have in boxing,” Olympic silver medallist Khan said. Charles, 66, broke his right arm after falling off his polo horse in 1990. He was also left unconscious following another fall during a charity match in 2001. By contrast, Khan has won 30 of his 33 professional fights and so far avoided serious injury.
SWIMMING
Brazilian fails dope test
The Brazilian short-course relay team might lose three gold medals after swimmer Joao Gomes failed a dope test from last month’s world championships, Brazilian TV reported on Tuesday. The urine test taken at the Doha world championships, where breaststroker Gomes helped win the 200m medley, 400m medley and the 200m mixed medley relay titles, reportedly revealed a masking agent. The Brazilian swimming authority said it hoped to prove the presence of the masking agent was due to accidental contamination, Globo TV reported. Gomes helped the team qualify for the finals, but did not take part in any of the finals himself. However, the team could be stripped of the medals concerned and Gomes could face a four-year ban.
SOCCER
Japan captain ‘a bit dim’
Japan captain Makoto Hasebe has shown impeccable leadership in steering the Blue Samurai through the group stages, but he is also, according to Eiji Kawashima, “a bit dim.” The goalkeeper gently teased his captain as he said: “He’s a superb leader and has really grown into the captaincy. But I went out for a walk yesterday to buy him a birthday present and he wanted to come with me, so I couldn’t get him anything. At times like that you want him to be more switched on.”
SOCCER
Once bitten, twice shy
He was dubbed “Rottweiler” by Alex Ferguson, but Iran coach Carlos Queiroz is once bitten, twice shy after being fined for slamming refereeing at the Asian Cup. Queiroz, after being hit with a US$3,000 sanction for criticizing a referee, kept his counsel when asked about Brisbane’s shoddy pitch. “I don’t want to make comments about the pitch, the players, the opponents, the referees, or the AFC, the weather in Australia, nothing, because in my life usually when I give my opinions ... you usually pay for that, so I don’t want to be in that position,” he said.
SOCCER
14 seconds to immortality
The head of the United Arab Emirates’ football association said Ali Mabkhout’s name would reverberate through the ages after he scored after just 14 seconds against Bahrain. After combing through nearly 60 years of results and statistics, officials confirmed Mabkhout’s goal as the fastest recorded in Asian Cup history. What’s more, he outdid Fathi Kameel, a player for Gulf neighbors Kuwait who scored a lightning strike in 1976. “We are delighted. It’s enough that Fathi Kameel of Kuwait was the record holder for over 30 years,” Yousef Al Serkal was reported as saying. “Now Ali Mabkhout’s name will be immortalized, and with it will be the name of the Emirates.”
Soccer officials yesterday offered “full support and assistance” to the Iranian team in Australia for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup after the US and Israel launched massive attacks on their homeland. Iran’s 26-strong squad arrived on the Gold Coast days before the strikes on Saturday killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Washington and Tel Aviv seek to topple the Islamic republic. They are due to open their tournament today against South Korea. The AFC in a statement said it “continues to closely monitor the recent developments in the Middle East during this challenging period.” “The AFC’s foremost priority remains the welfare, safety and
ROAD RASH: Marc Marquez retired after a crash, marking the first time after 88 consecutive races stretching back to 2021 that a Ducati bike failed to make the podium Marco Bezzecchi yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening grand prix in Thailand from pole position as defending world champion Marc Marquez retired late with a buckled wheel. Aprilia’s Bezzecchi led from start to finish to top the podium in Buriram, with KTM’s Pedro Acosta second and Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez third. Ducati’s Marquez is chasing a record-equaling eighth world title this season, but he exited the race in dramatic fashion while in fourth place with five laps to go. The Spaniard, who started from second on the grid, took a corner wide, with the jolt to his bike dislodging the rear tire, badly damaging his
EVERY DAY A VICTORY: Players on the women’s team faced pressure from society just getting out onto the field as they prepare for their first Women’s Asian Cup game today Bangladesh’s national soccer team face daunting odds at their first-ever Women’s Asian Cup, but have already scored a major victory by qualifying. In the South Asian nation of 170 million, social stigma, family expectations, poverty and religious hardliners have long relegated women and girls to sports sidelines. The first women’s soccer league matches took place in 2011 and the squad, known to fans as the Red and Green, have kept pressing forward despite deeply embedded prejudices. “Many more girls would have joined us if the community had been even slightly supportive,” captain Afeida Khandaker told AFP ahead of her side’s March 3
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
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