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.”
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
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
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
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
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