SOCCER
Pele back in hospital
Brazilian legend Pele, 74, was back in hospital in Sao Paulo having undergone spinal surgery, TV Globo announced on Saturday. The Albert Einstein Hospital did not make any comment on the request of the family, but Globo said that Pele underwent the operation on Thursday and was recovering well. He is expected to be discharged today. According to the Globo Esporte Web site, Pele underwent arthrodesis, a procedure used to treat pain caused by the motion or instability of the spine. The site added that he has already recovered muscle strength and that the pain is under control. Pele was suffering from compression of two vertebrae which had made him lose the strength in his legs, especially in his right leg. Pele, the only player to win the World Cup three times, was reportedly due to undergo an operation on the problem last year, but other health problems forced him to put off the surgery.
SOCCER
Barca’s Bartomeu re-elected
Josep Maria Bartomeu was re-elected as president of European and Spanish champions Barcelona after seeing off rival Joan Laporta. Bartomeu, 52, polled 25,823 votes (54.63 percent) with Laporta, a former president, winning 15,615 votes (33.03 percent). Other contenders were businessman Agusti Benedito who garnered 3,386 votes (7.16 percent) and lawyer Toni Freixa with 1,750 votes (3.70 percent). With 47,720 votes counted, the election had the third-highest turnout in Barcelona’s history — only 2010 with 57,088 votes and 2003 with 51,618 had been greater. Bartomeu, who took over as president early last year after his predecessor Sandro Rosell stepped down, is to lead Barcelona for the next six years. Barcelona, just like their great rivals Real Madrid, but in contrast to other leading European clubs, are owned by their members.
RUGBY UNION
Genia, Horne to miss Test
Australia scrumhalf Will Genia and winger Rob Horne have been ruled out of next week’s Rugby Championship Test against Argentina after being injured in Saturday’s victory over South Africa. Genia started the match against the Springboks, but was forced off at halftime because of an injury to his right knee, while Horne aggravated a calf problem during the Wallabies’ last-gasp 24-20 win at Lang Park. Coach Michael Cheika said neither player would travel with the squad to Argentina today, but was confident they would be available to face the All Blacks in the first of back-to-back Tests against the world champions in Sydney on Aug. 8. Cheika has summoned winger Nick Cummins and scrumhalf Nic White back from the US, where they have been promoting Australia’s World Cup warm-up match in Chicago, to provide cover.
TENNIS
Errani to face Schmiedlova
Top seed Sara Errani of Italy ruined Romanian hopes when she beat Monica Niculescu 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 to reach the Bucharest Open final on Saturday. Errani was due to face seventh seed Anna Karolina Schmiedlova yesterday in their second final of the year. Errani beat the Slovakian in straight sets in the Rio de Janeiro final in February. That was Errani’s eighth career title. Schmiedlova finally broke through for her first in April in Katowice, Poland. Schmiedlova beat unseeded Polona Hercog of Slovenia 6-4, 6-3 in 35?C heat. Errani played an hour longer to overcome Niculescu. Errani had to save 11 of 15 break points to end Niculescu’s run to the semi-finals for a second straight year in her adopted hometown.
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
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