Wed, Oct 14, 2015 page18

• SPORTS BRIEFS

  • Agencies
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  TENNIS

  Gasparyan wins opener

  Margarita Gasparyan of Russia rallied from a break down in the final set to beat Carina Witthoeft of Germany 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 on Monday on the opening day of the Generali Ladies. Gasparyan, who won her maiden WTA title in Baku in August, converted all six break points to set up a second-round match against last year’s finalist Camila Giorgi of Italy or Julia Goerges of Germany. Earlier, Anna-Lena Friedsam defeated Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia 6-3, 6-3. The 118th-ranked German dropped her opening service game, but won 12 of the next 16 games, and faces either the top-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic or Andreea Mitu of Romania. Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium also advanced by beating Varvara Lepchenko of the US 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).

  GOLF

  Australian Open field grows

  Former winner Lee Westwood and The Open champion Darren Clarke have bolstered the field for next month’s Australian Open in Sydney, organizers said yesterday. England’s Westwood and Northern Ireland’s Clarke are to join defending champion and world No. 1 Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott for the Nov. 26 to Nov. 29 tournament at The Australian Golf Club. Westwood, 42, a former world No. 1, won the 1997 Australian Open at Melbourne’s Metropolitan Golf Club, while new European Ryder Cup captain Clarke, 47, won The Open at Royal St George’s in 2011. The Australian Open is the final event on OneAsia’s schedule this year.

  OLYMPICS

  Boules launches bid

  The sport of boules has launched a bid to be included in the 2024 Olympics. The Bowls Sports World Confederation, which is recognized by the International Olympic Committee, is campaigning on behalf of three disciplines: French petanque, Boule Lyonnaise and Raffa, a version of the game popular in Italy. According to the international world games association, about 20 million people regularly play boules in France and Italy, and more than 2 million players are licensed in 150 other countries. Under new committee rules, Olympic host cities can propose the addition of one or more sports to their Games. Paris and Rome are among the five cities bidding for the 2024 Games, along with Los Angeles, Budapest and Hamburg.

  UNITED STATES

  Governor bans ‘Redskins’

  Four California high schools are to be forced to change mascots after California Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation making the state the first to bar public schools from using “Redskins” as a name for sports teams. It was one of three sports-related bills approved by Brown in the past week. He also signed a measure that bans players and coaches from using smokeless tobacco at professional baseball parks, and another that recognizes competitive cheerleading as a high-school sport. The mascot legislation signed on Sunday is to prevent public schools from using a term that is considered offensive toward Native Americans. The law, which is to go into effect in 2017, is unique to California. Native American groups have protested the name’s continued use amid their court fight with the NFL’s Washington Redskins. A US federal panel ruled last year that the team’s trademark should be canceled, but the team is challenging that decision in court. Washington owner Dan Snyder is facing unprecedented opposition from those who consider his team’s name a racial slur.
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