ATHLETICS
Second Taiwanese trap gold
Taiwanese Yang Kun-pi on Friday won a gold medal in the men’s trap event at the Summer Universiade in Naples, Italy. Yang, who scored 122 to finish first in the qualifying round, beat Slovakian Filip Marinov 45-44 to take the gold. The medal was the second win for Taiwan, after Liu Wan-yu took gold in the women’s trap event earlier that day. Yang was to partner with Liu in the mixed doubles yesterday. The 30th Summer Universiade started on Wednesday and is to run through Sunday next week.
BASKETBALL
Leonard picks Clippers
Kawhi Leonard is going home to play for the Los Angeles Clippers, reportedly agreeing to a multimillion-dollar deal less than a month after leading the Toronto Raptors to their first championship. Leonard is to be joined in Los Angeles by All-Star forward Paul George, who the Clippers are reported to be getting in a separate trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder, ESPN reported on Friday. The two-time NBA finals MVP Leonard is to join a young Clippers team that will give him a similar starring role to what he had with the Toronto Raptors. The Thunder is to receive Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and a package of NBA draft picks in exchange for George, ESPN said.
OLYMPICS
Kuwait ban lifted for 2020
Kuwait has been cleared to compete in next year’s Olympics after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday announced that it was lifting the suspension it imposed on the Kuwait Olympic Committee (KOC) four years ago. In a statement, the IOC said the KOC had successfully implemented “a road map agreed between all parties.” The road map required revision and adoption of new statutes for sports clubs and federations, followed by elections. Kuwait was suspended in October 2015 following “undue government interference after a sports law that was not compatible with the basic principles that govern the Olympic movement was passed in the country.” The law had threatened the autonomy of the KOC and all other national federations, while also meaning the nation would no longer comply with the Court of Arbitration for Sport or the World Anti-Doping Agency. In August last year, the IOC acknowledged the progress made and provisionally lifted the suspension, which enabled athletes to compete in the Asian Games and the Youth Olympics.
CYCLING
Froome out of hospital
Four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome on Friday returned home from the hospital more than three weeks after a high-speed crash ruled him out of this year’s race. Froome, 34, on June 12 struck a wall at 54kph while on a training ride during the Criterium du Dauphine, suffering multiple fractures. “It’s a huge disappointment not to be at the Tour but I’m relieved to finally be out of hospital and home,” he said on Twitter. “I’ll be following all the action from bed — so make it a good one.” Earlier, Team Ineos sporting director Dave Brailsford confirmed that Froome had left hospital. “It’s a big step for him. He’s managed to put his feet on the floor for the first time in quite a long time,” he said. Froome broke his neck, femur, elbow, hip and ribs in the accident that happened after he took his hands off the handlebar to blow his nose and was hit by a gust of wind.
Eugenie Bouchard already has her own signature pickleball paddle. She is No. 17 in the pickleball rankings and constantly appears on the main court at events because she is always a big draw. However, just to be absolutely clear, she is not retired from tennis. The 2014 Wimbledon finalist still practices on the tennis court, still competes at tennis events and still has a Women’s Tennis Association ranking (No. 1,288). The Canadian standout just has a new sport that has caught her attention. Bouchard is one of several familiar tennis names — like Jack Sock and Donald Young — crossing over to
Starting with three fights in the first nine seconds and ending with a celebration and a spot in the 4 Nations Face-Off final, the US on Saturday delivered exactly what Matthew Tkachuk hoped for by beating Canada. “We needed to send a message,” Tkachuk said. “The message we wanted to send is ‘It’s our time.’” Tkachuk fought Brandon Hagel off the opening faceoff, brother Brady tussled with Sam Bennett the next time the puck dropped, J.T. Miller dropped the gloves with Colton Parayko next and the Americans followed those fisticuffs with a 3-1 victory over their biggest rival. “That was one of the
Shaquille O’Neal is staying with TNT Sports on a new contract worth more than US$15 million per year, Front Office Sports reported on Friday. The news means the cast of Inside the NBA is staying together even as TNT is set to license out the show to ESPN starting next season. TNT was the odd network out in the NBA’s recent TV rights negotiations, as NBC and Amazon joined previous rightsholder ESPN in inking deals for basketball games. That left TNT without a need for pregame and postgame NBA shows. In a trade with ESPN, TNT is licensing Inside the NBA to the
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,