Fri, Feb 25, 2022 page16

• SPORTS BRIEFS

  • Agencies
  • • 
    • 
    • 

  BADMINTON

  Tai to start in Germany

  Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying’s first competition this year is to be the German Open next month after she announced a return to the tournament for the first time in eight years. Tai, who has been at the top of the women’s singles rankings for 204 weeks, is to play American Iris Wang, ranked 35th in the world, in the first round at the Westenergie Sporthalle in Mulheim an der Ruhr. The Super 300 event is to run from March 8 to 13, with a total prize purse of US$200,000. Tai previously competed at the German Open in 2014, when she was knocked out in the first round. After Germany, Tai is expected to compete in the All England Open from March 16 to 20 at the Utilita Arena Birmingham.

  BASKETBALL

  Irving NY return possible

  Kyrie Irving might soon be available for home games in Brooklyn after New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday said he is eager to end the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which would clear the way for the Nets to use their All-Star point guard in games at the Barclays Center. Irving has played in road games with the Nets, but has refused to get vaccinated for COVID-19, despite orders that players in the New York home market must do so to play there. Adams did not provide an estimate of when the rules might change. The mandate applies to players from the New York market, but not to players visiting New York from other cities.

  SOCCER

  MLS boss shuns Neymar

  Major League Soccer (MLS) is shedding its image as a league for players on the verge of retirement, MLS commissioner Don Garber said after Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil striker Neymar expressed his desire to play in the US before his career ends. Neymar told the Fenomenos podcast this week that he would love to play in the US for at least a season, before joking: “Their season is shorter, so I’d get three months’ vacation.” Garber responded by saying that he wanted the MLS to be about young players choosing it at the earliest stages or the prime of their careers. “We don’t need to bring in a big-name player at the end of their career because they’ve decided they’d like to retire in the MLS,” he said.

  CRICKET

  Virus prompts squads rule

  Teams at the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand will be allowed to field a side with only nine players if their squad is hit by COVID-19, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said yesterday. ICC head of events Chris Tetley said that teams would be allowed to field nine players plus two female members of their support staff in case of a COVID-19 outbreak in their camps. “From a COVID-19 perspective, we need to be a little bit flexible, as far as the way in which we manage the game to take into account these unique circumstances,” Tetley said. He also announced unlimited super overs, which would prevent a repeat of the 2019 Men’s World Cup final that England won on boundary countback after the match and the single-over eliminator ended in ties. “We would have, were it necessary, unlimited super overs if we get to that point in the game,” Tetley said. “So we wouldn’t get to the boundaries countback.”
• Most Popular

  • 1

    Eurovision Song Contest triggers surge in betting interest

  • 2

    Napoli close in on title despite Parma stalemate

  • 3

    Barcelona crowned champions

  • 4

    Sinner cruises past Ruud, Gauff battles into final

  • 5

    ‘Beitou Shilin’ announced as new Nvidia office site