CRICKET
Fan takes on-field selfie
Three fans on Sunday breached security at Bangalore’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium to take a selfie with India’s superstar cricketer Virat Kohli and one returned successful. Kohli was at first slip in the final session of the second day of the pink ball Test against Sri Lanka when three young men ran on the field and attempted to embrace the player. A group of security officers gave chase and eventually overpowered them before hauling them off the field as the crowd roared and clapped. Kohli was taken aback by the sudden intrusion, but obliged the fans’ request, although he still signaled to them not to come too close due to the COVID-19 protocols.
TENNIS
Aussies added to finals
Australia is to replace the suspended Russian team for the Billie Jean King Cup finals, governing body International Tennis Federation said yesterday. The Australian team were the highest-ranked team among the losing semi-finalists last year, and would take Russia’s automatic spot in this year’s finals, scheduled to be held in November. Russia was banned from defending its Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup titles following the country’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. Belarus, a key staging area for the invasion, has also been banned from the international team competitions.
FOOTBALL
Kaepernick seeks receivers
Colin Kaepernick on Sunday made a plea online seeking receivers to catch his passes and a team to sign him. Kaepernick, who led the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance following the 2012 season, last played in the NFL in 2016, the same year he started kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice. “For The past 5 years I’ve been working out and staying ready in case an opportunity to play presented itself. I’m really grateful to my trainer, who I’ve been throwing to all this time. But man, do I miss throwing to professional route runners. Who’s working?? I will pull up,” he wrote on Twitter. Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett quickly volunteered and Kaepernick responded, saying he would be there yesterday and coordinate with him.
SOCCER
160 arrested in match
About 160 people, some carrying knives and stones, were on Sunday arrested at a Moroccan soccer match in violence that left more than 100 police officers injured, officials said. The supporters, which included 90 teenagers, “were arrested for their alleged involvement in acts of violence, for possession of knives, drunkenness, throwing stones, causing damage and setting fire to a vehicle,” the Moroccan General Directorate of National Security in a statement. The violence erupted at the end of a Throne Cup game between AS FAR, the Moroccan Armed Forces club based in Rabat, and Maghreb de Fez. After AS FAR were beaten 2-0, fans invaded the pitch to face down rival supporters, local media reported. Police were bombarded with projectiles as they intervened. The agency reported 103 police injured, while 57 supporters were also hurt. “At this stage of the investigation, a lot of damage to the facilities at the Moulay-Abdallah stadium has been recorded. A motorcycle was set on fire and 33 police and private vehicles were also damaged,” the statement added.
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
Former Formosa Dreamers player Ilkan Karaman was killed in a traffic accident in Datca, Turkey, Turkish media reported yesterday. He was 34. The former Turkish national team player was reportedly hit by a car, the driver of which was allegedly drunk, while he was standing on a sidewalk, Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported. Karaman and his friends were on their way to the beach town of Dalaman to go scuba diving when they stopped at a gas station to buy gasoline, it reported. Karaman was hit by the car while waiting on a sidewalk as his friends were buying gasoline, it
ANKLE PROBLEM: Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin had a disappointing end to their tournament after an injury forced them out of their mixed doubles semi-final Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying on Friday was knocked out in the women’s singles quarter-finals at her last Taipei Open. The world No. 3 lost 21-18, 16-21, 22-24 to Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in a match that stretched 68 minutes at the Taipei Arena. Despite her higher ranking, Tai said she was not too sad about the loss, given her struggle with a lingering knee injury. “Wins and losses are just part of the game. Actually, I think I’m going to lose every single match considering my condition now,” said the five-time champion of the Super 300 event, who has announced plans
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later
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