SOCCER
China detains SK player
A South Korean citizen, whom Seoul identified as soccer player Son Jun-ho, has been detained by the Liaoning Province Public Security Department, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. Son, who was detained on Friday, is being held in police custody in northeast China in connection with a bribery case, a South Korean diplomatic source said on Monday. Son plays for the South Korean national team and Chinese Super League club Shandong Taishan, based in Shandong Province. The South Korean Ministry Of Foreign Affairs said its mission in China was providing necessary consular support to Son, but declined to comment further, citing privacy. A Korea Football Association official said it had reached out to Shandong Taishan, seeking an explanation, but has not heard back.
CYCLING
Thomas’ luck changes
Geraint Thomas said he is relishing the opportunity to win the Giro d’Italia after inheriting the leader’s maglia rosa jersey following Remco Evenepoel’s withdrawal. World champion Evenepoel abandoned the Giro with COVID-19 on Sunday, shortly after the Belgian reclaimed top spot in the general classification with victory in a rain-affected 35km individual time trial. Thomas has enjoyed little luck at the Giro, but the 36-year-old said he is keen to improve his results. The Welshman pulled out of the Giro in 2020 after suffering a hip fracture in a crash. Three years earlier his race came to an end after he damaged his shoulder in a pile-up involving a police motorbike. “It would be amazing to win, especially after 2020 when I thought that was it for my chance to win the Giro,” Thomas said. “I don’t feel much pressure or expectation, but I’d love to take this opportunity.” Monday was a rest day.
RUGBY LEAGUE
NZ aims to host World Cup
The New Zealand Rugby League yesterday said that it was in talks to jointly host the 2025 Rugby World Cup with Australia after France pulled out over financial concerns. The 17th staging of the World Cup for the 13-a-side code was scheduled for October to November 2025, but France on Monday said that a lack of funding meant hosting the tournament carried unacceptable financial risk. The game’s governing body, the International Rugby League, called the move “very disappointing.” New Zealand Rugby League CEO Greg Peters said they were interested in staging the event and have already discussed cohosting with Australia.
SOCCER
Women’s final sold out
The Women’s UEFA Champions League final next month is sold out for the first time in the competition’s recent history. UEFA yesterday said that no previous final had fully sold out since the 2009-2010 season, when its Women’s Cup was rebranded as the Women’s Champions League. More than 34,100 tickets have been issued for the match, which is to be played at the Philips Stadion in Eidhoven, Netherlands, on June 3, UEFA said. The final would beat the attendance record for a women’s soccer match in the Netherlands, previously set in 2019 when the Netherlands national team played Australia in front of 30,640 spectators at the same venue.
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
Crowds descended on the home of 17-year-old Chinese diver Quan Hongchan after she won two golds at the Paris Olympics while gymnast Zhang Boheng hid in a Beijing airport toilet to escape overzealous throngs of fans. They are just two recent examples of what state media are calling “toxic fandom” and Chinese authorities have vowed to crack down on it. Some of the adulation toward China’s sports stars has been more sinister — fans obsessing over athletes’ personal lives, cyberbullying opponents or slamming supposedly crooked judges. Experts say it mirrors the kind of behavior once reserved for entertainment celebrities before
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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