SWIMMING
Sun Yang’s ban expires
Disgraced three-time Olympic champion Sun Yang hopes to return to competitive swimming “as soon as possible” after his more than four-year ban for doping ended yesterday. The Chinese freestyler was originally suspended for eight years by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 2020 for smashing vials of blood during a 2018 test, the circumstances of which he still disputes. The ban was reduced on appeal to four years and three months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2021. “I hope that I’ll be able to pick a competition and return to the starting block as soon as possible,” the 32-year-old said in an interview published by state-run news site The Paper. Sun’s return comes with China’s swimmers under intense scrutiny since it emerged that WADA allowed 23 of them to compete at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, despite testing positive for a banned substance.
SOCCER
Ronaldo breaks record
Cristiano Ronaldo on Monday broke the record for the most goals in a Saudi Pro League season when he struck for the 34th and 35th time in Al Nassr’s final game of the campaign. “I don’t follow the records, the records follow me,” the 39-year-old Portuguese forward wrote on X afterward. The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star struck in first-half stoppage-time and again in the 69th minute with a header as Al Nassr defeated Al-Ittihad 4-2 at home.
BASKETBALL
NBA legend Bill Walton dies
Bill Walton, the former NBA Most Valuable Player, two-time champion and popular television commentator, died on Monday after a lengthy battle with cancer. After a stellar college career, Walton won his first NBA championship with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1977 and was named the league’s MVP the following year. He did a spell with the Los Clippers, in San Diego and Los Angeles, then moved to the Boston Celtics where he won a second title in 1986. After his playing career ended, Walton became a popular commentator for college and NBA basketball broadcasts. “Bill Walton was truly one of a kind. As a Hall of Fame player, he redefined the center position. His unique all-around skills made him a dominant force at UCLA and led to an NBA regular-season and Finals MVP, two NBA championships and a spot on the NBA’s 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said.
CRICKET
Aussie joins Italy for brother
Former Australia Test opener Joe Burns has switched allegiance to Italy to help the Europeans qualify for the 2026 T20 World Cup as a tribute to his late brother. Burns, who played 23 Tests from 2014 to 2020, has been mourning his brother’s death in February. Burns wrote about his grief in a social media post with a picture of a blue Italy shirt with the No. 85 his brother wore at his amateur cricket club in Queensland. “While a part of my soul feels like it will always be missing, I know this shirt will carry on his spirit and give me strength,” Burns said. “I often reflect on the bravery and commitment it must have taken my grandparents when they left Italy to start a new life in Australia. They found a way to make it work through adversity and this has always given me solace through life’s lessons.”
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
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
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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