BASKETBALL
Chinese player hailed
A 17-year-old Chinese player has been tipped for the top after using her height advantage to dominate an international tournament. Zhang Ziyu stands 2.2m, according to FIBA, global basketball’s governing body. Chinese media reported earlier this year that she was even taller at 2.28m. She has used her height to help the hosts to two comfortable wins at this week’s U18 Women’s Asia Cup in Shenzhen, China, and drawn attention after footage of her emerged online. Against Indonesia on Monday, Zhang netted 19 points in 13 minutes after coming off the bench in a 109-50 victory. Video footage showed her towering over her opponents, with some of the Indonesia players barely coming up to her chest. China beat New Zealand 90-68 on Tuesday, with the teenager posting a team-high 36 points.
Photo: AFP
TENNIS
Two Taiwanese advance
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Sloane Stephens of the US on Tuesday defeated Chinese pair Wang Yafan and Wang Xiyu 6-3, 6-3 at the LTA Rothesay International at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club in Eastbourne, England. Their round-of-16 win set up a quarter-final against British duo Harriet Dart and Maia Lumsden at the grass-court tournament. In Germany, Chan Hao-ching of Taiwan and Veronika Kudermetova of Russia beat Spain’s Sara Tormo and Eri Hozumi of Japan 6-3, 6-1 to make the quarter-finals at the Bad Homburg Open.
SOCCER/
S Korean coach sued
The father of Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min yesterday denied allegations of physical and verbal abuse at his South Korean soccer academy after a student’s family sued him and his coaches. Son Woong-jung, a former player, runs a training academy for aspiring players. South Korean media reported on allegations of physical and verbal abuse made by one of his academy’s students, who said that a coach hit him with a corner flag during training, causing injuries that required weeks of treatment. Son Woong-jung acknowledged the incident had occurred, but denied it amounted to physical abuse. “This incident was not corporal punishment, but a mutually agreed event as part of fitness training,” he said in a statement. The player came last in a race and was supposed to be “hit once” on the thigh, he said. The incident came to light after the student’s parents in March reported Son Woong-jung to the police after they noticed a bruise on their son’s thigh. “Thinking about how frightened my son must have been makes me angry,” Yonhap reported the father as saying. “I decided to report the case to the police because I didn’t want to see another case like this.” Son Woong-jung said he had tried to resolve the matter amicably, but failed because the parents had demanded a settlement worth hundreds of millions of won (hundreds of thousands of US dollars).
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
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