BADMINTON
Lin secures Finals berth
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi yesterday defeated Li Shifeng of China in straight games at the China Masters in Shenzhen to clinch a spot in the BWF World Tour Finals. The opening round men’s singles match was make or break for Lin, who was ranked No. 9 on the World Tour, and Li, who is eighth. Both needed the victory in the Super 750 event, which is the last tournament for qualification for the Finals. Lin defeated last week’s Kumamoto Masters champion 21-14, 21-19 in 56 minutes. Meanwhile, World No. 9 Taiwanese shuttler Chou Tien-chen crashed out of his opener, losing 21-17, 18-21, 21-13 to Alex Lanier. However, Chou is second in the World Tour rankings and is already guaranteed a spot in December’s Finals in Hangzhou, China.
SOCCER
Report criticizes safety
Professional soccer is failing to apply required safety standards, contravening legal frameworks at both European and global levels, a report published yesterday said. The report by Belgian University Katholieke Universiteit Leuven was commissioned by global soccer players’ union FIFPRO. It is to be submitted as evidence to the joint complaint filed to European anti-trust regulators against FIFA by FIFPRO Europe, European Leagues and La Liga. Elite leagues accused soccer’s world governing body of abuse over the effects of the expanding soccer calendar on player well-being, including decisions around the expanded FIFA Club World Cup next year. The research looked at the job demands and resources in the professional game, particularly the stressors of a high-risk work environment, and examined the legal obligations around health and safety standards. It determined that Occupational Safety and Health standards should apply to the industry, as soccer players are recognized as workers under European and international labor laws.
FOOTBALL
Jets fire GM Douglas
Jets owner Woody Johnson is cleaning house for his woeful New York Jets in what has been a hugely disappointing season. On Tuesday, he fired Joe Douglas as general manager, the latest shakeup for a franchise that had Super Bowl aspirations with a healthy Aaron Rodgers as quarterback, but has limped to a 3-8 start and appears likely to miss the playoffs for a 14th consecutive year. The dismissal of Douglas, who was 30-64 and had no winning seasons in his tenure, came exactly six weeks after Johnson fired Robert Saleh as coach on Oct. 8 after the Jets were 2-3 to open the year.
BOXING
Paul, Tyson fight sets record
Jake Paul’s unanimous decision over Mike Tyson on Saturday was the highest-grossing combat sports event in Texas at US$18.1 million, the promotions company cofounded by Paul said on Tuesday. The eight-round fight at the home of the Dallas Cowboys drew about 72,000 fans and was part of a co-main event that featured Katie Taylor’s latest disputed decision in a super lightweight championship slugfest against Amanda Serrano. The event surpassed Texas’ previous sports combat high of US$9 million set by Canelo Alvarez when he faced Billy Joe Saunders at the 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium in 2021, Most Valuable Promotions said.
By the time Cameron Menzies finally left the arena on Monday, the blood gushing from the gash on his right hand had trickled down his wrist, part of his forearm and — somehow — up to his face. Smeared in crimson and regret, and already mouthing sheepish apologies to the crowd, he disappeared down the steps, pursued by a stern-looking Matt Porter, the chief executive of Professional Darts Corp (PDC). The physical scars from Menzies’ encounter with the Alexandra Palace drinks table after his 3-2 defeat against Charlie Manby at the Darts World Championship would be gone within a few weeks.
Manchester United on Monday blew the lead three times to miss out on moving up to fifth in the Premier League as AFC Bournemouth would not be beaten in a thrilling 4-4 draw at Old Trafford. United have lost just once in their past 10 games, but Ruben Amorim would be frustrated as more points at home were frittered away despite arguably the best attacking display of his reign in charge. Amad Diallo and Casemiro gave the hosts a halftime lead either side of Antoine Semenyo’s equalizer. Two Bournemouth goals from Evanilson and Marcus Tavernier in seven minutes at the start of the
LOW-GOAL SHOOT-OUT: Of the nine penalties in the shoot-out, only three went in, with Flamengo’s Samuel Lino, and Vitinha and Nuno Mendes of PSG netting Matvei Safonov on Wednesday made four straight penalty saves in a penalty shoot-out to help Paris Saint-Germain beat Flamengo in the Intercontinental Cup final and win a sixth trophy of the year. The Russian goalkeeper was thrown in the air by his teammates after his exploits in the shoot-out, which was won 2-1 by PSG after a 1-1 draw after extra-time. It completed a trophy-laden 12 months for the French team, who had already won the Trophee des Champions, Ligue 1, the Coupe de France, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup — also on penalties against Tottenham Hotspur in
LACKLUSTER FIGHT: At one stage, the referee lost patience with the two fighters, warning them in the fourth round that ‘the fans did not pay to see this crap’ Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on Friday knocked out YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in their controversial Netflix-backed bout in Miami. The fight at the Kaseya Center, which saw both men reportedly splitting a mammoth purse of US$184 million, had triggered alarm across boxing due to the gulf in physical size and class between Britain’s two-time former world champion Joshua and Paul, an Internet personality who has forged a lucrative career through a handful of novelty boxing contests. However, in the event, Joshua made hard work of defeating his vastly less accomplished opponent, before his superior size and power eventually told
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