TENNIS
Hsieh advances in Madrid
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko yesterday advanced to the women’s doubles semi-finals at the Madrid Open, in their return to the court after a power outage on Monday forced the delay of numerous matches. Third seeds Hsieh and Ostapenko beat Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia and Germany’s Laura Siegemund 7-5, 6-3 in their quarter-final. The Taiwanese-Lativian duo are next to play the winners of Romania’s Sorana Cirstea and Anna Kalinskaya of Russia against Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic and Denmark’s Clara Tauson, which was to be played after press time last night.
SOCCER
Li Tie loses bribery appeal
Former English Premier League midfielder Li Tie has lost his appeal against a 20-year prison sentence for bribery, a Chinese court said yesterday. A lower court jailed the former China coach in December last year, snaring one of the country’s best-known soccer figures in a sweeping government crackdown on corruption in sports. The Hubei Provincial Higher People’s Court said in a statement that it had rejected Li’s appeal and ruled to uphold his original jail term. He was found guilty of a string of offenses relating to giving and receiving bribes. The 47-year-old represented his country nearly 100 times and moved to Everton in 2002. After retiring from playing, he served as national team coach from January 2020 to December 2021.
ICE HOCKEY
No charges after on-ice death
A man arrested on suspicion of manslaughter following the death of the Nottingham Panthers’ Adam Johnson has been told he would not face any charges, British prosecutors said on Tuesday. Johnson, a 33-year-old Canadian, died shortly after his neck had been sliced in a collision with Sheffield Steelers defenseman Matt Petgrave during an Elite Ice Hockey League game on Oct. 28, 2023. A man was arrested two weeks later and although South Yorkshire Police did not publicly identify him, Petgrave himself said in a crowdfunding appeal for legal fees that he was the subject of a police investigation. On Tuesday, the Crown Prosecution Service announced it would not bring criminal charges against the man arrested following what it described as “a shocking and deeply upsetting incident.”
BASKETBALL
Doncic pays to restore mural
Luka Doncic has stepped up to pay the entire expected cost of restoring a vandalized mural depicting Kobe and Gigi Bryant in downtown Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Lakers’ new guard on Tuesday donated US$5,000 to cover the entire goal of a GoFundMe page created by artist Louie Palsino. He wants to restore the mural, titled Mambas Forever, at 14th and Main streets. “It was always important to give back to the community,” Doncic said after practice at the Lakers’ training complex. “They gave me so much, so I just want to give back.” The Slovenian superstar joined the Lakers less than three months ago in a blockbuster trade with the Dallas Mavericks. Kobe Bryant spent his entire 20-year career with the Lakers, winning five championships and becoming the top scorer in franchise history. After Kobe and Gigi Bryant died in a helicopter crash in January 2020, hundreds of murals and public art projects honoring them sprung up around southern California.
A seven-year-old horse had to be euthanized on Friday after breaking its back on the final fence of a Grand National steeplechase race that it won despite sustaining the serious injury. It follows the death of four horses at the Cheltenham Festival last month — including one after the prestigious Gold Cup. Gold Dancer was competing in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase during Ladies Day at Aintree’s Grand National Festival. The horse managed to cross the finish line approximately four lengths ahead of runner-up Regent’s Stroll. “The winner of our second race of the day, Gold Dancer, was pulled up after
Hans Niemann declares he would become a “stone cold killer” in a Netflix documentary released on Tuesday about his feud with five-time classical world champion Magnus Carlsen, a pledge that injects new edge into the lingering fallout from the cheating scandal that shook elite chess. “I’m gonna be a stone cold killer the rest of my life,” the US’ Niemann says in the film. “I’m going to become the best player in the world, and no one is going to believe that now, but this clip will play over and over again in 10 years — just wait.” “I just
OBJECTIVE REACHED: ’Now for us, it’s about getting healthy, making sure everybody is ready to go, and we can ramp up,’ the Atlanta Hawks’ C.J. McCollum said after the game The Atlanta Hawks on Friday secured an NBA playoff berth with a 124-102 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers as the Boston Celtics locked up the Eastern Conference second seed with a lopsided win of their own. C.J. McCollum scored a game-high 29 points for the Hawks, who came into the contest at sixth in the East and still in danger of falling into the play-in tournament that would see the seventh-through 10th-placed teams battle for the last two playoff berths in each conference. Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jalen Johnson scored 18 points apiece, and Dyson Daniels added a triple-double of 13
Taiwanese “boxing queen” Chen Nien-chin today won the women’s 65kg division final at the Asian Boxing Elite Championships in Ulaanbaatar, securing Taiwan’s first gold medal in that weight class at the tournament. Chen defeated North Korea’s Hwang Hyo Sun 4-1, after the two were tied through the first two rounds. Chen won bronze in the 66kg division at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
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