■ Chess
Anand and Kramnik draw
Careful defense brought Russian challenger Vladimir Kramnik a draw against world champion Viswanathan Anand of India on Thursday in the seventh game of their championship match. The draw means that Anand leads 5-2, maintaining his three-point advantage in the 12-game match. While the draw moves Anand closer to retaining his title, it also stems a bad run for Kramnik, who had lost three of the last four games. US grandmaster Yasser Seirawan praised Anand’s “dominating performance so far.”
■ Cricket
Pakistan could suffer: Imran
Former Pakistan star Imran Khan has warned the standard of his country’s side could suffer because of instability that has prompted the cancelation of home international fixtures. “Not just the Pakistan cricket team, every sport in Pakistan because if it applies to cricket, it applies to every other sport,” he said. Imran also warned that plans for Pakistan to play their home games abroad were unsustainable during an interview on Thursday. Imran, who is now chairman of the Pakistan Movement for Justice, said foreign teams would not be targeted by militants if they came to Pakistan, despite fears that saw the Champions Trophy one-day tournament, due to take place in Pakistan last month, delayed until next year. “Terrorists do not target cricketers because cricket is a passion in Pakistan,” he said.
■ Soccer
‘Holy Goalie’ in trouble
Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc escaped a match ban after a Scottish Football Association disciplinary panel chose to fine him £500 (US$764) on Thursday following gestures he made to Rangers fans during the last Old Firm derby. Photographs published in Scottish newspapers appeared to show the Polish international making a one-fingered salute during Celtic’s loss to Rangers on Aug. 31. Boruc is nicknamed the “Holy Goalie” -— but the epithet is more ironic than a nod to his miraculous saves. Boruc is Roman Catholic, thus fitting in with a long-held tradition at Celtic. But he has regularly found himself in hot water for stepping over the line between displaying his faith and provoking Rangers fans, who are predominantly Protestant. In June he escaped disciplinary action after stripping off his top after a game against Rangers to reveal a T-shirt with the slogan “God bless the Pope.”
■ Cricket
Court overturns Malik ban
A Pakistan court on Thursday overturned a life ban against former captain Salim Malik for alleged involvement in match fixing. Malik was banned following a 2001 inquiry into allegations by three Australian players that he offered them bribes. Malik appealed against the punishment to Pakistan’s top court which earlier this year ordered Lahore’s Civil Court to hear the case. Judge Malik Mohammad Altaf ruled in favor of Malik on Thursday and ordered the ban be lifted. Malik’s lawyer said the court ruled that the Pakistan Cricket Board wrongly imposed the ban after acting on recommendations from the inquiry which was headed by a High Court judge. “The PCB did not have the jurisdiction to ban Salim Malik so the court lifted the ban on our appeal,” lawyer Shahid Salim said. Malik was banned after Shane Warne, Mark Waugh and Tim May claimed he offered them bribes to underperform during Australia’s tour of Pakistan in 1994. Malik’s name also featured in an Indian match-fixing inquiry and the late South African captain Hansie Cronje named Malik as an offender in a probe in South Africa.
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
With a quivering finger, England Subbuteo veteran Rudi Peterschinigg conceded the free-kick that sent his country’s World Cup quarter-final into extra-time before smashing his plastic goalkeeper on the floor in frustration. In the genteel southern English town of Tunbridge Wells, 300 elite players have gathered to play the game they love. “I won’t say this is the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s certainly in the top two,” said Hughie Best, 58, who flew in from Perth, Australia, to compete and commentate at the event. Tunbridge Wells is the “spiritual home” of Subbuteo, which was invented there in 1946