■SOCCER
Denilson to play in Vietnam
Former Brazilian international Denilson, once the world’s most expensive player, has agreed to play for a mid-table Vietnamese side, newspapers reported yesterday. A member of Brazil’s 2002 World Cup winning team, Denilson, 31, will join Hai Phong Cement for the second half of the professional V-League season that begins this month, Thanh Nien newspaper said. It said Denilson had his first practice session with the team on Monday. Denilson was capped 68 times and became the world’s most expensive player when he moved to Spanish side Real Betis from Sao Paulo in 1998 for US$35 million. “I don’t know anything about Vietnamese football,” Denilson told Thanh Nien, adding that the game is the same everywhere. He said a Brazilian friend introduced him to the country. “I come to Vietnamese football with my passion,” he said, expressing a hope to play in the communist country for a long time. Earlier this year he was on trial with English Premier League side Bolton Wanderers, after being without a club since his release from Brazilian team Palmeiras. Denilson’s European club career never really flourished despite spending seven seasons in Spain, followed by a spell at French side Bordeaux, Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Nasr and US team FC Dallas.
■BADMINTON
Taiwan to host tournament
Taiwan will hold the World Junior Championships in 2011, the Chinese Taipei Badminton Association said yesterday. Association vice president Wu Jun-yan (吳俊彥) said that the championships are one of the sport’s most important tournaments. Wu said the association originally applied to host the World Badminton Championships and Sudirman Cup. However, Wu said Badminton World Federation president Kang Young-joong suggested that Taiwan gain experience by hosting the Junior Championships first. Wu also said Taiwan should work on raising the competitiveness of its players. “If none of our players succeed at the championships, we will be ridiculed by the public,” he said.
■SOCCER
Daum returning to Turkey
German coach Christoph Daum has left FC Cologne after being given an opportunity to return to Turkish side Fenerbahce, the Bundesliga club said yesterday. “We are sad that Christoph Daum is leaving,” Cologne chairman Wolfgang Overath said in a statement. “Christoph thanked us for the collaboration and said he could not refuse the offer because of its very good sports and financial framework. We wish him all the best in his new job.” Daum will join a side who sacked former Spain coach Luis Aragones on Monday after a fourth-place finish. As well as his previous three-year stint at Fenerbahce from 2003, Daum also had two spells at Besiktas, winning a total of three championships and one cup before signing a four-year contract with Cologne in 2006.
■SOCCER
Skipper in dancing spat
India captain Bhaichung Bhutia remains focused on continuing his soccer career despite leaving his club amid controversy over his appearance in a televised celebrity dance competition. “Football remains my first love and I don’t have any plans to even try dancing after this,” Bhutia told the Hindustan Times yesterday. The striker sought immediate release from Mohun Bagan last month after he accused the club of humiliating him after they claimed he appeared keener to participate in the dance show than play in the I-League.
‘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