VOLLEYBALL
Serbian player banned
A Serbian player has been hit with a two-match ban after making a racist gesture during a match against Thailand, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) said on Wednesday. Sanja Djurdjevic was photographed pulling at the corners of her eyes with her fingers, a derogatory gesture toward Asians during her side’s 3-0 victory over the Thai team at the Volleyball Nations League in Rimini, Italy, on Tuesday last week. The FIVB said its disciplinary committee found that she “violated the FIVB Disciplinary Regulations following a gesture made during the” match. The Volleyball Federation of Serbia was also fined 20,000 Swiss francs (US$22,337).
ATHLETICS
NZ backs trans inclusion
Inclusion should be the starting point for any discussion about the participation of transgender people in the sex class of their choice, New Zealand Minister for Sport and Recreation Grant Robertson said yesterday. Robertson was responding to an open letter from 43 former Olympic champions and athletes calling on the government to widen consultation on Sport New Zealand’s guidance on the participation of transgender players. “If we can all agree that we want all New Zealanders to have the opportunity to be part of sport ... I think that’s a good starting point, and then we can work from there,” he told Radio New Zealand. “Of course we’ve got to consider overall everybody’s safety and everybody’s comfort, but an approach based on inclusion is the one I want.”
BASKETBALL
NBA fines Heat’s Riley
The NBA on Wednesday fined Miami Heat president Pat Riley US$25,000 for contravening anti-tampering rules over comments made on Friday last week about Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James. In a radio interview, Riley thought a question about Dwyane Wade, a former Heat star guard, was instead about James. Riley, according to the Miami Herald and Sun-Sentinel, joked about leaving LeBron a key if he should ever wish to return to the Heat. “I would leave the key under the doormat if he would call me and let me know that he’s coming,” Riley said. Riley, 76, even predicted his fate after his remarks about 36-year-old James, who is under contract with the Lakers for the next two seasons. “This will just get me fined for tampering,” he said in the radio interview.
SOCCER
Super League six fined
The six rebel English clubs that signed up to the European Super League have reached a financial settlement with the Premier League worth a combined ￡22 million pounds (US$31 million), the league said on Wednesday. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur announced themselves as founder members of the competition in April, but the project quickly collapsed after widespread opposition. “The six clubs involved in proposals to form a European Super League have today acknowledged once again that their actions were a mistake, and have reconfirmed their commitment to the Premier League and the future of the English game,” the Premier League said in a statement.
The New Taipei Kings claimed the inaugural Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) championship on Sunday, defeating the Kaohsiung FamilyMart Aquas 108-89 in the final. Playing at home, the Kings pulled ahead with Jeremy Lin’s (林書豪) clutch three-pointers, securing their victory over the Aquas in the TPBL final. The Kings came out strong in the first quarter, dominating to build a 35-18 lead. By halftime, they had stretched their advantage to 61-38. In the third quarter, the Aquas narrowed the deficit to 12 points, but Lin stepped up, sinking several tough three- pointers to extend the lead. In the final quarter, the Kings pushed the
In an unlikely Ethiopian outpost of one the most French of pastimes, four men are leaning over their petanque balls, arguing over who is winning. Petanque, the bowling game also known as boules, is more readily associated with French village squares where locals launch metal balls at a jack while enjoying an afternoon drink, but for decades, it has also been a beloved pastime for members of a club near the iconic Meskel Square in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. It was founded in the early 20th century to cater to French railway workers, who built a line connecting Addis Ababa
Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Australian teenager Maya Joint on Tuesday eased into the Eastbourne Open quarter-finals in England as Hsieh prepares for the Wimbledon Championships next week. Four-time Wimbledon women’s doubles champion Hsieh and 19-year-old Joint fired two aces and converted five of eight break points to defeat Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Poland’s Katarzyna Piter 6-3, 6-3 in 58 minutes on the grass court. Hsieh and Joint are today to face fourth seeds Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who advanced on Monday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Quinn Gleason of the US and
BEAT THE HEAT: A brutal heat wave in the US has made cooling breaks standard. Dortmund’s coach said the weather could shape the destiny of the tournament Chelsea on Tuesday beat Esperance of Tunisia 3-0 to set up a FIFA Club World Cup last-16 tie against SL Benfica, who earlier defeated Bayern Munich 1-0, as furnace-link heat and the threat of thunder and lightning wreak havoc at the tournament. Elsewhere, minnows Auckland City claimed a memorable draw against Boca Juniors, while Los Angeles bowed out of the tournament with a stalemate against Flamengo. In Charlotte, Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal for Benfica in their Group C clash with Bayern in front of 33,287 fans, finishing first-time from a cutback by his fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th
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