TENNIS
Chan, Olmos make quarters
Taiwan’s Chan Hao-Ching and Mexico’s Giuliana Olmos on Monday progressed to the quarter-finals of the San Diego Open after beating Australia’s Daria Saville and Russia’s Anna Blinkova 6-7 (2), 6-4, 10-5 in the women’s doubles. They next face either Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and her partner Guo Hanyu of China or US pair Emily Deming and Ann Li, depending on the outcome of their showdown today.
CRICKET
Neil Wagner retires
An emotional Neil Wagner yesterday announced his retirement from international cricket, after the fast bowler was left out of New Zealand’s team for the first Test against Australia this week. Wagner fought back tears as he told reporters he had decided to call time on a 64-Test career after New Zealand Cricket said he would not be in the side for tomorrow’s match in Wellington. “It’s never an easy time to do something like this, but the time has obviously come,” said the 37-year-old Wagner, who has taken 260 Test wickets. “It’s been amazing to represent the Black Caps. It’s been some of the proudest moments of my life,” he added. Fiery short-ball specialist Wagner said he would leave the squad before the start of next week’s second Test in Christchurch. “I’m looking forward to one final week in camp and will be doing everything I can to help prepare and support the boys,” he said. Wagner made his New Zealand debut in 2012 after arriving from his native South Africa four years earlier. “To the New Zealand public and the fans, I can’t thank you enough, for your support, for making me feel welcome, for making me feel like a Kiwi,” he said. Only Richard Hadlee, Tim Southee, Daniel Vettori and Trent Boult have taken more Test wickets for New Zealand than Wagner.
CYCLING
Mechanic fakes being rider
A US women’s cycling team have been sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) for fraudulent actions after a mechanic was told to disguise herself as a rider to satisfy race regulations. The sport’s governing body said a disciplinary commission found that Cynisca Cycling, a UCI Women’s Continental team, tried to circumvent rules that required five riders per team to start the Argenta Classic in Belgium in July last year. “Although only four riders were present and available to start the event, several members of the team had participated in a fraud ... by attempting to deceive the Commissaires’ Panel into believing that a fifth rider was present and could take part in the event,” the UCI said in a statement. The team’s sports director Danny Van Haute instructed riders Anna Hicks, Cara O’Neil, Katherine Sarkisov and Claire Windsor to lie about the whereabouts of a fifth rider who was unable to race because of illness, the UCI said. Having initially stated that the fifth rider was “present but ill” they were told the team would not be allowed to compete unless the fifth rider signed in and was ready to start. Van Haute then instructed team mechanic Moira Barrett to wear rider’s clothes and a mask and present herself at the start as the team’s fifth rider, the UCI statement said. Van Haute was fined and suspended from all cycling activity until Dec. 31, next year, while the four riders were reprimanded for their part in the saga. Barrett was banned until September and the team were fined and suspended from the next event on the UCI calendar.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
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