ICE HOCKEY
Jets sign Chinese-born He
Kevin He on Tuesday became the first Chinese-born player to sign a deal with an NHL club when the 18-year-old forward inked an entry-level contract with the Winnipeg Jets. Beijing-born He became the highest Chinese-born player taken in the NHL Draft when he was selected 109th overall in the fourth round this year by the Jets, who made a trade with Buffalo to jump 14 spots in the draft to take him. “It’s a dream come true,” He said of being drafted by the Jets. “It’s incredible, a huge honor.” The Jets are the NHL overall leaders so far this season with 45 points off 22 wins, nine losses and one overtime loss.
CRICKET
England women beat S Africa
England women on Tuesday registered their first Test win in a decade and claimed their biggest red-ball victory by the margin of runs after they defeated South Africa by 286 runs in Bloemfontein. England, who won their last Test against Australia in 2014, bundled out South Africa for a mere 64, their lowest Test total, in the second innings after setting a target of 351. Pace bowler Lauren Bell claimed a career-best 4-49. “It’s amazing. My first Test win, and we’ve worked really hard as a team over the last three days,” said Bell, the Player of the Match. “It’s a work in progress, but performances like that give me a lot of confidence that I’m moving in the right direction.”
ATHLETICS
Biathlon official apologizes
The secretary-general of the International Biathlon Union on Tuesday apologized to any athlete who was mistreated during his tenure at the US Biathlon Association while speaking during the body’s annual meeting that focused on concerns about athlete safety. “I appreciate anyone who comes forward with issues, especially issues of sexual misconduct, whether it’s recent ones or old ones. I think that’s an incredibly brave and important thing to do,” Max Cobb said in the meeting held over Zoom. It was Cobb’s first public statement since a report a week ago detailing how women said officials ignored or excused sexual abuse and harassment of female biathletes by their coaches and others over decades because they were more concerned about winning medals than holding offenders accountable. While the men involved climbed the ranks of the sport, the women — who described a culture of abuse dating back to the 1990s — said they were forced to end their racing careers early. Cobb said he would cooperate with a US Center for SafeSport investigation into a coach accused of sexually abusing a young biathlete, who later attempted suicide.
BOXING
McGregor in talks for Paul bout
Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor has reached a preliminary agreement to fight US social media influencer-turned-fighter Logan Paul in an exhibition boxing match, the former UFC champion wrote on social media on Tuesday. McGregor, who was ordered to pay damages last month after a jury in a civil trial at Ireland’s High Court found he assaulted a woman in 2018, said the fight would take place in India, but did not specify when it would potentially occur, adding that after the bout, he would seek to return to UFC.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
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