Sports

Tennis: Nadal’s advice for injured stars — accept, keep going

                        CINCINNATI, United States (AFP) — Once and future world number one Rafael Nadal has some advice for men’s tennis stars in danger of missing the US Open due to injury — accept it and keep going. The 31-year-old Spaniard defeated France’s Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday to reach the third round at the ATP Cincinnati Masters, the last major US Open tuneup with the year’s […]

SEA Games: Philippine ‘Mighty Ducks’ skate for gold and history

MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — A shopping mall in tropical Manila closes for the night but a once ragtag team of skaters is hitting the rink aiming to make history in the Southeast Asian Games. Dubbed “The Mighty Ducks” after the 1992 Disney film, the Philippine men’s ice hockey team are targeting gold in Malaysia where the SEA Games begin on Saturday — a far cry from the days when their players knew only of the sport from watching movies. “‘The […]

RugbyU: Rona, Beale in Wallabies team to play All Blacks

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Curtis Rona will make his debut and Kurtley Beale returns for the Wallabies in the team named Thursday to face the All Blacks in the Rugby Championship opener in Sydney this weekend. Former National Rugby League star Rona, who plays for Western Force, will make his first international appearance on the left wing, while Beale will play at inside-centre. Force team-mate and winger Dane Haylett-Petty was unavailable for selection with a bicep injury. It […]

Football: Coutinho, Dembele ‘close’ to battered Barca

MADRID, Spain (AFP) – Barca’s season has been thrown into turmoil by Neymar’s world record 222 million euro ($261 million) move to Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month. New Barca coach Ernesto Valverde admitted Neymar’s absence has affected the balance of the side. Meanwhile, the Catalans have struggled to close deals for Coutinho and Dembele with Liverpool and Dortmund holding out for fees in excess of 100 million euros in the knowledge of Barca’s desperation to land a replacement […]

Kasparov notches first win in brief return to chess

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Russian chess legend Garry Kasparov finally claimed his first victory Wednesday during his much-watched comeback tournament in Missouri following 12 years of retirement — but also conceded two more defeats. After dominating the global chessboard for two decades, the 15-time world champion took a one-week hiatus from his political activism against President Vladimir Putin to face the next generation of chess masters at the Rapid and Blitz tournament in St. Louis. Following two […]

Boxing: McGregor vows fast finish against Mayweather

  by Rob Woollard Agence France-Presse LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) – Conor McGregor believes he will knock out Floyd Mayweather inside two rounds but is ready for all scenarios when the two fighters clash in their eagerly anticipated superfight next week. Irish mixed martial arts star McGregor told reporters on a conference call on Wednesday that a controversial switch to lighter gloves could lead to an explosive outcome in the August 26 showdown in […]

Gilas bows out of Asia Cup after blowout loss to S. Korea

  (Eagle  News) — Gilas’ Fiba Asia Cup journey came to an end on Wednesday after the South Korean team crushed the white shirts with their impressive three-point shooting and fast-paced game. The Philippine team lagged at a striking distance from the South Koreans by the end of the first quarter, with the blue shirts already making their shots from practically everywhere. There was a glimmer of hope in the second quarter though after Terrence […]

Tennis: Sharapova receives US Open wildcard for first post-ban Slam

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Five-time major champion Maria Sharapova of Russia will play her first Grand Slam event since serving a 15-month doping suspension after receiving a wildcard Tuesday into the US Open. The move by the US Tennis Association (USTA) comes after Sharapova, ranked 148th this week, was rejected for a wildcard spot into the French Open and missed Wimbledon with a thigh injury. Sharapova tested positive for meldonium at the 2016 […]

Chess: Kasparov suffers first loss in comeback event

ST. LOUIS, United States (AFP) — Chess legend Garry Kasparov on Tuesday suffered the first loss of his brief but highly anticipated comeback to the game, succumbing to fellow Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi after racking up four draws. After three draws on Monday, the 54-year-old former world champion — who dominated the game from 1985 to 2000 — had hoped to play “more aggressive” chess on day two of the Rapid and Blitz tournament in St […]

Cycling: Former Australian Olympic track star dies aged 39

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s track cycling community mourned the sudden death of former Olympic and world champion Stephen Wooldridge, aged just 39, on Tuesday. The star from New South Wales state, won gold for Australia in the 2004 Athens Olympics, was a four-time world champion in the discipline, and a champion in the 2002 Commonwealth Games. “Stephen was an exceptional cyclist and Olympic Champion who will forever be remembered,” said Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates in […]

GAB: Over 100 Filipino professional boxers banned for falsifying brain scan results

A total of 150 professional boxers have been banned for falsifying brain scan results aimed at detecting serious head injuries in the sport, the Games and Amusements Board said on Tuesday. The board found 150 boxers had submitted “fake” CT scan results this year, apparently because they could not afford an actual test, GAB medical officer Radentor Viernes told AFP. GAB chairman Abraham Kahlil Mitra said many success-starved Filipino fighters were earning puny prizes and could […]

Football: Mexico zoo names tiger cub for French star Gignac

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — French striker Andre-Pierre Gignac has received a rare tribute from hundreds of Mexican schoolchildren, who voted to name a newborn Bengal tiger at their local zoo after the Mexico-based star. But there’s one big difference between Gignac the footballer and Gignac the tiger: their personalities. Soon after Gignac the tiger cub was born at the La Pastora zoo in Monterrey, it had to be separated from its mother, who “was a first-time mom […]