Sports NewsUPDATED: 11:15, July 03, 2007 |
A victory for Russia's Sochi in the race to host the 2014 Winter Olympics would affect millions of lives in Russia, leaders of the bid said on Sunday. Venus Williams looked as though she was hurtling towards defeat against a Japanese skiing fan yesterday before fighting back to set up a fourth-round Wimbledon tie against another former champion Maria Sharapova. Robinho scored a hat-trick to give Brazil a badly-needed 3-0 Copa America win over Chile on Sunday, while Mexico reached the quarterfinals after beating Ecuador 2-1. Alinghi and Team New Zealand took it easy yesterday, enjoying their last day off before they run into the final straight of the America's Cup. Itinerary for the 2007 Tour de France, which starts on Saturday: Many a Wimbledon champion might not have tasted glory on Centre Court had it not been for the humble racket stringer. After nine trips to qualifying school and 150 tournaments without a win, Brian Bateman might have considered spending a little less time in the kitchen and a bit more time on the practice range. Never mind who wins, Tour de France organisers just want their sport to emerge scandal-free from the three-week race which starts from London on Saturday. Cricket, dragon boating and Weiqi: the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games promises to be a sports fiesta with a difference following the announcement of the event line-up. Chinese star Liang Wenchong, the current Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit leader, has received a special exemption to compete in the 89th US PGA Championship from August 9-12. The Milwaukee Bucks believed Chinese power forward Yi Jianlian was a steal with the sixth pick of last week's NBA draft. But the ramifications of the move were laid bare this weekend as Yi's handlers confirmed they were looking to get their client out of a city he wants no part of. The Peking University Gymnasium, the table tennis venue for the 2008 Olympic Games, caught fire at around 8 am yesterday but there were no casualties, a witness told China Daily. Wimbledon tournament referee Andrew Jarrett has defended the All England Club's decision not to play matches on the middle Sunday despite rain delay. Malaysia will send a contingent of 95 men and 29 women to participate in the 2nd Asian Indoor Games slated for Oct. 26 to Nov. 3 this year in Macau, China, a local official said here on Monday. Following are the results from the Wimbledon championships on Monday (prefix number denotes seeding): Top-seeded Justine Henin clinched a Wimbledon quarter-finals berth on Monday as she wrapped up a 6-2, 6-2 win over Swiss Patty Schynder. Russian fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova Monday eased into the fourth round of Wimbledon women's singles' event, beating Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2 6-3. The flame of 2007 Shanghai Special Olympics arrived Monday morning in Egypt's Mediterranean city of Alexandria, about 220 km northwest of the Egyptian capital of Cairo. English Premier League club Arsenal Monday said they have agreed terms with Dinamo Zagreb to sign Croatia's Brazil-born striker Eduardo Da Silva on a four-year contract. Poles are growing more sceptical about Poland's success in organising with Ukraine the European Championship soccer tournament in 2012, according to a poll commissioned by Polish Zycie Warszawy daily. A Kuwaiti athlete is to be among those to carry the 12th Summer Games of the Special Olympics' Flame of Hope as it passes through Cairo and Alexandria on Monday. A Vietnamese court Monday passed imprisonment sentences of 4 years to 7 years, and suspended ones of 2-2.5 years to seven local soccer referees and two sports officials for the charges of bribe giving, taking and mediating, Vietnam News Agency reported. Portuguese defender Ricardo Costa has moved to German Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg from FC Porto in a transfer worth four million euros (5.4 million US dollars), the German club said on Monday. Newly-crowned Global Boxing Union (GBU) and double super-featherweight champion Esther Phiri ruled out a rematch with Bulgarian boxer Rodostina Valcheva whom she defeated in Saturday's title fight, Zambia Times reported on Monday. The Pakistan Olympic Association ( POA) has constituted an athletes commission following its annual general meeting in eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, a local newspaper reported Monday. Mexico reached the quarterfinal of the Copa America with a 2-1 victory over Ecuador in Group B on Sunday. Chinese shuttler Chen Hong has played for the Surya Naga badminton club and helped the Indonesian club win the Super League badminton championships over the weekend. Traditional Asian powerhouses Iran and China are more likely to progress into the knockout stage of the AFC Asian Cup 2007 from Group C, which includes central Asian force Uzbekistan and co-hosts Malaysia. Big names South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain will face intensified competition in Group D for two tickets to the knockout stage at the AFC Asian Cup, while a weak Indonesian side are likely to be the standers-by in the "group of death". There is little doubt for Australia to advance to the knockout stage in their debut in the coming Asian Cup. |
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