liu Xiang to retire: reports
Beijing: China’s former Olympic champion hurdler liu Xiang plans to announcement his retirement next week following years of nagging injuries, a local newspaper reported on Friday. The Shanghai native has not competed since withdrawing at the london Olympics in 2012 after rupturing his Achilles tendon. The Shanghai newspaper Xinmin News said liu would announce his retirement on his official micro blog on Tuesday. He would then join former NBA star Yao Ming and tennis champion li Na in the ranks of world-class Chinese athletes who have recently retired. liu had already announced that he did not expect to compete at the athletics world championships in Beijing in August.
Joshi wins Ahmedabad Masters
Ahmedabad: Bangalore’s Khalin Joshi shot a course record of nine-under 63 on the final day to register a sensational come-from-behind victory at the PGTI Ahmedabad Masters here on Friday. Joshi signed off with a 17-under 271 total to bag his second professional crown. S Chikkarangappa, another Bangalorean, finished runner-up at 15-under 273 after his final round of five-under 67. Joshi (70-67-71-63), who was placed eight shots off the lead in fifth place after round three, came out firing on all cylinders to steamroll all opposition in sight.
late bogeys push lahiri down
Humble (texas): Anirban lahiri started out on his long journey on the PGA Tour at the Shell Houston Open in a rather humbling manner, ending the day one at two-over 74. Starting with a birdie on the 10th, his first hole of the day, the World No. 33 lahiri parred the next seven holes to stay under-par before encountering his first disappointment in the form of a double bogey on the 17th. Thereafter two other birdies back-to-back on fifth and sixth and three bogeys, two of them in last three holes saw him finish at two-over 74 for the first day. It put the winner of Malaysian and Hero Indian Open winner way behind at 117th place — three shots behind the projected cut.
Mariners down Salgaocar 3-1
Barasat: Sony Norde and Katsumi Yusa struck one each as Mohun Bagan downed Salgaocar 3-1 in an action-packed second-half to maintain their stronghold atop the table in the I-league football tournament at the Vidyasagar Krirangan here on Friday. The win enabled the Mariners (24) establish a four-point lead over defending champions Bengaluru FC with one match in hand as Mohun Bagan also avenged their Federation Cup rout when they lost 1-4 to crash out.
Referee’s widow files $51m suit
Detroit: The wife of a Detroit-area soccer referee filed a $51 million lawsuit on Friday against a hot-headed player who is in prison for throwing a punch that killed her husband during a game last summer. The figure represents $1 million for each of the 51 additional years that John Bieniewicz, 44, could have lived, according to the lawsuit in Wayne County court. Kristen Bieniewicz of Westland, the representative of her husband’s estate, is suing Bassel Saad, another man who controlled the team and the soccer league. Bieniewicz died after Saad punched him in the head just moments before Saad would have been ejected from a weekend game. Saad, 37, was recently sentenced to at least eight years in prison after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
Silvio to sell 75% stake in Milan
Milan: Italian football giants AC Milan’s owner, Silvio Berlusconi, confirmed on Friday that he is on the verge of selling 75 per cent of his shares in the club to a group of Chinese investors. The deal is said to be worth over 1,000 million Euros ($1,080 million). “The sale of 75 per cent of Milan to the Chinese has been agreed on,” Berlusconi was quoted as saying by marca.com. Talks with an important group of Chinese investors will continue, with pen being put to paper in just a few months. The deal would also include the continuance of Berlusconi’s daughter, Barbara, in her position as a club director.
Dwyer seeks historic return
Ipoh (Malaysia): The 24th edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, starting here from Sunday, signals the return to action of Australian World Cup winners Jamie Dwyer and Glenn Turner after a 10-month absence from their national hockey team. If five-time World Player of the Year Dwyer plays, he will become the most capped Australian hockey player of all time. The 36-year-old has 321 caps, same as former midfield maestro Jay Stacy. The Kookaburras, who have won this tournament eight times, will welcome back Dwyer and striker Turner to the fold. Neither player has been in the side since the 2014 World Cup due to injuries.
Sports journalist Pillay dies
Hyderabad: Veteran sports journalist TN Pillay died here on Friday, after prolonged illness. He was 85. Pillay was one of the earliest sports journalists from Hyderabad and was associated with English daily, Deccan Chronicle for nearly 60 years, serving as its sports editor till about 2010. Pillay, who gave break to many sports journalists, had also served as correspondent with Times of India and Filmfare. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has expressed his shock and grief over the demise of Pillay.