Digest

SOCCER

Wu staying at Espanyol despite relegation

Chinese striker Wu Lei has committed his future to Espanyol despite the club's relegation to Spain's second division.

Wu, who joined the Barcelona-based side in January 2019 from Shanghai SIPG, scored four goals last term as Espanyol finished bottom of La Liga in a season interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The China international has been linked with moves to English clubs Wolves and Watford as well as Turkish side Besiktas.

However, in quotes attributed to him by Spanish daily Diario AS, Wu reiterated his desire to stay at Chinese-owned Espanyol.

"I have seen a lot of people discussing what my next destination will be, but I have had my ideas very clear for a long time," said Wu.

"I have taken the decision to stay at Espanyol and to play in the second division with my team."

Espanyol is expected to name its new first-team coach this week, with Real Mallorca boss Vicente Moreno the favorite for the job.

Mbappe a major doubt for Champions League

Kylian Mbappe will be out for "approximately three weeks" with an ankle injury sustained in last Friday's French Cup final, Paris Saint-Germain confirmed on Monday.

The France international will miss PSG's League Cup final against Lyon this Friday, with the 21-year-old a huge doubt for the Champions League quarterfinal against Atalanta on Aug 12 in Lisbon as part of the final eight's single-game knockout format, which ends with the final on Aug 23.

"The results of today's scan confirmed an ankle sprain with damage to the external ligament. The player is expected to be sidelined for approximately three weeks," said a PSG statement.

Mbappe limped off the pitch in tears half an hour into PSG's 1-0 cup final win over Saint-Etienne after being hacked down by Loic Perrin, who was sent off. Mbappe watched the rest of the match from the bench with a brace on his foot and left Stade de France on crutches.

Victory on Friday in the League Cup final would complete a domestic treble for PSG.

SNOOKER

Liang wins thriller to qualify for worlds

China's Liang Wenbo won a marathon battle on Monday to earn a spot in the main draw of the Snooker World Championship in Sheffield.

In an engrossing fourth-round qualifying battle, Liang produced a brilliant 141 clearance in the deciding frame to edge Irish veteran Fergal O'Brien 10-9.

The 33-year-old Liang last played at the world championship in 2017, with his best result at its famous Crucible Theatre venue a run to the quarterfinals in 2008.

This year's championship will be staged at the Crucible from July 31 to Aug 16, with limited numbers of spectators permitted to attend.

The tournament is part of a pilot scheme for socially distanced indoor sporting events in England ahead of a planned full launch on Oct 1.

China's Ding Junhui and Yan Bingtao have already earned their places in the main draw thanks to their top-16 rankings, along with defending champion Judd Trump, veteran John Higgins and five-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan.

BASKETBALL

Jordan's signing-day jersey to be auctioned

The NBA jersey given to Michael Jordan when he first signed with the Chicago Bulls will go up for auction in December.

The red and white jersey emblazoned with Jordan's name and the number 23 is expected to fetch between $200,000 and $400,000, Julien's Auctions announced on Monday.

The hoops legend, who was 21 at the time, smiled and held up the jersey at his first media conference as a member of the Bulls in 1984. It proved to be the start of one of the league's most dominating dynasties, with Jordan going on to win six NBA championships in the 1990s.

Jordan's career was back in the spotlight this year thanks to ESPN documentary The Last Dance, which generated huge global TV ratings and plenty of back-page headlines. An autographed pair of his Air Jordan sneakers sold for a record $560,000 at an auction in May.

OLYMPICS

Virus-hit Brazil sets up camp in Portugal

Brazil has set up its Olympic training camp in Rio... Rio Maior that is, a relatively small Portuguese city of 21,000 residents outside the capital Lisbon.

The South American country's Olympic committee feared its team would lag before the Tokyo Games next year after months of inactivity at home. So since mid-July, 72 high-performance swimmers, judokas, boxers and gymnasts have been training at the Rio Maior Sports Center to try to catch up to rivals who started earlier.

Altogether, the camp currently involves more than 100 Brazilians, all of whom had to test negative for the coronavirus before leaving home, and on arriving in Portugal. It was timed so they could get started last Thursday, exactly one year out from the Olympics.

Rio de Janeiro's 2016 Olympics infrastructure is mostly closed, with only a handful of athletes able to work out for the Tokyo Games.

Brazil has officially recorded nearly 90,000 deaths from COVID-19 and more than 2.4 million cases, second only to the United States.

Xinhua - Agencies