Digest

MOTOR SPORT

Ty's tremendous debut wows grandfather Gibbs

Joe Gibbs celebrated his first NASCAR victory as a grandfather, watching from the pits as 18-year-old Ty Gibbs won his Xfinity Series debut Saturday on the road course at Daytona International Speedway in Florida.

It was the very first NASCAR national series race for Ty Gibbs, who jumped two steps from ARCA to Xfinity for his debut. He plowed through the field on the last two restarts to beat Xfinity Series champion Austin Cindric in double overtime.

Gibbs became the youngest driver to win an Xfinity road-course race at 18 years, 4 months, 16 days.

"This is such an experience for our family," said Joe Gibbs, a member of the NASCAR and Pro Football Hall of Fames. "I've been blessed to enjoy so much, but this, he had not made a lap in the car. We didn't dream about him being up front like that."

SOCCER

Head coach Li claims injury ruined EPL stint

China head coach Li Tie has lamented the injury which he blames for cutting short his English Premier League career.

Having impressed in an initial loan deal from Liaoning, Li was signed permanently by Everton in 2003. However, he soon found himself sidelined when he broke his right leg in a World Cup qualifier against Kuwait after colliding with China teammate Yang Pu.

"Had it not been for the fracture I suffered in the national team, I would have been able to play more games in the Premier League. That would have been fantastic," Li wrote on social media on Saturday.

Li left Everton for Sheffield United in 2006 but struggled for game time with the Blades. He returned to China in 2008 and three years later retired from playing.

Madrid closes on top spot as Atletico slips

Real Madrid is back within touching distance of the top of La Liga after punishing another Atletico Madrid slip by beating Real Valladolid 1-0 on Saturday.

Atletico could have stretched its lead to 11 points by winning back-to-back games against Levante, but instead drew 1-1 on Wednesday before losing 2-0 on Saturday.

Casemiro's second-half header for Real Madrid cut the gap to just three points, albeit Atletico still has a game in hand.

"It's not because Atletico lost. We believe we can win the league," said Casemiro. "There are still 42(potential) points left, that's a lot of points."

"League campaigns are always the same, with big moments, difficulties, obstacles, for everyone, not only for Atletico Madrid," said Atletico coach Diego Simeone, whose side faces Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday.

"The teams that are strong in those moments are the ones that will achieve their objectives."

BASKETBALL

Rockets plan to part ways with Cousins

The Houston Rockets are set to part ways with center DeMarcus Cousins sometime next week, The Athletic reported on Saturday.

The Rockets reportedly plan to use a smaller lineup after emerging star Christian Wood returns from an ankle injury.

Cousins is Houston's leading rebounder (7.6 per game) and is averaging 9.6 points and 20.2 minutes in 25 games (11 starts).

Cousins, 30, once was an elite big man and averaged more than 20 points per game in five straight seasons while playing for the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans. He was an All-Star in four of those campaigns.

But Cousins suffered a torn Achilles in January 2018 during his one full season with the Pelicans and has never regained his form. He also sustained a torn quadriceps during the 2019 playoffs while toiling for the Golden State Warriors.

Gasol set to leave NBA with Barcelona return

Pau Gasol has reached an agreement with his former team, FC Barcelona in Spain, to play for the remainder of the 2020-21 season and prepare for the Tokyo Olympics, Spanish-language outlet Mundo Deportivo reported.

Gasol, 40, has been out of the NBA since March 2019, when he underwent surgery for a stress fracture in his foot. He signed with the Portland Trail Blazers as a free agent in the following offseason but never played for the team, instead opting to continue to rehabilitate the injury.

In 1998, Gasol was a teenager when he joined Barcelona before jumping to the NBA in 2001, where he spent 19 seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs and Milwaukee Bucks.

TRACK AND FIELD

Italy's Iapichino lands mother of all records

European junior champion Larissa Iapichino set a new indoor under-20 long jump world record on Saturday to match the Italian mark of her mother, Fiona May.

Iapichino jumped 6.91 meters at the national championships in the Italian Adriatic town of Ancona.

The 18-year-old overtook the previous under-20 record of 6.88m achieved by German legend Heike Drechsler on Feb 1, 1983 in Berlin.

Iapichino also equaled the Italian long jump record which her UK-born mother, a two-time world champion and Olympic silver medalist, achieved aged 28 on her way to gold at the European Indoor Championships in Valencia in March 1998.

"I found the necessary energy jump after jump, then the incredible happened," said Iapichino, who also qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with the best jump so far this year.

"The Olympics? I'll go and learn from the best."

Xinhua - Agencies