Digest

BASKETBALL

Zhou joins legend Yao with monster CBA stats

Xinjiang Flying Tigers center Zhou Qi joined illustrious company on Thursday with a dominating performance against the Guangzhou Loong Lions.

Zhou had 37 points, 26 boards and four blocks in a 110-93 win for Xinjiang, becoming just the second Chinese player to reach such figures after the legendary Yao Ming.

Zhou is also the second domestic player to register at least 25 boards in a single game multiple times. Last season he also pulled down 26 rebounds against the Fujian Sturgeons. Yao reached this mark five times between 1999 and 2002.

Zhou's latest performance sees him leapfrog Yao into 42nd on the CBA's all-time rebound list.

Zhou has averaged 21.4 points, 12.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks this season for fourth-ranked Xinjiang.

Zheng makes Hall of Fame history for China

Zheng Haixia has become the first Chinese player to be inducted into basketball's Hall of Fame after world governing body FIBA announced its Class of 2021 on Thursday.

Standing over two meters tall, Zheng claimed an Olympic silver medal at the 1992 Barcelona Games and was a runner-up at the world championship in 1994 with the Chinese team. She joined the Los Angeles Sparks and played in the WNBA in 1997.

"Dream Team" coach Chuck Daly, who passed away in 2009, was also among the 12 members of the 2021 Hall of Fame class.

Daly guided Team USA to gold at the 1992 Olympics. He also enjoyed success as both a high-school and college coach.

The remaining inductees were Ettore Messina (Italy), Mathieu Faye (Senegal), Sergey Tarakanov (Russia), Detlef Schrempf (Germany), Oscar Moglia (Uruguay), Stanislav Kropilak (Slovakia), Penka Stoyanova (Bulgaria), Hana Horakova (Czech Republic) and Tom Maher (Australia).

GOLF

Police not disclosing cause of Woods crash

The Los Angeles County sheriff says detectives have determined what caused Tiger Woods to crash his SUV last month in Southern California but would not release details Wednesday, citing unspecified privacy concerns for the golf star.

Woods suffered serious injuries in the Feb 23 crash when he struck a raised median around 7 am in Rolling Hills Estates, just outside Los Angeles. The Genesis SUV he was driving crossed through two oncoming lanes and uprooted a tree on a downhill stretch that police said is known for wrecks. Woods is in Florida recovering from multiple surgeries.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva has been criticized for his comments about the crash, calling it "purely an accident" and saying there was no evidence of impairment. Woods told deputies he did not know how the crash occurred and didn't remember driving. He was unconscious when a witness first approached the mangled SUV. But a sheriff 's deputy said the athlete later appeared to be in shock but was conscious and able to answer basic questions.

Investigators did not seek a search warrant for Woods' blood samples, which could be screened for drugs and alcohol. In 2017, Woods checked himself into a clinic for help in dealing with prescription drug medication after a DUI charge in his home state of Florida.

DOPING

CAS to hear retrial of Sun Yang case in May

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will hold the second hearing of the appeal arbitration between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Chinese swimmer Sun Yang and swimming governing body FINA in late May.

The CAS announced on Thursday the second hearing will take place during the week of May 24-28 and will be held by video conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CAS held a first hearing in November 2019 before its panel of three judges imposed an eight-year ban on Sun. However, the original verdict was overturned, and a retrial ordered, when Switzerland's supreme court ruled in December that the presiding judge showed anti-China bias in social media posts.

"Following the decision of the Swiss Federal Tribunal of 22 December 2020 to remove the previous president of the arbitral panel, the other panel members stepped down and an entire new panel was appointed, composed of Mr. Hans Nater (Switzerland), president, Mr. Jan Paulsson (France) and Mr. Bernard Hanotiau (Belgium)," the CAS said in a media release.

SOCCER

Cup winner Branco recovering from virus

Brazil World Cup winner Claudio "Branco" Leal is on track to make a full recovery from COVID-19 after being moved out of an intensive care unit, according to the 56-year-old's wife.

The former leftback remains under observation at a clinic in Rio de Janeiro, where he spent several days needing the help of a ventilator to breathe.

"Every day is a new victory, amazing progress," Cleo Pozzebon said in a social media post. "He is closer to the (hospital) exit door every day."

Branco retired in 1998 after a career that included spells with Brescia, Porto, Genoa, Flamengo, Corinthians and Middlesbrough, among others.

Capped 72 times for his country, Branco was a part of the Brazil team that won the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

China set to resume qualifiers in Suzhou

China will take on Guam when the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup resume at the end of May.

Hosting the remaining matches of Group A in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China will face Guam on May 30, before playing the Maldives on June 3, the Philippines on June 9 and Syria on June 15.

China, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and South Korea will host the remaining matches of their respective groups for the second round of the Asian qualifiers, to be played from May 30 to June 15.

The second round comprises 40 teams which have been divided into eight groups. Each team plays home and away against other teams in the group. The eight group winners and the four best runners-up will advance to round three.

Syria currently tops Group A with 15 points with three matches to play. China has a game on hand over Syria but is eight points adrift of the leader, and is only ahead of the third-place Philippines on goal difference.

Xinhua - Agencies