Digest

BASKETBALL

Young guns Guo, Tang to enter NBA Draft

Two young Chinese prospects, Guo Haowen of the Shanghai Sharks and Tang Jie of the Fujian SBS, will participate in the 2021 NBA Draft.

The Sharks on Monday confirmed that Guo has already arrived in the United States for a summer training camp in preparation for the draft, which will take place on July 29.

In a message posted on social media, the Sharks said they respected Guo's choice in order to support the development of Chinese basketball and wished him success.

Former Bayi Rockets point guard Guo played 15 games for Shanghai, notching 208 points, 62 rebounds and 47 assists.

Tang, also a guard who has played two CBA seasons with Fujian, will also enter this year's NBA draft, his agency Elite Legend Sports confirmed on Weibo on Monday. The 22-year-old former Chinese youth international averaged 6.1 points and 2.7 assists last season for Fujian.

Spectator incident mars Washington win

A fan was tackled as he ran onto the court during an NBA playoff game between the Wizards and 76ers on Monday night, the latest example of unruly behavior as teams increase the number of spectators they're allowing in the stands during the pandemic.

The players were heading toward Washington's basket in the third quarter when the action was halted while a member of security held the person down near the baseline.

After beginning this season with zero spectators allowed at its arena, Washington has increased the capacity to the point where Monday's contest had an announced attendance of over 10,000. The Wizards won Game 4, 122-114, to trim their series deficit to 3-1.

In Game 2 at Philadelphia, Washington guard Russell Westbrook had popcorn dumped on him as he walked to the locker room. On Sunday in the Celtics-Nets series, Brooklyn's Kyrie Irving was nearly hit by a bottle thrown from the stands during a game in Boston. In New York, a spectator spat at Atlanta's Trae Young during the Knicks-Hawks series.

SOCCER

Barca signs Aguero on two-year contract

Barcelona has signed Sergio Aguero on a deal until 2023, the Catalan giant announced on Monday. In a statement, Barca said that Aguero, who arrives after a decade at Manchester City, has a buyout clause "set at 100 million euros ($122 million)".

Aguero's arrival at Barca came two days after he missed out on the Champions League glory with City in a 1-0 final defeat to Chelsea.

The 32-year-old leaves City as the club's all-time record scorer with 260 goals, and with the most goals scored for a single team in Premier League history－184 in 275 appearances.

His departure for Barcelona had been long in the offing, with City coach Pep Guardiola saying a week ago that a deal was close.

Aguero returns to Spain after spending five years with Atletico Madrid between 2006 and 2011, and Barca will hope his arrival in Catalonia helps to convince his compatriot Lionel Messi to stay.

TENNIS

Osaka blames anxiety for Paris withdrawal

Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open on Monday and wrote on Twitter that she would be taking a break from competition, a dramatic turn of events for a four-time Grand Slam champion who said she experiences "huge waves of anxiety" before speaking to the media and revealed she has "suffered long bouts of depression".

Osaka's agent, Stuart Duguid, confirmed in an email to The Associated Press that the world No 2 was pulling out before her second-round match at the clay-court tournament in Paris.

The stunning move came a day after the 23-year-old was fined $15,000 for skipping the post-match news conference after her first-round victory.

She also was threatened by all four Grand Slam tournaments with additional punishment, including disqualification or suspension, if she continued with her intention－which Osaka revealed last week－to not "do any press during Roland Garros".

OLYMPICS

Aussie softball team first to arrive in Tokyo

Australia's softball team on Tuesday became the first athletes to land in Japan for the Olympics, in a major milestone for the pandemic-postponed Games, which continue to face controversy.

The "Aussie Spirit" squad touched down at Narita Airport outside Tokyo along with their support staff and were immediately ushered off for coronavirus testing.

Wearing face masks, they were met by greeters sporting hats decorated with Olympic and Paralympic mascots.

Everyone in the delegation has been vaccinated but they still faced testing before departure and on arrival, and will also be subject to restrictions during their stay.

The softball squad arrives at a time of mounting pressure on Japanese organizers, with polls in Japan showing a majority of people want the Olympics delayed again or canceled because of the pandemic.

China Daily - Agencies