Digest

TRACK AND FIELD

Xiamen meet added to Diamond League

The world's premier athletics series, the Wanda Diamond League, has added the Chinese city of Xiamen to its schedule.

The coastal city in East China's Fujian province will stage a Diamond League meet beginning from this fall for the next 10 years, making the city the series' second host in China together with Shanghai.

The inaugural Xiamen meet will be held on Sept 2 at the newly built Egret Stadium, a state-of-the-art project with a capacity of 53,000.

Fans can expect to see China's finest track and field stars taking on the world's best across 13 events, according to an announcement on Wednesday.

"There is a profound tradition of sports in Xiamen. The Egret Stadium and two affiliated stadiums are built according to international first-class standards. We look forward to hosting the Wanda Diamond League Xiamen meet to the highest standards," said Liao Huasheng, a deputy mayor of Xiamen.

Among the international stars set to compete in Xiamen will be reigning Diamond League champion Ivana Vuleta (women's long jump), two-time Olympic champion Christian Taylor (men's triple jump) and six-time Diamond Trophy winner Sandra Perkovic (women's discus throw).

China will be represented by the likes of reigning women's world discus champion Feng Bin, men's Olympic triple jump medalist Zhu Yaming, and women's long jump national champion Xiong Shiqi.

SOCCER

City agrees deal for Croatia star Gvardiol

Manchester City has agreed a fee of 90 million euros ($98.3 million) with RB Leipzig for Croatia international defender Josko Gvardiol, Sky Sports and the BBC reported on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old has played 87 times for the German club since moving from Dinamo Zagreb in 2021 and was part of the Croatia side that finished third at last year's World Cup.

It is understood the left-footed player, rated as one of the best defenders in Europe, will fly to England for a medical later this week.

The deal, with no add-ons, will not make Gvardiol the world's most expensive defender, with Harry Maguire, who cost Manchester United 80 million pounds (93 million euros, $101.5 million) in 2019, retaining that record.

Gvardiol, who has previously been linked with Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, teams up with midfield compatriot Mateo Kovacic as a new arrival at the Etihad Stadium as City manager Pep Guardiola makes changes following his side's treble-winning campaign.

He joins an impressive roster of central defenders at City including Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, John Stones and Aymeric Laporte.

Jesus to miss start of Arsenal's campaign

Arsenal's Brazil striker Gabriel Jesus will be out of action for the next few weeks after undergoing a procedure on his knee that was related to his injury at last year's World Cup, Gunners coach Mikel Arteta said on Wednesday.

Jesus missed much of the second half of last season after he underwent surgery on his right knee in December following an injury he sustained while playing for the national team at the Qatar World Cup.

"It's something related to the previous injury that he had, and the surgery," Arteta told a news conference after the club beat Monaco 6-5 on penalties following a 1-1 draw at the north London side's home stadium in the preseason Emirates Cup.

"Unfortunately, he has had a little procedure this morning; he had some discomfort in his knee that has been causing some issues and they had to go in and resolve it.

"It's not something major but he's going to be out for a few weeks I think."

Arsenal kicks off its 2023-24 campaign at home to Nottingham Forest on Aug 12.

ICE HOCKEY

Shenzhen to stage top women's tournament

The 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship Division I Group A tournament will be held at Shenzhen Universiade Center in the Longgang district of the southern metropolis from Aug 20 to 26, the local government announced at a news conference on Wednesday.

China, Denmark, Norway, Slovakia, Austria and the Netherlands will participate in the tournament, aiming to gain promotion to the top level.

It is the first time the International Ice Hockey Federation has awarded the hosting rights of the event to the same city for three consecutive years.

Officials in Shenzhen, a southern Chinese city with strong participation in winter sports, say it is well prepared for the tournament in terms of venues and support services such as food safety, medical infrastructure and traffic management.

Agencies - Xinhua