Digest

Soccer

Goalkeeper Zhang banned over DUI arrest

Team China goalkeeper Zhang Lu has been axed indefinitely from the national squad and suspended without pay by his club, Tianjin Tianhai, after being arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Zhang was detained by police on Wednesday evening, prompting the Chinese Football Association (CFA) to expel the 32-year-old from Marcello Lippi's national team and suspend him from all CFA soccer-related activities.

"Zhang's behavior will face further punishment after the relevant department publishes the consequences resulting from the incident," said a CFA statement.

In 2017, former Tianhai player Zhang Xiuwei was banned for six months and fined a sum equivalent to his salary over the same period for a similar transgression.

Lukaku's derby delight as Inter stays perfect

Romelu Lukaku fired Inter Milan back to the summit of Serie A with the second goal in a 2-0 derby victory over AC Milan that extended the Chinese-owned team's perfect start to the season.

Second-half strikes from the Belgium striker Lukaku, who left Manchester United for Inter in the summer, and Marcelo Brozovic gave the Nerazzurri their fourth win in as many games, leaving them two points ahead of Juventus.

Reigning champion Juve battled back from a goal down to beat Verona 2-1 thanks to Aaron Ramsey's first Serie A goal and a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty.

Antonio Conte's Inter was looking for a boost after its dismal 1-1 Champions League midweek draw at home to Slavia Prague.

"At 26 years old, I needed and wanted a coach like this, one who motivates me every day," said Lukaku of Conte.

"My relationship with Conte is very strong, he's a really good coach because he's someone who helps players to develop a lot.

"I'm really happy to be here and to be wearing this shirt."

Basketball

Injury-hit China names squad for Asia Cup

Team China has named its 12-player squad for the upcoming FIBA Women's Asia Cup.

Injured pair Huang Sijing and Zhang Ru will not be risked at the tournament, which will be held in Indian city Bangalore from Sept 24-29.

"Huang Sijing suffered a hand fracture, while Zhang Ru was impacted by a foot injury," head coach Xu Limin told Xinhua.

"Both players have not fully recovered and are therefore deemed unfit for playing matches.

"They will return to China for rehabilitation for the next phase of competition."

The full squad is: Han Xu, Yang Liwei, Li Yuan, Wang Siyu, Liu Jiacen, Wu Tongtong, Shao Ting, Gao Song, Guo Zixuan, Li Yueru, Chen Mingling and Shi Xiaoye.

Tennis

Osaka thrills home fans with Tokyo title

Japan's Naomi Osaka won her first singles title since this year's Australian Open by beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 6-3 in the Toray Pan Pacific final in Tokyo on Sunday.

Enjoying strong support from the stands, former world No 1 Osaka dominated the match with her powerful ground-strokes and broke Pavlyuchenkova's serve twice to take the opening set in 31 minutes.

The top seed didn't ease off in the second set, denying the Russian any chance of getting a foothold in the match and closed out with an ace.

It was Osaka's first title in the country of her birth - she previously lost two finals in Tokyo - and fourth of her career. She won back-to-back majors at the 2018 US Open and January's Australian Open.

American Football

'A few teams' showing interest in axed Brown

"A few teams" have reached out to express interest in free agent Antonio Brown since his release by the New England Patriots, according to the wide receiver's agent, Drew Rosenhaus.

Rosenhaus told ESPN on Saturday he's been in touch with teams who "want information regarding the legal situation and the NFL investigation" into accusations against Brown of sexual assault and sending intimidating text messages to his accuser.

ESPN reported that people around the league don't expect any team to sign Brown until the league's investigation is resolved.

The Patriots cut the controversial wideout on Friday afternoon, five days after Brown caught four passes for 56 yards and scored a touchdown in his debut with the team - a 43-0 win over the Miami Dolphins.

Brown, who has denied the claims of rape made in a civil lawsuit in Florida, was shown the door by the Patriots on Friday.

Rhythmic Gymnastics

Russia reigns, China clinches 2020 ticket

Russia won a fourth consecutive group all-around title at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Saturday.

Having swept the golds in individual competition, with Dina Averina claiming a third straight individual all-around title, Russia dominated the 24 teams in the group final. Russia finished on 58.700 points, with Japan second (58.200) and Bulgaria third (58.000).

Meanwhile, China, Japan, Belarus, Israel and Azerbaijan all booked spots in the group competition at the Tokyo Olympics. Russia, Italy and Bulgaria had already qualified for the Games at last year's worlds.

Six remaining group spots will be decided through events until next spring.

Rugby Union

Uproar over Aussie's red-card escape

Former top referee Jonathan Kaplan said he had "absolutely no idea" how Australia's Reece Hodge avoided a red card for his tackle on Fiji's Peceli Yato as officials came under fire on the opening weekend of the Rugby World Cup in Japan.

Wallaby wing Hodge prevented Yato from scoring a try in the 26th minute of Australia's opening 39-21 win in Sapporo on Saturday by blocking the flanker with a shoulder-led, no-arms challenge to the head that saw the Fijian leave the field with concussion.

It looked a clear case for a sending-off and a penalty try, particularly as World Rugby referees chief Alain Rolland had insisted on Monday high tackles would be punished severely, even if that meant a rash of red cards.

Yet no on-field action was taken by Kiwi referee Ben O'Keeffe against Hodge, who could yet face a citing. Fiji was leading 11-7 at the time of the incident.

"Going into this tournament, World Rugby was very clear about contact with the head and what constitutes a red card," Kaplan said.

"With that in mind I have absolutely no idea why Reece Hodge was not sent off for his tackle on Fiji's Peceli Yato. To me it was completely clear and an almost textbook example of the type of challenge they are trying to outlaw."

In Yokohama, New Zealand got its title defense off to a strong start with a 23-13 triumph over South Africa.

Xinhua - Agencies

(China Daily Global 09/23/2019 page16)