UPDATE
Sania crashes out of AEGON Classic
Birmingham: Only a few days after the high of French Open doubles final, Sania Mirza crashed back to earth with an upset defeat in the first round of the women’s singles event at the AEGON Classic tennis tournament here. The Indian, placed 58th in the WTA rankings, went down fighting 3-6, 6-4, 2-6, to 80th ranked Tamira Paszek of Austria in a thrilling clash at the 220,000 dollar grasscourt event on Tuesday. Tamira will next play sixth seed Ekaterina Makarova of Russia who got a bye in the first round. The tournament is the first of the two warm-up events on grass ahead of this month’s All England Championships at Wimbledon. (UNI)
S Korea faces crisis over match-fixing
SEOUL: The South Korean government will beef up penalties for match-fixing to deal with the ‘crisis’ that has led to the arrest of a handful of soccer players. Park Sun-kyu, vice minister of culture, sports and tourism, was quoted in Wednesday’s edition of The Korea Herald as saying they were taking steps to root out the problem. Those convicted of attempting to fix matches or giving bribes will now face a maximum prison sentence of seven years or a fine of up to 70 million won (64,971 dollar). Those found to have accepted offers to fix matches face a five-year jail term or a fine of up to 50 million won. Five players have been arrested so in far in the probe with the state-run sports bookmaker Sports Toto being stopped from taking bets on matches at the request of K-League club owners. (Reuters)
Bolt to run 200 m after 13-month gap
OSLO: Usain Bolt says he is fully focused on the world championships as he prepares to run his first 200-meter race in 13 months at a Diamond League event in Oslo on Thursday. The Jamaican world record holder said on Wednesday it will feel “weird” to run the 200 but, having recovered from last season’s injuries, is confident of running a fast race at the Bislett Games. South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya is also competing as she seeks to move on from having to undergo a gender test following her victory in the 800 at the 2009 worlds. Forced to sit out a year, Semenya says it was tough to bounce back but is now starting to rediscover her best form. The worlds run from Aug 27 to Sept 4 in South Korea. (AP)
China beat North Korea in friendly
BEIJING: China ended its warm-up matches ahead of 2014 World Cup qualifying on Wednesday with a 2-0 victory over a seasoned North Korea in a friendly in front of a boisterous crowd in Guizhou. Midfielder Deng Zhuoxiang opened China’s account in the 36th minute, taking a Gao Lin cross in front of goal to slot home a sweet left-footer. Less than three minutes later, striker Gao headed home a second, nodding a Yu Hai cross from the left wing past North Korean goalkeeper Ri Myong Guk. (Reuters)