Sports

Rafael Nadal (picture) continued his impressive comeback by overpowering wildcard Jason Kubler 6-1, 6-2 to move into the quarter-finals of the Brisbane International on Thursday. Playing his first tournament since being forced to retire injured at the 2023 Australian Open, Nadal was far too strong for the Australian, who did not have the shots to harm the Spaniard. The 37-year-old Nadal, who beat former US Open champion Dominic Thiem in the first round, powered through the first set, opening a 5-0 lead before Kubler finally held serve to get on the board. The second set was almost as impressive as Nadal wrapped up the match in 1hr 23min. He will play another Australian, Jordan Thompson, in the quarter-finals and remains on track for a possible semi-final against second see...

Former men’s singles shuttler Liew Daren will be parting ways with Lee Zii Jia, after almost two years serving as the world’s number eleventh player assistant coach. Team LZJ took to Instagram yesterday to confirm Daren’s decision. “After a heart-to-heart discussion, Team LZJ with the heaviest of feelings agree to accept Liew Daren’s resignation from the team. We respect his decision to do so due to personal reasons. “Daren was an integral part of the team since day one and has played an important role in the development of Team LZJ. His presence will be sorely missed by all within the team. As such the doors at Team LZJ will always remain open for Daren,” the team posted. Daren, who represented Malaysia as an independent men’s singles shuttler, had retired in April, then ...

British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe (picture) has agreed a deal to buy a 25% stake in Manchester United for about $1.3 billion, vowing to return the Premier League club to the “top of world football”. United also announced in a statement on Sunday that Ratcliffe’s INEOS company would take control of football operations after years of under-achievement under the Glazer family. And the 71-year-old chairman of the global chemicals giant will provide substantial funds for future investment in the club’s outdated Old Trafford stadium. It brings to an end a lengthy saga that began 13 months ago when United’s unpopular US owners said they were considering “strategic alternatives” to help the club grow. The American family bought the club for £790 million ($1.47 billion at the time)...

Manchester City crammed a fifth trophy into a glorious 2023 by lifting the Club World Cup for the first time in Saudi Arabia to continue the domination by European sides of a tournament that has ceased to be competitive. Not since Corinthians beat Chelsea in 2012 have the Champions League winners failed to follow up that triumph by becoming world champions. City’s 4-0 win over Fluminense was a 22nd consecutive victory in games in the competition for European sides. A lack of jeopardy is part of the reasoning for a transformation of the competition from 2025. The current format of seven teams playing a knockout over little more than a week will be ripped up for a 32-team competition spread over the course of a month in the United States in two years’ time. FIFA are muscling...

Tiger Woods rejected using a golf cart in favor of walking on Friday during a pro-am round at the PNC Championship, feeling fit as he regains his form for 2024. The 15-time major winner and his 14-year-old son Charlie will play in the 36-hole PNC Championship this weekend at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida. Woods, who turns 48 on December 30, has struggled to walk during competitive rounds since a 2021 car crash in which he suffered severe leg injuries. Until finishing 18th in the 20-man Hero World Challenge two weeks ago, Woods had not played since the Masters after undergoing ankle surgery last April. “I felt like I was physically fit to do it (walk), and also, walking is always better for my back,” Woods said. “I just wanted to keep it loose and keep i...

Manchester United's Portuguese midfielder #08 Bruno Fernandes and Manchester United Northern Irish defender #35 Jonny Evans react after the UEFA Champions League group A football match between Manchester United and FC Bayern Munich at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, north west England, on December 12, 2023. (Photo by PETER POWELL / AFP) Manchester United crashed out of the Champions League on Tuesday and failed to even secure the consolation of a Europa League spot as Bayern Munich won 1-0 at Old Trafford. United were toothless as Harry Kane and his Bayern teammates only needed one penetrating move to create Kingsley Coman’s winning goal. They finish bottom of Group A as FC Copenhagen took the second qualifying spot behind Bayern following their 1-0 win over Galatasaray in fr...

Johor announced Dec 17 as an occasional public holiday to celebrate the decade-long success of the Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) football team in winning the 2023 Super League and Malaysia Cup. Johor State Secretary Tan Sri Dr Azmi Rohani, in a statement, said that the Southern Tigers made history by winning the Super League for the 10th consecutive time, marking a decade of JDT’s dominance in national football. He stated that on Dec 16, at 8:30 pm, a grand celebration will be held at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium (SSI) in Iskandar Puteri, following the team’s match against Penang FC. Azmi said that, in accordance with the decree of Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Almarhum Sultan Iskandar, the state government decided to declare the following Sunday, Dec 17, as an occasional public ho...