WORLD OF SPORT
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Torres wins first clash with Iniesta in Japan Fernando Torres scored his first goal in Japanese football as his Sagan Tosu side defeated Andres Iniesta’s Kobe Vissel yesterday, to reach the quarter-finals of the Emperors Cup. The match marked the first time the Spaniards have met since moving to the J League this summer. Torres and former Barcelona hero Iniesta both started the match on the substitutes bench before being introduced in the second half. By that stage Sagan Tosu were already two goals to the good but there was still time left for Torres, who has struggled since his move to Japan from Atletico Madrid, to score his first goal for the club in the 84th minute and wrap up the victory. Torres will hope this goal, in Japan’s cup competition, will be the boost he needs as his club look to scramble out of the relegation zone in the J League. Sagan Tosu are in the relegation play-off spot with 11 games of the season remaining.
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From tummy trouble to gymnastics double Staying with Asia’s two biggest sporting rivals, China’s gymnasts trounced their rivals in the men’s and women’s team finals yesterday. But the squad’s star man said their golden performance meant nothing after top challenger Japan sent a second-rate team to the Asian Games. China’s fabulous five put on a majestic show in the men’s competition to claim the country’s third straight gymnastics gold at the regional Olympics in Jakarta – shortly before the Chinese women made it four. But Lin Chaopan said the final was little more than an internal team exercise. “It doesn’t prove we are the best because Japan did not send their top team,” Lin added. Meanwhile, China’s young women overcame stomach upsets to claim the top spot, brushing off challenges from North Korea and Japan. Coach Qiao Liang said he was “very, very touched by the girls’ performance” after they suffered a bout of diarrhoea before the final. “They are not used to the food here,” he said. ▷▷▷
Asian Games crashes mar paragliding’s debut Paragliding’s Asian Games debut saw two hair-raising crashes with Afghanistan’s Lida Hozoori and Wang Jianwei of China both helicoptered to hospital. Hozoori, a television presenter in Afghanistan, plunged 15 metres to the ground after stalling in midair, emergency services said. Teammates told AFP her injuries were not serious. Wang suffered a broken leg when his parachute folded 20 metres from the finishing area. Paragliding has come under scrutiny following the death of Hong Kong flier Patrick Chung.