Trailblazing World Fencing League sticking to guns ahead of Hong Kong debut

Zac Purton returned from a two-meeting suspension with a treble at Happy Valley on Wednesday night as Jerry Chau Chun-lok secured a valuable win in the race for a Longines International Jockeys’ Championship berth. Nine-time Hong Kong champion Purton was in vintage form when booting home the David Hall-trained Brownneedsfurther, Jamie Richards’ Storming Dragon and the Cody Mo Wai-kit-trained California Blitz, extending his lead at the top of the premiership to 12 over nearest rival Nichola Yuen...

Chinese basketball icon Yao Ming said children should find a hobby and not view sport as the way to manage stress, while speaking with local primary students in Hong Kong on Wednesday. The former Houston Rockets star took to the pitch at the Hong Kong Football Club alongside Olympic gymnastics champion Li Xiaopeng and table tennis legend Deng Yaping, leading about 25 schoolchildren through a session in non-contact touch rugby. The three Laureus World Sports Academy members were taking part in...

DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings has said he was not ready to throw the doors wide open and welcome back players from LIV ⁠Golf just yet. The remarks came at the same time former world No 1 Jon Rahm said on Tuesday he walked away from LIV Golf because ⁠he was unhappy with the proposed ⁠changes for the breakaway circuit’s next iteration, adding ⁠he had not talked with the PGA Tour about a potential return. The future of LIV is in ⁠doubt after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund cut ⁠off its...

Hong Kong champion Ka Ying Rising and a host of international stars headline 142 entries for the showpiece Longines Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) meeting at Sha Tin on December 13. The Jockey Club confirmed on Wednesday that 36 individual Group One winners are among entries for the four elite races – the HK$40 million Group One Hong Kong Cup, HK$36 million Group One Hong Kong Mile, HK$28 million Group One Hong Kong Sprint and HK$26 million Group One Hong Kong Vase. Rated 135 at the top of...

Former Chinese women’s team captain Shang Chunsong credited her gymnastics career for laying the groundwork after she clinched gold at the parkour World Cup, while also voicing hope that the sport will one day be included in the Olympics. The 30-year-old won the women’s freestyle title at the FIG Parkour World Cup leg in Beijing, sealing the 2026 overall series crown in an event that attracted more than 100 competitors from over 20 countries and regions. Sporting green hair, Shang had a starkly...

Maya Joint credits her win over Serena Williams at Wimbledon as the “real turning point” of her year after she continued her strong end to the campaign with a straight sets win over fellow Australian Maddison Inglis in her opening match at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open. The 20-year-old, who hit a career-high ranking of world No 28 in February, endured a nightmare period after reaching the quarter-finals of the Adelaide International in January, losing nine matches in a row and gaining...

One year after she “hated myself on the court”, a more content Maria Sakkari said it was “kind of irrelevant” whether she recaptured the form that propelled her to world No 3 and into two grand slam semi-finals. The Greek, who will face Maya Joint in round two of the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open on Wednesday, tumbled down the rankings after she sustained a serious shoulder injury during the 2024 US Open. On her return in early 2025, Sakkari’s form dipped to the point that she found herself...

Philippines sensation Alexandra Eala said there were few better places to wrap up a tennis season after battling past Emerson Jones at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open on Tuesday. Playing in Hong Kong for the second time, after her debut last year, Eala also said she was “super happy” to come back and start her quest to end the season on a high with a win. The Filipino was set to renew her rivalry with American Alycia Parks in the first round, but the world No 59 from Florida withdrew about...

Spanish police have opened an investigation into possible involuntary manslaughter after a soccer player died following an on-field collision with the opposing team’s goalkeeper in a second-division match. Tenerife forward Jesus de Miguel died after he suffered cardiac arrest from the on-field collision, his club said on Tuesday. He was 30. De Miguel was challenging for the ball near midfield on Monday when he was struck in the chest by the onrushing Andorra goalkeeper Jesus Owono during added...

Jay Rooney LIVE WIRE - R8 (9) Tough second on a hot speed last start and has drawn perfectly here   Owen Goulding PRESTIGE RICKY - R4 (12) Worked well since latest close second and draws the inside barrier once again   Paul Lally STORMING DRAGON - R6 (1) Downgraded and looks well placed with a senior rider taking over   Phillip Woo STORMING DRAGON - R6 (1) Improved with each run this term and possesses solid Class Four form   Trackwork Spy LIVE WIRE - R8 (9) Kept on gamely despite searing pace...

Zeynep Sonmez said she was “grateful” and “inspired” by her tennis friends such as Alexandra Eala and Eva Lys as she kicked off her Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open with a straight sets victory over Dayana Yastremska. The 24-year-old took the lion’s share of the support from the crowd as she edged through a tight opening set 6-4, before turning that momentum into a dominant 6-2 showing in the second to wrap up the match. “Hong Kong has been wonderful; the environment is great and I’m very happy...

In the words of tennis great Jannik Sinner: “Mamma mia, Kimi!” Italy woke up on Monday rejoicing at the nation’s first Formula 1 world champion in 73 years, since Alberto Ascari in 1953. Kimi Antonelli became the youngest champion in history on Sunday, when the Mercedes driver finished third in the Mexico City Grand Prix to clinch the title with four races to spare. Almost all of Italy’s newspapers had a photo of Antonelli on the front page. Some used the picture of him on the shoulders of...