Asia’s answer to NCAA basketball takes big step forward with new 18 team season

A decline in local turnover might have given Jockey Club boss Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges cause for concern to start the season, but a surge in wagering on overseas races has helped boost total turnover to a healthy figure. After 13 of 88 local meetings, total turnover on local and overseas races was up 12.5 per cent on last year to HK$24.8 billion. In his CEO blog published on the Jockey Club website before Sunday’s Sha Tin meeting, Engelbrecht-Bresges said wagering on Hong Kong racing was...

Bustling City was one of two shock beaten favourites for David Hayes on one weekend, but the Australian Hall of Fame trainer is adamant the horse he declared “could be the new dirt king in Hong Kong” will bounce back on Wednesday night. Adding to the pain of Ka Ying Rising’s narrow The Everest (1,200m) defeat at Randwick on October 17, Bustling City was sent off the $1.4 favourite the following day at Sha Tin but couldn’t back up his explosive seven-length victory on his seasonal return. After...

Jordan Football Association president Prince Ali bin Hussein accused Fifa leader ⁠Gianni Infantino on Sunday ⁠of hijacking the Asian Football ⁠Confederation Congress for political purposes ahead of his re-election bid for a fourth term. At the AFC’s extraordinary congress in Tokyo on Friday, its president, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, endorsed Infantino’s bid for re-election as Fifa president. Months after the confederation ‌accused Infantino of a “fundamental breach of trust” over the...

The list of Link Hong Kong Open winners has always read like an honour roll of golf’s great and good; on Sunday John Catlin added his name to that illustrious grouping and it might be that’s what finally broke through his steely exterior. Sitting with the trophy long after the crowds had gone home, Catlin read off the names of Greg Norman, Tom Watson, Rory McIlroy, Miguel Angel Jimenez and the rest, with the kind of dawning realisation that follows any major achievement. And while Tom McKibbin’s...

Ka Ying Lightning struck again at Sha Tin on Sunday to remain unbeaten and give David Hall the best birthday possible in the Class Three Lukfook Jewellery Night Banquet In Tang Palace Collection Handicap (1,000m). Impressive in a pair of starts thus far, including a two-length romp on reappearance, the All Too Hard galloper gave another sizeable boost to his reputation with a gritty effort under Andrea Atzeni. Quick away from the plum draw in stall 14, Ka Ying Lightning’s task was made tougher...

Brenton Avdulla boosted his hopes of securing a licence extension with a deserved feature success aboard consistent sprinter Raging Blizzard in Sunday’s Group Two Lukfook Jewellery Premier Bowl (1,200m) at Sha Tin. Riding on a part-season licence after sliding down the championship standings with 21 wins last term, Avdulla lifted the John Size-trained Raging Blizzard to a narrow victory over Ka Ying Attack under top weight of 135lb. The Australian jockey, whose Hong Kong licence expires in...

Loud cheers, thumping bass lines, flashing court lights and the crisp pop of plastic paddles filled Kai Tak Arena on Sunday as Asia’s largest professional pickleball tournament reached a festive climax. Moving beyond the quiet formality of traditional court sports, finals day at the Hang Seng Bank Hong Kong Slam 2026, which drew a crowd of more than 2,000 spectators, felt more like a block party than a high-stakes championship, bringing fans within arm’s reach of the world’s elite players. The...

In the end there was no Sunday shoot-out at the Link Hong Kong Open, just John Catlin cruising to a five-shot victory on a historic day for golf in the city. The American’s six-under-par 64 took him to 20 under overall, and the only blip on an otherwise perfect day was a bogey at the par-3 5th. Not that it mattered. Catlin had no need to outgun his rivals, with Hongkonger Matthew Cheung and Finland’s Kalle Samooja at 15 under the closest the field got to depriving him of the places at next...

Max Verstappen advised Kimi Antonelli to enjoy the ride and get ready to celebrate as the Italian stands on the brink of becoming Formula 1’s youngest-ever champion. The 20-year-old Mercedes driver qualified on pole position for Sunday’s US Grand Prix and could clinch the title with five rounds ‌to spare, according to the current calendar that includes races in the Middle East, at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas if he wins and other results go his way. Red Bull’s Verstappen, a four-time...

China football bosses have given themselves less than a week to find a new coach for the senior women’s team, and fans are already starting to suggest potential candidates, among them Hongkonger Chan Yuen-ting. The 38-year-old, who made history when she led Eastern to the Hong Kong Premier League title in 2016, has seen her profile rise among fans in mainland China in the past few years. Chan guided Jiangsu women to National Games gold last November, leads the team in the Chinese Women’s Super...

Fanling has finally bared its teeth and there will be an 18-hole shoot-out on Sunday that hopefully proves worthy of the rich rewards awaiting the Link Hong Kong Open champion. It should be a five-star affair as well, with a leaderboard heavy on LIV Golf talent and the strong possibility of a home golfer winning for the first time. Tied at the top on 14-under-par sit John Catlin, Thomas Pieters, Anirban Lahiri and Caleb Surratt, while Kalle Samooja, once of Cleeks GC and owner of a third-round...