NBA star Kyrie Irving’s deeply held connection with China a case of ‘paying it forward’

Jay Rooney KWAI CHUNG TALENTS - R6 (10) Second on return and looks poised to break through   Owen Goulding AURIO - R9 (1) Ran huge on return and looks primed for an overdue win with Purton up   Paul Lally KWAI CHUNG TALENTS - R6 (10) Looks ready to win after last-start second first-up   Phillip Woo KWAI CHUNG TALENTS - R6 (10) Can go one better than promising return second   Trackwork Spy DARYL FLASH - R7 (11) Bumped into one on return and looks set to go one better off light weight   Racing...

Jorn Andersen was on the brink of a sensational return as Hong Kong head coach earlier this year, only for talks to collapse and pave the way for interim boss Roberto Losada’s permanent appointment. Enormously popular with supporters after ending the city team’s 55-year wait to reach a major tournament at the last Asian Cup finals, Andersen ultimately accepted a “great offer” from Myanmar back in July. He had been unemployed for two months after leaving Yunnan Yukun when the local football...

Elite Hong Kong athletes Ryan Choi Chun-yin and Vincent Ho Chak-yiu have been named among the recipients of this year’s Ten Outstanding Young Persons award. The pair have represented the city at home and abroad over the past several months, with Choi winning two silver medals at the Asian Games last month, in the men’s individual foil and men’s team foil categories. Ho, meanwhile, captained Hong Kong’s first ever Shergar Cup team to an impressive second place at Ascot in August and is the first...

Douglas Whyte is adamant Live Wire will handle the rise to Class Three when the progressive sprinter chases a third consecutive win at Happy Valley on Wednesday night. After returning with a dominant all-the-way success last month, the Tassort four-year-old will make the leap from Class Four in the first section of the Yip Fat Handicap (1,200m). Live Wire has always shown potential and delivered on that at his seventh career start, scoring narrowly at the city circuit at the end of last...

Aston Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki said he is confident Japan can win next year’s Asian Cup and thinks his “very bad” performances were responsible for their quarter-final exit two years ago. Suzuki, who has impressed in the Premier League since joining Villa in the summer, made a string of mistakes at the 2024 Asian Cup in Qatar as Japan were bundled out in the last eight by Iran. But he believes he is a better player this time around and backed Japan to end their 16-year wait for the...

David Hayes was happy to give Ka Ying Rising a “pass mark” after his “ambling” barrier trial at Randwick on Tuesday morning ahead of his defence of his Group One The Everest (1,200m) crown on October 17. The world’s highest-rated galloper drew a legion of supporters to the Sydney track for the 1,000m hit out and he was given an easy time of things to finish second behind Ninja in a time of 59.46 seconds. Zac Purton always had a double fistful on the David Hayes-trained star sprinter and never...

As Hong Kong bathed in the afterglow of their Fifa Asean Challenge Cup triumph on Saturday, the level-headed Sun Ming-him cautioned that World Cup qualification remained a pipe dream for Roberto Losada’s team. What Sun, one of Hong Kong’s best players, did not know as he spoke was that despite the World Cup swelling to 48 teams this year, and another 16 potentially joining mammoth future editions, the city side’s qualifying task could soon become all but impossible. It has been reported that on...

Daniil ⁠Medvedev ⁠was disqualified ⁠from his China Open semi-final clash with Novak Djokovic after ‌hitting a rebounding ball into the crowd, hitting a spectator in the eye. Earlier on Monday, home hope Zheng Qinwen survived another three-set test to advance to the last 16, while former world No 1 Iga Swiatek staged a comeback in Beijing. World No 5 Medvedev was trailing ‌his semi-final 7-5, 5-3 and had lost ‌a point when he ⁠hit ⁠the ball coming off ‌the wall. The spectator, who was ‌sitting in...

We are only 78 races and eight meetings into the 2026-27 season, but there are already signs that Nichola Yuen Hang-yiu could threaten a record that most thought would never be broken. Back in 2020-21, Jerry Chau Chun-lok posted the most wins by an apprentice in a single season, slamming home 58 winners at a strike rate of 12 per cent. Before that remarkable season, the record was held by Matthew Chadwick, who recorded 43 wins back in 2008-09, which shows just how imperious Chau was that...

Formula 1’s governing body has promised a full investigation into a ⁠software bug that caused chaos ⁠and forced the start of Sunday’s Bahrain ⁠Grand Prix in Malaysia to be aborted with drivers feeling like they were in battery-powered cars made of Lego. Ferrari’s seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s four-time champion and eventual race winner Max Verstappen were among several affected by the glitch on a formation lap after ‌torrential rain and a long delay at Malaysia’s steamy...

Midway through the Asian Games, China’s sports minister felt the need to issue a rallying cry despite the country again overwhelmingly dominating proceedings. A week into competition, the delegation had already racked up 125 gold medals, won more swimming titles than ever before and were so far clear of the rest that one American press outlet half-jokingly suggested changing the name to the China Games. In the final reckoning on Sunday, China’s tally was as follows: 169 gold, 89 silver and 83...

Pierre Ng Pang-chi is keen to maintain his spot at the top of the trainers’ championship when he unleashes an eight-strong team at Happy Valley on Wednesday night, headlined by hat-trick seeker Prestige Always. A noted fast beginner in his campaigns, including in 2023-24 when he finished runner-up in the championship, Ng has struck early with nine wins from the first eight meetings to sit one ahead of Cody Mo Wai-kit and Manfred Man Ka-leung. The 43-year-old has high hopes for his Valley squad...