Mardan 3 back after Manila opening day
MANILA • Singapore's top golfer Mardan Mamat carded a five-under 67 in the opening round of the Manila Masters, which he won two years ago for his fourth Asian Tour title.
He mixed seven birdies with two bogeys yesterday, leaving him tied for 18th and three shots behind five co-leaders - Thais Danthai Boonma and Rattanon Wannasrichan, India's Jyoti Randhawa, Taiwanese Lin Wen-tang and American Johannes Veerman.
Fellow Singaporeans Quincy Quek and Koh Deng Shan both shot 68 to share 26th spot.
Koeman says Lukaku should leave Everton
LONDON • Everton striker Romelu Lukaku will likely need to move away from the Merseyside football club if the 23-year-old wants to fulfil his potential, according to his manager Ronald Koeman.
"No one knows what will come after this season. If Romelu was to play at Everton until the end of his career, I know he has left something (behind). His potential is greater and higher than Everton, as a final destination," the Dutchman said.
REUTERS
NBA to open global academy in Australia
NEW YORK • The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Basketball Australia officials announced on Wednesday that the league will launch the NBA Global Academy elite training centre at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.
The academy, the NBA's global hub for top prospects from around the world, will be the league's fourth after recent launches in Hangzhou, Jinan and Urumqi, China.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Jones loses UFC belt after one-year ban
LOS ANGELES • Mixed martial arts star Jon Jones, suspended for a year after testing positive for a banned drug, has been stripped of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light-heavyweight interim title, UFC president Dana White declared on Wednesday.
"Greatest talent ever and the biggest s****-up ever. It doesn't make sense with all the stuff that is going on for him to still be the interim champion," he said of the 29-year-old, who was handed a one-year ban after taking a sexual performance pill tainted with a performance- enhancing substance.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
