Sports

BEIJING: Three-time world table tennis champion Zhuang Zedong, a key figure in 1971’s groundbreaking “pingpong diplomacy” between China and the United States, died Sunday, China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported. He was 72 and had struggled with cancer since 2008. Zhuang won new fame by presenting a gift to American player Glenn Cowan, who had inadvertently boarded a bus carrying the Chinese team at …

LOS ANGELES: Shamed cyclist Lance Armstrong wants to return to competitive sport, but says the driving force behind his belated doping confession was the well-being of his five children. “The biggest hope and intention was the well-being of my children,” Armstrong told talk show host Oprah Winfrey in the second segment of their televised interview that aired on Friday. In the first installment aired …

PARIS: Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone believes Michael Schumacher was wrong to return to the sport, claiming the German had severely damaged his legacy as a seven-time world champion. The 43-year-old Schumacher quit the sport in 2006 before being tempted into an ill-fated return in 2010 at Mercedes where he spent three seasons being largely outshone by teammate Nico Rosberg. He brought the curtain down on …

BEIRUT: Rain fell in waves and thunder cracked as the annual Beirut Marathon got under way early Sunday, with a slightly depressed turnout thanks to the weather. Those who did show up for the marathon or other races were undeterred, however. Over 33,000 people registered for the race, but the rain and rivers of water they caused in the streets clearly kept …

VALENCIA, Spain: Dani Pedrosa of Spain won pole position at the Valencia Grand Prix on Saturday, setting a track record for qualifying with a fastest lap of 1 minute, 30.844 seconds. Pedrosa steered his Honda around the 4-kilometer (2.48-mile) Comunitat Valenciana circuit with a last flying lap to claim his 24th career pole in MotoGP. Recently crowned world MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo will start Sunday’s race from second place, with retiring two-time …

MANCHESTER, England: The only top contender still left in the men’s Olympic football tournament, Brazil has no excuse to leave the London Games without the gold medal. First, though, it will have to get past South Korea in the semifinals on Tuesday. Brazil brought most of its top players to the Olympics and has been dominant so far, getting more …

LONDON: British rapper Dizzee Rascal says it all for handball at the Olympics – his hit “Bonkers” blares out across the arena at London 2012. Fast, physical, fun and just a little bit crazy. The formula works a dream in “The Box That Rocks” in the Olympic Park and players are hoping the sport gains more recognition in Britain and the United …

LONDON: A dozen people opposed to the Syrian government have protested the presence at the Olympics of equestrian rider Ahmad Saber Hamsho. The rider’s father is under U.S. and EU sanctions for supporting the regime of President Bashar Assad. Syria’s civil war has intensified in recent weeks as rebels focused on the country’s two biggest cities, Damascus and Aleppo. Hamsho competed …