Cycling: British Cycling has announced the appointment of Professor Tony Purnell as head of technical development of the Great Britain team. Purnell, a former team principal of the Jaguar Formula One team and ex-technical advisor to world motor-sport’s governing body the FIA, will work alongside Chris Boardman, who will continue to act as a consultant. British Cycling is famed for its attention to detail and Purnell will work across all aspects of technology – from improving data analysis to assisting the coaches with the develop-ment of organisational software and tools to optimise rider performance.
Golf: The OneAsia golf circuit will stage a $2 million Tour Championship at the end of the year in China, the professional golf tour of the Asia-Pacific region said yesterday. The Mission Hills Group would host what would be OneAsia’s final individual strokeplay event of the year at their multi-course facilities in Shenzhen from Dec. 5-8, commissioner and chairman Sang Chun said. OneAsia is offering nearly $15 million in prize money this season, which concludes in December with the Dongfeng Nissan Cup, a team event which pits China against an Asia-Pacific select side.
Basket, NBA: LeBron James scored 27 points as defending champions Miami Heat established a commanding 3-1 series lead in their NBA Eastern Conference semi-final with an 88-65 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night. James also had eight assists and seven rebounds while Chris Bosh finished with 14 points and six rebounds for the Heat, as the short-handed Bulls – again without Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich – set a new franchise low for points in a play-off game.
Ice Hockey: Ilya Kovalchuk scored a goal and made two more as Russia survived an early onslaught to beat Austria 8-4 at the World Championships in Helsinki. By winning their final group game in fine style, defending champions Russia will progress to the quarter-finals as no worse than third seeds. Austria are condemned to finish bottom of their group and drop from the elite to division one of world ice hockey.
Baseball: Exciting Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper left Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers after slamming face-first into the right field wall. Harper was chasing a deep fly ball in the fifth inning when he crashed into a hard portion of the wall that features a scoreboard and does not have padding. He remained on the ground for several minutes before walking off as the Nationals went on to beat the Dodgers 6-2. The 20-year-old Harper is enjoying a strong start to the season after making waves throughout baseball in 2012 when he was named an All-Star and won the National League Rookie of the Year.
Cricket: The Australian women’s cricket team will face their English counterparts over all three formats of the game in August with the winners of the Ashes being decided on a points system, officials said yesterday. Women from the two countries first competed against each other in a series to mirror that of their male compatriots in 1934 and the contest became a biennial test series in 2001. The next version taking place in England later this year, however, will comprise one test match, three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 encounters.