Digest

SOCCER

Hebei bids Lavezzi, Mascherano farewell

Hebei China Fortune has confirmed veteran Argentine duo Ezequiel Lavezzi and Javier Mascherano will leave the club at the end of the season.

The Langfang-based club staged a brief farewell ceremony for the pair before Wednesday night's 3-1 Chinese Super League defeat to Guangzhou Evergrande, featuring video highlights of their time in China on big screens inside the stadium.

Striker Lavezzi added another highlight during the game with a fine long-range header for the host's only goal of the game in the 81st minute.

"I want to thank everybody here, my teammates, coaches, the club staff and all the others I've met here. I have many fond memories of my time here since I joined four years ago," said 34-year-old former Paris Saint-Germain star Lavezzi, who has been linked with a move to Turkey's Fenerbahce but is also reportedly considering retiring.

Former Barcelona and Liverpool midfielder Mascherano, 35, who has been snapped up by Estudiantes in his homeland, said: "I'm grateful for the hospitality shown by all of you over the past two years. I wish the club all the best."

Twelfth-place Hebei concludes its CSL campaign with a trip to Wuhan Zall on Sunday.

Kante sues ex-agent over alleged fraud

The Paris prosecutor's office says France and Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante has filed a lawsuit against his former image agent, citing fraud and breach of trust.

The complaint filed this week by the 28-year-old against Nouari Khiari also includes "attempted fraud" and "illegal exercise of the profession of sports agent".

According to L'Equipe newspaper, which first reported the story, Kante was introduced to Khiari by friends and family members. The pair started their working relationship in July 2016 but tensions soon arose and Kante decided to put an end to their partnership a year later, agreeing to pay 150,000 euros ($165,000) for Khiari to sever their ties.

According to the sports daily, Kante claims that his former associate kept all the copies of their deal and later pressured him for more money.

TRAMPOLINE

China on course for full Olympic quota

China earned full quotas for both the men's and women's individual semifinals at the FIG Trampoline Gymnastics World Championships in Tokyo on Thursday, boosting its hopes for next year's Olympic Games.

"Our goal here is to gain the full quotas to Tokyo 2020. Today is a good start for us," said Lu Chunlong, the 2008 Olympic gold medalist who manages the national team.

Established Chinese trampolinists Gao Lei, Dong Dong and Tu Xiao all breezed through qualification for the men's individual competition, just behind reigning Olympic champion Uladzislau Hancharou of Belarus.

Despite Zhu Xueying's error in her second routine, China also filled a three-place quota in the women's individual event. Liu Lingling and teammate Huang Yanfei topped qualification, while Li Dan followed Japan's Mori Hikaru in fourth place. Both semifinals will take place on Saturday.

SWIMMING

Hosszu axes coach, goes solo for Tokyo

Hungary's three-time Olympic champion Katinka Hosszu has split with coach Arpad Petrov and will prepare for next year's Tokyo Games alone, local media reported on Thursday.

"At this year's World Cup, my confidence in my coach was shaken because I felt he didn't want victory as much as I did," Hosszu explained in a statement published by Hungarian news agency MTI.

"I've been trying to overcome this feeling in recent months, but the underlying problem has persisted. During my time with him, it became clear that he can't grow up to the task," she continued.

"I expected more attention from him both professionally and humanly, so there is no going back. In the run-up to the Olympics, I cannot bear the burden of carrying someone on my back again."

Hosszu will compete at next week's European Short-Course Championships in Glasgow without Petrov.

BASKETBALL

CBA wins for Lions and Monkey Kings

The Zhejiang Lions bagged their fifth straight win after overpowering the Shandong Heroes 101-78 while the Nanjing Monkey Kings defeated the Shenzhen Aviators 101-92 in Thursday night's CBA action.

The Lions led by at least 20 points for most of the third quarter and extended the margin to 30 in the fourth. Shandong used a 11-2 run to cut the deficit but it was too little, too late as the Lions comfortably held on for victory.

Kenneth Faried led the Lions with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Aaron Jackson scored 17 points and dished out 11 assists; Liu Zheng added 13 points. James Mays scored a team-high 18 points for Shandong, while Jia Cheng and Tao Hanlin contributed 14 points each.

In Nanjing, Shenzhen's Dwight Buycks scored a game-high 39 points but could not save his team as the host prevailed. Joseph Young notched 31 points (shooting 11 for 18), six rebounds and eight assists for the Monkey Kings.

Elsewhere, Marcus Denmon scored a career-high 54 points to help the Zhejiang Golden Bulls to a 123-118 triumph over the Qingdao Eagles.