Digest

WINTER OLYMPICS

Chinese New Year feel for opening ceremony

The opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics will combine elements of Chinese New Year, the Great Wall and the Games, organizers said this week.

The ceremony will be staged at the National Stadium, aka the Bird's Nest, during the Spring Festival holiday on Feb 4.

"We aim to deliver a unique opening ceremony that invites people from all over the world to share the joy and excitement of Chinese New Year with us," said Chang Yu, head of media and communications for the Beijing Games.

The 2008 Olympics also opened at the Bird's Nest, with Beijing set to become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics.

TENNIS

Sharapova to return to action in Brisbane

Former world No 1 Maria Sharapova will return to tournament action at the Brisbane International next month after being awarded a wild card to play in the Australian Open warm-up event.

The five-time Grand Slam champion, who last played a competitive match in August, has dropped to 133rd in the world after an injury-hit season.

The 32-year-old Russian will join current world No 1 Ash Barty, Naomi Osaka and Karolina Pliskova in a strong field at the Queensland Tennis Centre from Jan 6-12.

Sharapova's lowly ranking means she will also need a wild card to get directly into the main singles draw for the Australian Open, which begins on Jan 20.

SOCCER

Goalkeeper Yang to leave Beijing Guo'an

Veteran goalkeeper Yang Zhi is calling time on his 14-year spell at Beijing Guo'an but has yet to decide on his future plans, the capital team confirmed on Tuesday.

Yang, who will turn 37 next month, joined Guo'an in 2005. He recorded an impressive 173 clean sheets in 418 appearances, helping Guo'an win the Chinese Super League in 2009 and the CFA Cup in 2018.

Injuries and his advanced age meant Yang did not see any game time in the last two seasons for Guo'an.

Yang's contract is due to expire on Dec 31, with Guo'an saying it is preparing a farewell ceremony for him.

China names squad for Asian under-23 tourney

China's U-22 national team has revealed its final 25-player squad for the upcoming AFC Under-23 Championship, with Zhu Chenjie leading the team.

Zhu, voted the Chinese Super League's best young player in 2019, joins Guangzhou Evergrande striker Yang Liyu and Shandong Luneng playmaker Duan Liuyu in receiving call-ups from head coach Hao Wei, while Cao Yongjing and Lin Liangming missed the cut.

The championship will be played in Thailand from Jan 8-26. The top three teams will qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, together with host Japan.

China, which qualified for the tournament with an unbeaten record of two wins and one draw, is in Group C along with defending champion Uzbekistan, Iran and South Korea. Hao Wei's side opens its campaign on Jan 9 against South Korea.

DPRK pulls out of Olympic qualifiers

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has withdrawn its women's team from the final round of 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifiers being staged in South Korea in February, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has said.

The AFC said on Tuesday the DPRK had sent a letter informing it of its withdrawal and that global governing body FIFA is also aware of the decision.

The third round of group-stage matches for the qualifying tournament will be held from Feb 3-9 in South Korea and China.

DPRK was drawn in Group A alongside host South Korea, Vietnam and Myanmar. Australia is in Group B with China, Chinese Taipei and Thailand.

The top two teams from each group advance to a two-legged playoff in March. The two playoff winners will join host Japan at next year's Olympics.

BASKETBALL

Jilin reloads with sharp shooter Jones

The Jilin Northeast Tigers have recalled the CBA's leading scorer Dominique Jones to their squad in place of Denzel Bowles.

Jones had averaged a league-leading 38 points per game, along with eight rebounds, 8.5 assists and 1.7 steals.

But Jones was sidelined after suffering a muscle strain earlier this month, with fellow American Bowles called up to fill Jilin's overseas-player quota.

Bowles averaged 22.5 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in his two appearances for Jilin.

After 22 rounds of CBA matches, Jilin sits 11th in the standings, with 12 victories and 10 defeats.

Tianjin apologizes for youth players' brawl

The Tianjin Basketball Association has apologized for a brawl involving several of its young players on Monday.

Video clips posted on social media showed the Tianjin players pushing and hitting a member of a rival club following a game in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province.

According to a TBA statement, the incident took place on Dec 26 during a winter training session for its under-16 team.

The fracas allegedly began following a game when the member of the rival club demanded compensation from Tianjin for damage to the venue's bench seats.

In addition to issuing an apology and providing compensation for losses incurred, the association suspended the team's head coach, and vowed that all its players would be subject to a disciplinary process.