Digest

SOCCER

'Madness' to restart Serie A, says infected Cellino

Massimo Cellino

Brescia president Massimo Cellino called on Sunday the prospect of restarting the Serie A season "madness" after announcing that he had contracted the coronavirus.

" (Serie A head Luigi) De Siervo called and asked me if I was prepared to play on neutral turf," Cellino told sports daily Tuttosport.

"I told him I am not prepared to play anywhere. The season has to end here, and we certainly cannot go beyond June 30. I hear talk of September or October, it's madness."

Former Leeds United and Cagliari chairman Cellino, 63, had revealed on Saturday that he and his daughter had contracted the virus.

"I have been in Cagliari for a few days, after having been in quarantine in Brescia for three weeks," Cellino said, adding that he felt "pain in my bones".

Evergrande to build two more stadiums

The owners of Chinese champion Guangzhou Evergrande will build two stadiums with capacities of 80,000 each, in addition to the club's new 100,000-seat home.

Chinese Super League clubs are building or renovating a clutch of stadiums with the country set to host the newly expanded 2021 FIFA Club World Cup and AFC Asian Cup in 2023. But the rush on new arenas will also heighten speculation that China is gearing up for a bid to host the World Cup, possibly in 2030.

Property giant Evergrande Group has asked fans to pick their favorite designs for two more new stadiums.

"Evergrande plans to build two additional 80,000-seat football fields and invites everyone to recommend two of the six preliminary plans," Evergrande Group said on social media.

The statement did not give any further information such as where in China or when the stadiums would be built. Evergrande, coached by Italian World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro, began work on Thursday on its eye-catching new home.

MOTOR SPORTS

Leclerc wins virtual China race, Zhou third

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc claimed a second victory in the Formula One Esports Virtual Grand Prix championship on Sunday, marking his Shanghai win by cooking pasta.

Leclerc started on pole and finished ahead of Red Bull's Alex Albon and China's Zhou Guanyu, who races in Formula 2.

"I'm actually enjoying very much playing, and streaming. And I enjoy it even more when I win," tweeted 22-year-old Leclerc, who also has two wins in the real F1 world championship. "But the post-race celebrations are somehow feeling a bit different.

"Switching off the computer and go cook white pasta is a bit less glamour than spraying champagne on the podium." The Formula One world championship has yet to get underway this season due to the spread of the coronavirus. Nine of the 22 races have been canceled or postponed.

HORSE RACING

Owner to honor UK's 'selfless' health service

British racehorse owner Kulbir Sohi intends to honor the work of the UK's National Health Service (NHS) staff in combatting the coronavirus by naming a horse 'Enaitchess'.

Sohi, who has 32 horses in training for the currently suspended flat season, saw the idea on Twitter.

He then checked the availability of Enaitchess through the British Horsercaing Authority's naming service before receiving approval on Friday.

Sohi said Enaitchess would be given to a horse purchased at a future sale. The businessman added that all prize money earned by Enaitchess would be donated to the NHS.

Sohi, who praised NHS staff as "selfless" told the Racing Post: "The name is pronounced NHS and the name will probably go to a horse from the belated breeze-up sale. I've already got seven 2-year-olds and named all of them.

"The pressure is on as I'll have to go and find a good animal, maybe I'll have to ring around trainers to see if there are any ones showing quite a bit on the gallops."

BASKETBALL

Roberson 'sees light' after two-year layoff

Andre Roberson

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Andre Roberson is no stranger to waiting to get back on the court. And when the NBA does resume play following its pause because of the coronavirus, Roberson thinks he'll be on the court soon after.

The defensive specialist hasn't played in more than two years after suffering a torn patellar tendon in January 2018, but on Friday he told the Catching Up With The Family podcast that he thinks his long-awaited return is near.

"I'm kinda past the rehab stage. I'm almost to the point where－I should be playing, honestly," Roberson said. "But I'm still taking it a day at a time until I get back into our medical staff's hands and get reevaluated. Just staying patient through it all and knowing that the light is right there at the end of the tunnel... It's definitely been a long journey and it's coming to an end."

GOLF

Koepka says playing without fans 'weird'

World No 3 Brooks Koepka is bracing for a "weird" experience of playing tournaments without fans as the PGA Tour eyes a return to competition in June.

"It's going to be so weird, man," Koepka said on the Pardon My Take sports podcast on the prospect of playing without galleries because of continuing coronavirus concerns.

"The energy that the fans bring, that's what we all live for, we all strive for," Koepka said.

"You want to play coming down the stretch and have everyone cheering for you. Imagine this: you sink the putt on the last hole and no one's clapping. You're just there by yourself, and you're like 'Yes!' Just you, your caddie and just silence."

The absence of fans could also have present some practical issues.

"Every once in a while, we just hit some foul balls and the fans kind of help you find it," Koepka said. "I mean, guys are going to lose balls because of that."

Xinhua - Agencies