Sports Digest
Newcastle, Leicester to debut at soccer sevens
English giants Newcastle United will make their debut at the Citibank HKFC International Soccer Sevens in May. Newcastle will be part of a stellar line-up that will also include arch-rivals Sunderland, four-time Sevens champions Aston Villa and West Ham. Championship club Leicester City will also make a first appearance, while 2009 champions Celtic have confirmed they will again take part. In the Masters, Teddy Sheringham will make a guest appearance for Discovery Bay, while the Ajax All-Stars will feature former greats from the four-time European champions. Ex-Premier League aces will also appear for the Citibank All-Stars and Nottingham Forest Mobsters. The Sevens will be staged at Hong Kong Football Club from May 18-20. Staff Reporter
Wong clings to second after fifth stage in Taiwan
Hong Kong's Wong Kam-po (pictured) held on to second spot after yesterday's fifth stage of the Tour of Taiwan. The 39-year-old cyclist was among the peloton to complete the 136-kilometre Changhua stage in three hours, 14 minutes and 30 seconds. Wong was officially placed 24th and the overall standings remain the same. Another Hong Kong rider, Yeung Ying-hon, placed 11th. The stage was won by Roberto Ferrari of Italy, but Australian Rhys Pollock is still leading the overall standings with a time of 13:11:43, two seconds ahead of Wong. Dirk Muller is third, another four seconds in arrears. The seven-stage tour continues today with a 137km race in Tainan City. Chan Kin-wa
Leung has chance to score Games table tennis ticket
Leung Chu-yan has the opportunity of making the Olympic Games for the fourth time in a row after he was selected to represent Hong Kong at the Asian Olympic table tennis qualifying tournament, which will be held at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wan Chai from April 19-22. A total of 24 players have entered the tournament, which offers seven tickets to the London Games. There are 23 in the women's event, which also has seven tickets to the Olympics up for grabs. Lee Ho-ching, 19, who had a successful spell at the recent Asian championships in Macau, has been selected to compete in the women's event. Two Hong Kong men - Jiang Tianyi and Tang Peng - have qualified for the Olympics, while two women - Tie Yana and Jiang Huajun - have also booked their berths for London. Chan Kin-wa
