SPORTS BRIEFS

Japanese baseball legend Isao Harimoto, who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and became the first player from his country to reach 3,000 hits, has died aged 86, reports said yesterday. Born to Korean parents in Japan, Harimoto learned to play left-handed when an accident at the age of four left him with severe burns and limited mobility in his right hand. He survived the atomic bombing as a five-year-old, his mother jumping in front of him and his sister to shield them from the blast. He went on to rack up 3,085 career hits, which still stands as a record in Nippon Professional Baseball. He played for several teams in Japan, including the all-powerful Yomiuri Giants, and earned himself the nickname “Hit Machine” for his batting prowess.

Photo: AFP

TENNIS

Williams sisters boost ratings

Helped by Serena and Venus Williams playing doubles again, ESPN had its largest viewership through three rounds of the US Open since the younger sister last competed in 2022. The network said on Wednesday that its coverage on Friday last week, which featured the Williams sisters playing at night, averaged 1.1 million viewers on ESPN and ESPN2. It peaked at 2.2 million from 10pm to 10:15pm, with Serena and Venus losing in a match tiebreaker to Taiwan’s Chan Hao-Ching and Australia’s Maya Joint.

MOTORSPORT

Ai Ogura to miss race

Japanese rider Ai Ogura is to miss a second consecutive MotoGP race at this weekend’s San Marino Grand Prix as he continues to recover from hand surgery, his team Aprilia-Trackhouse said on Wednesday. Ogura slipped from third to fifth in the world championship standings while sitting out the Aragon Grand Prix in late August. The 25-year-old is 53 points adrift of leader Jorge Martin in the riders’ standings and set to lose more ground. “A medical assessment in Barcelona late on Tuesday confirmed his injured left thumb has not healed enough for him to ride,” Aprilia-Trackhouse said in a social media post. “He will remain in Barcelona, focusing on efforts to regain fitness ahead of the Grand Prix of Austria, one week away.” Ogura, racing in just his second MotoGP season, suffered the injury, a fractured left thumb, while motocross riding in Japan.

FORMULA ONE

Raikkonen joins Red Bull

Robin Raikkonen, the son of 2007 Formula One (F1) world champion Kimi Raikkonen, has joined Red Bull’s junior driver program, the team announced on Wednesday. The 11-year-old, who has been karting from an early age, has already secured victories at national and international level, Red Bull said in a statement. “Robin has already demonstrated exceptional ability in karting. His speed, racecraft and natural talent have established him as one of the most promising young drivers in his age group,” said Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies. Red Bull’s junior program has produced a number of leading F1 drivers, including four-time world champions Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. Raikkonen is the last man to win a world championship with Ferrari, pipping McLaren duo Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso to the title by a single point in 2007.