SPORTS BRIEFS

South Korean field hockey players were perplexed yesterday when the national anthem of North Korea was played — instead of their own — before a men’s field hockey match against Bangladesh at the Asian Games. South Korean players looked on, unsure of how to respond. Many South Korean players stood at attention, some ran their hands through their hair, and some left their right hand over their heart as the music played. Organizers quickly corrected the problem and played the correct anthem. South Korea won the match 5-0.

Photo: AP

SOCCER

Kane touts ‘best season’

Harry Kane described the 2025-26 campaign as the best season of his life after scoring 73 goals for Bayern Munich and England, and while his performances have made him a leading candidate for the Ballon d’Or he says he is not focused on individual awards. No English player has won the Ballon d’Or since Michael Owen in 2001 and Kane is up against tough competition with Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe also in the running. “I’ve never liked talking too much about myself. The only thing I’d say is that last season was incredible, both personally and for the team,” Kane said yesterday. “It was, by far, the best season of my life,” he added. Kane said he was proud of his tally of 73 goals, which was the highest since Lionel Messi netted a record 82 times in 2011-12, but that it might not be enough to claim the mantle as the world’s best player. The winner is to be announced at the official awards ceremony on Oct. 26.

BASEBALL

Nicks ticket sale paused

The New York Knicks are pausing ticket sales after an error caused them to be listed for amounts that were too high, it said on Thursday. The NBA champions put individual game tickets for the 2026-27 season on sale this week. The price for the Oct. 20 season opener against Philadelphia was more than US$1,000. “We are pausing Knicks individual ticket sales due to a mistake in our pricing. We are rolling back to last year’s prices plus an average increase of 12 percent. We will restart sales with new prices shortly, and anyone who already purchased individual tickets will be refunded the difference,” Madison Square Garden Sports said. There is generally a ticket increase after seasons when the Knicks made the playoffs. Owner James Dolan has not raised them when the team does not.

HYROX

Athlete issues apology

An Australian athlete who sparked an outcry when she kept competing despite soiling herself midway through an event in Beijing apologized yesterday and forfeited her points from winning. “I want to offer my sincere apology to the people of China, my fellow competitors, the spectators and the Hyrox organizers for what happened during the race in Beijing,” Joanna Wietrzyk said on Instagram. “Looking back, I regret the decision to not have stepped off the track,” she said. “I am learning from this experience and will carry those lessons with me, including remembering that there is more to life than racing,” she added. Hyrox has since updated its rules to state that if a “racer’s blood, vomit, urine or feces poses a welfare or contamination risk to the racer or to other racers, a race director may withdraw the racer from the race on medical grounds.”