22 Tuesday July 30, 2019
SPORTS
By Wang QiFormer Arsenal manager Ar-
sene Wenger recorded a short
video to express his best wish-
es and thankfulness toward
Chinese Arsenal fans who es-
tablished a primary school in
an underdeveloped area and
named it after him.
“It is a great honor for me to
give my name to your school,
for the charity of Guangxi. And
I would like to wish you all the
best and good luck, and to de-
velop all the kids in the char-
ity with great value with what
you know we loved our foot-
ball club. So, it is the very mo-
ment of the school, and wish
you good luck,” the legendary
French manager said in the
video.
The video was posted by a
soccer commentator Yan Qiang
on China’s Twitter-like Sina
Weibo platform on Mondayand quickly received a positive
reaction.
Yan, an Arsenal fan, con-
fi rmed Monday to the Global
Times that he had contacted
Wenger and told him about the
charity project after the school
was established.
Wenger Primary School is
located in the Yao ethnic minor-
ity village of Banlan in Dahua
county, South China’s Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The double-story building cost
about 292,000 yuan ($42,364),
mainly paid for by Arsenal fan
charitable contributions and
can accommodate an estimated
75 students.
Construction started in Au-
gust last year and fi nished on
May 25. The school is deco-
rated with the English Premier
League club’s classical red and
white paint and the club’s can-
non badge. There is an artistic
logo of Wenger standing on thesecond fl oor of the building.
“The idea came in April 2018
when Mr Wenger announced
his departure from Arsenal at
the end of that season,” Wu
Chen, one of the project orga-
nizers, told the Global Times
on Monday. “We wanted to pay
tribute to him through charity.”
They chose a remote and
mountainous region where
they knew transportation and
construction would be diffi cult.
Arsenal fans from all walks
of life not only provided fi nan-
cial support but also worked
personally on logistics, mate-
rial procurement, architecture
design, construction plans and
artistic design, Wu noted.
China’s fi rst Arsenal sup-
porters’ charity school was es-
tablished in Quanzhou county,
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous
Region on October 18, 2013,
when fans donated $15,247, ac-
cording to the offi cial ArsenalFC website.
Together with Chinese fans,
the club donated sports equip-
ment and stationery in 2017 to
once schools including one in
Longmen county, Guangdong
Province and Yugan county in
Jiangxi Province.
“Proud to be an Arsenal fan,
proud to be an Arsene fan,” Yan
posted on Sina Weibo.
“Chinese Arsenal fans have
walked farther than others in
public charity. Thanks for what
you have done, which might
stimulate other fan groups
to catch up,” replied a fan of
Manchester United – Arsenal’s
longtime arch-rivals in the Pre-
mier League.
Wenger left Arsenal after 22
years in charge having endured
a barrage of criticism in the
latter part of his reign for a tac-
tical approach that resulted in
14 seasons without a Premier
League title.Sixers star
Simmons
pulls out of
Aussie games
Koepka surges to three-stroke victory at WGC St. Jude Invitational
u Arsenal fans pay tribute to former French manager
Wenger hails school after his name
uNBA
Ben Simmons, recently signed
to a fi ve-year, $170 million con-
tract extension with the NBA’s
Philadelphia 76ers, has pulled
out of Australia’s exhibition
games ahead of the World Cup.
The Melbourne-born star
had already withdrawn from
the World Cup in China, which
tips off on August 31, to better
prepare for the NBA season.
And the 23-year-old has
now opted out of Australia’s
two games against the United
States in Melbourne and two
against Canada in Perth in the
tournament lead-up.
“After talking with [Austra-
lia] coach Andrej [Lemanis], we
both agreed it was better for me
to not participate in this year’s
2019 World Cup and exhibition
games,” Simmons said in a
joint statement with Basketball
Australia late Sunday.
“With our focus being to win
a medal at the 2020 Olympics,
the Boomers’ preparation in
the lead-up to the world cham-
pionships is of the utmost im-
portance.
“Me not playing allows the
team to create the chemistry
they need to compete at the
highest level and qualify for the
Olympics.”
The top seven fi nishers at the
World Cup automatically make
the Tokyo Olympics, with the
next 16 having to go through
qualifying tournaments.
Simmons was the No.1
overall draft pick in 2016, and
after injury saw him miss the
2016-17 NBA season he was
named Rookie of the Year in
2017-18.
He averaged 16.9 points, 8.8
rebounds and 7.7 assists for the
76ers last season, when he was
named an NBA All-Star for the
fi rst time.
AFP
uGOLF
World No.1 Brooks Koepka birdied three
of the fi rst six holes on the way to win-
ning his fi rst career WGC title Sunday at
the St. Jude Invitational.
Koepka outclassed third-ranked Rory
McIlroy in a last-duo duel of four-time
major champions, their fi rst-ever pair-
ing in a fi nal round, for the victory at
TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennes-
see.
“It’s so special. It gives me chills
thinking of it,” Koepka said. “It’s one of
my favorite stops on the tour and to win
here is very special for me.”
Koepka, who defended a major title
at this year’s PGA Championship, fi red
a bogey-free fi ve-under-par 65 to fi nish
on 16-under 264 after 72 holes and de-
feat American Webb Simpson by three
strokes.
It was the seventh career US PGA title
for Koepka, the 2017 and 2018 US Open
champion and 2018 and 2019 PGA
Championship winner. His other prior
US tour wins came in 2015 at Phoenix
and in last year’s CJ Cup in South Korea.
“I’ve been playing so well as of late,”
Koepka said. “Everything comes if youwait. If you keep playing well and put-
ting yourself in contention good things
will happen.”
The fi nal round brought only more
frustration for McIlroy, who missed
the cut at the British Open in Portrush,
Northern Ireland, but had taken a one-
stroke lead after fi ring a 62 on Saturday.
Koepka praised the tournament’s
charity, the St. Jude Children’s Hospital
in Memphis, saying it put the highs and
lows in golf into a greater perspective.
“I’ve taken a trip to the hospital. It
changed my life,” he said. “It puts ev-
erything in perspective, how little golfmeans, how much life matters.”
Simpson was second on 267 after a
closing 64 with Australia’s Marc Leish-
man third on 268 and McIlroy sharing
fourth on 269 with England’s Tommy
Fleetwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick.
Spain’s Jon Rahm was seventh on 270
with England’s Ian Poulter another
stroke adrift.AFPArsenal fans take pictures in front of
the new Wenger Primary School at
its completion ceremony in Dahua
county, South China’s Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region on May- Photo: Courtesy of Ma Lijuan
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