■BOXING
Klitschko takes legal action
World heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko has submitted a complaint to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the WBC in an attempt to stop him having to box Russia’s Oleg Maskaev. Klitschko is unhappy about being handed a mandatory defense of his belt against Maskaev that the WBC, one of the sport’s governing bodies, announced in December. The Ukrainian will defend the WBC belt, which he won against Nigeria’s Samuel Peter last October, against Juan Carlos Gomez in Stuttgart on March 21, and the WBC has said he must then face Maskaev within four months of the Gomez fight. “Normally you have a year between mandatory defenses,” Klitschko’s manager Bernd Boente told German agency SID. “But why should we carry the can for Maskaev’s issue with the WBC?” Ex-world champion Maskaev lost his title last March to Peter, who was in turn beaten by Klitschko. Maskaev had come to an agreement with the WBC over differences in fees from the Peter fight, which gave him the right to be the next challenger to Klitschko after Gomez. A Klitschko-Maskaev fight would not entice broadcasters in the US to screen the fight and the Ukrainian champion wants to take on British fighter David Haye or Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola of the US.
■ATHLETICS
Ukhov wins men’s high jump
Ivan Ukhov of Russia jumped a year-best 2.40m to win the men’s high jump at the Athens 2009 indoor athletics meet in Greece on Wednesday. Ukhov’s jump was the fourth-best of all time indoors. He tried but failed to break Javier Sotomayor’s record of 2.43m, making only one effort at 2.44m. Haron Keitany of Kenya won the men’s 1,500m in 3 minutes, 34.83 seconds. In the men’s 60m, Mark Jelks of the US narrowly edged Simeon Williamson of Brazil for the victory, even though both timed 6.57 seconds. In the women’s race, Angela Williams of the US won in a personal best 7.15.
■FOOTBALL
NFL boss takes pay cut
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is taking a pay cut and the league staff has been trimmed by 15 percent because of the reeling economy, the NFL said on Wednesday. The league said its staff cut, announced more than two months ago, has resulted in a reduction of 169 jobs through buyouts, layoffs and other staff reductions. That amounts to just more than 15 percent of the league’s work force. Goodell voluntarily took a cut of between 20 percent and 25 percent from the US$11 million salary and bonuses he was to receive in the 2008 fiscal year, which ends on March 31. He and other league executives are freezing their salaries for this year. The NFL announced on Dec. 9 it would reduce its staff by 10 to 15 percent. Seventy-six people took buyouts, while 45 jobs were eliminated and 48 openings went unfilled. The moves affect NFL headquarters in New York, NFL Films in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, and the NFL Network in Los Angeles.
■SOCCER
UEFA clears Mourinho
Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho has been cleared of any wrongdoing following his controversial comments that Manchester United were favored by the referee during Tuesday’s Champions League 0-0 draw. Mourinho had told reporters at the San Siro: “If we go there [to Old Trafford for the second leg] with a referee who protects the visiting team, then we will qualify for the quarter-finals.” UEFA officials said they had viewed the TV pictures of the press conference and had seen “nothing bad” and would be taking no further action.
Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen yesterday exited at the BWF World Tour Finals in China, losing in the semi-finals to China’s world No. 1 Shi Yuqi. Shi, who was named the BWF Men’s Singles Player of the Year, had a 9-4 record against Chou going into the match. He extended that record to 9-5 with a 21-14, 21-18 victory. Chou advanced to the men’s singles semi-finals on Friday by upsetting top-seeded Anders Antonsen of Denmark in a must-win match at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium. The 16-21, 21-18, 21-15 victory saw Chou secure his second semi-finals appearance at the tournament, despite his relatively older
‘REMARKABLE’: Gaelic football is a traditional Irish sport that blends the skills of soccer and rugby, and hurling is an ancient sport played with a wooden stick and ‘sliotar’ The Taiwan Celts Gaelic Football Club marked a milestone achievement at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok on Nov. 23 and 24, with two sides advancing to the knockout stages and competing at hurling for the first time. The event brought together 68 teams from 16 clubs across Asia, with more than 800 players in men’s and women’s tournaments. Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends the skills of soccer, rugby union and basketball. Hurling is an ancient Irish sport played with a wooden stick, called a hurley, and a small ball, or sliotar. The Taiwan Celts’ women’s team reached
LIVERPOOL WIN: The 50th Champions League goal by Mohamed Salah helped the leaders of the Premier League to keep their perfect record intact Real Madrid’s big stars on Tuesday turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering UEFA Champions League title defense. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a thrilling 3-2 win against Serie A leaders Atalanta BC. However, Madrid still had to ride their luck as Mateo Retegui fired over from in front of goal in stoppage-time when handed a golden chance to level the game. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champions in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. “It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins
Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest chess world champion on Thursday after beating the defending champion Ding Liren of China in the final match of their series in Singapore. Dommaraju, 18, secured 7.5 points against 6.5 of his Chinese rival in the contest, surpassing the achievement of Russia’s Garry Kasparov, who won the title at the age of 22. The Indian teen prodigy has long been considered a rising star in the chess world after he became a chess grandmaster at 12. He had entered the match as the youngest-ever challenger to the world crown after winning the Candidates tournament earlier
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