■ARGENTINA
Banfield win first title
Banfield won their first league title despite a 2-0 defeat at Boca Juniors on the final day of the season on Sunday. Argentina striker Martin Palermo ended a run of eight matches without a goal by netting twice for Boca. Newell’s Old Boys, Banfield’s only remaining challengers who began the day two points behind, also lost 2-0 at home to San Lorenzo, for whom Fabian Bordagaray struck twice. At Boca’s Bombonera ground, Palermo converted a sixth-minute penalty to the joy of Newell’s fans in the Rosario 350km north of the capital. Newell’s goalkeeper Sebastian Peratta then saved an early penalty from former Argentina winger Kily Gonzalez, only for Bordagaray to put San Lorenzo in front in the 10th minute with a shot into the top corner that raised a cheer from Banfield fans down in Buenos Aires. Palermo grabbed his second for Boca on the hour from defender Gabriel Paletta’s downward header following leftback Claudio Morel’s cross.
■NETHERLANDS
Utrecht held by Arnhem
FC Utrecht lost ground on the pacesetters in the league when they were held to a 2-2 draw by Vitesse Arnhem on Sunday, as the top four teams all won earlier in the weekend. Fifth-placed Utrecht next meet league leaders FC Twente in their final match before the winter break. Twente scored three times in the second half on Saturday to beat NAC Breda 3-1 and seal their 12th straight win to lead the league with 47 points, two ahead of PSV Eindhoven. PSV beat defending champions AZ Alkmaar 1-0 in Eindhoven on Saturday, with Ola Toivonen heading in the only goal four minutes before the end of the game. Third placed Ajax beat NEC Nijmegen 3-0 on Friday. Also on Saturday it was VVV-Venlo 3, RKC Waalwijk 0 and SC Heerenveen 0, Feyenoord 2. On Sunday it was Willem II 1, Roda JC 3; ADO The Hague 1, Heracles Almelo 4; and Sparta Rotterdam 2, FC Groningen 4.
■GREECE
Olympiakos stay on top
Olympiakos kept their one-point lead over Panathinaikos at the top of the Greek Super League on Sunday courtesy of a 3-0 home win over bottom club Panthrakikos. Luciano Galletti set Zico’s team on their way with a 37th-minute opener. Brazilian midfielder Dudu scored either side of halftime to complete a resounding victory that moved the Reds on to 36 points after 14 matches. Panthrakikos have just two points following 12 defeats and two draws. New Panathinaikos coach Nikos Nioplias got his reign off to a winning start at Iraklis on Saturday, with Sotiris Ninis scoring the only goal of the game in the 73rd minute. In Thessaloniki, Hector Cuper, the former Valencia coach, was left labeling Aris’ 1-0 home defeat by Asteras Tripolis “a disgrace.” Nigerian Shaloze Udoji Chigozie scored the only goal in the 12th minute and the defeat left Aris down in eighth spot.
■PORTUGAL
Porto close on leaders
FC Porto beat last-placed Setubal 2-0 on Sunday to close in on the Portuguese league leaders, as Braga blew a chance to move clear at the top with a 0-0 draw against mid-table Naval. League leaders Benfica, who drew 2-2 at Olhanense on Saturday, and Braga both have 30 points. Four-time defending champions Porto have 29 points after Ernesto Farias and Silvestre Varela scored within two minutes of each other in the first half. Also on Sunday, Rio Ave beat Maritimo 1-0 and Academica were 2-0 winners over Leixoes. Sporting fell to a 1-0 loss to Leiria on Saturday.
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
India’s chess star Gukesh Dommaraju returned to a hero’s welcome in his home city yesterday after becoming the youngest world champion aged only 18. Hundreds of fans crowded the arrivals area of Chennai International Airport, cheering alongside banks of television cameras as Gukesh made his way out of the airport after victory in taking the World Chess Championship title. “It means a lot to bring back the trophy to India,” Gukesh told reporters, with garlands of flowers draped around his neck, brandishing the glittering trophy in his hand. “I can see the support and what it means to India, I
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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