■BULGARIA
Skipper Berbatov retires
Bulgaria captain Dimitar Berbatov retired from international soccer on Thursday saying he wants to focus on his family and protecting his health. “It was a difficult decision, but I made it,” Berbatov said in Sofia. The Manchester United striker has been captain of the national team for the last three years, but failed to lead the team to the World Cup in South Africa. “Everything has a beginning and an end, and that is today,” he said. The 29-year-old Berbatov made his international debut in 1999 and is Bulgaria’s all-time leading scorer with 48 goals in 77 appearances.
■SERBIA
Partizan seal league title
Partizan Belgrade sealed a record third successive league title with a match to spare after a 3-0 win at neighbors OFK gave them an unassailable seven-point lead over closest rivals Red Star Belgrade. Brazilian striker Cleo rounded the goalkeeper and stroked in an early opener and substitute Brana Ilic produced almost a blueprint copy in the 89th minute after a good solo run. Serbia midfielder Radosav Petrovic put the icing on the cake with a header in stoppage-time. Red Star, who needed OFK to avoid defeat to keep alive any hopes of taking the title race to the final day, slumped to a 3-1 home defeat by BSK Borca. Mladi Radnik Pozarevac were relegated after a 4-1 home defeat by fellow strugglers Cukaricki Belgrade, while Napredak Krusevac boosted their chances of avoiding the drop with a 2-1 win over Rad Belgrade.
■SWITZERLAND
Young Boys deposed
Young Boys Berne, who have led the Swiss Super League for almost the entire season, were knocked off the top with one match to play on Thursday after an extraordinary 5-1 defeat at FC Luzern. FC Basel overtook them on goal difference by beating Neuchatel Xamax 3-0, helped by two goals from Switzerland’s record international scorer Alexander Frei. Young Boys, runners-up in the last two seasons, will host Basel tomorrow in their final match, needing a win to clinch their first title since 1985-1986. Luzern’s win clinched a fourth-place finish, which gives them a place in the Europa League qualifiers along with third-placed Grasshoppers.
■AUSTRIA
Salzburg clinch the title
Red Bull Salzburg scored twice in three minutes to clinch the Austrian Bundesliga title for the second year running on Thursday with a 2-0 win at Sturm Graz on the last day of the season. German midfielder Simon Cziommer fired Salzburg ahead in the 14th minute and Roman Wallner scored direct from a free-kick two minutes later. It was Salzburg’s sixth Austrian title, three of them coming since the club was bought and rebranded by the Red Bull soft drinks company in 2005 amid protests by the fans. They finished with 76 points, one ahead of Austria Vienna and a further two in front of Rapid Vienna.
■GERMANY
Eigler gives Nuremberg edge
Christian Eigler scored with a late glancing header to give Nuremberg a 1-0 victory over Augsburg in the first leg of the playoff for a place in the Bundesliga on Thursday. Nuremberg need only a draw in Augsburg tomorrow to remain in the top division. Eigler scored in the 84th minute. Augsburg goalkeeper Simon Jentzsch saved a penalty in the 67th minute. Augsburg finished third in the second division to earn the right to play the 16th-placed finisher in the top tier, Nuremberg, for a place in the first division.
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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