BOXING
Zhang ends Joyce’s streak
China’s Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang on Saturday set his sights on Ukraine’s heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk after dealing Britain’s Joe Joyce a first professional defeat. Referee Howard Foster stopped the fight in the sixth of 12 scheduled rounds at London’s Copper Box Arena after the ringside doctor twice inspected Joyce’s puffed up right eye, which was almost closed. “Today belongs to me... I’m 39 years old, but I’m disciplined, I train hard. Next step I’m going for the title,” Zhang said through a translator after punching the air and shouting: “Chinese Power.”
SOCCER
Fans throw rats at rivals
Royal Charleroi fans pelted Royal Standard de Liege supporters with dead rats during a Belgian league game, Standard said yesterday, confirming claims by fans on social media. A dozen dead rodents painted red, Standard’s color, were hurled in the direction of home fans by Charleroi supporters. “We hope that the [Jupiler] Pro League will take action, that our club will file a complaint and that the animal associations will get involved,” supporters wrote on Facebook. “Hooded spectators in rat-catcher outfits threw these rats towards a stand occupied by families and people with reduced mobility,” a Standard supporter told Belgian television. Standard on Friday won the match 3-1.
TENNIS
Rune in Monte Carlo final
Danish teenager Holger Rune on Saturday edged a thrilling clash with fellow rising star Jannik Sinner to set up a Monte Carlo Masters final against Andrey Rublev. The 19-year-old claimed a 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 win under floodlights after a rain-affected day in the principality. Russian fifth seed Rublev saw off Taylor Fritz 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 in the first semi-final. Rune continued his meteoric rise in the sport with another statement victory, having climbed into the world’s top 10 this season after capping off a breakthrough season last year with the Paris Masters title, beating Novak Djokovic in the final. “It was quite unbelievable,” Rune said. “Jannik started firing, hitting a lot of winners and he has been in good form the past few months. I had to dig deep and find solutions, which I did well. It was fun to play like this.”
RUGBY UNION
Australia lose 7 to injuries
New Australia coach Eddie Jones was dealt a blow yesterday when seven players picked in his maiden squad were ruled out after a spate of concussions and injuries during a bruising Super Rugby Pacific weekend. They include ACT Brumbies trio Len Ikitau, Blake Schoupp and Darcy Swain, along with Waratahs pair Ned Hanigan and Dave Porecki, all of whom had head knocks. Brumbies backrower Pete Samu also missed out with an ankle injury sustained during a hard fought 43-28 win over the Fijian Drua, while the Waratahs’ Langi Gleeson has a calf strain. “While we feel for the players who have been ruled out, it provides an opportunity for those who will now come into camp,” said former England boss Jones, who assumed control of the Wallabies in January when Dave Rennie was axed. The 33-man squad are today to assemble on Queensland’s Gold Coast for a three-day camp as they prepare for the Rugby Championship, starting in July, then the World Cup in France.
The qualifying round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is to be held at the Taipei Dome between Feb. 21 and 25, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced today. Taiwan’s group also includes Spain, Nicaragua and South Africa, with two of the four teams advancing onto the 2026 WBC. Taiwan, currently ranked second in the world in the World Baseball Softball Confederation rankings, are favorites to come out of the group, the MLB said in an article announcing the matchups. Last year, Taiwan finished in a five-way tie in their group with two wins and two losses, but finished last on tiebreakers after giving
North Korea’s FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup-winning team on Saturday received a heroes’ welcome back in the capital, Pyongyang, with hundreds of people on the streets to celebrate their success. They had defeated Spain on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the U17 World Cup final in the Dominican Republic on Nov. 3. It was the second global title in two months for secretive North Korea — largely closed off to the outside world; they also lifted the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in September. Officials and players’ families gathered at Pyongyang International Airport to wave flowers and North Korea flags as the
For King Faisal, a 20-year-old winger from Ghana, the invitation to move to Brazil to play soccer “was a dream.” “I believed when I came here, it would help me change the life of my family and many other people,” he said in Sao Paulo. For the past year and a half, he has been playing on the under-20s squad for Sao Paulo FC, one of South America’s most prominent clubs. He and a small number of other Africans are tearing across pitches in a country known as the biggest producer and exporter of soccer stars in the world, from Pele to Neymar. For
Coco Gauff of the US on Friday defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to set up a showdown with Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the final of the WTA Finals, while in the doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching was eliminated. Gauff generated six break points to Belarusian Sabalenka’s four and built on early momentum in the opening set’s tiebreak that she carried through to the second set. She is the youngest player at 20 to make the final at the WTA Finals since Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki in 2010. Zheng earlier defeated Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5 to book
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