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.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
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