JUDO
Taiwan’s Yang wins bronze
Taiwan’s Yang Yung-wei on Friday won bronze in the men’s under-60kg category at the Grand Prix Portugal. Yang, who was defeated by Dilshodbek Baratov of Uzbekistan in the round of eight, bounced back to beat three-time Grand Prix winner Balabay Aghayev from Azerbaijan in the repechage after Aghayev was given three shido — called when rule violations occur — while the two were competing in the golden score contest, or sudden death overtime. The 26-year-old Taiwanese judoka faced off against 20-year-old Youssry Samy of Egypt in the bronze-medal game and took the Egyptian opponent down with a triangle choke, which encircles the neck and one arm with the legs. His bronze was his first this season. Yang’s coach Liu Wen-teng told reporters that there are more competitors than usual because it is an Olympic year. However, Yang has performed well despite the packed schedule, Liu said. Yang is to compete in the Judo Grand Slam Paris this week in his bid to secure more points ahead of the Paris Olympics.
Photo: CNA
SOCCER
Cagliari pay tribute to Riva
Cagliari on Friday paid tribute to former star Gigi Riva in their first home match since the Italy great died. The Sardinian cub, struggling after promotion to Serie A, lost 2-1 to Torino, but remembered more successful days as they commemorated the center-forward of their only league-winning team. Duvan Zapata and Samuele Ricci put the visitors two goals up by half-time. A 77th-minute reply by Nicolas Viola could not save Claudio Ranieri’s team. Riva was listed at No. 11 in Cagliari’s starting line-up and the team warmed up in white shirts, replicas of those worn by their predecessors in 1970, the year of the Sardinian club’s only Serie A title. Play was interrupted in the 11th minute as the 30,000-strong crowd paid tribute to Riva, who passed away on Monday at the age of 79 in Cagliari.
SOCCER
Gotze scores only goal
Mario Gotze on Friday scored deep into the second half as Eintracht Frankfurt beat FSV Mainz 05 1-0 in the Bundesliga. Mainz started the night third from bottom in the standings. They had the early running, but were floored by Gotze’s 73rd-minute winner as the playmaker headed home a loose ball. There was a suspicion of offside, but the goal was allowed after a video analysis.
SPEED SKATING
Stolz sets world record
Reigning world champion Jordan Stolz of the US on Friday set a world men’s 1,000m speed skating record, the teen clocking in at 1 minute, 5.37 seconds at the Utah Olympic Oval. The 19-year-old, who won three titles at last year’s World Championships, set the mark at a World Cup race outside Salt Lake City, shattering the old mark of 1 minute, 5.69 seconds set by Pavel Kulizhnikov of Russia in the same oval in February 2020.
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
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
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
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