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
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
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
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