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.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
RSS