TENNIS
Taiwan’s Wu makes quarters
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and her Norwegian partner, Ulrikke Eikeri, yesterday beat seventh seeds Chan Hao-ching of Taiwan and Giuliana Olmos of Mexico 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 10-6 in their round-of-16 women’s doubles match at the Dubai Open. They next face Belarus’ Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Germany’s Laura Siegemund in the quarter-finals after they shocked top seeds Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and her Belgian partner, Elise Mertens, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 10-8.
CHESS
Eight-year-old takes record
An eight-year-old on Sunday became the youngest player to defeat a grandmaster in classical chess when Ashwath Kaushik beat Poland’s Jacek Stopa at the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open in Switzerland. Indian-born Ashwath, who lives in Singapore, defeated 37-year-old Stopa to break the record set a month earlier by Leonid Ivanovic from Serbia when he beat grandmaster Milko Popchev, the Chess.com Web site said. Ivanovic is also aged eight, but was born five months before Ashwath. “It felt really exciting and amazing, and I felt proud of my game and how I played, especially since I was worse at one point, but managed to come back from that,” Ashwath told Chess.com. Ashwath learned to play the game at the age of four, and became a World Under-Eight Rapid Champion in 2022, the Web site said. “He picked it up on his own, playing with his grandparents,” his father Kaushik Sriram said. “It’s surreal as there isn’t really any sports tradition in our families. Every day is a new discovery.” Ashwath finished the tournament in 12th place after losing to International Master Harry Grieve.
SOCCER
Son, Lee ‘sorry’ for fight
Son Heung-min yesterday apologized for his role in a bust-up with South Korea teammate Lee Kang-in at the AFC Asian Cup and urged fans to forgive the Paris Saint-Germain player. “Kang-in has been going through a very difficult time after the incident,” Tottenham Hotspur’s Son wrote. South Korea were beaten 2-0 by Jordan at the tournament earlier this month and it later emerged that skipper Son had dislocated a finger in an altercation with Lee on the eve of the semi-final. Lee, who has been blamed by fans for the fracas and dumped by advertisers, said yesterday that he had traveled to London to apologize to Son in person. The incident at the Asian Cup reportedly happened after some younger players, including Lee, rushed through their meal so they could leave to play table tennis. This displeased Son and some of the older players, because meals on the eve of big games are seen as a time for bonding. Lee then tried to punch Son, local media reported.
CRICKET
Kohli has second child
Virat Kohli has announced the birth of his second child, ending speculation over the reason for his absence from India’s ongoing home Test series against England. Kohli said his wife, the Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma, delivered a baby boy on Thursday last week. The couple already have a daughter named Vamika. “With abundant happiness and our hearts full of love, we are pleased to inform everyone that on 15th February, we welcomed our baby boy Akaay and Vamika’s little brother into this world,” Kohli wrote on Instagram.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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