■ Soccer
Rape claims investigated
Police said yesterday they were investigating allegations by a 17-year-old girl that she was gang raped by a group of Premiership soccer players in London over the weekend. The alleged assault was being investigated by the sex crimes unit of the Metropolitan Police Service. "We can confirm that the Metropolitan Police Service have received an allegation of rape from a 17-year-old female," a spokesman said on customary condition of anonymity. "At this stage it would be inappropriate to comment further." The top-selling tabloid newspaper The Sun said eight players were involved in the incident at a luxury West London hotel. The Sun said it could not identify the players for legal reasons. It said the group includes "at least one international and several other household names."
■ Golf
Sorenstam wins Safeway
Annika Sorenstam had back-to-back eagles and shot a final-round 66 Sunday at the LPGA Safeway Classic to defend her title and win her fifth event of the year. Sorenstam finished at 15-under 201, edging Hall of Famer Beth Daniel by a stroke after starting the day in a three-way tie with Daniel and Cristie Kerr. "Obviously it feels wonderful," Sorenstam said. "I love coming down the stretch when it's exciting and hitting great shots when you need to. Winning never gets old." Sorenstam set the tone on her first hole of the day, landing under a tree on the left side of the fairway. She punched out low and landed within 20 feet of the pin, making the birdie. She gave back that stroke on the third hole with a three-putt bogey, then nearly made eagle on No. 5 before hitting back-to-back eagles on the par 4 No. 6 and the par 5 No. 7.
■ Soccer
Beckham injures foot
A swollen instep has axed David Beckham from Real Madrid's Champions League game this week and placed him in doubt for England's Euro 2004 qualifier next month. Coach Carlos Queiroz dropped Beckham from the squad list to travel to Portugal for tomorrow's match against FC Porto because of the instep he hurt during the weekend match against Valencia. Beckham did not train with Madrid for a second day yesterday because of the injury. Madrid will decide today whether the team's ace striker Raul Gonzalez will also be dropped. Raul, who is nursing a hip injury sustained a week ago, missed the Valencia match.
■ Baseball
Tigers sidestep record
The Detroit Tigers hugged each other on the field and enjoyed some beers in a raucous clubhouse. For once, a last-place team had something to celebrate. The Tigers avoided the 1962 New York Mets' modern-day record for losses, finishing their best six-game stretch of the season with a 9-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday. "I'm glad it's over," Tigers manager Alan Trammell said. On a team that was criticized and joked about all season, it seemed fitting that Mike Maroth was the winning pitcher. Maroth, the first pitcher since 1980 to lose at least 20 games, gave up two runs on eight hits and a walk to finish 9-21. "Believe it or not, I can look back on this year with a smile on my face because of how this season ended," said Maroth, who won three of his last four starts. Detroit (43-119) used a seven-run sixth inning to win for the fifth time in six games, allowing the expansion Mets (40-120) to keep the unwanted distinction of having the most losses since 1900.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set