■ Soccer
Brazil defeats Ukraine
Brazil thrashed Ukraine 6-0 and Spain blanked the Czech Republic 2-0 in Taipei yesterday in the second round of the FIFA Futsal World Championship.
Brazil's opening Group F match was highlighted by three goals from Falcao and two from Indio. Brazil was undefeated in the preliminary round, atop Group B with nine points. Javi Rodriguez scored both Argentina's goals in its Group E match. Spain finished the first round without on top of Group A with nine points.
■ Hockey
Modo wins Elite title
After going two games without a point, NHL star Peter Forsberg scored to help his hometown team Modo edge Linkoping 2-1 in the Swedish Elite League in Stockholm on Saturday. Forsberg, the NHL's most valuable player in 2003, silenced the sellout crowd of 8,500 at Linkoping when he scored a pretty goal to make it 2-0 halfway through the second period. But the big hero was Modo backup goalie Mikael Zajkowski, who stopped 39 of 40 shots in only his fourth game as a starter in the league. "My best game ever considering the opposition," said Zajkowski, backup to NHL goaltender Tommy Salo. For Modo, it was only the second win in the last eight games but the team was fifth in the standings.
■ Tennis
France, Russia end even
French Open champion Anastasia Myskina drew Russia 1-1 with defending champion France in the Fed Cup final in Moscow on Saturday after Nathalie Dechy upset US Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 7-6 (4), 8-6. Myskina beat Moscow-born teenager Tatiana Golovin 6-4, 7-6 (5) to level a final Russia was expected to dominate before a highly expectant home crowd at Krylatskoye Ice Palace. But Dechy jolted Russian hopes of their first Fed Cup title by breaking Kuznetsova when she served to win the opening singles at 6-3, 5-4, then prevailed against a top-10 player for the eighth time in her career.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and