■ Soccer
Clashes leave 42 injured
A state politician demanded a crackdown on Sunday after 42 people were injured when police and security officers clashed with 800 hooligans following a soccer match in the German state of Saxony. The fans of FC Lokomotive Leipzig attacked 300 police officers after FC Erzgebirge Aue II beat their team 3-0 on Saturday in a state cup match. Police said 36 officers and six fans were injured, while 21 police vehicles were vandalized. Germany has seen a surge in stadium violence this season.
■ Soccer
Romario scores 990th goal
Former Brazil striker Romario came off the bench to score a 10-minute hat-trick as Vasco da Gama routed Volta Redonda 6-1 in the Carioca championship on Sunday. Romario, 41, took his career total to 990 goals according to the tally he has kept himself but which includes goals scored at junior level and in friendly matches. Romario came on in the 65th minute with Vasco already 3-0 ahead and needed four minutes to make his mark as he nonchalantly headed home a cross from the right. In the 75th minute, he scored again from close range after a one-two and four minutes later rose unmarked to head in another cross from the right.
■ Rugby Union
Fiji win Sevens tournament
Fiji defeated Samoa 38-24 in the final of the International Rugby Board USA Sevens in San Diego, California, on Sunday, avenging their defeat by their opponents in New Zealand last weekend. Fiji became the fourth winner in four events of the IRB Sevens World Series so far this season, joining South Africa, New Zealand and Samoa as Cup winners. The victory also boosted Fiji into a share of the lead in the series alongside New Zealand with 60 points, four ahead of South Africa (56).
■ Horse Racing
Jockey in the dock
Australian jockey Chris Munce's jeans pockets were stuffed with cash when he was arrested for allegedly offering a local businessman racing tips in exchange for advantages, a prosecutor told a Hong Kong court yesterday. Former Melbourne Cup winner Munce went on trial yesterday for allegedly offering the racing tips to businessman Andy Lau through a middleman so that Lau would place bets on Hong Kong races for him and relay the winnings. The prosecutor said anti-corruption officials arrested Lau and Munce last year after they met at a hotel and found HK$250,000 (US$31,994) in cash in Munce's pockets. Munce said the cash was a ``going away'' present from Lau.
■ Cricket
Out-of-form duo selected
Indian selectors placed faith in Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan yesterday by including them in their 15-member squad for the World Cup. Aggressive batsman Sehwag and all-rounder Pathan have missed several limited-overs international matches since they were dropped from the team due to their dismal performances on a recent tour of South Africa. The selectors decided to bank on experience instead of trying untested cricketers, even though both Sehwag and Pathan have not performed well in the run-up to the World Cup. India squad: Rahul Dravid (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Robin Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthick, Mahendra Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Shantakumaran Sreesanth and Munaf Patel.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but