■ Soccer
Taiwan defeats Myanmar
Taiwan's women's team moved on to the second round of the Olympic qualifiers by beating Myanmar 1-0 at Zhongshan Soccer Stadium in Taipei on Friday. In the 72nd minute, midfielder Chiu Fu-yu (邱富郁) fired a shot from 25m to beat Myanmar's goalkeeper. Earlier, Australia crushed Uzbekistan 10-0, leaving Taiwan and Australia with two wins each. Taiwan also beat Uzbekistan 2-0 on Wednesday. Today at 4pm, Taiwan plays Australia, runner-up in last year's Asian Championships. Since both teams have two victories, the result will not affect Taiwan's participation in the second qualification round. This means that Taiwanese soccer fans will have another three women's soccer games to look forward to in the next six months, the CTFA Web site said. Myanmar will also play Uzbekistan at 2pm today. Entry is free for both games.
■ Soccer
Stuttgart draws with Hertha
Second-placed VfB Stuttgart lost ground in the Bundesliga title race with a 0-0 draw against Hertha Berlin on Friday. Stuttgart's seven-match home winning streak at Gottlieb-Daimler Stadium was ended by the defensive tactics of sixth-placed Hertha. Mario Gomez, the Bundesliga's top scorer, made the 42,000 spectators roar with a 12th-minute score for Stuttgart, only to have the goal nullified because of a hand ball. Stuttgart inserted Swiss international Marco Streller as a third forward an hour into the match, and earned more chances, but could not get the winner.
■ Soccer
Eight Ecuadorans banned
World soccer's governing body FIFA has ratified an international ban imposed on eight Ecuadoran league players who took part in a post-match brawl, a Football Federation spokesman said on Friday. Ecuadoran soccer officials banned 11 players for between two and 12 months for taking part in a vicious melee at the end of local club LDU's 1-1 draw at home with Barcelona in December. Eight of the players are still serving their suspensions, including LDU's leading players Patricio Urrutia and Jairo Campos, FEF spokesman Victor Mestanza said.
■ Boxing
Lewis considers comeback
Former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis is considering making a comeback at the age of 41, according to a newspaper report. "Lennox has been discussing the prospect of a one-off, world title rematch with Vitali Klitschko," US promoter Bob Arum told the Daily Mail on yesterday. "I am told Lennox is back in the gym. This is an enormous fight in the making." Lewis retired three years ago. His last fight was a win over Klitschko in June 2003 when the Ukrainian was stopped after six rounds because of severe cuts.
■ Boxing
Tapia wins likely final fight
Johnny Tapia, no longer the relentless, ring-savvy battler he once was, scored a majority decision on Friday over little-known Evaristo Primero in what the five-time world champion said would likely be his final fight. "This is how I wanted to go out, fighting a tough fighter," Tapia said. "It's a beautiful thing to retire in Albuquerque." Tapia, who turned 40 earlier this month and was fighting for the first time in more than a year, landed enough punches to get the win against an opponent who 10 years ago likely wouldn't have lasted three minutes, much less take him the distance in the 10-round junior welterweight fight.
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