■ Athletics
Krauchanka wins decathlon
Andrei Krauchanka held off Olympic champion Roman Sebrle and world champion Bryan Clay to win the Hypo Meeting decathlon on Sunday. Olympic champion Carolina Kluft won the heptathlon, edging Lyudmila Blonska of Ukraine by 55 points. Krauchanka, from Belarus, finished third in the 1,500m for a personal best score of 8,617 points. Sebrle, a five-time winner of the Hypo Meeting, finished second with 8,518. After the first five disciplines on Saturday, Clay looked set for a new world record but finished 18th in the discus and third overall with 8,493. Kluft fought off a challenge by Blonska, who won the javelin but missed a chance to overtake Kluft's lead by finishing only seventh in the 800m.
■ Table Tennis
Wang Liqin defends title
Wang Liqin rallied to defend his title in the men's singles on Sunday at the World Table Tennis Championships, while Zhang Yining and Wang Nan retained their women's doubles title. Wang Liqin, who trailed 3-1 in sets, defeated top-ranked Ma Lin of China 4-11, 8-11, 11-5, 4-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-6. It was Wang's second gold in three finals after winning the mixed finals with Guo Yue on Friday. Ma led the fifth set 7-1 but Wang recovered to equal countryman's Zhuang Zedong record of three world titles. Olympic and world champions Zhang Yining and Wang Nan easily beat Guo and Li Xiaoxia 11-5, 11-6, 13-11, 11-9. China dominated the championships and took all five gold medals. Guo, 18, beat Li on Saturday to become the youngest woman to win gold in the singles after knocking out Olympic and world champion Zhang Yining in the semi-finals.
■ cricket
Inzamam praises Sonn
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq yesterday praised late International Cricket Council president Percy Sonn for his handling of the Oval Test controversy last year. Inzamam said Sonn, who died on Sunday aged 57 in Cape Town, had ensured Pakistan were treated fairly after they forfeited the fourth Test against England in August. "Mr Sonn ensured Pakistan got a fair trial in the Oval case and because of his efforts the truth prevailed," Inzamam said. "Sonn backed Pakistan's legal stance and because of him, the investigations were impartial and ended in Pakistan's victory."
■ Athletics
New women's record set
Tatiana Lysenko set a world record of 78.67m in the women's hammer throw, the Russian Track and Field Federation said on Sunday. The Russian also held the previous record after throwing 77.8m last August in Tallin, Estonia. Lysenko set the new mark on Saturday at the Russian nationals in Sochi the federation said on its Web site.
■ Cricket
Whatmore denies reports
Bangladesh's outgoing coach Dav Whatmore yesterday denied as "mere speculation" reports he had been offered a job with India, saying nothing had been finalized yet. Indian media had reported for the past week that Whatmore, 53, had been offered a one-year contract by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which could be extended by another two years. "I am not India's coach, it is mere speculation," he told reporters a day after completing his four-year tenure with Bangladesh. "I have had discussions with BCCI officials where I told them I was interested but that's all there is to it. I have not heard from them since."
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