■ AUTO RACIN
Latvala leads Swedish Rally
Jari-Matti Latvala of Finland retained the lead in the Swedish Rally on Saturday, taking a 49.8-second advantage over Ford Focus teammate Mikko Hirvonen into the final day. Latvala, who finished out of the points in the season opener in Monte Carlo last month, had a total time of 2 hours, 3 minutes, 53.7 seconds after 14 stages. The 22-year-old Latvala won six of seven stages on Friday, but was winless on the penultimate day of the world championship event. "It was difficult being first on the road through the opening stage because there was a lot of slush for the first 3km and we did a lot of moving from snowbank to snowbank," Latvala said.
■ FIELD HOCKEY
N Zealand headed to Beijing
New Zealand will play in the men's field hockey tournament at August's Beijing Olympics after beating Argentina 3-2 in double overtime in the final of a six-nation qualifying tournament yesterday. Brad Shaw scored the winning goal eight seconds from the end of extra time after New Zealand had twice come from behind in regulation to tie the game 2-2. "It's an unbelievable moment," coach Shane McLeod said. "It's very difficult to describe when you understand all the effort the guys have put in." Argentinian players slumped on the field in tears as Shaw slammed home a rebound in the dying moments of the second overtime.
■ FOOTBALL
Redskins hire Zorn as coach
The Washington Redskins hired Jim Zorn as their coach on Saturday, a surprise ending to a monthlong search for a replacement for Joe Gibbs. "I've always dreamed of being a head coach with a franchise rich in tradition like the Redskins," Zorn said in a team news release. "As a player who had to fight Redskins teams at RFK [stadium] as well as at our home field, I know about the history of this franchise as well as the passion of its fans. I won't let you down." The Redskins said the 54-year-old Zorn agreed to a five-year contract. He was scheduled to be introduced at a news conference yesterday.
■ SKIING
Vonn wins milestone victory
Lindsey Vonn has joined Picabo Street and Daron Rahlves as the most successful US downhill skiers. Among current competitors, she has no equal. Vonn blew away the field in Sestriere, Italy, on Saturday for her fourth win in seven downhills this season. It was the ninth downhill victory of her career, matching Street and Rahlves. "Lindsey is pretty much unbeatable now," US downhill coach Alex Hoedlmoser said. "The only thing that could have beaten her here was herself." Using a much straighter line than any other skier, Vonn covered the 2.965km Kandahar Banchetta course in 1 minute, 38.86 seconds. The race announcer yelled, "She's a speed train!"
■ SKIING
Reinfried Herbst returns
The Austrian put together the fastest times in both runs to win a men's slalom on Saturday to cap his comeback from a serious knee injury. Herbst beat Manfred Moelgg of Italy by 0.65 seconds on a sun-drenched Gudiberg course in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Although he led by nearly half a second after the first run, the 29-year-old Austrian did not hold back in the second heat and attacked the course all the way to post his second World Cup victory. "What happened today is exactly what I had in mind at the start of the season: to show what I can do," Herbst said. "The feeling is simply great.
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