Hernanes scored a late goal as Brazil began its quest for a first Olympic gold in soccer with a 1-0 win over Belgium in Group C play.
Hernanes netted the winner in the 79th minute, firing a hard shot from inside the area into the left-upper corner of the net at the nearly packed Shenyang Olympic Stadium.
Ronaldinho, Diego, Alexandre Pato and the rest of Brazilian stars were kept in check by the Belgians during most of the match until defender Vincent Kompany was ejected in the 72nd after receiving a second yellow card.
ARGENTINA 2, IVORY COAST 1
Argentina’s Lionel Messi, cleared to play in the Olympics after striking a late deal with his club Barcelona, celebrated by scoring the opener and creating the winner as the South Americans beat Ivory Coast 2-1.
UNITED STATES 1, Japan 0
The United States made the most of their limited attacking opportunities to open their campaign with a 1-0 win over Japan at Tianjin Stadium yesterday.
The sole goal in the Group B match came two minutes into the second half when Scottish-born Stuart Holden latched on to a misdirected Japan clearing kick and fired in from 30m.
ITALY 3, Honduras 0
Italy got first-half goals from forwards Sebastian Giovinco and Giuseppe Rossi and Robert Acquafresca added another in the second as Italy beat Honduras 3-0 in its opening match.
Giovinco, who plays for club side Juventus, put Italy ahead in the 41st minute with a powerful left-footed strike from 30m that sailed past Honduras keeper Kevin Hernandez’s outstretched arms and into the upper left corner.
Four minutes later, Slovakian referee Damir Skomina awarded Italy a penalty kick after defender Quiarol Arzu’s handball in the box.
AUSTRALIA 1, SERBIA 1
Slobodan Rajkovic equalized with a header from a corner yesterday for Serbia to draw 1-1 with Australia.
Ruben Zadkovich gave Australia a 69th-minute lead from David Carney’s cross at Shanghai Olympic Stadium, but Rajkovic equalized in the 78th to achieve a deserved draw.
SOUTH KOREA 1, CAMEROON 1
Midfielder George Mandjeck scored a late goal to rally Cameroon to a 1-1 draw with South Korea in their opening match.
Both teams created a host of quality scoring opportunities in the physical, seesaw game until Cameroon defender Paul Bebey fouled Park Chu-young.
CHINA 1, NEW ZEALAND 1
Substitute striker Dong Fangzhuo scored a late equalizer Thursday to give host China a 1-1 draw against 10-man New Zealand in their opener.
Dong’s 88th-minute header from near the penalty spot went over New Zealand goalkeeper Jacob Spoonley and into the far post, delighting the loud home crowd at the nearly packed 60,000-capacity Shenyang Olympic Stadium.
NETHERLANDS 0, NIGERIA 0
Nigeria held the gold-medal favorite Netherlands to a 0-0 draw on Wednesday, competing evenly with the reigning two-time European under-21 champion in their Olympic opener.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB