■CRICKET
Afghanistan beats Jersey
Afghanistan’s push toward a place at the 2011 World Cup continued on Sunday when they thrashed Jersey by 124 runs to make it two wins in two matches in the World Cricket League Division Four. Batting first, Afghanistan made 203 for 9 in 50 overs and then bowled out Jersey for 79, a performance that delighted their coach, Kabir Khan. “Everybody is very happy as we have taken one step closer to the final and the team has played very well,” he said. “Bowling-wise, I am really happy and our fielding was excellent again today. We do need to work on our batting but I was not worried because I knew 200 runs would be a winning score on this wicket.” The top two sides in the six-nation tournament here will ensure spots in Division Three with the leading two nations there progressing to the final World Cup Qualifier next April.
■HORSE RACING
Longchamp in start fiasco
Unprecedented scenes followed a starting fiasco in the first big race on Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe day at Longchamp in Paris on Sunday. As runners for the five-furlong (1km) Prix de l’Abbaye left the stalls, one of the starting gates failed to open, leaving Fleeting Spirit and jockey Ryan Moore rooted to the spot. Hungarian-trained Overdose blazed to an impressive victory but some of the jockeys who had seen the red re-call flag and were aware something was wrong had begun to ease their mounts soon after the start. As Overdose, ridden by Andreas Suborics, made his way back to the unsaddling enclosure, some jockeys followed but others, expecting a re-run, began to turn back towards the start. Stewards quickly decided the race would be re-run, but not until four hours later to give the horses a chance to recover.
■HORSE RACING
Vinokourov wants to return
Disgraced Kazakh cyclist Alexandre Vinokourov, who was banned for a year for doping at last year’s Tour de France, confirmed on Sunday that he wants to return to the sport. The 35-year-old told Belgian TV station Sporza that he wants to race again next year. “I love cycling. I want to come back because I didn’t want to end my career in this way. I feel as if I can win once again the big races.” Before returning to the saddle, however, the controversial Vinokourov faces the angry opposition of world governing body, the UCI, who have reserved the right to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to increase the ban which was imposed by his national federation. Various media reports claimed on Sunday that UCI president Pat McQuaid wants the Kazakh to serve a two-year ban, in line with the organization’s guidelines.
■CYCLING
Flecha wins Franco-Belge
Spaniard Juan-Antonio Flecha claimed his first notable victory this season when he won the Circuit Franco-Belge on Sunday after a final stage won by Belgian Sebastien Rosseler of Quick Step. Rosseler’s victory on the fourth and final stage put smiles back on the faces of Quick Step after their leader, former world champion Tom Boonen, crashed 75km into the ride. Boonen got back up slowly, but was apparently uninjured and looks likely to bounce back for a victory bid at the Paris-Tours classic next week. His team later said he would go for a scan on his right wrist yesterday. Flecha, who rides for the Rabobank team, began the final stage 18 seconds down on overnight leader Jurgen Roelandts, the Belgian champion who rides for Silence-Lotto. The Spaniard lost out to Rosseler in the sprint for stage victory but his efforts were enough to secure win.
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