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■ RUGBY UNION

Leinster stings Wasps 41-11

Ireland skipper Brian O’Driscoll scored twice as Leinster ran in six tries in a 41-11 demolition of former double champions Wasps in the European Cup on Saturday. Lionel Beauxis amassed 22 points to help Stade Francais to a convincing 37-15 win over Scarlets in Pool 4. In the same section, England scrum-half Danny Care scored a try in a man-of-the-match performance as Harlequins beat winless Ulster 42-21, notching up a valuable bonus point in the process. In the equally tight Pool 3, Leicester beat whipping boys Treviso 60-16 while Ospreys kept their campaign alive by eeking out a hard-fought 15-9 win over Perpignan.



■ BOXING

Hopkins upsets Pavlik

Former world champion Bernard Hopkins upset middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik with a unanimous decision in their 12-round, non-title fight on Saturday. There were no knockdowns, but the 43-year-old Hopkins defied his age by battering the slower, supposedly stronger Pavlik throughout the one-sided fight to inflict his first defeat as a professional. Hopkins, near tears before the decision was announced, called the performance the best of his 20-year career, better than his wins over Antonio Tarver, Felix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya.



■ CYCLING

Cunego makes it three

Italian Damiano Cunego won the Tour of Lombardy for the third time on Saturday after a daring solo breakaway with 15km remaining of the 242km course from Varese to Como. The Lampre rider broke clear on the technical descent of the Civiglio mountain along Lake Como’s famed waterfront. That victory added to previous successes in 2004 and last year for the 2004 Giro d’Italia champion, who has already tasted success in a major one-day event this season by claiming the Amstel Gold Race. He is now only two wins behind the legendary Fausto Coppi, who won the Tour of Lombardy five times.



■ MOTO GP

Rossi wins Malaysian

Newly crowned world champion Valentino Rossi won the Malaysian MotoGP on his Yamaha yesterday, with Dani Pedrosa riding a Honda finishing a distant second. Rossi, who locked up the championship in Japan three weeks ago, passed Pedrosa in lap 10 and then raced to the checkered flag at his favorite Sepang circuit with ease. The Spaniard started in pole position while Rossi, from Italy, was second on the grid. The 29-year-old Rossi finished the 116.4km journey over 21 laps in 43 minutes and 06.007 seconds. Rossi, who had said he was out to have “fun” in the remaining races, stormed to victory in style on a dry track, pulling a wheelie as he approached the finishing line. Italian Andrea Dovizioso, riding a Honda, finished in third place.



■ SQUASH

Ashour upsets Shabana

Ramy Ashour upset world No 1. and Egyptian countryman Amr Shabana 11-6, 7-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7 to reach the final of the world squash championships on Saturday. Shabana was hoping to become the fourth man to win four world titles. An all-Egyptian final yesterday was set up when Karim Darwish beat former two-time champion David Palmer of Australia 11-6, 11-9, 11-8 in their semifinal. The women’s final will feature top-ranked Nicol David of Malaysia against 12th-ranked Vicky Botwright, who will retire after the match to become head coach at the championships venue, the National Squash Center.


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