■ THAILAND
Hosts make the final
Three times champions Thailand fought back from a goal down to reach the final of the Southeast Asian championships with a 2-1 win over Indonesia on Saturday. Late goals by Teerathep Winothai and substitute Ronnachai Rangsiyo gave the Thais a 3-1 aggregate victory that sets up a final with Singapore or Vietnam. “They were difficult to break down, but I knew Indonesia wouldn’t be able to keep it up,” Thailand coach Peter Reid said. “They put us out of our stride, but we were patient, we worked through it. It takes 90 minutes to win a match.”
■URUGUAY
Championship called off
The Uruguayan championship was once again called off just hours before the 15th and final round of matches yesterday when one of four teams could been crowned champions. The league was also suspended on Nov. 16 following the Danubio versus Nacional game when supporters from both teams invaded the pitch and started fighting in the presence of 160 policemen. Danubio, who are one of the teams with a chance of winning the title, were scheduled to host Penarol yesterday, but police said they could not guarantee security in the stadium and urged the Uruguayan soccer federation to suspend the championship. The previous Sunday a supporter was left in a coma after being hurt at Nacional’s 1-0 victory over Penarol when police, who had four officers slightly injured, made 49 arrests.
■ENGLAND
Wolves go seven points clear
Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Mick McCarthy believes his side’s 1-0 win at Doncaster Rovers could prove the most valuable of their Championship promotion campaign. McCarthy’s men moved seven points clear at the top of England’s second tier thanks to a late winner from Neill Collins at the Keepmoat Stadium on Saturday. Collins struck with just nine minutes to play, but the goal was harsh on struggling Doncaster, who had dominated for long periods. “One of the lads said afterwards that it could be one of the best wins of the season and I think it could be,” McCarthy said. “It was a fantastic result against a side who are well organized and well coached.” Wolves were able to strengthen their position on top of the table because Reading defeated Birmingham City 3-1 at St Andrews to leapfrog the Blues.
■ARGENTINA
Boca edge closer to title
Late goals from Rodrigo Palacio and Cristian Chavez helped Boca Juniors to a 3-1 win over a San Lorenzo squad weakened by two red cards in the Argentine playoff race on Saturday. The victory puts the Buenos Aires club in position to clinch the Apertura title with just a draw tomorrow when they play Tigre in the final match of a round-robin to break a three-way logjam at the top of the regular season standings. “It was a tough match and we hope to repeat against Tigre,” Boca coach Carlos Ischia said. “We’re almost there.”
■PORTUGAL
Sporting held by Academica
Sporting Lisbon were held 0-0 by visiting Academica and missed the chance to join leaders Benfica on top of the Portuguese league on Saturday. In front of 22,019 spectators at the Jose Alvalade Stadium, Sporting were denied a fourth straight win by resolute defense by Academica, who had gained only one point from their five previous away games this season. In Saturday’s other game, Braga rose to fifth place after beating Rio Ave 1-0 courtesy of Wason Renteria’s 75th-minute goal.
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
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite