Japanese teams got off to a flying start in the revamped AFC Champions League on Tuesday, with Gamba Osaka and Nagoya Grampus both earning three valuable points.
Defending champions Gamba served notice that they will not relinquish their title lightly with a dominant 3-0 home win over Chinese Super League champions Shandong Luneng.
In the other game in their group, FC Seoul proved too good for Indonesian outfit Sriwijaya, romping to a 4-2 win with a brace from Kim Chi-woo and strikes from Jung Jo-gook and Ki Syun-yueng.
PHOTO: AFP
In another boost for the J-League, Nagoya stunned Ulsan Hyundai 3-1 in South Korea.
Only the top team from each of the eight groups progresses to the knockout rounds of Asia’s top club competition that features US$20 million in prize money this year as part of the AFC’s attempt to take it to another level.
Meanwhile, Beijing Guoan ruined Newcastle Jets’ Champions League debut with a 2-0 home win. A sixth-minute strike from Yue Kaihao set them on their way, before Du Wenhui made certain of victory over the Australians in the dying seconds.
In Osaka, Gamba Osaka’s Brazilian striker Leandro proved to be Shandong Luneng’s chief tormentor and he, Yasuhito Endo and substitute Hayato Sasaki found the back of the net for the hosts in a largely one-sided game.
Leandro got the opener with a sizzling shot in the 20th minute. Endo then converted a penalty after 72 minutes with Sasaki adding another six minutes later.
In Ulsan, Nagoya Grampus fell behind to a first-half goal by Ulsan Hyundai’s Cho Jin-soo, but turned the tables on their hosts with two second-half headers from defender Maya Yoshida and Brazilian forward Davi.
Rafael Magnum made the game safe with Nagoya’s third three minutes from full time.
In the West Asian side of the draw, Iran’s Piroozi Athletic beat Sharjah of Saudi Arabia 3-1.
Elsewhere, Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia beat Qatar’s Al Gharafa by the same scoreline, United Arab Emirates outfit Al Ahli felled Uzbek heavyweights Pakhtakor 2-1, while the game between another Saudi side Al Hilal and Iran’s Saba Battery was postponed because of a sandstorm.
The group stages wrap up on May 20, with the knockout rounds starting later that month.
The final will be held in Japan in November.
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