England shattered China 54-0 despite turning up with the wrong studs as fellow favorites New Zealand and South Africa also got off to convincing starts at the Hong Kong Sevens yesterday.
Monsoon conditions took England, four-time winners, by surprise, forcing a last-ditch scramble, with longer, wet-weather studs arriving by courier just 30 minutes before the start.
“It’s not particularly professional of the boys. I gave them an earful for not bringing the appropriate footwear,” said coach Ben Ryan, adding team officials had to call shops and sponsors for the equipment. “It was a distraction we could have done without. One guy had to run about two miles to get a set.”
Despite the poor preparations and difficult conditions, England were dynamite as they capitalized on a hat full of errors by China.
Dan Caprice scored a second-half hat-trick and Kevin Barrett and Josua Drauniniu got two each as England set about erasing the pain of their quarter-final loss in this month’s World Cup.
“We were ruthless,” Ryan said. “That’s what I asked the boys to be and that’s what they were.”
Defending champions New Zealand also made light of “atrocious” conditions in their 59-0 workout against minnows Sri Lanka.
Lote Raikabula starred with three tries and Wellington Hurricanes flier Victor Vito got two as New Zealand go in search of their first title this season.
“It’s quite atrocious out there. It’s really slippery,” coach Gordon Tietjens said. “Your concentration level’s got to be right up there.”
South Africa, joint series leaders along with England after wins in Dubai and George, later beat South Korea 29-7.
Kenya came from behind to beat West Indies and Fiji, 11-time victors in Hong Kong, thrashed Taiwan 33-0. Argentina, currently fourth in the series, strolled past the hosts 28-0.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care