■NETHERLANDS
PSV rally to defeat Ajax
Otman Bakkal scored two goals on Sunday to help PSV Eindhoven twice come from behind to beat Ajax 4-3 in the Dutch league. Ajax took the lead in the second minute when Luis Suarez hammered in a diagonal shot from the edge of the area. Balazs Dzsudzsak equalized for PSV in the 36th minute with a left-footed free-kick, but Ajax regained the lead a minute later when Suarez found the net for a second time from Demy de Zeeuw’s free-kick. Bakkal leveled in the 50th minute following a cross by Dzsudzsak, who curled in a free-kick three minutes later to give PSV a 3-2 lead. Urby Emanuelson made it 3-3 in the 56th minute, firing home a first-time shot from 25m. Bakkal then netted the winner in the 74th minute to give new PSV coach Fred Rutten his first win. Feyenoord joined PSV at the top after beating Heracles Almelo 1-0 with a goal from Jon Dahl Tomasson. Mads Junker scored Roda JC’s winner in a 1-0 victory over NEC Nijmegen, while Japan midfielder Keisuke Honda made one and scored the other to earn VVV-Venlo a 2-2 draw at FC Utrecht. NAC needed goals by Edwin de Graaf and Kees Kwakman to beat FC Groningen 2-1.
■PORTUGAL
Porto kick-off with a draw
Porto started the defense of their Portuguese Premier League title with a disappointing 1-1 draw away to Pacos de Ferreira on Sunday. Benfica were also held to a 1-1 draw at home to Maritimo as six of the opening weekend’s seven games ended in stalemate. Pacos opened the scoring with a Ricardo header in the 12th minute and Porto were in further trouble when Brazilian Hulk was sent off for a second yellow card in the 55th minute, but the champions salvaged a point when Colombian striker Radamel Falcao Garcia scored with a 78th minute header on his league debut. Benfica also came from behind, Maritimo’s Alonso converting a penalty after defender David Luiz handled in the 25th minute. Paraguay striker Oscar Cardozo missed a 75th-minute penalty for Benfica, but substitute Weldon headed in from a Fabio Coentrao free-kick 10 minutes later.
■BRAZIL
Hugo scores late winner
Substitute Hugo scored three minutes into injury-time to give nine-man Sao Paulo a 2-1 away win over Sport Recife in the Brazilian championship on Sunday. Hugo was unmarked when he headed home a cross from fellow midfielder Junior Cesar to give Sao Paulo their sixth win in a row, lifting the title holders to fourth in the standings. Washington put Sao Paulo ahead in the 25th minute from fellow striker Borges’ headed pass. Sport equalized five minutes from time through Fabiano after Sao Paulo defenders Miranda and Renato Silva, and Sport midfielder Wilson, were sent off between the 70th minute and 75th minute for second bookings. Leaders Palmeiras had their advantage cut to two points after being held 1-1 at home by Botafogo, while second-placed Goias beat Vitoria 3-2.
■ENGLAND
Blundering ref dropped
Referee Rob Shoebridge, who blundered when he missed a Crystal Palace goal in the Championship game against Bristol City on Saturday, was on Sunday dropped from taking charge of today’s clash between Plymouth Argyle and Cardiff City. Palace striker Freddie Sears looked to have given his side the lead after 34 minutes when he drilled a low shot into the corner of the net, but the ball bounced back into play after hitting the stanchion and Shoebridge awarded a goal-kick, with neither himself nor his assistants spotting that the ball had crossed the line.
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