■FRANCE
Lorient win and go fourth
Striker Marama Vahirua and defender Franco Sebastian Sosa scored in the first half to give Lorient a 2-0 win at struggling Saint-Etienne on Sunday that moved them up to fourth in the French standings. Saint-Etienne lost their eighth game this season and stayed in 17th place, just above the relegation zone. Lorient have 24 points from 13 matches, two behind league leaders Auxerre. “We are dreaming of moving even higher, but it’s only a dream,” Vahirua said. “We’re happy with our position and we’re not getting carried away. We’re just showing the big teams that if they make a mistake, we can make life difficult for them.” Also on Sunday, Colombian striker Victor Hugo Montano scored twice as promoted Montpellier defeated Lille 2-0 to move up to fifth in the standings. Montpellier, who ended a three-match winless streak, also have 24 points, but they trail Lorient on goal difference. “The result is a bit unfair when you look at the way we controlled the game,” Toulouse coach Alain Casanova said.
■FRANCE
Win ‘undeserved,’ poll says
France’s controversial qualification for next year’s World Cup has hit a sour note with the French public, with more than eight out of 10 people disapproving, a poll televised on France 2 showed. France beat the Republic of Ireland 2-1 on aggregate over two legs of a qualifying playoff last Wednesday when a blatant double handball by captain Thierry Henry proved decisive in the team going to the World Cup. In an online poll in which 1,003 people representative of the country’s demographics were asked on Friday and Saturday several questions about the qualification, eight out of 10 said the team’s qualification was “undeserved.” Even worse, 88 percent of those polled said that Henry “was wrong” to have controlled the ball with his hand, which led to France scoring the goal that tied the game in extra-time and gave them an aggregate victory. France coach Raymond Domenech, whose job has been in the balance several times in the past two years, was also given short shrift. Seventy-one percent of people “interested in soccer” said Domenech should be relieved of his duties.
■FRANCE
Nantes suffer humiliation
Nantes, one of France’s most highly decorated clubs, but who have recently fallen on hard times, suffered a French Cup humiliation at the hands of lowly amateur outfit Concarneau on Sunday. The second division side, eight-time former first division champions and three time French Cup winners, were knocked out of the competition, losing 3-0 to their modest rivals who ply their trade three leagues lower than the Canaries. Founded in 1943 and with a past players’ roll call that includes the likes of Marcel Desailly and Didier Deschamps, the knockout blow was one of the lowest points in Nantes’ history.
■UAE
Brazil retain their title
Brazil retained their beach soccer World Cup crown with a 10-5 victory over Switzerland in the final on Sunday. Brazil, who have now won their fourth consecutive world title, were a class apart. Buru, Betinho and Andre scored a brace each, while Sidney, Benjamin, Bueno and Daniel Souza were also on the score sheet. Dejan Stankovic, Mo Jaeggy, Michael Rodrigues, Stephan Meier and Angelo Schirinzi replied for the Swiss, who finished runners-up at this year’s European Championships. Portugal skipper Madjer led from the front in the third-place playoff, scoring seven times as his side demolished Uruguay 14-7.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
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