■SOCCER
Auxerre lead Ligue 1
Auxerre beat Le Mans 2-1 with a stoppage-time goal from Benoit Pedretti to take the lead in the French league and put pressure on Bordeaux. Pedretti scored the winner in the first minute of injury time after taking a pass from Dennis Oliech. Poland forward Ireneusz Jelen had given Auxerre the lead in the 25th minute, tapping home a cross from Oliech. Thorstein Helstad equalized for Le Mans with a header in the 89th. Auxerre have 55 points from 29 matches, two clear of Bordeaux who have played two fewer games. Montpellier are level on points with Bordeaux, followed by Lille and Lyon with 51 points each.
■RUGBY UNION
Stormers tame Cheetahs
The Western Stormers maintained their challenge in the Super 14 championship with a bruising 21-8 win over the Central Cheetahs at Newlands on Saturday. The win kept the Stormers in second place in the table, one point behind the Northern Bulls, ahead of a bye next weekend which will be followed by a four-match Australasian tour. Both teams were disrupted by injuries in a fast-paced, physical encounter marked by crunching collisions.
■ATHLETICS
Flying Sikh sells story
Milkha Singh, one of India’s greatest track athletes, has sold his life story to a film maker for a cut price one rupee (US$0.02) in the hope that the biopic might inspire the youth of his country to excel in the sport. Nicknamed “the Flying Sikh,” Milkha Singh was twice Asian Games champion in the 400m, Commonwealth champion in 1958 and narrowly missed out on a medal at his second Olympics in Tokyo in 1960. New Delhi will host the Commonwealth Games in October, but the hosts have little hope of any titles on the track. “This is the year of the Commonwealth Games,” the 74-year-old, whose son Jeev is a top golfer, told the Times of India. “I feel sad to say that 52 years after I won a gold in the Cardiff Games, India hasn’t been able to win a gold in track events.” Milkha Singh was born in what is now Pakistan and witnessed the murder of his parents before escaping to India as a refugee. “I want Indian youth to understand what determination and purpose can achieve,” film director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra told the paper. “If a Milkha, who didn’t have access to even basic necessities of life, can aim for the skies, why not others who’ve been provided the best of facilities?”
■SWIMMING
Ex-PM has cause to smile
Samantha Marshall, the grand-daughter of former Australian prime minister Malcolm Fraser, has qualified to swim for her country at the New Delhi Commonwealth Games in October. The 17-year-old, whose grandfather was the leader of Australia’s government from 1975 to 1983, finished second behind Olympic champion Leisel Jones in the 100m breaststroke at the national trials.
■ATHLETICS
Gena wins barefoot
Siraj Gena of Ethiopia sprinted barefoot to the finish line to win the Rome marathon yesterday, pulling away from two Kenyan rivals near the end. Gena took off his shoes with about 500m left and sprinted away from Benson Barus and Nixon Machichim to finish in 2 hours, 8 minutes, 39 seconds. Gena was paying homage to compatriot Abebe Bikila, who won the 1960 Olympic marathon gold in Rome having run the entire course without shoes. In the women’s race, Firehiwot Dado led an Ethiopian sweep of the podium positions in 2 hours, 25 minutes, 28 seconds.
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