■SOCCER
Antlers maintain win streak
Japanese powerhouse Kashima Antlers on Wednesday earned the honor of being the only team to win all six of their AFC Champions League group games, while Beijing Guoan booked a berth in the round-of-16. Kashima beat South Korea’s Jeonbuk Motors 2-1, with their dominant run securing them top spot in Group F and home advantage in the one-leg knockout stage against defending champions the Pohang Steelers. It condemned Jeonbuk to a trip to Australia to play Adelaide United for a place in the quarter-finals. In the group’s other match, Indonesia’s Persipura Jayapura bagged their first points of the tournament when they beat a lackluster Changchun Yatai of China 2-0, with goals from Eduard Ivakdalam and Yustinus Paew. South Korean outfit Seongnam Ilhwa had already secured home advantage for the round-of-16 before they kicked a ball, but refused to relax, grinding out a 3-2 win over Melbourne Victory. Chinese Super League champions Beijing Guoan grabbed the east zone’s eighth and final spot in the knockout round with a 2-0 win against Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale. In the west, Saudi giants Al Ittihad, the two-time champions, were defeated 1-0 by Zobahan of Iran who finished top of Group B, with Uzbek side Bunyodkor taking the runners-up spot with a 4-1 win over Al Wahda of the United Arab Emirates. In Group A, Nasser Kamil’s last-minute goal earned Qatari champions Al Gharafa a 1-0 win at Al Ahli in Jeddah to claim top spot, with Tehran giants Esteghlal finishing as the group runners-up after going down 2-1 to Al Jazira in Abu Dhabi.
■SOCCER
S Africa defeat Jamaica
World Cup hosts South Africa got back on the winning trail by defeating non-qualifers Jamaica 2-0 in a friendly at Kickers Offenbach Stadium in Offenbach am Main, Germany, on Wednesday. Veteran striker Surprise Moriri punished sloppy defending off a cross to drive a low shot into the corner of the net on 51 minutes and set up Bafana Bafana for their first success in four international outings. Siyabonga Nomvete added a second five mintues from time as he ran on to a pass from fellow substitute Andile Jali and slammed the ball wide of goalkeeper Dwayne Kerr and into the net. Jamaica, last-minute replacements for China, faded after failing to convert a few first-half chances in a game between teams relying almost exclusively on home-based players.
■SOCCER
Pachuca claim title
Pachuca won the CONCACAF Champions League final in dramatic style on Wednesday, with Edgar Benitez’s goal in the third minute of stoppage-time securing victory over rival Mexican club Cruz Azul. The 1-0 result leveled the tie at 2-2 on aggregate, with Pachuca winning on the away-goals rule. Cruz Azul had won the first leg 2-1 in Mexico City. Benitez scored on a bouncing shot that got past Cruz Azul goalkeeper Jesus Corona.
■OLYMPICS
China stripped of medal
China have been stripped of their women’s gymnastics team bronze medal from the Sydney 2000 Olympics after one of the athletes falsified her age, the International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday. An International Gymnastics Federation probe had found in February that Dong Fangxiao was younger than the minimum age requirement of 16 after registering different ages at Sydney and the Beijing Games eight years later. The US, fourth-place finishers in Sydney, are now upgraded to third place and will be awarded the bronze medal.
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two