■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.
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
Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13. Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City. The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council. Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two