■SOCCER
No go Agogo for World Cup
Ghana striker Junior Agogo will miss the World Cup after undergoing knee surgery. Ghana’s Football Association says the 30-year-old Agogo, who plays for Apollon Limassol in Cyprus, will be out of action for six months. The forward, who has also played for Chicago Fire and Colorado Rapids in the MLS, and Bristol Rovers and Nottingham Forest in England, starred at the 2008 African Cup in Ghana. He scored the winner in the quarter-finals against Nigeria and three goals in the tournament as the hosts finished third.
■SOCCER
Blackpool clinch spot
Blackpool clinched a place in the Championship play-offs, while Sheffield Wednesday were relegated to League One after being held to a 2-2 draw by Crystal Palace on a dramatic final day in English soccer’s second tier. Blackpool went into their last fixture knowing victory would guarantee a top-six finish and, although they drew 1-1 at home to Bristol City, they finished sixth anyway as seventh placed Swansea could only draw 0-0 against Doncaster. Blackpool are now just three games away from securing promotion to the top flight for the first time in 40 years. They will take on Nottingham Forest over two legs, with the winner meeting Cardiff or Leicester at Wembley on May 22.
■MOTOGP
Lorenzo leads Spanish 1-2
Jorge Lorenzo led a Spanish 1-2 at the world championship race in Jerez on Sunday ahead of compatriot Dani Pedrosa with Italy’s world champion Valentino Rossi finishing third. The victory sees Lorenzo overtake Rossi at the top of the world championship standings to the delight of the home crowd. “It’s the greatest victory of my career,” said Lorenzo, who picked up his sixth win in his third year in motorcycling’s elite category. Rossi said he had “struggled” throughout with the shoulder injury he recently suffered in a motocross accident, and with a choice of tires that left him simply trying to finish as high up as possible.
■SKATING
Chinese stars visit Taiwan
Triple gold medalist Wang Meng and other members of the Chinese skating teams that won five gold medals at the this year’s Winter Olympic Games arrived in Taipei yesterday for two shows. The delegation, featuring five top short track speed skaters and 19 figure skaters, will give two performances at the Taipei Arena ice rink tomorrow and on Thursday. The Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee’s secretary-general said the visit provides a rare opportunity for local audiences to see Olympic gold medal winners perform in person. Wang won short track speed skating gold in the women’s 500m, 1,000m and 3,000m relay races at the Winter Games in Vancouver in February and is China’s most decorated Winter Olympian. The figure skaters include Pang Qing and Tong Jian, who took silver in the pairs competition in Vancouver.
■CRICKET
Murali out of World Cup
Muttiah Muralitharan has been ruled out of the remainder of the Twenty20 World Cup after injuring his groin in Sri Lanka’s two-wicket loss to New Zealand. Team physiotherapist Tommy Simsek said Muralitharan had strained his right adductor muscle and would need up to three weeks rest, the Sri Lankan cricket board announced yesterday on its Web site. Muralitharan’s injury is a major setback for Sri Lanka’s chances. Muralitharan has more international wickets than any cricketer, with 792 in 132 Tests and 512 in 334 limited-overs internationals.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set