■BASEBALL
Taiwan beat Guatemala
Taiwan defeated Guatemala 7-2 on the first day of the Junior League Baseball World Series tournament that opened on Sunday in Taylor, Michigan. The competition sees the participation of 10 teams of 13- and 14-year-olds divided into two pools — one of teams from the US, the other an international pool. The US pool groups the five best teams from the western, southeast, central, southwest and eastern regions. Taiwan is in the international pool, which also includes Ukraine, Mexico, Guatemala and Canada. The top two teams from each pool will go through to the semi-finals on Friday, with the final to be played on Saturday.
■SOCCER
Hamburg hammer amateurs
Ruud van Nistelrooy hit a hat-trick and set up another goal to steer Hamburg SV into the German Cup second round with a 5-1 win over amateurs Torgelower SV on Sunday. VfL Wolfsburg had to wait until the 80th minute to break the resistance of regional league club Preussen Muenster, with Brazilian Grafite scoring the winner two minutes from time in a 2-1 victory. Van Nistelrooy opened the scoring from close range in the 34th minute. The hosts came back and two minutes before the break netted an equalizer through Daniel Pankau. Their joy was short-lived, however, with Paolo Guerrero firing in a free-kick to put Hamburg back into the lead eight minutes after the break. Van Nistelrooy added two more midway through the second half and David Jarolim rounded off the scoring nine minutes from time. Wolfsburg struggled against amateurs Muenster, with striker Edin Dzeko missing several clear scoring chances early on. He did well to set up Cicero for the lead in the 80th minute but six minutes later failed to clear a free-kick, deflecting the ball into his own net. Grafite came to the rescue two minutes later to score the winner. Earlier on Sunday, Mainz edged past Berliner AK 2-1 while Nuremberg beat Eintracht Trier 2-0.
■ SOCCER
Kuranyi opens account
German striker Kevin Kuranyi scored his first Russian Premier League goal as Dynamo Moscow drew 1-1 with leaders Zenit St Petersburg whose nine-match winning streak came to an end. Zenit stayed top with 40 points from 16 matches, seven points ahead of CSKA Moscow, who thrashed Makhachkala 4-0. Reigning champions Rubin Kazan are third, also on 33 points. Kuranyi put Dynamo ahead in the 26th minute with a close-range effort. Zenit’s Danko Lazovic equalized eight minutes later when he followed up Alexander Kerzhakov’s shot which had come back off the woodwork. CSKA Moscow scored all of their goals in the first half against Makhachkala. Oliseh Sekou and Vagner Love scored within eight minutes of each other for a 2-0 lead. Zoran Tosic added a third in the 34th minute, while Sekou added his second of the match just before half-time.
■SOCCER
Excelsior win local derby
Guyon Fernandez scored in injury time on Sunday to give promoted Excelsior Rotterdam a 3-2 win over Feyenoord in the Dutch league. Fernandez put the ball in the net after collecting a rebound in the third minute of stoppage time to give Excelsior their first win of the season. He also hit the opening goal in the 29th minute in the Rotterdam derby. Daan Bovenberg scored in the 77th for Excelsior, while Ron Vlaar and Miquel Nelom responded for Feyenoord. Also on Sunday, NEC Nijmegen beat Willem II 5-3, FC Utrecht downed NAC Breda 3-1 and Roda JC defeated ADO The Hague 3-1.
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