■ NETHERLANDS
Ajax win at Feyenoord
Ajax enjoyed their first victory in five years at archrivals Feyenoord in the Dutch league on Sunday to move top as leaders PSV Eindhoven were held to a goalless draw by Roda JC Kerkrade. Siem de Jong headed home the opener for Ajax five minutes before the break after the Feyenoord defense failed to clear a free-kick and 11 minutes into the second half Mounir El Hamdaoui doubled the lead. Central defender Andre Bahia pulled one back 10 minutes before time for Feyenoord, whose Dutch international Ron Vlaar limped off the pitch with a hamstring injury. After their 2-1 win, Ajax are top with 16 points from six matches, two ahead of PSV and Groningen. Champions Twente Enschede slipped to fourth with 12 points after being held 0-0 by 10-man Heracles Almelo, who had Mark-Jan Fledderus sent off on the stroke of halftime. AZ Alkmaar had their first win of the season, beating NEC Nijmegen 1-0 with Brazilian Jonathas on target after 28 minutes, while Utrecht came from behind twice to beat VVV Venlo 3-2, with Ricky van Wolfswinkel scoring a brace.
■ GREECE
Olympiakos close the gap
Olympiakos Piraeus closed the gap on early Super League pacesetters Iraklis to one point on Sunday thanks to a 1-0 victory at Panserraikos. Serbian striker Marco Pantelic’s goal in the 32nd minute gave Olympiakos their second win in three league matches. The result means Olympiakos are second with six points, with unbeaten Iraklis leading the way with seven points. AEK missed the chance to join Olympiakos on six points when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Asteras Tripolis. AEK fought back from two goals down, with strikes in the final 10 minutes from Algeria forward Rafik Djebbour and Argentine winger Nacho Scocco canceling out earlier efforts from Salim Aras and Kostas Fortounis. Djibril Cisse scored twice for champions Panathinaikos, but his side’s stuttering start continued as they were held to a 2-2 draw at Kavala on Saturday. Panathinaikos went ahead through Cisse after 12 minutes, but were stunned when Kavala scored twice in three minutes through Douglao and veteran French striker Jean-Claude Darcheville. Cisse netted again 11 minutes from time, but Panathinaikos now lie seventh.
■ PORTUGAL
Benfica down Sporting
Oscar Cardozo scored both goals as Benfica beat Sporting 2-0 in the Portuguese league derby on Sunday. The Paraguay striker struck with his left foot in the 13th minute and then again in the 49th minute to keep Sporting without a win at their neighbor’s Stadium of Light since the 2005-2006 season. Benfica moved on to six points after their second win of the season, while Sporting have seven points. Sporting Braga have eight points after blowing a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw against Pacos de Ferreira. Also on Sunday, Rio Ave drew 2-2 with Academica and Naval and Setubal drew 0-0.
■ AUSTRIA
Salzburg knocked out of Cup
Big-spending Red Bull Salzburg continued their nightmare start to the season on Sunday when they were knocked out of the Austrian Cup by third division Blau Weiss Linz. Danilo Duvjak put Linz ahead following a corner in the 26th minute and Harun Sulimani doubled their lead on the stroke of halftime. Boris Arapovic put the team from the Regional Middle League 3-0 ahead in the 65th minute, before Austria striker Roman Wallner scored a consolation. Wallner also had a late penalty saved by David Wimleitner.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was