SOCCER
Portsmouth sold to Chainrai
Portsmouth have come out of administration after being sold to a company controlled by their former owner Balram Chainrai, the English Championship (second division) club’s administrator said yesterday. “The sale has been completed to a new company principally owned by [Hong Kong businessman] Balram Chainrai and [his business partner] Levi Kushnir,” said administrator Andrew Andronikou, a partner in the firm of UHY Hacker Young. Key creditor Sacha Gaydamak, who is owed £2.2 million (US$3.45 million) by the club, helped pave the way for the sale having earlier issued a statement saying he planned to sign a deal that would ensure Portsmouth did not go out of business.
SOCCER
FIFA official caught on tape
A former FIFA general--secretary identified officials he said could take money in return for votes in the race to host the World Cup, a British newspaper reported yesterday, citing secret footage. Michel Zen-Ruffinen ran through a list of the names — bleeped out on the footage and not revealed by the Sunday Times — with undercover reporters who were posing as lobbyists. “X is nice, he’s a nice guy, but X is money,” he is shown saying of one man, adding of another: “X, it’s money, we can go to [a city] and talk with him on a terrace no problem.” Of a third unnamed figure, he added: “He’s the guy you can have with ladies and not with money.”
RUGBY LEAGUE
Kangaroos rout Papuans
Willie Tonga scored a pair of tries as Australia beat Papua New Guinea 42-0 in a Four Nations match yesterday at Parramatta Stadium in New South Wales, Australia. Captain Darren Lockyer, Cooper Cronk, Brett Morris, Billy Slater, Cameron Smith and Brent Tate added other tries for Australia as the Kangaroos moved into first place in the tournament. Slater’s opening try came after Lockyer’s kick rebounded off the posts directly towards the Australian fullback. A knock-on from a scrum win allowed Tate to celebrate his Test return with a try, but his afternoon ended early after he was taken from the field after a neck injury. Morris scored his ninth try in just his sixth Test for Australia and Smith scored from dummy-half on 55 minutes.
SWIMMING
US marathon swimmer dies
US open water swimmer Francis ‘Fran’ Crippen, a world championship bronze medalist, died during a Marathon Swimming World Cup 10km event in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, world governing body FINA said. Crippen, 26, won a 10km bronze medal at last year’s world championships in Rome and a 5km bronze at the world open water championships in Canada this year. Crippen, who won two US titles in the pool in the 800m freestyle before switching to open water in 2006, died during the last leg of the World Cup event in Fujairah, FINA said.
RALLYING
Loeb extends Catalunya lead
Sebastian Loeb closed in on his sixth straight Catalunya Rally title after the Frenchman stretched his lead to a comfortable 44.4 seconds on Saturday. Loeb, who just clinched a record seventh world championship in his Citroen, saw a slim lead grow into a big one when closest rival Sebastien Ogier lost 15 minutes after an incident in his Citroen during the eighth stage. Petter Solberg of Norway moved into second place in his Citroen in the mixed surface event, while Dani Sordo of Spain was 1 minute, 1.3 seconds behind in third.
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
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care