POWERLIFTING
Taiwanese win more medals
Taiwanese male competitors won three more medals, including one gold, at the World Powerlifting Championships in Porchefstroom, South Africa, on Wednesday. Taiwanese competitors captured eight gold medals, four silver and three bronze on the first three days of the meet. Wednesday saw Huang Lung-hsing win gold in the under-75kg division with a deadlift of 302.5kg and a silver in the bench press with a lift of 207.5kg. Kuan Yi-hsin took silver with a deadlift of 300kg in the same category. Chao Chen-yeh, secretary-general of the Chinese Taipei Powerlifting Association, said that this is the first time Taiwan’s powerlifters have participated in an event outside Asia, and that they are still coping with the effects of jet lag and getting used to the local food.
SOCCER
Milan go top as Lazio lose
AC Milan warmed up for this weekend’s city derby by powering to the top of Serie A with a 3-1 home win over Palermo on Wednesday, laying down a marker to faltering champions Inter. Previous leaders Lazio were beaten 1-0 at Cesena, their second defeat in a row, while Inter lost more ground ahead of meeting Milan when they were held to a 1-1 draw at Lecce to slip to fourth. Napoli moved a point above Inter into third and leapfrogged Juventus, who drew 1-1 at Brescia, thanks to Ezequiel Lavezzi’s strike deep into stoppage time in a 1-0 win at Cagliari. Alexandre Pato handed Milan a first-half lead when he headed in a corner. Armin Bacinovic equalized for the Sicilians after the break before a Zlatan Ibrahimovic penalty and Robinho sealed the victory. Massimilano Allegri’s side went a point above Lazio and three above Inter to leave Rossoneri fans dreaming of a first Serie A title since 2004.
ASIAN GAMES
Taiwan Beer toast of Games
Warming ties between China and Taiwan can be toasted at the Asian Games in Guangzhou — with a Taiwan Beer. In the latest sign of cross-strait good cheer, Taiwan Beer is one of a group of six “partners” of this year’s Games. Ironically, its availability comes at an event where China insists Taiwan is referred to as Chinese Taipei. According to the official Games Web site, the beer is Taiwan’s top brand and gained a Chinese trademark in May last year.
SOCCER
Zenit blow title chance
CSKA Moscow beat Zenit St Petersburg 3-1 on Wednesday to deny the Russian league leaders a chance to clinch the title with three games to spare. Big-spending Zenit had been strong favorites to secure their third league crown and the second in the last three years, needing only a draw at home. However, the visitors failed to read the script as they went two up after 34 minutes, Vagner Love scoring the first with a long-range strike before creating the second for Mark Gonzalez. Seydou Doumbia added a third midway through the second half before Zenit’s Italian midfielder Alessandro Rosina scored a consolation goal in added time. CSKA moved ahead of Rubin Kazan into second place, six points adrift of Zenit with three games left in the season. “The whole team is very disappointed because we wanted our fans to really enjoy this occasion,” Zenit coach Luciano Spalletti told reporters. “But CSKA are a very strong team and they took full advantage of our weaknesses. But we must quickly forget today’s defeat and move on. We’ll soon get another chance to take the title.”
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB