ICE HOCKEY
Malhotra cleared to play
Vancouver Canucks center Manny Malhotra was cleared on Saturday to play in the Stanley Cup finals two months after suffering a serious eye injury. Malhotra, who had been expected to miss the rest of the season after having eye surgery in March, was given permission on Friday to join his teammates in some light contact at practice. “It’s obviously a very exciting prospect for me at this point,” Malhotra told reporters after Canucks coach Alain Vigneault gave him the green light earlier on Saturday. Vigneault did not say whether Malhotra would be in Vancouver’s lineup on Wednesday when the Canucks host the Boston Bruins for Game 1 in the best-of-seven series.
GOLF
Young leads Brazil Cup
Heather Bowie Young shot a 6-under 66 in chilly and rainy conditions on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead over Suzann Pettersen and Lindsey Wright in the LPGA Tour’s 36-hole Brazil Cup. Young had eight birdies and two bogeys at Itanhanga Golf Club in the 30-player exhibition event. Pettersen is coming off a victory last week in the Sybase Match Play Championship. Catriona Matthew, the 2009 winner while five months pregnant, was three strokes back at 69, along with Azahara Munoz and Mariajo Uribe. Defending champion Meaghan Francella had a 71, and Cristie Kerr, second in the Match Play event, opened with a 72.
BADMINTON
Denmark to play China
Denmark take on hot favorites China in the final of the Sudirman Cup, hoping to pull off a major shock in the holders’ own backyard. A Denmark side led by the experienced Peter Gade and Tine Baun overcame plucky Indonesia 3-1 on Saturday to reach the final of the world mixed team championships for only the second time. China, chasing their fourth Sudirman Cup on the bounce, brushed aside South Korea by the same scoreline. If Denmark are to achieve the improbable in Qingdao, they will need Gade, 34, and Baun, 31, on top form.
CYCLING
Zabriskie wins trial title
David Zabriskie won his fifth US professional cycling time trial title in Greenville, South Carolina, on Saturday. Zabriskie won the crown by 31 seconds, completing the 33.3km course in 40 minutes, 23.5 seconds. He won four titles in a row from 2006 to 2009, but did not compete last year. Last year’s winner, Taylor Phinney, finished 50 seconds adrift in seventh place. Tom Zirbel was second, Matthew Busche finished third and Brent Bookwalter finished fourth after three laps of the 11km circuit. The 180km US road race championship is today, the Memorial Day holiday in the US.
ATHLETICS
Hardee, Ennis lead in Hypo
Trey Hardee of the US and Jessica Ennis of Britain held commanding leads after the first day of the annual Hypo Meeting. Both Hardee and Ennis won the opening sprint event on Saturday to take control and never relinquished the lead after that. Hardee led the men’s decathlon with 4,553 points after five events to sit 263 points ahead of Oleksiy Kasyanov of Ukraine. Mikk Pahapill of Estonia was another 118 points behind in third. Ennis looked set to defend her title from last year after earning 4,097 points in the first four events of the women’s heptathlon to lead Jisscia Zelinka of Canada by 300 points. Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands was third, another 30 points behind.
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