CYCLING
Van Avermaet wins classic
Greg Van Avermaet of Belgium won the Paris-Tours classic in a head-to-head sprint with Italy’s Marco Marcato on Sunday. The 26-year-old Van Avermaet made his move at the end of the 230.5km flat route from Voves, France, to Tours, France, attacking out of a breakaway group in the race’s final 10km and withstanding a challenge by Marcato. Kasper Klostergaard-Larsen of Denmark was third. The win in Sunday’s 105th edition of Paris-Tours caps a strong season for BMC Racing Team’s Van Avermaet with top 10 finishes in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Milan-San Remo one-day classics. Van Avermaet, a teammate of Tour de France champion Cadel Evans, held off late threats from fellow Belgian and two-time former Paris-Tour winner Philippe Gilbert and Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel.
CRICKET
Mumbai claim T20 title
Skipper Harbhajan Singh bagged three wickets to help the Mumbai Indians lift the Twenty20 Champions League title with a 31-run victory over the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final on Sunday in Chennai, India. The off-spinner removed hard-hitting Chris Gayle (5), Virat Kohli (11) and Daniel Vettori (1) as Mumbai dismissed Bangalore for 108 after scoring a modest 139 on a low, slow pitch where stroke-making was not easy. Man-of-the-match Harbhajan was superbly backed by leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who finished 2-9 off three tight overs. “We have performed outstandingly. We were right in the game when we went in to bowl. It was just a matter of getting Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kohli. It was a fantastic effort by the boys,” Harbhajan said.
ATHLETICS
Death clouds marathon
A 35-year-old male runner who collapsed during the Chicago Marathon on Sunday is dead. Race medical director George Chiampas said the North Carolina man collapsed on the course about 500m from the finish line. He said medical personnel were able to get his heart beating again, but he died 1 hour, 45 minutes after he was attended to at the race. Meanwhile, Kenya’s Moses Mosop won the marathon in a course record and Russian Liliya Shobukhova completed an unprecedented three-peat in impressive style. Both champions pulled away to post emphatic victories, Mosop clocking 2 hours, 5 minutes, 37 seconds to beat by four seconds the late Sammy Wanjiru’s course record set in 2009. Shobukhova, too, made it look easy as she won in 2 hours, 18 minutes, 20 seconds.
BASKETBALL
US player dies after brawl
Authorities say US basketball player Chauncey Hardy has died after being attacked in a bar in Romania. Carmen Tocala, chief of the Romanian Basketball Federation, told GSP radio that Hardy died on Sunday evening after suffering two heart attacks — a day after he was beaten up. “We are deeply saddened by the loss of a fine young man who had his life cut short at such a young age while he was overseas doing something he loved,” said C. Donald Cook, athletic director at Hardy’s former college, Sacred Heart. Police spokesperson Mirela Gheta said the 23-year-old Hardy had sustained severe head injuries and was in a coma when he was admitted to the hospital. Hardy died shortly after undergoing surgery in a Bucharest hospital. Hardy, who played for CSS Giurgiu in southern Romania, was celebrating victory over rivals Dinamo Bucharest in Giurgiu when several men were reported to have attacked him.
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
Rafael Nadal on Tuesday lost in straight sets to 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round at the Madrid Open, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the semi-finals in the women’s doubles. Nadal said that he was feeling good about his progress following his latest injury layoff. Nadal called it a “positive week” in every way and said his body held up well. “I was able to play four matches, a couple of tough matches,” Nadal said. “So very positive, winning three matches, playing four matches at the high level of tennis. I enjoyed a lot playing at home. I leave here with
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
When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated worldwide. Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the unheralded Douglas in February 1990. Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery. The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and is just