BIATHLON
Domracheva wins 15km
Darya Domracheva of Belarus used a strong finish to win the women’s 15km individual race on Thursday at the season-opening biathlon World Cup meet in Ostersund, Sweden. The 25-year-old Domracheva missed two targets, but overtook leader and double Olympic gold medalist Magdalena Neuner of Germany after the fourth shooting to finish in 47 minutes, 15.6 seconds. Sweden’s Anna Maria Nilsson also raced passed Neuner to finish second, 1 minute, 8.5 seconds behind after missing one target. Neuner missed three shots to end third, 1 minute, 41.7 seconds back. Last season’s overall World Cup winner Kaisa Makarainen of Finland missed four shots to finish fourth.
Photo: EPA
GOLF
Parry charges at NZ Open
Two-time USPGA Tour winner Craig Parry finished with three birdies in a three-under 69 to grab a share of a three-way lead after two rounds of the New Zealand Open golf tournament. The 45-year-old Australian followed his first-round 70 with a second round which included five birdies and two bogeys to join compatriot and overnight leader Brad Kennedy and New Zealand’s Josh Geary in the lead at five-under. Kennedy had four birdies and three bogeys in a 71, finishing with a bogey which let slip the outright lead. Geary had six birdies and two bogeys in a 68. Australian amateur Jake Higginbotham shot a 68 after an early tee-off to briefly share the outright lead with Kennedy. He fell back into a three-way tie for fourth with compatriot Leigh McKechnie New Zealand’s Doug Holloway.
NASCAR
Busch seeing psychologist
Kurt Busch says he is seeing a sports psychologist to address “personal issues.” Busch was fined US$50,000 by NASCAR last week for verbally abusing an ESPN reporter and making an obscene gesture in his race car during the season finale at Homestead. NASCAR also cited a pattern of previous incidents with reporters for fining Busch. Now in his hometown of Las Vegas for the season-ending awards ceremony, Busch said on Thursday he has been seeing a psychologist for two months and needs to work on improving his behavior. Busch also said his actions at Homestead were inappropriate. He was angry because a transmission issue sent him into the garage early in the race and he knew he was guaranteed to finish 11th in the 12-car Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
FOOTBALL
Packers to sell more shares
The Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers will sell shares of stock next week offering no dividend, no chance for appreciation, practically no transfer rights and not even a shot at a highly prized season ticket. However, the offering announced on Thursday by the Packers does give fans the opportunity to own a piece of the defending NFL champions, who are undefeated through 11 games this season. The Packers were founded in 1919 and became a publicly owned nonprofit four years later. It is the only franchise permitted by the NFL to have that structure. The team plans to offer 250,000 shares initially at US$250 each on Tuesday, which would raise about US$62.5 million toward a US$143 million expansion of Lambeau Field announced last summer.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set