SPEED SKATING
Bergsma leads Dutch sweep
Jorrit Bergsma led the Netherlands sweep in the men’s 10,000m at the World Cup in Heerenveen, Netherlands, on Saturday, edging national champion Bob de Jong in 12 minutes, 50.33 seconds. Compatriot Bob de Vries clocked 13 minutes, 3.41 seconds to finish third. Finland’s Pekka Koskela finished in 35.01 seconds to claim the 500m ahead of Japan’s Joji Kato and the Netherlands’ Jesper Hospes, who earned his first career podium finish. In the women’s 1,500m, Canadian skater Christine Nesbitt successfully renewed her rivalry with Irene Wust, finishing first in 1 minute, 55.68 seconds. Wust, backed by the home crowd, came second in 1 minute, 57.15 seconds. Russia’s Yekaterina Shikhova took bronze.
SAILING
Tunnicliffe wins all races
World No. 1 Anna Tunnicliffe of the US and her crew won all three of their first-day races in women’s match-racing at the world sailing championships in Fremantle, Australia, on Saturday. In difficult conditions in Fremantle’s inner harbor, crews faced a morning of hot easterlies and then cooler mid-afternoon sea breezes, which delayed the races while the course was moved away from shore. Silja Lehtinen of Finland and Australia’s Nicky Souter also had opening-day victories.
RUGBY UNION
England defend Dubai title
England defended their Dubai Sevens rugby union title by beating surprise finalists France 29-12 on Saturday. England, who beat world series titleholders New Zealand and series leaders Fiji en route to the final, broke open a tight match in the first half when Mat Turner scored two tries within a minute, the last as time expired. England went to the break up 24-7. France pulled a try back with Renaud Delmas’ second, but England’s defense was too good. It was a stark turnaround from a week ago in the series opener on the Gold Coast, where England lost in the quarter-finals. England improved to second in the series standings, seven points behind leaders Fiji, who beat Argentina for third place 26-21 in extra time. France, New Zealand and South Africa were tied for third.
FOOTBALL
Lions’ Suh unhurt in crash
Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who is serving a two-game suspension after appearing to stomp on a Green Bay Packers player, lost control of his car and crashed into a tree early on Saturday morning, but was not injured, police said. Suh, 24, was driving a 1970 Chevrolet Coupe when he tried to go around a stopped taxi, Portland police spokesman Sergeant Pete Simpson said. He lost control, causing the vehicle’s back end to spin out, and the car hit a curb, a tree, a water fountain and a light pole, police said. Drugs and alcohol played no role in the crash, a police statement said.
VOLLEYBALL
Russia triumph at World Cup
Russia stormed back from match points down to defeat Poland and win the men’s World Cup tournament in Tokyo yesterday, also ensuring qualification for next summer’s London Olympics.
Russia, who won the title in 1999, were down at 10-14 in the final set before scoring a 25-23, 23-25, 25-22, 17-25, 17-15 victory. Russia, also four-time champions as the former Soviet Union, finished with a 10-1 record for 29 points, beating Poland into second place with an 8-3 record on 26 points. Poland’s second-place finish mean they, too, will be in London for the Olympics next year.
SOCCER
Mechelen pegged back
Taiwan international Xavier Chen’s KV Mechelen let a two-goal lead slip on Saturday as Lierse SK rallied to grab a point in the Belgian Jupiler League. Mechelen went ahead after five minutes when Julien Gorius scored from the penalty spot and Alessandro Cordaro doubled the visitors’ lead in the 53rd minute. The hosts grabbed one back in the 64th minute, when Mohamed Elgabas converted a penalty and substitute Flavio Amado sealed a share of the points with a stoppage-time equalizer. Mechelen have 16 points from 16 games and they sit 11th in the table.
BOXING
Klitschko ‘recovering well’
Wladimir Klitschko’s promoter Bernd Boente said the WBA and IBF heavyweight champion was recovering well after undergoing an operation to remove a kidney stone. Boente told German news agency dapd that Klitschko could leave a Duesseldorf hospital and move to a hotel after the surgery on Saturday. Klitschko is due to fight French challenger Jean-Marc Mormeck in Duesseldorf on Saturday, and Boente said the bout was still on — as long as there were no further complications. Klitschko suffered abdominal pains at his training camp in Austria on Friday, when the 35-year-old was taken to Innsbruck for initial treatment before being transferred to Duesseldorf.
SOCCER
Socrates dies in hospital
Former Brazil World Cup captain Socrates died in hospital yesterday at the age of 57, Brazilian media reported, citing hospital sources. Socrates had been in the Albert Einstein Israeli Hospital in Sao Paulo since Thursday when he was hospitalized with food poisoning, which developed into septic shock, and had been on a life support machine, the daily O Estado said on its Web site. It was the third time Socrates had been taken to hospital since August, when he spent nine days there because of a digestive hemorrhage caused by excessive drinking. Socrates, who played for Brazil at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, spent another 17 days in the hospital in September with liver trouble and had been recommended a transplant.
SOCCER
Anelka, Alex to transfer
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas said former France striker Nicolas Anelka and Brazil defender Alex have had transfer requests accepted by the Premier League club and will be free to leave next month. Villas-Boas said on Saturday “their professionalism and integrity is never in question, but on recent results and form ... we have decided to assign different training times for them.” Anelka has been marginalized from the first team following the signing last season of Spain striker Fernando Torres and the development of young England forward Daniel Sturridge.
GOLF
Kennedy sinks 30-footer
Australian Brad Kennedy sank a 30-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff with compatriot Craig Parry to complete a start-to--finish win at the New Zealand Open in Christchurch yesterday. Kennedy, the highest-ranked player at the tournament, had been the leader or co-leader through the first three rounds. He took a three-stroke advantage into the final round, but shot a 74 to finish in a share of the lead at 7-under 281. Parry had four birdies to open up a two-shot lead coming to the 18th, but he found water off the tee and double-bogeyed to allow Kennedy to draw level.
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