BOXING
Sturm beats Zbik by TKO
Felix Sturm retained the WBA middleweight title on Friday night after fellow German Sebastian Zbik retired before the 10th round at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany. Zbik made the better start, but appeared to tire midway through the bout, with the defending champion looking fresher despite taking some heavy blows. Sturm had Zbik clearly troubled at the end of the ninth round, with US referee Raul Caiz Sr asking the challenger if he could continue. Though the 30-year-old Zbik insisted that he could, his corner felt otherwise and Caiz ended the fight before the next round could start. “We fought a fair fight. It was a good advertisement for boxing,” Sturm said after successfully defending his title for the 12th time. “Sebastian’s a great boxer, he moved very well,” Sturm added. “I had to keep my pace. It took a while and it was one of my hardest fights, but thank God it worked out.” Sturm, a 33-year-old German of Bosnian descent, improved his record to 37-2-2 with 16 knockouts. “I have to admit without any grudges that Felix clearly beat me,” said Zbik, who dropped to 30-2 (10 KOs).
ATHLETICS
Mosop eyes world record
Kenya’s so-called “Big Engine,” distance runner Moses Mosop, will have compatriot Patrick Makau’s world record in his sights when he runs the marathon in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, today. It will be only a third marathon appearance for Mosop, the world record holder on the track for 25,000m and 30,000m, but the 26-year-old said that bettering Makau’s best of two hours, three minutes and 38 seconds, set in Berlin in September last year, was achievable. Mosop certainly has some form going into the marathon, having clocked 2:03:06 (behind winner Geoffrey Mutai’s 2:03:02) on his debut at the Boston marathon, a downhill point-to-point course where times are not considered for world records. His second outing over 42.195 kilometres saw him winning last autumn’s Chicago marathon in 2:05:37.
BOXING
Morel looks to regain title
Eric Morel has adopted a now or never attitude in his bid to become a world champion for the first time in more than eight years. Unbeaten Abner Mares wants to make sure it is never. The two former world champions meet on April 21 at El Paso, Texas, for the WBC super bantamweight crown vacated by Japan’s Toshiaki Nishioka after he could not get a fight with Filipino star Nonito Donaire. Puerto Rico’s Morel, 46-2 with 23 knockouts, has won 11 fights in a row since losing to Martin Castillo of Mexico for the WBA super flyweight title in 2005, after losing the same title in 2003. At 36, Morel knows he cannot afford another setback in his bid to return to the world throne. “My preparation for this fight has been the best. Basically this is it,” he said. “It’s do or die for me.”
SOCCER
Anderson refuses breath test
Brazilian police say Manchester United midfielder Anderson Luis de Abreu Oliveira, best known as Anderson, refused to take a breathalyzer test after being stopped at a police checkpoint. Authorities told GloboEsporte.com that Anderson refused the test early on Friday in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Anderson is allowed by Brazilian law to refuse the breathalyzer test, but by doing so he incurred a fine and had his drivers’ license temporarily seized. One of his bodyguards had to drive his car. His representatives denied he refused the test and said he was stopped after leaving a relative’s home. Anderson is in Brazil recovering from a hamstring injury.
SOCCER
Stuttgart hammer Werder
VfB Stuttgart took a huge step toward securing a European spot next season by crushing Werder Bremen 4-1 on Friday to tighten their hold on fifth spot in the Bundesliga with three games to go. Three goals in 16 minutes, including two from Austria international Martin Harnik, sank eighth-placed Werder. Stuttgart, who have gone nine games without defeat, are five points ahead of Bayer Leverkusen and Hanover 96. Fifth position at the end of the campaign would earn a spot in next season’s Europa League. Werder took the lead when Markus Rosenberg connected with a Marko Marin cross from the right after 25 minutes. It did not take long for the hosts to level, Christian Gentner curling an unstoppable 20m shot past keeper Tim Wiese in the 37th. Stuttgart top scorer Harnik headed in from close range on the stroke of halftime before adding his 17th league goal of the season from a Tamas Hajnal cross eight minutes after the restart. Substitute Cacau sealed the win one minute from time, heading in after being left unmarked in the box.
SOCCER
Trevor Francis hospitalized
Former England striker Trevor Francis is recovering in hospital following a suspected heart attack. A spokesman for Championship club Birmingham, who gave Francis his professional debut in 1971, said they had been informed by a person close to the former player’s family that he had been taken ill on Friday. It is believed Francis was taken to Solihull Hospital and the spokesman said they had been told that the 57-year-old had had a stent fitted and was making a good recovery. Francis played for Birmingham between 1971 and 1979 and became the first player in English soccer to cost a £1 million (US$1.58 million) fee when he joined Brian Clough’s Forest.
CRICKET
Captain praises Whatmore
Pakistan cricket captain Misbah-ul-Haq said on Friday he was impressed with new coach Dav Whatmore’s professionalism as he seeks to lift the talented, but unpredictable, team. Whatmore, who took over last month on a two-year contract, guided Pakistan to their second Asia Cup title in Bangladesh and is now training the squad for the tour of Sri Lanka in June-July. Pakistan plays two Twenty20, five one-day internationals and three Tests in Sri Lanka before taking on Australia in a limited over series — also in Sri Lanka. Misbah-ul-Haq said Whatmore — who rose to fame after guiding Sri Lanka to the World Cup title in 1996 — is taking care of technical matters. “Like a good coach whose job is to take care of the practice, how to prepare the team and what are the strengths and weaknesses of the rival team, he is taking care of all such things, so it’s nice to work with him,” Misbah-ul-Haq said.
OLYMPICS
‘Blade Runner’ gets closer
Double amputee Oscar Pistorius reached the South African national championships 400m final at wind-swept Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, on Friday. He clocked 48.24 seconds when finishing second in a heat and 47.91 to come fourth in a semi-final and make yesterday’s final during a two-day gathering of this year’s London Olympic Games hopefuls. The Blade Runner appeared to be taking it easy in the semi-finals, glancing to his left and right during the race and switching to cruise mode during the final stages.
Taiwanese world No. 1 women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei on Saturday overcame a first-set loss to win her opening match at the Madrid Open. Top seeds Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium, with whom she last month won her fourth Indian Wells women’s doubles title, bounced back from a rocky first set to beat Asia Muhammad of the US and Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia 2-6, 6-4, 10-2. Hsieh and Mertens were next to face Heather Watson of the UK and Xu Yifan of China in the round of 16. Thirty-eight-year-old Hsieh last month reclaimed her world No. 1 spot after her Indian
EYES ON THE PRIZE: Armed with three solid men’s singles shuttlers and doubles Olympic champions, Taiwan aim to make their first Thomas Cup semi-final, Chou Tien-chen said Taiwanese badminton star Tai Tzu-ying yesterday quickly dispatched Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei in straight sets, while her male counterpart Chou Tien-chen beat Germany’s Kai Schaefer, as Taiwan’s women’s and men’s teams won their Group B opening rounds of the TotalEnergies BWF Thomas and Uber Cup Finals in Chengdu, China. World No. 5 Tai beat Goh 21-19, 22-20 in a speedy 33 minutes, her fourth straight victory over the world No. 24 shuttler since they first faced each other in the quarter-finals of the 2018 Malaysia Open, where Tai went on to win the women’s singles title. Malaysia followed up Tai’s opening victory
Chen Yi-tung (陳奕通) secured a historic Olympic berth on Sunday by winning the senior men’s foil event at the 2024 Asia Oceania Zonal Olympic Fencing Qualifiers in United Arab Emirates. Chen defeated Samuel Elijah of Singapore 15-4 in the final in Dubai to secure the only wild card in the event, making him the first male Olympian fencer from Taiwan in 36 years and only the sixth Taiwanese fencer to ever qualify for the quadrennial event. The last appearance by a Taiwanese male fencer at the Olympics was in 1988, when Wang San-tsai (王三財) and Cheng Ming-hsiang (鄭明祥) competed in Seoul. The
A soccer jersey carrying a national map including disputed Western Sahara has become a hot commodity in Morocco after a diplomatic dispute with Algeria. Retailers said RS Berkane jerseys have been flying off the shelves after a Confederation of African Football (CAF) Cup match against Algerian club USM Alger was canceled last month over the jerseys. “We are overwhelmed by the influx of messages and requests,” said Brahim Rabii, representative of the official RS Berkane jersey distributor. Algeria broke off diplomatic relations with Morocco in 2021, partly over the issue of Western Sahara. The former Spanish colony is largely controlled by Morocco, but claimed