SOCCER
Benfica beat Spartak 2-0
Substitute Oscar Cardozo scored two second-half goals to give SL Benfica a 2-0 win over Spartak Moscow on Wednesday for their first Champions League victory this season. Cardozo came on at halftime and headed in a cross from Melgarejo in the 55th minute. The Paraguayan extended the Portuguese team’s lead in the 69th, when he received a pass from Ola John on the flank and struck a left-foot shot past goalkeeper Artem Rebrov. After two defeats and a draw, the victory kept alive Benfica’s hopes of reaching the knockout round from Group G. The Lisbon club have four points, five behind leaders Barcelona and three back from Celtic, with two group games left to play. The Russian team started strongly. Dmitri Kombarov splitting the Benfica defense with a pass for Diniyar Bilyaletdinov in the 14th, but Artur sprinted out to deny him from short range. Benfica gradually began to pick up the tempo and Enzo Perez fired just wide of Rebrov’s post in the 25th, before Jardel came close with a header. Rebrov was shown a yellow card as Spartak looked to get some breathing space, but Rodrigo kept up the pressure with a header that flew wide.
SOCCER
US face three away qualifiers
The US face three away matches in their first four fixtures in next year’s final phase of 2014 World Cup qualifying in the North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF) region. Jurgen Klinsmann’s US will open their campaign in Honduras on Feb. 6, while regional powerhouses Mexico host Jamaica. In the other match in the six-team round, Panama play Costa Rica. Three CONCACAF teams will advance directly to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, while the fourth-placed team will play off against a side from Oceania. After the Honduras game, the US host Costa Rica on March 22, then travel to Mexico on March 26. They visit Jamaica on June 7. The six teams will play each other twice, with the final fixtures slated for Oct. 15.
BASEBALL
Darvish not playing Classic
Texas Rangers ace Yu Darvish will not play for Japan in the World Baseball Classic next year, saying on Tuesday he wants to focus on winning a World Series. “This was a very difficult decision for me as it is always a tremendous honor to represent my native country of Japan,” Darvish said in a statement. Darvish was a key member of the Japan squad that won the 2009 Baseball Classic, recording the victory over South Korea in the championship game, while closing out the semi-final victory over the US.
SOCCER
AFC theft charge dropped
Malaysian prosecutors have dropped a theft charge against a man accused of stealing documents from the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, his lawyer said yesterday. Kong Lee Toong, husband of former AFC finance director Amelia Gan, had in September pleaded not guilty to the charge in a court in the Malaysian capital. The charge came amid an increasingly bitter battle between Asian soccer’s governing body and its suspended president Mohammed bin Hammam, who is being investigated by the AFC for what it calls possible corrupt activities. The AFC had lodged a complaint with police over missing documents reportedly relating to Bin Hammam, a former FIFA presidential candidate. Bin Hammam had complained that documents detailing “personal payments” were stolen from his office and were included in an internal AFC audit of his activities as president.
Agencies
CYCLING
Wiggins in crash with van
Tour de France and Olympic time trial champion Bradley Wiggins was to spend the night in hospital yesterday with minor rib injuries after a collision with a van near his home in Lancashire, England. Police were alerted to the incident in Wrightington at 6pm after reports of a road traffic accident. Wiggins, 32, often rides the roads near his home where he lives with his wife and two children. “His family are aware,” said police, adding they had spoken with the van’s driver. Wiggins became the first Briton to win the Tour de France in July with Team Sky. “He is being kept in hospital overnight for observation, but the injuries he has sustained are not thought to be serious, and he is expected to make a full and speedy recovery,” Team Sky said in a statement.
CRICKET
Finn, Broad get rest
Bowlers Steven Finn and Stuart Broad were left out of England’s final warm-up match yesterday as the pace duo race against time to be fit for the first Test against India starting on Thursday next week. Finn has a thigh injury which makes him doubtful for the Test in Ahmedabad, while Broad is nursing a bruised heel. England also rested pace spearhead James Anderson and went into the four-day match against Haryana without their four frontline bowlers. Off-spinner Graeme Swann has returned home to spend time with his sick daughter, but is expected to be back in time for the Ahmedabad Test.
BASEBALL
Grandal gets 50-game ban
Major League Baseball on Wednesday suspended San Diego Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal for 50 games for a positive test for testosterone. Grandal’s suspension is to take effect at the start of next season, Major League Baseball said. Grandal, a 23-year-old from Cuba, played 60 games this year, his rookie season, hitting .297 with eight home runs and 36 RBIs. “I was disappointed to learn of my positive test and under the joint drug program I am responsible for what I put into my body. I must accept responsibility for my actions and serve my suspension,” he said.
OLYMPICS
Winter Games add sports
Russia’s 2014 Olympics will be the biggest and the most expansionist Winter Games with 12 new sports, organizers said yesterday. Sports director Irina Gladkikh outlined the new sports, ranging from women’s ski jumping to a figure skating team championship at a media briefing. Sochi will boast a total of 98 medal events in 15 sports — 69 in the mountains and 29 at the coastal cluster. The Games are scheduled to run from Feb. 7 to Feb. 23.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but