ICE HOCKEY
Switzerland win again
Switzerland scored three quick-fire goals in the third period to beat the Czech Republic 5-2 on Monday and continue their stunning start to the world championships. Andres Ambuhl gave Switzerland the lead with a power-play goal at the end of the first period, before Nino Niederreiter doubled their advantage in the second. Jiri Hudler scored twice to bring the Czech Republic back into the game, but the Swiss turned up the heat in the third, firing three goals without reply to move to the top of the group on eight points. In the day’s second game, an ineffective Sweden limped to a 2-1 victory over Belarus. The Swedes fell behind in the first period, but Oscar Lindberg leveled the scores when he netted five minutes into the second. Fredrik Pettersson scored the winner for Sweden with eight and a half minutes left. Co-hosts Finland endured a frustrating first period against France in Helsinki, but Juhamatti Aaltonen created one goal and scored another to turn the game in their favor and they ran out 3-1 winners. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare pulled a goal back for France at the start of the third period, but Ville Viitaluoma netted eight minutes later for the Finns to put the game beyond reach. In the early game in Helsinki, Germany lost 3-2 to Slovakia, Tomas Zaborsky scoring twice in the third period to help his team to victory.
TENNIS
Tomic’s dad charged
The father of Australian player Bernard Tomic has been charged with assaulting his son’s hitting partner after allegedly headbutting Thomas Drouet ahead of this week’s Madrid Open. A Madrid court said on Monday that John Tomic, who is also his son’s coach, disputed the charges and will face trial next Tuesday. Drouet, of Monaco, told Australian newspaper the Herald Sun that John Tomic headbutted him on Saturday during a scuffle outside the players’ hotel. Drouet said he has been verbally abused for months by the elder Tomic and that the two had been arguing over whether he should continue to get paid as a training partner. The newspaper published pictures on its Web site of Drouet with his nose heavily bandaged and wearing a neck brace.
RUGBY UNION
Leinster appoint O’Connor
Heineken Cup holders Leinster have appointed Leicester’s Matt O’Connor as their new head coach following the departure of Joe Schmidt to take charge of the Ireland national team. Australian O’Connor, who has been head coach of Leicester since 2010, is to begin a three-year deal at the Irish provincial side in July when New Zealander Schmidt steps down.
GOLF
Rules now in Chinese
China’s golf boom has been in full swing for more than a decade, but officials have finally moved to close a surprising loophole by translating the sport’s rules into Chinese. Now China’s players and officials — and its unruly fans — can become experts in the sport’s complex etiquette after the move by the China Golf Association (CGA) and rules body the Royal and Ancient Golf Club. Zhang Xiaoning, executive vice-president and general secretary of the CGA, called the move “crucial” as China transitions from rapidly growing upstart to a mainstay of the world game. “Translating the rules into Chinese will help the Chinese fans to learn how to appreciate the sport and will also assist local clubs in training their members about world-accepted standards,” he said, according to the China Daily.
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