CRICKET
TCA win Chiayi tournament
Taipei’s Taiwan Cricket Association (TCA) powered their way to the first major tournament trophy of the year by beating the Taiwan Daredevils in Chiayi yesterday. TCA Wicketkeeper Dev Devendran hit 11 fours and a six on his way to 67. His side won in the 14th over with four overs and five wickets remaining when Manoj Kriplani hit a six with the scores level. Earlier, the Daredevils saw off Taipei’s Pakistan Cricket Club in the first semi-final, which required a Super Over after the match was tied. In the other semi-final, TCA beat hosts the Taiwan Stars.
RUGBY LEAGUE
Knights score emtional win
The Newcastle Knights, with critically injured teammate Alex McKinnon’s name on their jerseys, were easy 30-0 winners yesterday over the Cronulla Sharks in Australia’s National Rugby League. McKinnon suffered a career-ending broken neck after being tackled in a match the previous weekend and remains in stable condition in a Melbourne hospital, unsure of the extent of the injury. Captain Kurt Gidley said the Knights have dedicated the rest of the season to their teammate, and at the recommendation of coach Wayne Bennett and senior players, will wear McKinnon’s name and club number, 232, on their jerseys starting with yesterday’s game. Center Joey Leilua scored three tries for the Knights in their home win. In the other match yesterday, Canberra beat South Sydney 30-18, the Rabbitohs’ third consecutive loss.
HORSE RACING
African Story wins in Dubai
African Story, ridden by Silvestre De Sousa and trained by Saeed bin Suroor, won the US$10 million Dubai World Cup for Godolphin on Saturday. Mukhadram took second place, with Cat O’Mountain third among 16 runners in the 2km contest, the world’s richest race, at the Meydan racecourse. “It’s an amazing feeling and he just proved he’s the best,” De Sousa said of the seven-year-old African Story, a 12-1 chance who was fifth last season. “He was very unlucky here last time when he banged his head in the stalls, but he has proved he’s the boy.”
RUGBY UNION
US qualifies for World Cup
The US booked a berth in the 2015 Rugby World Cup with a 32-13 victory over Uruguay on Saturday at Kennesaw State University in Atlanta, Georgia. The US advanced to the tournament on a 59-40 aggregate score after they tied Uruguay 27-27 in the first match of the two-leg playoff qualifier. “I am really proud of the guys,” Eagles captain Todd Clever said. “We had some bad bounces in the first game and some bad bounces in the first half [on Saturday] so it took longer than we expected to get on top. But in the second half, the leaders led and we got front foot ball.” The US became the 16th team to secure a spot in the World Cup and are in Pool B along with South Africa, Samoa, Scotland. Uruguay still have a chance to qualify through a repecharge tournament. Andrew Suniula and Shalom Suniula scored tries with less than 15 minutes remaining to help seal the win for the Eagles. Uruguay came out quickly, taking advantage of some sloppy ball handling by the US to lead 13-3 at half-time. Andrew Suniula was penalized after he threw a punch at Uruguay’s Francisco Bulanti. The US took their first lead of the match, 17-13, at the 63-minute mark when scrum-half Mike Petri scored from 30m out. It was Petri’s first try for the US since June 2012 against Georgia. Shalom Suniula scored three minutes later and just a minute later his brother Andrew slid in for the final try of the match.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and