CRICKET
Bangladesh coach quits
Shane Jurgensen has quit as Bangladesh head coach after a string of poor performances by the squad sparked severe criticism from the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Jurgensen sent a letter from his home in Australia to the board saying that he would leave his post after the completion of Bangladesh’s limited-overs series against India, scheduled to be held in June. The board on Monday confirmed it received Jurgensen’s resignation, but is yet to formally accept it because board president Nazmul Hasan is away in Singapore. Jurgensen steered Bangladesh to a one-day-international series win against New Zealand, before losing a series to Sri Lanka and conducting miserable Asia Cup and ICC World Twenty20 Wolrd Cup campaigns. Following the World Twenty20, Hassan said he was considering radical changes in the team and its support staff. Bangladeshi media at the time reported that a change in the coaching position was imminent and that the new coach would likely need to have some batting pedigree.
ICE HOCKEY
Top defensemen nominated
Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins, Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks and Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators have been named as finalists for the James Norris Memorial Trophy, given to the NHL’s top defenseman, the league said on Monday. Chara, a six-time finalist who won the award in the 2008-2009 season, averaged a team-high 24 minutes, 39 seconds of ice time per game, nearly three minutes more than the next-closest player. Keith, a two-time finalist who captured the award for the 2009-2010 campaign, led all defensemen with 55 assists and ranked second among blueliners with 61 points, while playing a team-high average of 24 minutes, 38 seconds per game. Weber, a two-time runner-up for the trophy, ranked first among defensemen with 23 goals.
TENNIS
Busta advances in Portugal
Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain ousted eighth-seeded Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 6-1, 7-6 (3) on Monday to reach the second round of the Portugal Open. Carreno Busta broke his opponent five times in the match, but also lost his serve three times in the second set before prevailing in the tiebreaker. Both players struggled with their first serve, as Carreno Busta landed just 51 percent of his to 47 percent for Kukushkin. In the only other match on Monday in Oeiras, Portugal, Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan defeated Adrian Mannarino of France 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
TENNIS
Delbonis beats Davydenko
Federico Delbonis of Argentina beat two-time champion Nikolay Davydenko 6-2, 7-6 (4) on Monday to reach the second round of the BMW Open. The 44th-ranked Delbonis never faced a break point and broke the Russian twice in the first set to take control of the match. German wild-card entry Dustin Brown also advanced by ousting big-serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) in a match that saw no breaks of serve and only one break point for each player. Brown will play top-seeded Fabio Fognini of Italy in the second round of the tournament in Munich, Germany. In Monday’s other matches, Alejandro Falla of Colombia defeated Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-2, 6-1, and Marinko Matosevic of Australia advanced when Michal Przysiezny of Poland retired while leading 6-2, 5-6.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two