BASEBALL
Ramirez joins Cubs as coach
Former MLB superstar slugger Manny Ramirez will join the Chicago Cubs as a player-coach for the team’s top developmental club, the Iowa Cubs, general manager Theo Epstein said on Sunday. Ramirez, a lifetime .312 hitter with 555 home runs over 19 seasons, has not appeared in the majors since his five-game stint with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011 ended when he retired after failing a second doping test. In 2009, Ramirez was suspended for 50 games after failing a doping test while with the Los Angeles Dodgers. “I know I am nearing the end of my playing days, but I have a lot of knowledge to pass on to the next generation, both what to do and what not to do,” Ramirez said. Epstein knows Ramirez from their glory days at the Boston Red Sox, when Epstein was general manager for most of Ramirez’s Boston run from 2001 to 2008, during which the Red Sox won the 2004 and 2007 World Series. Yet Epstein made it clear that a majors comeback is not in the cards for the 41-year-old, saying: “While Manny is not and will not be a fit on the Cubs major league roster, we do think at this stage of his life he’s a nice fit as a mentor for some of the young talented hitters we have in the organization.”
RUGBY UNION
Japan book World Cup spot
Japan qualified for next year’s rugby union World Cup by thrashing Hong Kong 49-8 in Tokyo on Sunday, claiming a seventh Asian Five Nations title in the process with their 28th consecutive bonus-point win. Japan’s win upheld their record of appearing in every World Cup to date and they will join South Africa, Samoa, Scotland and the US in Pool B of the 20-team tournament to be be hosted by England next year. Hong Kong can still join them despite their loss at the National Olympic Stadium since they finished second in the standings, but they must first come through the four-team repechage. They will face Uruguay in the semis and, if they win that, either Russia or an African team in the final for the last place in Pool A alongside hosts Wales, Australia and Fiji or the Cook Islands.
ICE HOCKEY
Russia beat Finland in final
Star forwards Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin scored eight minutes apart to lead Russia to a 5-2 victory over Finland in the final of the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships on Sunday for their second title in three years. With Russian President Vladimir Putin looking on, Ovechkin tied the game at 2-2 in the second period with a backhand, before Malkin wristed a shot high into the roof of the net on a power play for the go-ahead goal. Danis Zaripov also scored and added two assists, while Viktor Tikhonov and Sergei Shirokov had one goal each. Earlier, Sweden beat the Czech Republic 3-0 to claim the bronze.
BADMINTON
Japan win first Thomas Cup
Japan clinched their maiden Badminton World Federation Thomas Cup on Sunday after beating Malaysia 3-2 in a hard-fought final. Takuma Ueda’s 21-12, 18-21, 21-17 win over Daren Liew sealed the win for Japan, who were playing in the final for the first time. Malaysia took the lead through world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei, who scored a comfortable 21-12, 21-16 win over fourth-ranked Kenichi Tago, before Japan restored parity via doubles pair Tan Boon Heong and Hoon Thien How. The debutants then took the load through former world junior champion Kento Momoto, who took just 39 minutes to dispose of Chong Wei Feng 21-15, 21-17. Malaysia won the second doubles to draw level at 2-2, but Ueda kept his cool to deny Malaysia a sixth title.
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