SOCCER
Di Natale nets four in Coppa
Thirty-six-year-old striker Antonio di Natale scored four goals, including a first-half hat-trick, as Udinese routed Ternana Calcio 5-1 in their Coppa Italia tie on Sunday. Di Natale, who has backtracked on plans to retire, opened his account in the 19th minute, added another 10 minutes later and completed his hat-trick two minutes before halftime. Serie A’s top-scorer in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 — both for the Bianconeri — Di Natale added a fourth in the 75th before Cyril Thereau completed the scoring from a penalty in Udinese coach Andrea Stramaccioni’s first competitive game in charge. Fabio Ceravolo replied for the Serie B side in the 34th minute. In another of Sunday’s third-round ties, Brazilian Eder scored a hat-trick to help UC Sampdoria beat Como 4-1, while Germany forward Miroslav Klose was among the scorers in SS Lazio’s 7-0 demolition of Bassano Virtus 55, where all the goals came in the second half.
BASKETBALL
NZ bolstered by Serbia win
New Zealand enjoyed a major confidence boost ahead of the upcoming FIBA World Cup in Spain after the evergreen Kirk Penney led them to a shock 102-96 win over Serbia in their final warm-up for the 24-nation event. The 33-year old shooting guard racked up 29 points and six assists against the 2009 European Championship runners-up, whose coach Aleksandar Djordjevic expelled forward Vladimir Micov from the national team for dissent. Penney rolled back the years and nailed five of his seven three-point attempts at Pionir Hall in Belgrade. Micov’s dismissal was another blow to Djordjevic’s injury-hit squad, aiming to better their fourth-place finish in 2010, while rekindling past glory when Serbia won a haul of medals within the former Yugoslavia. In Sunday’s game, New Zealand overcame an early nine-point deficit on the back of Penny’s 20 points. Tightly marked in the second half, Penny still delivered crunch shots and also dished out defense-splitting passes to his teammates as the Kiwis silenced the home fans.
CRICKET
ICC probes Gazi’s bowling
Bangladesh’s Sohag Gazi has become the fifth off-spinner to be reported to the International Cricket Council (ICC) recently for an illegal bowling action. The 23-year-old’s action was found suspect in Bangladesh’s 177-run loss in their second one-day international against the West Indies in Grenada on Friday, cricket’s governing body said in a statement. Sri Lanka’s Sachithra Senanayake and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson were reported and then banned from bowling by the council after tests showed they had illegal actions. Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal and Zimbabwe’s Prosper Utseya, both of whom bowl off-spin, were also reported earlier this month. Gazi, who has played 10 Tests and 19 one-day internationals, has to undergo testing within 21 days as per council regulations, but can continue bowling until the results are known.
RUGBY UNION
NZRU exempts Williams
The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) has opened the way for code-hopping star Sonny Bill Williams to return to the All Blacks, ruling he will not have to play a match to be eligible for the team’s November tour to the US and Europe. Union rules require a player to take part in a domestic competition — Super Rugby or the National Championships — before being considered for All Blacks selection in the same season. The NZRU board has waived that rule in Williams’ case, making him available when he returns to rugby from rugby league next month.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB