TENNIS
Chan crashes out in Ningbo
Taiwan’s Chan Chin-wei crashed out of the first round of the singles at the Yinzhou Bank International tournament in Ningbo, China, yesterday, falling 7-5, 6-3 to China’s Zhu Lin in 1 hour, 32 minutes. In the doubles, Taiwan’s Lee Ya-hsuan teamed up with Tadeja Majeric of Slovenia to defeat Chinese duo Ye Qiu Yu and Zhang Ying 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the quarter-finals. Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei is due to start her singles campaign today against Zhang Ling of Hong Kong, while Chan is teaming up with fellow Taiwanese Chuang Chia-jung in a doubles quarter-final against Poland’s Paula Kania and Ukraine’s Kateryna Kozlova.
SOCCER
Mia Hamm to join Roma
Retired women’s soccer star Mia Hamm and Boston Bruins president Cam Neely were nominated to Serie A club AS Roma’s board of directors on Monday. The 42-year-old Hamm helped the US to two FIFA Women’s World Cup titles, including the inaugural edition in 1991 in China, and won the women’s FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2001 and 2002 — the first two times that honor was given. Hamm is not a club investor, said Roma, which was bought by a group of four Boston executives three years ago. The 49-year-old Neely was a forward for the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins.
BOXING
South Africa’s Mwelase dies
South African boxer Phindile Mwelase died on Saturday after spending two weeks in a coma following a knockout in a fight earlier this month, South African Minister of Sports and Recreation Fikile Mbalula said. The boxer died at a hospital in Pretoria, Mbalula said in a statement posted on the ministry’s Twitter page late on Sunday. The light welterweight fighter was 31, the South African Press Association reported. She had a record of three losses, including the fatal knockout on Oct. 10, and one draw, the association reported, citing boxrec.com.
SOCCER
Referee panned for violence
Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs came under fire on Monday after he failed to show red cards for violent tackles that saw two players seek hospital treatment during FCM Targu Mures’s 1-0 win over Steaua Bucharest on Sunday. Media called Kovacs’s performance shameful after Steaua coach Constantin Galca had to make three substitutions in the first 28 minutes of the game, with strikers Raul Rusescu and Claudiu Keseru and defender Iasmin Latovlevici all injured in fouls. Rusescu, downed by Targu Mures midfielder Gabriel Muresan’s elbow, and Keseru, who suffered concussion after a challenge by midfielder Ousmane N’Doye, were taken to hospital. Hours afterward, Keseru said he could not remember when and why he had been substituted. Steaua accused Kovacs of influencing the outcome of the match. It was Steaua’s first away defeat in the league since Nov. 26, 2012.
SOCCER
Zambia wage row simmers
Zambia’s women’s soccer team ended a three-day sit-in at the office of the Football Association of Zambia over unpaid allowances on Monday. The players claim they were supposed to be paid for their participation in the African Women Championships in Namibia, but association spokesman Nkweto Tembwe said they would only be paid when funds were available. “We won’t be held to ramson by anyone,” he said. The players left the building, but promised to be back today. It is not clear how much they were promised, but they claim they got only US$15.
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
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
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