CYCLING
Gallopin wins Paris-Nice leg
Tony Gallopin took command of the Paris-Nice with a solo success on Nice’s celebrated Promenade des Anglais in Saturday’s sixth and penultimate stage. The French hope went into the closing time-trial with a 35-second lead over Australia’s Richie Porte, and 37 seconds over the former holder of the yellow jersey, Polish rival Michal Kwiatkowski. Gallopin seized control of the 180.5km ride from Vente a full 30km from the finish. He was followed across the line by a group led by Slovenian Simon Spilak and Portugal’s Rui Costa. The race concluded yesterday with a 9.6km time-trial on the Col d’Eze.
MOTORCYCLING
Eslick claims Daytona 200
Danny Eslick won the Daytona 200 for the second straight year with a last-lap pass of Josh Herrin in the final turn at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday. Eslick’s win made him the 12th driver to win the race in consecutive years. The last was Mat Mladin in 2000-2001. Eslick pitted for fuel on the 54th lap while leading, but retained the lead coming out of the pits. Herrin then closed in quickly and when the final lap began, his Yamaha was within a second of Eslick’s Suzuki. In the high-banked turns, Herrin grabbed control. When the riders emerged from the course’s chicane, Herrin had a seemingly secure advantage. However, Eslick tucked in and drafted off Herrin’s bike, then nudged by him on the outside coming out of the final turn and held on to win.
SOCCER
Olympic hosts to be decided
Sao Paulo officials say the city might not participate in the Olympic soccer tournament because of the high costs involved in the competition. Officials say they are analyzing the list of requirements for the tournament to see if it will be possible to participate. Brazilian Sports Secretary Celso Jatene told the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper the city is “not guaranteed” as a host. Sao Paulo was pre-selected by local organizers as one of the six football cities for next year’s Olympic Games, along with Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Salvador and Manaus. FIFA has the final say on the host cities. FIFA’s Organising Committee for the Olympic Football Tournaments are scheduled to meet in Zurich next week to discuss the issue. The governing body hinted Manaus might be dropped because it is too far from Rio.
GOLF
Lead shared in Tshwane
Six players were tied for the lead on Saturday heading into the final round of the Tshwane Open in South Africa. Adrian Otaegui of Spain had a two-shot lead overnight, but shot a two-over 72 and was joined at the top of the leaderboard by Englishman David Horsey, South Africans George Coetzee, Trevor Fisher Jr and Wallie Coetsee, and Scotland’s Craig Lee. They were all on nine-under 201. Lee made the biggest move with his 66 at the Pretoria Country Club. Two other South Africans, Ockie Strydom and Erik van Rooyen, were a shot behind at the final event of a three-tournament swing for the European Tour in South Africa.
ATHLETICS
Bolt cruises in Kingston
Jamaican Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt cruised to victory in his first individual race of the season, clocking 46.37 seconds over 400m at the GC Foster Classic in Kingston on Saturday. Bolt used the race as part of his build-up for the upcoming season, where he plans to defend his 100m and 200m sprint titles at the IAFF World Championships in Beijing in August.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care