SOCCER
Hertha BSC tie Hannover 96
Valentin Stocker scored seven minutes from time to earn Hertha BSC a 1-1 draw at Hannover 96 in the Bundesliga on Friday. Stocker’s goal canceled out Christian Schulz’s 75th-minute strike for Hannover, who remained winless in 12 matches. The draw did little to reduce Hannover’s relegation worries, while improving Berlin’s position. Berlin are unbeaten in six matches under new coach Pal Dardai. Schulz scored after a corner from Hiroshi Kiyotake. Salif Sane’s effort was blocked, but Schulz prodded the rebound home. Stocker equalized with a spectacular left-foot volley from the edge of the penalty area after a free kick was headed his way by Hannover defender Marcelo. Hannover’s Lars Stindl hit the post early in the second half in a match that saw few clear chances.
HORSE RACING
McCoy eyes third win in row
Tony McCoy warmed up for his final Grand National by winning the big race at the Aintree festival meeting for the second day in succession on Friday. The 19-time champion jockey, who won the Aintree Hurdle on Jezki on Thursday, was a runaway winner of the Melling Chase, another Grade One race, as he steered 3-1 joint favorite Don Cossack to victory by 26 lengths. The thousands who cheered him into the winner’s enclosure are likely willing to bet McCoy will repeat the trick for a third day in a row when he partners with Shutthefrontdoor, his record 20th and last ride in the famous steeplechase. Of the £150 million (US$219.47 million) likely to be wagered on the outcome, the lion’s share is to be pumped on the 40-year-old McCoy. It is estimated it will cost British bookmakers £50 million should Shutthefrontdoor win. If the fairytale occurs, McCoy has promised to retire on the spot instead of waiting until the end of the season later this month.
MOTORSPORTS
Dog delays MotoGP practice
A stray dog halted first practice for today’s MotoGP race at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday after the animal ran onto the rain-soaked track in front of riders. The incident, on the same day that a spectator caused alarm by running across the main straight in Formula One practice at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, brought out the red flags for safety reasons. The dog was caught and the session, which had already started late due to delays in getting marshals into position, resumed after a 20-minute delay. “Dog gone. Let’s get back on track,” the Texan circuit’s Twitter feed announced. Italian Andrea Dovizioso was fastest on a Ducati, ahead of Spain’s double world champion Marc Marquez on a Honda.
FOOTBALL
Steelers’ Polamalu to retire
Pittsburgh Steelers great Troy Polamalu announced his retirement on Friday after making his mark as one of the league’s premier safeties over a dozen NFL seasons. Polamalu played his entire career with the Steelers after they selected him with the 16th overall pick in the 2003 draft. He was selected to eight Pro Bowls and was a five-time All-Pro, the last coming in 2011. “Since we drafted him in 2003, Troy Polamalu has been an outstanding player and person,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said on Friday. “On behalf of the entire Steelers organization and the Steelers Nation, I am happy to be able to publicly celebrate and thank Troy for his many contributions to the Steelers. His passion for the game of football on the field and his willingness to be a contributor to the community make him a very special person.”
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
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
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier