GOLF
Coetzee triumphs in playoff
South Africa’s George Coetzee got the better of Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen in a playoff to win the inaugural Mauritius Open in Port Louis on Sunday, triumphing at the second extra hole. The 28-year-old, who was the highest-ranked player in the field, led by one shot at the start of the day and found himself three clear after birdies at three of the opening five holes. However, he finished with a two-under round of 69 and only secured victory after registering three successive birdies at the 18th hole — once in regulation and then twice in the playoff. A playoff was required after Coetzee and Olesen — who had led at the halfway stage — finished tied on 13-under, one shot better off than Mardan Mamat of Singapore.
RUGBY SEVENS
Fiji victorious in Glasgow
Fiji won the Glasgow Sevens, the penultimate round of this season’s World Sevens Series, by coming from behind to beat New Zealand 24-17 in the final on Sunday, but there was a silver lining for New Zealand in that their run to the final helped them secure a place at next year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where Rugby Sevens will be making its debut. Apisai Domolailai came off the bench to score two second-half tries, with Fiji coming from 12-5 down at the break to win their fourth title this season. Victory also saw Fiji move ahead of South Africa in the race for the title.
ICE HOCKEY
US join Canada in quarters
The US, the Czech Republic and Russia joined Canada and Sweden in the quarter-finals of the World Championships on Sunday. Finland did not play, but also made it to the last eight, leaving only two quarter-final places up for grabs. New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson improved his record at the tournament to six goals after scoring twice and adding an assist to help the US beat Slovenia 3-1. In Group B’s other game, defending champions Russia struggled past Slovakia 3-2 in overtime. The US lead Group B ahead of Russia, Finland and Belarus, while Slovenia were relegated as they sit last in the group with zero points from six games. In Group A, Canada swept Switzerland 7-2 and the Czech Republic beat Germany 4-2 after trailing their rivals twice. Canada lead Group A ahead of Sweden, the Czech Republic and Switzerland.
CYCLING
Cav powers past Sagan
Britain’s Mark Cavendish powered past Slovakia’s Peter Sagan just before the finish line on Sunday to win the first stage of the Tour of California. Cavendish, a 25-time Tour de France stage winner, raced to his 10th victory of the season. He also won Tour of California stages in Sacramento in 2010 and last year, also on the opening day. Jean-Pierre Drucker of Luxembourg was third in the mass sprint. Andrew Talansky of the US, a favorite for the overall title, withdrew due to a respiratory problem.
ATHLETICS
Gebrselassie retires again
Ethiopian legend Haile Gebrselassie on Sunday announced his retirement from competitive running following a career spanning 25 years after finishing 16th in the Great Manchester Run. “I will retire as a competitive runner, not as a runner, I will never stop running and will continue to be a running ambassador,” Gebrselassie said on his Twitter account. It is the second time that the 42-year-old has announced his intention to retire. In 2010, he said he was quitting after dropping out of the New York City Marathon with a knee injury, but returned to racing months later.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
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