ICE HOCKEY
Canada, US make semis
Canada swept aside Belarus 9-0 as Dallas forward Tyler Seguin helped himself to a hat-trick in the World Championship quarter-finals in the Czech Republic on Thursday. They joined the US, Russia and the hosts in today’s semi-finals after the US had earlier come from behind to down Switzerland 3-1, while Russia saw off Sweden 5-3 and the Czech Republic beat Finland 5-3. Reaching their first semi-final at the tournament since 2009, Canada trashed hapless Belarus for their eighth win in as many games as they bid for their first world title since 2007.
GOLF
Fisher leads by a shot
Trevor Fisher of South Africa led the Open de Espana by one shot after the opening round in Terrasa on Thursday. His eight birdies were spoiled only by a bogey in his seven-under 65 at Real Club de Golf El Prat. Fisher, who won his first European Tour title in March at the Africa Open, said he “hit one or two loose shots,” but felt he “putted really well.” In a tie for second, a shot back, were Tommy Fleetwood of England, Eduardo de la Riva of Spain and Darren Fichardt of South Africa.
FOOTBALL
Brady appeals his ban
New England quarterback Tom Brady is to fight his four-game NFL suspension over the “Deflategate” scandal, the NFL Players Association said on Thursday, but the union’s demand for a neutral arbitrator was denied. “Given the NFL’s history of inconsistency and arbitrary decisions in disciplinary matters, it is only fair that a neutral arbitrator hear this appeal,” the union said in a statement. However, the NFL said on Thursday night that commissioner Roger Goodell would preside over the appeal. Brady, a four-time Super Bowl champion, was suspended for the first four games of the upcoming season after Ted Wells, the third-party investigator hired by the league, found it was likely that Brady was “at least generally aware” that team equipment personnel deliberately deflated footballs below league minimums before the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts in January.
SOCCER
Argentine matches off
The Argentine Football Association said on Thursday it was suspending all matches this weekend after a fourth-division player died of a head injury sustained during a game. Emanuel Ortega, a player for Buenos Aires club San Martin de Burzaco, fractured his skull last week when a player from rival side Juventud Unida pushed him as they contested the ball, causing him to fall backwards into a perimeter wall. Ortega, 21, died on Thursday morning at a hospital in the Argentine capital after undergoing two operations.
SOCCER
Four hospitalized by spray
Four River Plate players were taken to hospital after they were sprayed with an irritant by fans of bitter rivals Boca Juniors on Thursday, causing their Copa Libertadores derby to be abandoned at halftime. The round-of-16 second leg between the Buenos Aires clubs at the Bombonera was deadlocked at 0-0 when the incident occurred in the tunnel as the players came out for the second half.Leonardo Ponzio, Leonel Vangioni, Matias Kranevitter and Ramires Funes Mori were taken to hospital for treatment for what Argentine radio described as “burns.” The match was called off about an hour after the incident and the River players were escorted from the pitch under an umbrella of riot shields.
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