CYCLING
Chaves takes lead in Vuelta
Esteban Chaves of Colombia timed his final charge perfectly to win the Vuelta a Espana’s sixth stage, notching up his second stage win to take the overall race lead on Thursday. The 25-year-old fended off challenges by Daniel Martin of Ireland and Tom Dumoulin of the Netherlands up the final ascent and finished in four hours, 46 minutes, 16 seconds. Martin finished second, five seconds behind, and Dumoulin third on the same time. The Orica-GreenEdge rider acknowledged he had done something “pretty big” by winning two stages in the 11-stage race, but insisted he had to “keep his feet on the ground.” Chaves leads overall on 21 hours, 55 minutes, 13 seconds, with Dumoulin second overall and Martin third.
BASKETBALL
‘Chocolate Thunder’ dies
Darryl Dawkins, the former NBA star whose powerful dunks earned him the nickname “Chocolate Thunder,” died on Thursday of a heart attack at the age of 58, his family said. “It is with great sadness that we share the passing of our beloved husband and father, Darryl Dawkins, who succumbed today to a heart attack,” his family said in a statement issued through the NBA. “Darryl touched the hearts and spirits of so many with his big smile and personality, ferocious dunks, but more than anything, his huge, loving heart.” In 1975, Dawkins was the first player drafted out of high school into the NBA — as the fifth overall selection by the Philadelphia 76ers. He went on to play 15 seasons with four teams: the Sixers (1975-1982), the New Jersey Nets (1982-1987), the Utah Jazz (1988) and the Detroit Pistons (1988-1989). His dunks — which he dubbed with names such as “Rim Wrecker” — were so powerful that he shattered two backboards in 1979. After his NBA career, he spent two years playing in Italy before joining the Harlem Globetrotters. “The NBA family is heartbroken by the sudden and tragic passing of Darryl Dawkins,” the league said in a statement. “We will always remember Darryl for his incredible talent, his infectious enthusiasm and his boundless generosity.”
SOCCER
Chelsea make Zhang offer
Chelsea have made an offer for China and Guangzhou Evergrande defender Zhang Linpeng, Chinese media reported yesterday. The Premier League champions sent a contract on Wednesday and hope to secure the 26-year-old right back before the summer transfer window closes on Tuesday, Titan Sports Weekly said. “I’m very happy and very excited to finally have this formal invitation,” the newspaper quoted Zhang as saying. “I’ve worked hard and waited these five-six years for my dream of playing overseas, and finally have recognition from the English Premier League.” Zhang and the clubs were working through the terms of his transfer, Titan said, which was likely to be a loan deal.
SOCCER
Rehman critical of fake turf
Pahang FC’s experienced Pakistani defender Zesh Rehman has criticized the Asian Football Confederation for allowing AFC Cup matches to be played on artificial turf, saying it is unsafe and unfair. Rehman’s Malaysian side were thrashed 4-0 on the fake grass in Dushanbe by Tajikistan champions FC Istiklol in the first leg of their quarter-final on Wednesday, leaving them all but out of the second-tier continental tournament. “I have played in the AFC Cup for four years out of the past five and have never previously played on an artificial surface,” Rehman told ESPN FC.
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