SOCCER
Two killed in Morocco
Two people were killed and 51 injured in Morocco’s largest city on Saturday when rival fans of the Raja de Casablanca club brawled after a home game. The running battles, in which the rival fans threw flares and ripped up parts of the Stade Mohamed V, came despite a 2-1 victory for the home team over Chabab Rif Al Hoceima of Al Hoceima in northern Morocco. Moroccan media said 11 cars parked on streets outside the stadium had been pelted with stones. Security forces eventually quelled the violence and injured people were evacuated to hospitals, authorities said. Prosecutors have opened an inquiry into the fan trouble and police had made 10 arrests.
ATHLETICS
Eaton wins at indoors
Ashton Eaton captured his third straight heptathlon title at the world indoor track and field championships, taking all the suspense out of the competition with another dominating performance. The only real drama was whether he could break his own indoor world mark, but an exhausted Eaton did not have a burst in the 1,000m, the final event of seven. He finished with 6,470 points — 175 behind the indoor mark he set four years ago in Istanbul, Turkey. Eaton’s wife, Brianne Theisen-Eaton of Canada, won the pentathlon title the day before with an incredible performance in the last event. Eaton now has six straight major titles, including gold at the 2012 London Olympics.
SOCCER
Mourinho linked to United
Jose Mourinho has signed a pre-contract agreement with Manchester United with a view to replacing Louis van Gaal as manager of the English giants next season, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported yesterday. Citing sources from Gestifute, the agency company owned by Mourinho’s representative Jorge Mendes, El Pais suggested that a deal has been struck that could see the former Chelsea boss make £15 million (US$21.7 million), even if he does not end up taking charge at Old Trafford. If United do not complete the deal by May 1, Mourinho will be entitled to £5 million compensation. Should negotiations drag on beyond June 1 or break down, the 20-time English champions would owe the Portuguese a further £10 million. Mourinho was sacked by Chelsea in December last year after losing nine out the first 16 games of their Premier League defense. “I look forward to the future,” Mourinho told BT Sport this week. “I want my football back, time flies and July will be just around the corner.”
GOLF
Jason Day maintains lead
Jason Day, seeking his eighth PGA Tour victory, rebounded from a stumbling start to preserve a two-shot lead after Saturday’s rain-soaked third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida. Two ahead overnight, the world No. 3 bogeyed the par-three second after finding a bunker off the tee, but birdied three of the next six holes on the way to a two-under 70 at a soggy Bay Hill. Though Day also bogeyed the 11th, he broke two strokes clear of a tightly bunched leaderboard with a two-putt birdie at the par-five 16th before parring the last two holes to post a 15-under total of 201. “I feel like I stayed patient to grind out a two-under par,” Day told reporters.
GOLF
Chawrasia wins in India
India’s S.S.P. Chawrasia shot a one-under-par 71 to secure a win by two shots at the Hero Indian Open in New Delhi yesterday. South Korea’s Wang Jeung-hun (68) and India’s Anirban Lahiri (69) shared second place.
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
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