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Sweden held 1-1 at home
Sweden, buoyed by the return of captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic, drew 1-1 with the Czech Republic as both sides continued their preparations for Euro 2016 on Tuesday. The home side took the lead in the 14th minute when Marcus Berg converted a cross with a first-time effort past Czech goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik. The Czech Republic leveled in the 26th minute through Matej Vydra’s diving header. Sweden controlled much of the game and created a number of chances throughout, forcing Vaclik into several sharp saves. Czech Republic coach Pavel Vrba used a number of young players as he continues to experiment with different lineups ahead of Euro 2016.
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ROI draw with Slovakia
Paul McShane’s own-goal denied the Republic of Ireland (ROI) a win over Slovakia in Dublin as both sides used Tuesday’s 2-2 draw to fine-tune their preparations for Euro 2016. Slovakia, who are to face both England and Wales alongside Russia in Group B at the tournament, grabbed a 14th-minute lead when Miroslav Stoch fired home Erik Sabo’s cross. To add insult to injury, goalkeeper Rob Elliot was stretchered off with a knee injury after appearing to catch his studs in the turf, delivering a potentially cruel blow to both his Euro hopes and Newcastle United’s bid to avoid relegation from the English Premier League. Ireland, though, responded seven minutes later after Long went to ground in a challenge with Slovakia goalkeeper Matus Kozacik, with the Southampton striker tucking away the resulting spot-kick. Long won a second penalty within three minutes after he was upended by Skrtel, but this time, he gave way to James McClean, who beat Kozacik to put Martin O’Neill’s side 2-1 in front. However, McShane, who endured a torrid evening in his first international start in almost three years, handed Slovakia an equalizer in first-half stoppage-time when he turned in Peter Pekarik’s cross at the near post.
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Scotland defeat Denmark
Scotland earned victory as Matt Ritchie’s early goal saw off Denmark at Hampden Park on Tuesday. AFC Bournemouth’s Ritchie took advantage of hesitation between Denmark captain Daniel Agger and visiting goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel to slot home after seven minutes. Denmark, who, like Scotland, are looking ahead to the World Cup qualifiers after missing out on Euro 2016, enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, but were lightweight in attack.
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Turkey beat Austria
Turkey fired another warning to their Euro 2016 rivals when Arda Turan scored with a delightful lob to give them a 2-1 win away at fellow qualifiers Austria on Tuesday. Turkey extended their unbeaten run to 13 games since their home defeat against Brazil in a friendly in November 2014. Austria goalkeeper Ramazan Ozcan, given a rare outing by coach Marcel Koller, sent a clearance straight to Turan, who floated the ball back over him from long range, with the goalkeeper stranded on the edge of his area 11 minutes into the second half. Koller, who rarely experiments, made four changes to his usual lineup, with Rubin Okotie replacing Marc Janko in attack. Austria went ahead when Zlatko Junuzovic scored from a chance set up by Marko Arnautovic in the 22nd minute. Turkey equalized two minutes before halftime with a trademark free-kick from midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu.
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