HORSE RACING
Nyquist wins in Kentucky
Nyquist amply lived up to his favorite’s billing, winning the 142nd Kentucky Derby on Saturday to become the eighth unbeaten horse to capture the first jewel of US racing’s Triple Crown. Trained by Doug O’Neill and ridden by Mario Gutierrez, Nyquist went off a 2-1 favorite at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, and posted his eighth victory in as many starts. The last undefeated Kentucky Derby winner was Seattle Slew in 1977. In a crowded field of 20, Nyquist broke well out of the 13th gate and settled in as Danzing Candy took the lead. Gun Runner moved to the front at the far turn, but Nyquist surged past as they entered the finishing straight and beat the fast-finishing Exaggerator by 1-1/4 lengths. Gun Runner was third, another 3-1/4 lengths back. “He’s just such a special horse,” O’Neill said of Nyquist. “You see it in his eye on a daily basis. He’s just first class.”
ICE HOCKEY
Czech Republic keep lead
The Czech Republic, seeking their first ice hockey world title since 2010, maintained their lead in Group A of the world championships with a 4-3 shootout win over Latvia on Saturday. “There are no weak teams in our group,” Czech forward David Pastrnak said. “Latvia got two points in two games against Sweden and us and it’s obviously going to be tough for any team to advance into the play-offs. It means that now every point matters and we’re very happy we’ve got the second win here.” In the last Group B game, the USA beat Belarus 6-3 in Saint Petersburg. Winger Damien Fleury meanwhile netted the shootout winner to give France a hard-fought 3-2 win over Germany. The result improved France’s all-time record to five wins and five losses against Germany at the worlds. “It was good for me to score the winner,” Fleury said. “I was under pressure as I’ve missed too many chances during training camp, so this goal was great for my confidence.”
ICE HOCKEY
Wild name new coach
The NHL’s Minnesota Wild named Bruce Boudreau their new coach on Saturday, barely more than a week after Boudreau was sacked by the Anaheim Ducks. Boudreau has a lifetime coaching record of 409-192-80 in nine NHL seasons. His 0.659 winning percentage ranks first among active coaches and he became the fastest coach to 400 wins (in 663 games) on March 5. However, after five seasons in Anaheim — a spell in which he led the team to four playoff appearances — he was fired after the Ducks fell in seven games to the Nashville Predators in the first round.
SOCCER
Kompany ruled out
Belgium suffered a mighty Euro 2016 blow on Saturday when inspirational skipper Vincent Kompany was ruled out of the tournament after failing to recover from injury. “I’ll miss the Euros. To me that’s very sad news,” the 30-year-old Manchester City captain wrote on his Facebook page. “So I could be standing here, feeling sorry for myself. I could fear for my career, as others may do. I could give up... That is not me.” Kompany has been dogged by a series of injuries for most of the season and the defender limped out of the Champions League semi-final defeat to Real Madrid on Wednesday last week after just 10 minutes with a groin problem. In Kompany’s absence, it is expected that Chelsea’s Eden Hazard will captain Belgium at Euro 2016 which starts in France on June 10.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and