FORMULA ONE
Rosberg extends contract
Nico Rosberg has signed a contract extension with Mercedes that will take the current championship leader through the 2018 season, the Formula One team said yesterday. Rosberg, runner-up for the past two years in the drivers’ championship behind teammate Lewis Hamilton, has 19 wins and 25 pole positions since starting his Formula One career as a test driver for Williams in 2005. “A special moment for me, of course ... signing that piece of paper,” Rosberg said. “I look forward to the future.” Rosberg joined Mercedes AMG Petronas in 2010 and leads the championship with five wins and 168 points. Hamilton has 167 points. Mercedes has won nine of the first 10 races this season and 41 of the last 48.
CRICKET
Kohli puts India in charge
Virat Kohli stroked a commanding 12th Test century to put India in control at 302-4 when stumps were drawn on the opening day of the first Test against the West Indies on Thursday. Having chosen to bat first on winning the toss, the Indian captain led the way with a thoroughly authoritative innings of 143 not out, decorated with 16 fours that has so far occupied just over four hours off 197 deliveries. He put on 105 for the third wicket with Shikhar Dhawan, the opening batsman missing out on a three-figure innings of his own when he fell LBW for 84 sweeping at Devendra Bishoo on the stroke of the tea interval. Bishoo’s mixture of leg-breaks and googlies were the greatest threat to the Indians throughout a long, tiring day for the home side at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
NBA
All-Star Game moved
Next Year’s NBA All-Star Game is being moved out of Charlotte, North Carolina, given the NBA’s objections to a state law decried as discriminatory against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, the league said on Thursday. The NBA has been opposed to House Bill 2, or HB2, since it was passed in March and tried to work with local governments to change the law before ultimately making a decision of relocating its mid-February exhibition. “While we recognize that the NBA cannot choose the law in every city, state, and country in which we do business, we do not believe we can successfully host our All-Star festivities in Charlotte in the climate created by HB2,” the league said in a statement. The NBA also said a new location for next year’s All-Star Game will be made in the coming weeks.
TENNIS
Johnson upsets Harrison
Fifth-seeded Steve Johnson ended qualifier Ryan Harrison’s season-best run in the Citi Open’s third round, winning the all-American matchup 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday. Johnson broke Harrison once in each set, did not face a break point himself and ended the match with a 209kph ace. Johnson next faces top-seeded John Isner or No. 15 Marcos Baghdatis in the quarter-finals. Last year, Isner beat Johnson in the Citi Open semi-finals. Also on Thursday, No. 13 Ivo Karlovic hit 21 aces and eliminated No. 3 Bernard Tomic 7-6 (4), 6-3. In the women’s action, third-seeded Monica Puig lost to Lauren Davis 6-4, 6-2, while fourth-seeded Kristina Mladenovic beat 2013 Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki 6-3, 6-3.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite