CLIMBING
Ogre II search called off
The families of two well-known Utah climbers who went missing on an icy mountain peak in Pakistan have called off the search for them. Jonathan Thesenga, a representative for one of the climbers’ sponsors, on Saturday said that the families of Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson made the “extremely difficult decision” based on how much time had passed and the continuously stormy weather. Search team members, as well as expert observers, agreed the chances of finding any sign of the two were extremely slim, said Thesenga, global sports marketing manager for Utah-based Black Diamond Equipment, which was sponsoring Dempster. A rescue effort was launched on Sunday last week near northern Pakistan’s Choktoi Glacier after the men failed to return to base camp on Aug. 26. They were attempting to climb the north face of a peak known as Ogre II.
GOLF
Chappell leads in Boston
Kevin Chappell did just about everything right on Saturday, even when making his lone bogey, on his way to a seven-under-par 64 that gave him a one-shot lead in the Deutsche Bank Championship and another chance at his first PGA Tour victory. Chappell pitched in for eagle on No. 7 and made a 10.67m birdie putt on the next hole. Even better was the 4.57m bogey putt on the 13th hole, and his great escape from a bad shot when trying to lay up on the par-five 18th. He was at 11-under 131, one shot ahead of PGA champion Jimmy Walker (64) and Paul Casey (66). Dustin Johnson was poised to join Chappell in the lead until an approach into the woods led to a double-bogey on the par-five closing hole.
SOCCER
Honda berates teammates
Japan midfielder Keisuke Honda has berated his younger teammates after their shock loss to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and demanded more effort from them in their next World Cup qualifier against Thailand on Tuesday. A profligate Japan lost 2-1 at home to 74th-ranked UAE in their Group B opener on Thursday and defeat in Bangkok would be another serious setback to their hopes of advancing from a section that includes heavyweights Australia and Saudi Arabia. “A surprising number of players watch and read the news so they know what I say,” Honda, who scored his team’s only goal against the UAE, told Japanese media after training in Bangkok. “I do not think they are going to change straight away, but maybe become aware of the fact that they have to make more of an effort,” he said. “I want to give them the opportunity to change their mindset. I have to pull the team forward when it needs pulling.”
FOOTBALL
Officers threaten boycott
The Santa Clara Police chief on Saturday vowed to continue providing a safe environment at San Francisco home games after the union representing his officers threatened to boycott policing the stadium if the 49ers do not discipline Colin Kaepernick for criticizing police and refusing to stand during the national anthem. Police chief Michael Sellers said in a statement that he would urge union leadership to put citizens’ safety first. Kaepernick’s “blanket statements disparaging the law enforcement profession are hurtful and do not help bring the country together,” Sellers said. “As distasteful as his actions are, these actions are protected by the [US] Constitution. Police officers are here to protect the rights of every person, even if we disagree with their position.”
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