MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
Huang, Lee to fight for title
Hawaiian Angela Lee is to defend her women’s atomweight title against Taiwan’s Jenny Huang when ONE Championship hosts its second mixed martial arts promotion in Thailand on March 11. Canadian-born Lee, 20, improved her perfect career record to six wins when she won the title in a unanimous decision against Mei Yamaguchi in May last year. The fight in Bangkok is to be her first defense. “The goal for 2017 is to be an active champion and to stay busy... Since my last fight, I’ve been training extremely hard, improving my skill set and I can’t wait to show everyone,” Lee said. Huang also has a perfect record, winning her fifth fight against April Osenio by submission last month. Five years older than Lee, Huang was later to start her career. “I have been working so hard to come to this point in my career, and now that I’m finally here it all feels very surreal to me,” Huang said. “Inside the cage I only have one goal and that’s to win this bout at any cost. She better be prepared for what I bring to the table, because I will go to battle with my full arsenal.”
ATHLETICS
IAAF issues Russia protocol
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has provided new guidelines for Russians hoping to compete in a neutral capacity while their country remains banned from track and field competitions. The IAAF said it is assessing evidence and intelligence relating to about 200 Russian athletes gathered by World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren. Applications from athletes for neutral status would also be scrutinized using several criteria to prove they are clean, including: Whether any support staff, including medics and coaches, have been implicated in a doping violation; whether there have been any atypical findings in doping samples or concerns about their biological passports; and whether any of their samples in storage are due to be retested. The IAAF said athletes do not necessarily have to have been tested outside of Russia, but must have been part of a fully-compliant program for a “sufficiently long period to provide substantial objective assurance of integrity.”
ICE HOCKEY
Blue Jackets extend streak
The Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday inched closer to NHL history, notching their 16th consecutive victory with a 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers. Cam Atkinson and William Karlsson scored power-play goals and Nick Foligno added a third-period goal in the win, which put the Blue Jackets one victory away from tying the 1992-1993 Pittsburgh Penguins for most successive NHL victories. The Blue Jackets struck first when Atkinson scored 1 minute, 12 seconds into the first power play of the night after Jesse Puljujarvi was called for holding on Jack Johnson. Atkinson collected a feed from Zach Werenski in the high slot and rebounded the puck in off an Oilers defenseman with 7 minutes, 28 seconds left in the opening period. Edmonton equalized 5 minutes, 39 seconds into the second when Patrick Maroon fed Oscar Klefbom, who was entering the zone with speed. Klefbom fired from high between the circles for his sixth goal of the season. Less than five minutes later, 1 minute, 49 seconds into the Jackets’ second power play of the night, Brandon Saad sent a cross-zone pass to Karlsson, whose shot from the right circle found the net.
STILL IN THE HUNT: Rasmus Hojlund took his goal tally for SSC Napoli to nine as the champions cruised to a win at US Cremonese and stayed two points behind the leaders Inter on Sunday stayed at the Serie A summit after beating Atalanta BC 1-0 to maintain their slender lead over local rivals AC Milan. Lautaro Martinez netted the only goal of the game in Bergamo for Inter, who lead Milan, 3-0 winners against Hellas Verona thanks to Christoper Nkunku’s first Serie A goals, by a single point at the top of the division. The Argentina striker has scored in four consecutive league matches to end what has been a tricky year in positive style. “I ended last season in a lot of pain... I kept going during the Club World Cup and international
Hosts Morocco on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their world record run of wins and leaving them still to make sure of progress to the next stage. Midfielder Brahim Diaz tucked away a penalty in stoppage-time at the end of the first half, but Mali equalized from the spot midway through the second half through Lassine Sinayoko. Both penalties were awarded after video reviews in a tempestuous clash at the end of a busy day of action at the tournament. Morocco were atop the Group A standings with four points, while Zambia,
Algeria on Sunday became the third country after Egypt and Nigeria to qualify for the knockout stage of the Africa Cup of Nations by edging Burkina Faso 1-0 in Rabat through a Riyad Mahrez penalty. Defending champions Ivory Coast failed to join the trio after drawing 1-1 with Cameroon in a lively showdown in Marrakesh. Elsewhere, Mozambique ended a 39-match wait for a first victory by beating Gabon 3-2, while Sudan got back into contention for a last-16 slot by beating Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in Casablanca. Captain Mahrez converted from the penalty spot midway through the first half and Algeria then held on
Supermaxis Master Lock Comanche and defending champions LawConnect yesterday continued their close duel on the second day of the 80th running of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Just over 27 hours into the race that began on Friday in Sydney Harbour and is to end on the island state of Tasmania, Comanche had a 4 nautical mile (7.4km) lead over LawConnect. LawConnect was forced to contend with a broken mainsheet and halyard overnight, but fixed both issues and remained in pursuit of Comanche, which is skippered by Matt Allen and James Mayo. “We had a few things slow us down and Comanche’s
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