ATHLETICS
Commentator sings anthem
A Russian TV commentator on Saturday rushed to the rescue to sing the right national anthem when organizers played the wrong tune during a medals ceremony at the world championships. Russian biathlon commentator Dimitri Guberniev leaped into action to join the gold-medal-winning Russian men’s relay team on the podium as an anthem used between 1990-2000 was mistakenly played instead of the current version, which he and the quartet duly sang. The organizers were swift to apologize and quick to find the right tune, which they eventually played. The Russian quartet beat archrivals France in the relay, with hosts Austria taking bronze.
BOXING
Broner defeats Granados
Boxing in his hometown after a tumultuous year of legal and personal troubles, Adrien “The Problem” Broner on Saturday night fought to a split decision over Adrian Granados in a 10-round welterweight bout at Xavier University’s Cintas Center. Broner (33-2, 24 KOs) had fought just once in the past 15 months. It was the four-time champion’s first fight since losing the 140-pound World Boxing Association (WBA) title for failure to make weight. He also served jail time in July last year after being tardy for his trial for assault and robbery charges. Broner later said on Instagram that he was contemplating suicide. Granados (18-5-2, 12 KOs) wanted to keep the decision out of the judges’ hands with Broner fighting in his hometown. However, two judges narrowly scored in favor of Broner, 97-93, 96-94. Granados, a Chicago native, and Broner are close friends and former sparring partners.
BOXING
Watson hurt in carjacking
Former world title contender Michael Watson and his caretaker were both hospitalized after falling victim to an “acid attack” that appeared to be part of a failed carjacking attempt. The incident took place on Thursday in Chingford, east of London, according to a statement issued by London’s Metropolitan Police Service on Saturday. The statement said the injuries Watson and his aide had suffered were “not life-threatening.” Watson is one of the most popular figures in British boxing, a survivor of life-threatening injuries in a career-ending 1991 defeat by domestic rival Chris Eubank when the pair met for a World Boxing Organization super middleweight title bout in London. Two men, aged in their 50s, told police that they had been sprayed in the face with a “suspected noxious substance” by two suspects attempting to steal the car, who fled the scene in a different vehicle.
RUGBY UNION
Dan Vickerman dies aged 37
Former Australia lock Dan Vickerman died at home in Sydney on Saturday night, the Australian Rugby Union said yesterday. He was 37. Authorities had yet to comment on the cause of death. South African-born Vickerman played 63 Tests for Australia after his debut in 2002 and featured in three Rugby World Cup campaigns before being forced to call time on his career because of a leg injury less than a year after the 2011 tournament. “Dan was an uncompromising competitor who forged a wonderful international Rugby career, despite a number of injury setbacks along the way. He was an enforcer on the field and a much-loved character off the field. He cared deeply about the game and the players, helping players transition into life after Rugby in his role with RUPA [Rugby Union Players’ Association] following his retirement,” union CEO Bill Pulver said.
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