CYCLING
Cimolai wins first stage
Italy’s Davide Cimolai on Monday won a bunch sprint to bag the first stage and the overall lead at the Volta a Catalunya after overtaking France’s Nacer Bouhanni right on the line. It was the first of seven stages of what promises to be a hotly disputed race featuring most of cycling’s big guns, such as Britain’s Chris Froome, Nairo Quintana of Colombia and Spanish veteran Alberto Contador. The peloton raced 178.9km over a middle section containing hilly terrain on the rocky and rugged Costa Brava, but arrived intact at the finish line in Spanish coastal resort town Calella. Cimolai, 27 and riding for FDJ, proved fastest in a tight finish on narrow streets coming up a slight hill at the end to just edge Bouhanni, who made an early bid. Kristian Sbaragli completed the opening day’s podium.
OLYMPICS
RUSADA names acting CEO
The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), which remains suspended over an alleged cover-up, has named a new acting CEO. RUSADA said on its Web site that Tatyana Chirkina has taken charge temporarily. Russian media reported Chirkina was previously the organization’s chief accountant and her appointment will last only until a candidate for the permanent position is found. RUSADA did not respond to a request for comment. Chirkina succeeds Anna Antseliovich, who became acting CEO in December 2015, shortly after its suspension began, and left this month. RUSADA was suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency over allegations its staff concealed drug use by Russian athletes.
RUGBY UNION
No citation over alleged bite
A citation looked unlikely after Wales claimed winger George North was bitten during their Six Nations rugby match against France on Saturday. “The evidence suggests there is a bite,” Wales interim coach Rob Howley said after the match in Paris. North also complained to referee Wayne Barnes during the game that he was bitten. However, after a review by match citing commissioner John Montgomery, officials were “not able to conclude that any particular individual carried out an act of foul play,” Six Nations Rugby said in a statement late on Monday. “Six Nations Rugby anticipates that this will be the end of the matter in terms of the alleged bite.”
TENNIS
Kvitova return undetermined
Petra Kvitova has regained the use of her racket hand, which was badly injured three months ago in a knife attack, but there is still no date for her return to tennis, her spokesman said on Monday. The two-time Wimbledon champion suffered severe injuries to her left hand as she fought off a knife-wielding intruder at her home in the eastern Czech town of Prostejov in December last year. The 27-year-old underwent emergency surgery, enduring a four-hour operation to repair tendon and nerve damage. “Petra uses her hand without problem for daily activities,” spokesman Karel Tejkal told reporters. Doctors had previously estimated that Kvitova would not be able to return to competition before the second half of this year. “At the moment, no one can give a concrete date,” the spokesman said. “Petra’s convalescence is continuing as planned, so far there are no complications, but everything is up in the air as to her return.”
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