RUGBY LEAGUE
Rhinos advance to semis
Leeds Rhinos on Friday secured their place in the Super League semi-finals after a comfortable 38-26 victory over Challenge Cup winners Hull FC. Rob Burrow, Brad Singleton, Liam Sutcliffe and Mitch Garbutt all got first-half tries for the hosts, with Hull FC managing tries in reply through Steve Michaels and Scott Taylor. Scores from Danny Washbrook and Josh Bowden brought Hull further back into the game, but Adam Cuthbertson and Matt Parcell went over for Leeds. Elsewhere, Wigan Warriors bounced back from their defeat in the Challenge Cup final, beating rivals St Helens with a four-try 26-16 win, with Oliver Gildart scoring a pair of tries for the visitors. Anthony Gelling and George Williams also went over for the Warriors. Three converted tries in the second half was enough to help Castlefield Tigers, already guaranteed the league leaders’ shield, to a 24-16 victory away at Huddersfield Giants. Jacob Miller and Tyler Randell both scored a pair of tries for Wakefield Trinity as they thrashed Salford Red Devils 43-18.
RUGBY UNION
Gloucester edge Exeter
Jason Woodward’s last-gasp try for Gloucester on Friday condemned champions Exeter to a heartbreaking 28-21 defeat in their opening match of the Premiership season. Exeter — for whom Sam Simmonds had scored a brace of tries in the first-half canceled out by Jeremy Thrush’s double, also in the first period — had fought back to level the pulsating encounter at 21-21 only for their defense to wilt in the final seconds. The night’s other match between two sides likely to be involved in a relegation battle saw Newcastle Falcons thrash Worcester Warriors 35-8 to earn themselves a bonus point. It was not a good evening for Worcester’s British and Irish Lions star Ben Te’o, who came into the starting lineup at short notice and then lasted less than a half-hour before going off injured.
RUGBY UNION
Ulster demolish Cheetahs
Ulster on Friday overwhelmed the Cheetahs 42-19 to give the first South Africa side to appear in the Pro14 competition an idea of the standard they will have to reach to be competitive. In all, Ulster crossed six times. Ironically, and something that will bring little pleasure to the Cheetahs or fellow South African side Southern Kings, who were yesterday to play at Welsh outfit Scarlets, Ulster’s two outstanding performers were both South Africans — back row forwards Marcell Coetzee and Jean Deysel. The hosts took their foot off the pedal after establishing a commanding lead, and once both Coetzee and impressive flyhalf Christian Lealiifano were taken off 11 minutes into the second half, the tempo dropped away and they strolled to victory.
SOCCER
UEFA launches PSG probe
UEFA on Friday opened a “formal investigation” into Paris Saint-Germain after the French club broke the world transfer record to sign Neymar. European soccer’s governing body said it would look at whether PSG had violated its Financial Fair Play rules. “The investigation will focus on the compliance of the club with the break-even requirement, particularly in light of its recent transfer activity,” UEFA said in a statement. PSG signed Brazilian striker Neymar for a world-record 222 million euros (US$263.3 million) on Aug. 3 and completed a loan move for Kylian Mbappe on Thursday in a deal that includes an option to buy the French teenager for 180 million euros.
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
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
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