BOXING
Parker beats Fury on points
Joseph Parker of New Zealand retained his WBO heavyweight title by beating Hughie Fury of Britain by a majority decision on Saturday. The judges rewarded Parker’s attacking instincts and relentless aggression, with two scoring it 118-110 in favor of the champion. The other judge scored it 114-114. It was the second successful defense of his belt, leaving Parker in line for a fight against WBA and IBF champion Anthony Joshua. He improved his record to 24-0. Fury tried to negate Parker’s power with his movement and speed, but the champion easily won the final rounds as Fury tired.
INVICTUS GAMES
Melania thanks US team
US first lady Melania Trump, on her first solo international trip, was in Toronto on Saturday for the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games for wounded soldiers and wished the US team luck in a brief speech. “On behalf of my husband and our entire country, I want to thank you and your families for all you have sacrificed to keep us safe,” Trump said. “I also want to wish you good luck, but I know you won’t need it,” she added. “Take that fighting spirit that I know you have and bring home the gold.” England’s Prince Harry set up the Invictus Games three years ago. More than 550 injured and wounded servicemen and women from 17 allied nations are taking part in 12 adaptive sports in the games, which end on Saturday.
SOCCER
United to find chanting fans
Manchester United have asked for CCTV footage to help identify fans who ignored pleas not to chant a controversial song about Romelu Lukaku in the club’s 1-0 win at Southampton on Saturday. United and Lukaku both requested supporters to refrain from repeating the chant after it was described last week as racist by anti-discrimination body Kick It Out. However, the song was again heard from some sections of United’s away supports along with another chant of: “We’re Manchester United, we’ll sing what we want.” After the game, United released a statement saying they would seek out supporters who “disrespected” Lukaku’s request not to sing the song. “Manchester United has a zero-tolerance stance on offensive chanting and behavior,” the club said.
SOCCER
Kenya stripped of CHAN
Kenya on Saturday was stripped of the right to host the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN) after a Confederation of African Football (CAF) executive committee meeting in Accra. The decision was announced at a media conference after a one-day gathering of the African football “cabinet” headed by president Ahmad Ahmad from Madagascar. Slow preparations for next year’s Jan. 12 to Feb. 4 tournament led to a decision widely anticipated for several weeks. “It was decided to withdraw the hosting rights of the [CHAN] competition from Kenya in the light of accumulated delays from reports of the various inspection missions conducted in the country,” a CAF statement said. Nations wishing to replace Kenya have until Sunday to submit bids, with the new hosts to be named next month. There has been media speculation that Morocco or South Africa could take over the running of the tournament.
WEIGHTLIFTING
Moradi breaks world record
Olympic champion Sohrab Moradi is reaping the benefits of a life completely devoted to weightlifting, the 28-year-old said after breaking the men’s 94kg world record at the fifth Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. “I have worked very hard and devoted my life to weightlifting, training non-stop three times a day,” the Iranian said. “I allocate my time only to weightlifting, nothing else. This is the secret of my success. The world record is the result of these efforts.” Moradi eclipsed a record that had stood since 1999 by lifting a total of 413kg, one more than Akakios Kakhiasvilis of Greece managed in Athens. “One of my goals in life was to win the Olympic Games gold medal because this is very important for every athlete,” said Moradi, who lifted 185kg in the snatch and 228kg in the clean and jerk.
BASKETBALL
Anthony dealt to Thunder
The New York Knicks have worked out a trade that will see all-star forward Carmelo Anthony join the Oklahoma City Thunder, American sports broadcaster ESPN reported on Saturday. Oklahoma City have agreed to send center Enes Kanter, forward Doug McDermott and a 2018 second-round pick via the Chicago Bulls to New York. The 33-year-old Anthony will also waive his no-trade clause to allow the trade to go through. Nothing is official just yet, but the parties are reportedly getting together today to try and put the finishing touches on the trade. Anthony previously told the Knicks he would only waive his no-trade clause for the Thunder, Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers.
BOXING
Alvarez-Golovkin rematch
Talks for a rematch between undefeated middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin and Mexican boxing hero Canelo Alvarez are expected to begin in the coming days, US media reported on Saturday. Golovkin, who was making his Las Vegas debut, and Alvarez fought to a draw on Saturday in a evenly-matched bout that lived up to its hype as a showdown between the top two middleweights in the world. Both the 27-year-old challenger Alavarez and the 35-year-old Golovkin said they wanted a rematch. “It seemed like everyone came away from that fight with an unsatisfied feeling,” Tom Loeffler, of K2 Promotions which oversees Golovkin’s fights, told the Los Angeles Daily News. Until his last two fights, which both went the distance, Golovkin had been jackhammering his way through the middleweight division.
RUGBY UNION
Ireland banks on star power
Bono and Liam Neeson will add star power to Ireland’s bid to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup, as the contenders go head to head with France and South Africa in London today. France and South Africa have hosted the tournament before, but Ireland is pushing to host it in full for the first time. It held some matches at the 1991 and 1999 events. The World Rugby Council will hear the presentations and the Rugby World Cup Board will make its recommendation on Oct. 31 before the final decision on who will host the 10th edition is made on Nov. 15. France has a proven track record in hosting major events, most recently the 2016 UEFA European Championship, together with impressive infrastructure. However, the French federation was made to issue a humiliating public apology by World Rugby for tweeting it was the best of the trio based on the world governing body’s figures.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later