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.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care