SOCCER
Brazil beat Russia 3-0
Brazil on Friday cruised to a 3-0 win over FIFA World Cup hosts Russia without an injured Neymar. In freezing temperatures at Moscow’s vast Luzhniki Stadium, the Brazilians worked hard to break down Russia’s deep defense before three goals in 13 minutes early in the second half. Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev parried Thiago Silva’s 53rd-minute shot into the path of Miranda, who scored from close range. Philippe Coutinho made it 2-0 from the penalty spot 9 minutes later, and Paulinho added Brazil’s third in the 66th with a header off Willian’s cross. Less than three months before the World Cup opens at Luzhniki, the defeat highlighted Russia’s vulnerability at the back. Injuries to two central defenders this year forced coach Stanislav Cherchesov to field a makeshift five-man back line, which was often able to do little more than stay deep and defend in numbers. Up front, the Russians missed the injured Alexander Kokorin — who is unlikely to return for the World Cup — but still managed to create chances against a sometimes-shaky Brazilian defense.
TABLE TENNIS
Ghosh denies rape
Indian table tennis player Soumyajit Ghosh has been provisionally suspended by the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) after an 18-year-old woman filed a rape allegation against him with the police. The 24-year-old, who represented India at the 2012 London Olympics and the Rio Olympics four years later was also named in the squad to compete at next month’s Commonwealth Games in Australia. Ghosh has denied the allegations. The TTFI said in a statement on Friday that it had placed Ghosh under provisional suspension, pending the final outcome of a police investigation and court verdict, if any. “I am in touch with my lawyer and will decide the course of action,” Ghosh told the Hindu newspaper.
BOXING
Alvarez fails second drug test
Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez was temporarily suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission following two positive tests for the banned fat-burning drug clenbuterol, the body’s executive director Bob Bennett said in a statement on Friday. Alvarez is to meet with the commission on April 10 for a final decision on his case, less than a month before his scheduled rematch against multiple middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin in Las Vegas on May 5. The pair battled to a controversial draw in September last year. Alvarez has a 49-1-2 record, with his only loss coming against Floyd Mayweather in 2013, while Golovkin has won 37 of his 38 bouts, with the only blemish on his record the draw against the Mexican.
BIATHLON
Kuzmina wins sprint title
Anastasia Kuzmina won the biathlon World Cup sprint title in Tyumen, Russia, despite a 12th-place finish in Friday’s race that cut her lead in the overall standings. The Slovakian missed three shots as she finished more than 1 minute off the pace of race winner and overall title contender Darya Domracheva of Belarus. Domracheva took the win by 1.2 seconds from Kaisa Makarainen of Finland, while Tiril Eckhoff of Norway was third. That meant that Kuzmina won the sprint season title by 10 points from Domracheva, but that her overall lead was cut to 16 points over Makarainen with two races remaining. The US and Canadian teams were among a number of biathletes to boycott the final World Cup round because they consider Russia’s doping scandals make it an unsuitable host.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
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