SOCCER
Draw delays Uruguay
Uruguay drew 2-2 with Japan and delayed their likely qualification to Copa America’s knockout stage until the last round of the group stage. Koji Miyoshi opened the score at 25 minutes, hitting the ball hard to the left of goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. Luis Suarez leveled at 32 after a penalty-kick awarded by video review following a foul by a Japanese defender. Miyoshi added Japan’s second at 59 in a rebound after Muslera tried to block a cross from the left. At 66 minutes, Uruguay drew with a header by Jose Gimenez after a corner-kick. Uruguay have four points in two matches and lead Group C. Defending champions Chile could have reached six points with a win over Ecuador yesterday. Japan have one point and Ecuador have none. Uruguay and Chile play tomorrow, the same day that Japan play Ecuador.
GOLF
Weather hits opening day
Hannah Green on Thursday did not let an equipment oversight spoil her opening round at the Women’s PGA Championship, shooting a bogey-free 68 for a one-shot lead. The Australian had a hard time keeping warm and dry, because she forgot to put rain gear or towels in her bag. “I only brought one jacket and I was freezing cold,” she said. However, Green fought the elements and finished with a slim lead over runner-ups Mel Reid of England and South Korea’s Kim Hyo-joo on a day when just 16 players broke par in Chaska, Minnesota. Taiwan’s Hsu Wei-ling carded a one-over-par 73 to land in 32nd place, while compatriot Chien Pei-yun was 14 back at 46th with a 74.
OLYMPICS
Hosting rights returned
The International Olympic Committee on Thursday gave India the all-clear to resume bidding for major sports events, lifting a ban that had been triggered when Pakistani athletes were denied visas to compete in the country. The committee in February suspended all Indian applications to host events after two Pakistanis were denied visas to compete in New Delhi. The denial of entry visas for two shooters, who were due to take part in a World Cup event in February, followed an attack by a Pakistan-based militant group in Kashmir. The Indian Olympic Association last year laid out an ambitious road map to host the Youth Olympics in 2026, the Asian Games in 2030 and the Summer Olympics for the first time in 2032.
OLYMPICS
Bill to address US reform
A top US Olympic and Paralympic Committee official on Thursday said that the organization is addressing its failure to protect its athletes from the sexual abuse of a team doctor, comments that come days after legislation was introduced aimed at reforming the body. US Representative Diana DeGette on Monday announced that legislation that would create a commission to look into the committee and its national governing bodies. The bill would require the US Congress to appoint a 16-member commission, which would include at least eight athletes, to study how the committee operates and provide Congress with a list of reform recommendations. The commission would have the power to subpoena witnesses and information from federal agencies as part of its review. The bill is similar to one introduced in the US Senate in January.
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