It was not only the Australia bowlers who tore into England’s cricket team on the first day of the Ashes yesterday — the local police also got in on the act. The Queensland Police Service did not pass up the chance to poke fun at the demoralized England team “Queensland Police are launching an investigation into a group impersonating a Test batting order at the Gabba,” the force wrote on Twitter. England made a disastrous start to the hotly anticipated series, bowled out for 147 at the Gabba ground in Brisbane. They lost opener Rory Burns to the very first ball, and it hardly got any better after that. The police force had already shown that it was keenly watching the Test match, name-checking several of the Australian team when it provided a “traffic update” in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland state. “A large crowd for the first test so plan your Cummins and goings,” they wrote on Twitter, referring to Australian captain Pat Cummins. “We’d be Lyon if we said there’ll be nothing but Green lights near the Gabba. Don’t say we didn’t Warner,” they added, referencing David Warner and Nathan Lyon.
Atletico Madrid on Tuesday won a bad-tempered game against Porto to qualify for the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League as Liverpool and Ajax completed the group stage with 100 percent records. Atletico, who lost to Real Madrid in the 2014 and 2016 finals, needed to beat Porto in Portugal to advance to the knockout phase, and they duly triumphed 3-1 in a game that featured three red cards. Antoine Griezmann put the Spanish champions ahead in the 56th minute at the Estadio do Dragao, but they then had Yannick Carrasco sent off for wrestling Otavio to the ground. With tempers flaring, Porto were also reduced to 10 men as Wendell was sent off for elbowing Atletico’s Matheus Cunha in the neck, before their substitute goalkeeper Agustin Marchesin also saw red. With Porto pushing forward in search of the draw they needed to qualify, Atletico got their second goal on the break in the last minute through Angel Correa before Rodrigo de Paul scored their third in injury-time. Sergio Oliveira’s penalty was a mere consolation for Porto. Atletico finished second in Group B, a huge 11 points behind group winners Liverpool, who made it six wins out of six in Europe this season by beating AC Milan 2-1 at the San Siro despite fielding a virtual reserve side. Milan had to win to stand a chance of going through, and they went ahead midway through the first half through Fikayo Tomori. Mohamed Salah did start for the visitors and he equalized in the 36th minute before Divock Origi — who scored a stoppage-time winner in the English Premier League at the weekend — made it 2-1 10 minutes into the second half, heading in after Sadio Mane’s shot was saved. “It’s an exceptional performance,” Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said. “With that many changes, the boys have to
Red-faced, the two sumo wrestlers crashed together, grappling their way around the raised earthen ring until one pushed the other over the side. A typical scene in Japan’s traditional wrestling — except the loin-clothed wrestlers were 11 years old, each weighing more than many grown men. “I’m happy, really happy,” said victor Hisatsugu Sasaki, who even at 135kg still has a child’s treble voice. “I hope to become a professional sumo wrestler.” Sasaki and his opponent, Kyuta Kumagai — who weighs 90kg — are chasing the same dream. They want to turn professional, which at the top ranks, especially the highest rank called yokozuna, could bring them fortune and make them household names in Japan. Success depends on being taken into a sumo “stable,” where wrestlers live together and train, with some starting as young as their mid-teens. Sumo wrestlers are revered in Japan, but all aspects of their lives are heavily dictated by centuries of tradition. Occasionally, concerns arise over the weight they gain to compete. Medical studies show sumo wrestlers die younger compared with the general population, although this varies depending on whether they lose weight once their career is over. Kumagai’s coach, Shinichi Taira, said that he did not really know about the health impact of the weight gain on the young boys. Kumagai’s weight is slightly above average for boy sumo wrestlers his age, Taira added. The national Children’s Sumo Association has said that about 40,000 children from ages 10 to 12 take part in the sport, but not many plan to become professionals. Those who do, like Sasaki and Kumagai, work hard. Kumagai, whose family moved to an area of Tokyo known for sumo wrestling, showed promise from his first appearance in a kindergarten tournament. Sasaki, by contrast, has gained prominence more recently, Taira said. Towering over other boys at his Tokyo club, Kumagai trains six
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison yesterday said that Australia would join the US in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics due to human rights concerns. Morrison said it should come as no surprise that Australian officials would boycott the event after the nation’s relationship with China had broken down in the past few years. “I’m doing it because it’s in Australia’s national interest,” Morrison said. “It’s the right thing to do.” Australian athletes would still be able to compete, he said. As well as citing human rights abuses, Morrison said China had been very critical of Australia’s efforts to have a strong defense force in the region “particularly in relation, most recently, to our decision to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.” He said his government was very happy to talk to China about their differences. “There’s been no obstacle to that occurring on our side, but the Chinese government has consistently not accepted those opportunities for us to meet,” Morrison said. Rights groups have pushed for a full-blown boycott of the Games, accusing China of human rights abuses. The US and Australian decisions fall short of those calls, but come at an exceptionally turbulent time for international relations and have been met with a barrage of criticism from China. The Australian Olympic Committee said the arrangements for the 40 or so Australian athletes expected to compete at the Games would not be affected by Morrison’s announcement. “Getting the athletes to Beijing safely, competing safely and bringing them home safely remains our greatest challenge,” committee chief executive officer Matt Carroll said in a statement. “Our Australian athletes have been training and competing with this Olympic dream for four years now, and we are doing everything in our power to ensure we can help them succeed,” Carroll said.
ARDENT FANS: The P.League+ opener, a matchup of last year’s league finalists, drew a near-capacity crowd of 6,788, while Saturday’s second contest attracted 6,064 spectators
A stunning half-court shot made by Taiwan Beer Herobears captain Chiang Yu-an at the end of overtime to defeat the CTBC DEA on Saturday night did beat the buzzer, the T1 League said on Monday, as it dealt with its first controversy. With his team down by two and the game clock about to run out, Chiang launched a shot from half court that banked of the glass and through the hoop. The referees ruled that Chiang got the shot off in time, giving the Herobears a 95-94 victory at the Sinjhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City. Following the game, CTBC DEA head coach Lee Yi-hua said that his club would contest the decision. “After looking at videos, we saw that the shot was taken after time expired, so we’ve formally submitted an appeal to the league to review it,” Lee said. In a statement on Monday, the T1 League said that a technical committee meeting was held to review the shot from various angles using the league’s real-time playback system, as well as footage from broadcasters. No evidence contradicted the original ruling, so the shot was counted, the league said, confirming Taiwan Beer’s victory. It was their first win of the season after losing their opener, 107-106, to the Kaohsiung Aquas. On Sunday, the Taipei-based Herobears led 52-39 at the end of the first half before the CTBC DEA rallied to tie the game at 80-80 at the end of regulation and send the game into overtime. Herobears center Diamond Stone posted a double-double of 17 rebounds and 26 points, while Chiang contributed eight rebounds, five assists and 25 points. P.League+ On its opening weekend, the P.League+, Taiwan’s other professional basketball league, drew big crowds and healthy viewership numbers on television and online, giving the league a boost as it competes with the T1 League for fans. The P.League+ opened its
Trae Young on Monday had 29 points and 11 assists, while Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 23 points, as the short-handed Atlanta Hawks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 121-110. Danilo Gallinari scored 20 points off the bench for the Hawks, who were without injured wings Cam Reddish, Bogdan Bogdanovich, Solomon Hill and De’Andre Hunter on the second night of a back-to-back. Luwawu-Cabarrot had a career-high seven three-pointers, shooting seven of 14 as the Hawks set a franchise record with 25 makes on a season-high 49 attempts from beyond the arc. Young was four of nine shooting from the three-point line, while Gallinari completed four of six. “Keep shooting them,” Young said. “They keep going in, keep shooting them. We were getting good looks, and we were making the right play and right read. It was just going in. It was one of those nights.” Karl-Anthony Towns had 31 points and 16 rebounds for Minnesota in his return, after missing one game with a tailbone contusion, while Anthony Edwards added 20 points for the Timberwolves, who were also short-handed, without starting guards D’Angelo Russell and Patrick Beverly. “Our urgency to contest shots was not there,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “As the game went on, we just kept stopping short and stopping short. The ball movement — we knew it was going to be there. We knew what we were trying to do. We didn’t run shooters off the line.” Minnesota’s improved defense has been susceptible to three-pointers, but has benefited from opponents’ poor shooting. Atlanta came out firing from the three-point line and never stopped. The Hawks, who started the day second in the NBA in three-point shooting at 37.8 percent, hit eight of their first 12 from beyond the arc. Their nine three-pointers in the first quarter marked their season high in any quarter and they tied it in the
Linebacker Matt Judon on Monday praised the New England Patriots offense, while taking a playful swipe at rookie quarterback Mac Jones. “Hats off to the offense — really everybody probably, besides Mac,” Judon said, breaking into a smile. “He didn’t really do nothing besides hand the ball off.” No offense taken. With 65kph wind gusts placing an emphasis on running the ball, Jones was more than content in being relegated to handoff duty in New England’s 14-10 win over the Buffalo Bills. Jones completed just two of three pass attempts for 19 yards while essentially standing back and watching the Patriots backfield literally run away with their seventh consecutive win and shore up New England’s familiar place atop the American Football Conference (AFC). “Just a crazy game to be a part of,” Jones said. “We knew it was going to be windy. You can’t control it. There is no on-and-off switch,” he added. “You just have to go out there and do your job.” Damien Harris scored on a 64-yard run on an outing where the Patriots out-gained Buffalo 222 to 99 in yards rushing. Nick Folk hit field-goal attempts from 34 and 41 yards with the wind at his back, while the Patriots defense limited the Bills to a season-low 230 yards on offense. Defensive back Miles Bryant sealed the victory by batting down Josh Allen’s pass at the goal line, with Buffalo facing fourth-and-14 at New England’s 18-yard line with 1 minute, 55 seconds remaining. It came a series after Buffalo’s Tyler Bass missed a 34-yard attempt wide right into the wind in a game where the Bills managed 10 points on four drives inside the New England’s 20-yard line. “What a memorable game that will be for me in my career,” center David Andrews said. “One, it’s a win. Two, I don’t know if I’ve ever played
A Dutch sex toy company’s attempt to reach fans of the wholesome sport of curling led some broadcasters to cancel their livestream of a tournament that is to determine the final spots in the Beijing Winter Games. Local organizers of the Olympic qualifier in the Netherlands said they were told that on-ice ads with the EasyToys name and a non-explicit logo were too much for a US audience. Dutch media reported that the livestream was also canceled in Japan. “I’m not the right man to have an opinion on what is normal in which country,” promoter Dagmar van Stiphout said. “I think they’re also surprised, but it’s best to ask them.” On Sunday, USA Curling wrote on Twitter that video of US curlers’ opening-round match was not available due to “an unforeseen sponsorship conflict with the local organizing committee.” The national governing body said that US television broadcaster NBC was working with organizers on a solution. An NBC spokesman did not immediately respond to a question seeking an explanation for the decision. EasyToys — a sexual paraphernalia Web site that bills itself as the “market leader in the Netherlands and Belgium” — could not be reached for comment. While the bulk of the men’s, women’s and mixed doubles Olympic curling fields have been filled, the tournament to determine the final spots in Beijing began on Sunday in Leeuwarden, about 90 minutes north of Amsterdam. Fourteen teams, including the US pairing of Chris Plys and Vicky Persinger, were competing for the final two coed berths in the Games. However, people in the US seeking the livestream on the World Curling Federation (WCF) Web site instead found a message that the broadcasts were suspended due to “an ongoing sponsor rights issue.” In videos that the WCF posted on Twitter and elsewhere, the EasyToys ads could be seen in four spots on the playing
Danish golfer Thorbjorn Olesen grabbed a woman’s breast and urinated on a first-class seat after taking alcohol and sleeping pills on a British Airways flight from the US to London in 2019, a court heard on Monday. The Ryder Cup winner denies charges of sexual assault, assault by beating and being drunk on an aircraft. British media reporting the start of his trial said that the court heard how the Dane, now 31, allegedly pushed a cabin crew member during the July 29 flight from Nashville, Tennessee, to London’s Heathrow Airport. Olesen, a five-time European Tour winner, said he had no recollection of his behavior on the flight that he boarded after competing in the World Golf Championships-FedEx St Jude Invitational in Memphis, Tennessee. British golfers Justin Rose and Ian Poulter were also on board. In a statement read in court, cabin crew member Sarah White said that Olesen pushed her on the shoulder when she helped him back to his seat after he struggled to leave a toilet. “During the flight, Mr Olesen assaulted me and failed to listen to my instructions,” she said. “Through my 27 years of service, I have never come across such bad behavior on board a flight.” A woman, who cannot be identified because she is an alleged victim of a sexual offense, said in a statement that Olesen grabbed her hand and began kissing it. “He had his right hand around my back. He then grabbed my breast and moved his hand over my right breast. I felt shocked,” the BBC quoted her as saying. Back in his seat, Olesen woke up and urinated on another passenger’s seat and the aisle. When he was arrested on arrival, he told police that he had taken sleeping pills and five or six drinks to “knock himself out.” Poulter said he helped take Olesen back to his
FIGHTING BACK: It was the biggest margin of victory by runs for India in a home match, eclipsing their 337-run win against South Africa in a Test in New Delhi in 2015
India’s spinners yesterday wasted little time in removing New Zealand’s remaining batters as the hosts sealed a record 372-run victory in the second Test at the Wankhede Stadium to secure the series 1-0. It was the biggest margin of victory by runs for India in a home match, eclipsing their 337-run win against South Africa in a Delhi test in 2015. With the series victory, India also avenged their defeat to New Zealand in the final of the inaugural World Test Championship in Southampton, England, in June. Rahul Dravid, India’s newly appointed head coach, said that the score did not reflect how hard the players needed to work for the series victory, after the first Test in Kanpur, India, ended in a draw. “I know this result looks a bit one-sided, but right through the series we’ve been made to work hard,” Dravid said. “There have been phases of the game where we’ve been behind and had to fight back. Credit to the team for pulling themselves out of some difficult positions,” he added. Spin-bowling all-rounder Jayant Yadav did most of the damage on the fourth morning, picking up 4-49 — his career-best figures — to cut through New Zealand’s middle and lower order at the sun-bathed ground overlooking the Arabian Sea. With just a few hundred fans present in the stands to cheer the team on, Ravichandran Ashwin took the final wicket to finish with 4-34, as New Zealand were all out for 167 in their second innings, chasing 540 for victory. The wily off-spinner took eight in the match and was adjudged Player of the Series for his 14 wickets in the series. Ashwin is the world’s leading wicket-taker this year with 52. Opening batter Mayank Agarwal, only playing because of injuries and others being rested, picked up the Player of the Match award for his 150 in
US Open champion and world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev said he had the best week of his career as he went unbeaten in the Davis Cup finals and helped the Russia Tennis Federation claim their first title in 15 years with a 2-0 win over Croatia on Sunday. “It was an amazing two weeks because it’s never easy to come here at the end of the season. I’m more happy for the team than for myself,” Medvedev said after winning 7-6 (7), 6-2 against Croatia’s Marin Cilic. Medvedev did not lose a set in the tournament. Earlier, world No. 5 Andrey Rublev needed just 1 hour, 32 minutes to beat Borna Gojo and put Russia in the lead. “What I love about these kinds of tournaments, when we play as a country, is the bond we create as a team,” Rublev told reporters. “We do everything together and it creates this will to win for your friends, for the team.” Russia went unbeaten in the Davis Cup finals, winning their group opener 3-0 against Ecuador and only struggling to beat one of their rivals, hosts Spain, who handed them their only loss in the singles when Feliciano Lopez edged Rublev in three sets. That win created animosity between the Spanish crowd and the Russian team — until the final, when they received a standing ovation. After beating Spain, Russia eliminated Sweden and Germany decisively on their way to Sunday’s final, when they won the Davis Cup for the first time since lifting the 2006 title. “I was eight years old and was in the arena. Don’t remember anything other than it was against Argentina,” Rublev said, smiling broadly. Russia claimed their third Davis Cup to tie Czech Republic and Germany for sixth place on the all-time winners’ list. ITF ON PENG SHUAI Reuters The president of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) yesterday
Twice a week, a small soccer field in Iraq offers a 25-member national squad of little people the opportunity to fulfill dreams and tackle prejudice. Omar Abdel Rahman’s team have set their sights on an ambitious goal: to travel to Argentina for their first international tournament. Despite modest means, the players come from across the country to train, leaving behind their daily troubles, discrimination and jibes. “The team has changed the course of my life and that of the other players,” said Abdel Rahman, who works in a Baghdad cafe where he prepares shishas. “I’m good at soccer, but we’re treated with contempt and it’s impossible to play on mainstream teams,” said Abdel Rahman, who is 1.42m tall. “But now everything is changing,” said the forward, clad in a No. 9 jersey with green socks hiked up to his knees. The team have just returned from a friendly match in Jordan. Next year, they aim to travel to Argentina to take part in a tournament for little people. In 2018, a “Dwarf Copa America” was held in Buenos Aires, the first of its kind. The date of next year’s cup has yet to be set, said Facundo Mariano Rojas, head of the Argentina-based international soccer federation of little people. This would mainly depend on restrictions imposed for the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. “We’re also looking for financial resources to help the participating countries,” he added. The matches would be played by seven-member teams in indoor stadiums and on futsal fields. A key difference would be the size of the goals: fixed at 1.7m high by 2m wide, compared with the regular 2.44m high by 7.32m wide. It was the Copa America that inspired Hussein Jalil to start up the Iraq team in 2019. Other players come from Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Kirkuk in northern Iraq, from Nasiriyah in the southeast, and the eastern city of
The Detroit Lions are winless no more after beating the Minnesota Vikings 29-27 on Sunday to end weeks of agony and ridicule. Down four points with four seconds left on the clock, wide receiver Amon-Ra St Brown caught an 11-yard endzone pass from quarterback Jared Goff in front of a relieved home crowd, improving their record to 1-10-1. “I was proud of our guys, man — they fought,” head coach Dan Campbell told reporters. “They’ve continued to fight all year and it paid dividends today and we found a way to win.” Campbell dedicated the game ball to the community of Oxford, Michigan, where a teenager was last week charged with first-degree murder in the deadliest US school shooting of the year, which killed four students. The Lions previously had a winless season in 2008, holding the dubious distinction of being the first franchise to do so since the league expanded its schedule to 16 games in 1978. There were early signs of trouble after the team lost all of their pre-season games, having traded long-time quarterback Matthew Stafford for Goff in a blockbuster deal earlier this year. Detroit settled for a tie against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 10 and has put up one of the least productive offenses in the league this season. “It came down to one play and we were able to make it,” said Goff, a former first overall pick. “We weren’t perfect, but having the ability to overcome mistakes is the sign of a good team,” Goff added. Also on Sunday, it was: ‧ Cardinals 33, Bears 22 ‧ Chargers 41, Bengals 22 ‧ Steelers 20, Ravens 19 ‧ Buccaneers 30, Falcons 17 ‧ Dolphins 20, Giants 9 ‧ Eagles 33, Jets 18 ‧ Rams 37, Jaguars 7 ‧ Washington 17, Raiders 15 ‧ Chiefs 22, Broncos 9 ‧ Colts 31, Texans 0
Taipower FC and Tainan TSG (Taiwan Steel Group) picked up wins over the weekend in the Taiwan Football Premier League (TFPL) to remain tied at the top of the table on 28 points, meaning that the title race for the second half of the season is likely to go down to the wire. Taipower FC edged Taichung Futuro 2-1 in Jhubei City on Sunday, with midfielder Ko Yu-ting hitting the goal of the day after he carried the ball down left flank, fought off two challengers and fired a looping shot into the net from the edge of the box to send Taipower ahead 1-0. In the 84th minute, Ko had a shot from inside the box blocked, but teammate Lin Chien-hsun slotted in the rebound to make it 2-0. The match ended 2-1, after Futuro scored late into added time when substitute Huang Sheng-chieh volleyed a cross from striker Lee Mao into the net. The defeat left Futuro in third place on 20 points. In the post-match interview, Taipower manager Chen Kuei-jen lauded Ko’s vital contribution. “It’s good to see Ko finally took his coaches’ advice. We told him to take more shots when he had the opportunity. He is among the better Taiwanese players, good at shooting and dribbling the ball,” Chen said. “I asked him to try to make more shots on goal in this game, not just to get past defenders and pass the ball off. So, in this match, Ko made a brilliant shot, arching it perfectly over Futuro goalkeeper Kochi Jun and into the top corner,” Chen added. Also on Sunday, visitors Tainan TSG crushed Land Home-NTUS (National Taiwan University of Sport) 9-0 at the Taiyuan Soccer Field in Taichung. Tainan TSG were led by Turks and Caicos Islands striker Marc Fenelus, who tallied three late goals to give the team their
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton lashed out at title rival Max Verstappen after Sunday’s gripping Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, describing the Dutchman as “over the limit.” Mercedes driver Hamilton won a dramatic race under lights on the Jeddah street circuit, but only after several close run-ins with Red Bull’s Verstappen. “I really had to try and keep my cool out there, which was really difficult to do,” Hamilton said. “I have raced a lot of drivers in my 28 years of racing — I have come across a lot of characters. There’s a few that are over the limit, the rules don’t apply. He’s [Verstappen] over the limit for sure — I have avoided collisions on so many occasions with the guy,” he added. “I don’t mind being the one who does that because you get to live another day. It doesn’t matter for him if we don’t finish. It does for me,” Hamilton said. The tense battle culminated in a late collision when Hamilton, apparently unaware that Verstappen had been ordered to give up the lead after an illegal maneuvre shortly before, hit the Red Bull as it braked in front of him. Red Bull maintained that Verstappen was simply following instructions, while Mercedes intimated that the Dutchman was “brake-testing.” “I don’t understand why he hit the brakes quite so heavily, so I ran into the back of him,” Hamilton said. “I didn’t get the information. It was very confusing.” However, a visibly annoyed Verstappen denied any wrongdoing in the incident. “I slowed down. I wanted to let him by. I was on the right, but he didn’t want to overtake and we touched,” Verstappen said. “I don’t really understand what happened there.” Race stewards, who gave Verstappen a five-second penalty for an earlier incident, were investigating the decision. “It was quite eventful. A lot of things happened, which I
‘BEST MEDICINE’: The Nuggets pulled out just their third win in 10 games to add to the Knicks’ three-game losing streak in front of a surly home crowd at Madison Square Garden
Nikola Jokic on Saturday scored 32 points and made 11 rebounds in just 27 minutes to lead the Denver Nuggets over the New York Knicks 113-99. Denver never trailed in winning for only the third time in 10 games. “Winning is the best medicine,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. Zeke Nnaji added 21 points off the bench for the Nuggets, Will Barton contributed 13 and Jeff Green 11. “I like something here,” NBA reigning Most Valuable Player Jokic said of the historic Manhattan arena — where he exchanged courtside comments with famous Knicks fan Spike Lee. “I don’t know what it is.” The Knicks have lost three straight overall and fell to 5-8 at Madison Square Garden this season. “We [have to] look ourselves in the mirror and decide what we want the season to be,” Julius Randle said after leading the Knicks with 24 points on 9-for-18 shooting. “We have to commit to it.” Evan Fournier chipped in 15, R.J. Barrett added 13 and Alec Burks and Derrick Rose each had 11 for New York. “I say it all year [and] I’ll continue to say it: We’re going to win games with our defense,” Randle added. “That’s who we are.” The Nuggets led 30-24 after the first quarter and were up 60-49 at halftime. During the second quarter, the Nuggets led by as many as 16, which caused the home crowd to grow surly. After New York cut their deficit to six in the third period, Green and Jokic responded with layups on consecutive possessions to push the advantage to 73-63. The layups sparked 23-8 run, including 12 points by Jokic, as Denver made it 92-71. “There were a lot of looks on threes just because of how much they were helping inside,” Nnaji said. Denver’s lead grew to 30 on JaMychal Green’s hook shot midway through the fourth quarter. When Knicks
Pakistani mountaineer Shehroze Kashif faced many dangers climbing the planet’s tallest peaks, but his toughest moment came when he passed the corpse of his hero on the savage slopes of K2. Kashif was 19 years and 138 days old when in July he became the youngest person to summit both Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, and K2, the second-highest. It was on K2, just below the infamous stretch known as the Bottleneck, that he passed the bodies of Iceland’s John Snorri, Chile’s Juan Pablo Mohr and Pakistani climbing legend Ali Sadpara. “The most emotional moment for me was going on past those climbers, the dead body of Pakistan’s national hero,” Kashif said in an interview. Many Pakistanis have crucial roles as high-altitude porters, but Sadpara was one of the few to break into the elite ranks of mostly Western climbers who have long dominated headlines in mountaineering. He was declared missing along with Snorri and Mohr on Feb. 5. It was more than five months before their bodies were found, on July 26, and Kashif made his summit push as dawn broke the next morning. “I got emotional, thinking that they had come with the same passion I had,” Kashif said. “But then I thought, why not fulfil their unfulfilled dream? And I took their dream with me.” This month, the Guinness Book of World Records officially declared him the youngest person to climb K2 and the youngest to climb both the world’s two highest mountains. Kashif summited Everest, which at 8,849m is Earth’s tallest peak, in May, but the 8,611m K2 — known as the “Savage Mountain” and located near Pakistan’s border with China — is the more brutal summit. They are “poles apart,” Kashif said, calling K2 a “beast.” In winter, winds can blow at more than 200kph and temperatures can drop to minus-60°C. Kashif experienced snow
Double Olympic champion Katie Archibald on Saturday delighted a packed London velodrome crowd to take the endurance title as the inaugural UCI Track Champions League reached a frantic conclusion. With the Israel round of the competition canceled because of COVID-19 restrictions, London’s sell-out double header brought the curtain down on what organizers the UCI and Discover Sports Events hope would mark a new era in track cycling. British rider Archibald consolidated her lead in the standings on Friday with victory in the elimination race, and second place in Saturday’s 5km scratch race behind Yumi Kajihara guaranteed her the 25,000 euros (US$28,285) winner’s check. Flying Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen, the Olympic and world sprint champion, won the men’s sprint league after going unbeaten in the sprint across the four rounds. American Gavin Hoover claimed the men’s endurance title after an eventful final round in London in which overnight leader Sebastian Mora was disqualified from the scratch race after causing a crash, scuppering his chances. Germany’s Emma Hinze took the women’s sprint title ahead of her Olympic teammate Lea Friedrich. The Track Champions League, launched this year to boost the appeal of velodrome racing, features a fan-friendly, made-for-TV format and a vast array of Olympic and world champions. Riders compete in either the endurance or sprint leagues with 18 male and female riders in each, collecting points and prize money in Mallorca, Lithuania and the London rounds. Endurance riders competed across the rounds in the scratch and elimination races, while the sprinters battled in the sprint and keirin events, with overall endurance and sprint champions taking home 25,000 euros. Archibald, who won the team pursuit gold at the Rio Olympics and the Madison with Laura Kenny in Tokyo, produced a fitting finale as she crowned her title by beating old rival Kirsten Wild of the Netherlands to first place in the elimination
The Taiwan Dragons want to take Taiwanese cricket global and are pushing ahead — including with the 50-ball tournament that ended yesterday — despite a lack of funding and poor weather. The Taiwan Stars won the 50-ball final at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District, with 83 from 10 five-ball overs giving them enough for a six-run win over the Pakistan Cricket Club (PCCT). Several hours of play were lost last month due to poor weather. Dragons president Marlan Samarasinghe said that the tournament was intended to gauge the viability of Taiwan-based players to compete in a new world club cricket series, with India-based organizers planning a week-long tournament in Malaysia next year. They have to overcome several obstacles to make that happen, he said. “We need help, from the government or sponsors, to take the best players to Malaysia,” Samarasinghe said. “Right now there is nothing, so any help to cover accommodation and travel would be great.” “Also, we want more cricket played by Taiwanese, so the Dragons want to go into schools and teach kids this game,” he added. The Dragons’ 50-ball tournament began on Nov. 6, with the Hsinchu Titans, PCCT, the Taipei Scorpions and the Dragons in Group A, while the CCU Vikings, the Hsinchu Proteas, the Taiwan Stars and the Taipei Indians made up Group B. The finals for the short-form tournament were scheduled for Nov. 13 and 14, but were pushed back twice with rain in Taipei dictating proceedings. The PCCT topped Group A and advanced to yesterday’s semi-finals along with the Dragons, while from Group B, the Stars and the Taipei Indians made the final four. At a separate tournament on Saturday, the Vikings, the Game Swingers and the Taichung Warriors contested a Vikings-organized tri-series at National Chung Cheng University in Chiayi County, with the Warriors marching through the day undefeated. The
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