■ Biathlon
Sergi Rozhkov wins 10km
Russia's Sergei Rozhkov won a men's World Cup 10km biathlon sprint Friday to take the lead in the overall standings. Rozhkov, whose shooting was clean, won in 24 minutes and 5.4 seconds. Austria's Ludwig Gredler finished second, 11.7 seconds back with one missed target. Another Russian, Sergei Chepikov, was third, 21.2 seconds behind. He also missed one target. Four-time Olympic champion Ole Einar Bjoerndalen of Norway did not compete in the race in this central Slovak resort. Rozhkov leads the standings with 208 points, five points ahead of Norway's Halvard Hanevold.
■ Basketball
Mourning has new kidney
Former NBA All-Star center Alonzo Mourning underwent kidney transplant surgery Friday and was listed in good condition, hospital officials said. The surgery, performed at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, came less than a month after Mourning retired from the NBA due to a kidney disease. The kidney donor, a family member, was also in good condition, officials said. Mourning, 33, retired from the New Jersey Nets on Nov. 24 because of complications from the disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. He was diagnosed before the 2000-2001 season, when he was with the Miami Heat.
■ Golf
Downes is up down under
Australian Chris Downes led for the third day straight Saturday, taking a one-shot lead into the final round of the Australian Open golf tournament at Moonah Links. Downes had four birdies, a bogey and a double bogey to card a 1-under 71 and go to eight-under. Fellow Australian Stephen Leaney scored a 4-under 68 to go alone in second, with seven players at six-under. Among those is 2002 US Amateur champion Ricky Barnes. Barnes, from Stockton, CA, was challenging for the lead before bogeys at the 16th and 17th. Defending champion Stephen Allan was another at six-under. He followed his second-round course record 66 with an even-par 72 to join Barnes, Stuart Appleby (68), Steven Conran (68), Matthew Millar (69), Peter Lonard (70) and Craig Jones (70).
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
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