■ Soccer
Brazil defeats Ukraine
Brazil thrashed Ukraine 6-0 and Spain blanked the Czech Republic 2-0 in Taipei yesterday in the second round of the FIFA Futsal World Championship.
Brazil's opening Group F match was highlighted by three goals from Falcao and two from Indio. Brazil was undefeated in the preliminary round, atop Group B with nine points. Javi Rodriguez scored both Argentina's goals in its Group E match. Spain finished the first round without on top of Group A with nine points.
■ Hockey
Modo wins Elite title
After going two games without a point, NHL star Peter Forsberg scored to help his hometown team Modo edge Linkoping 2-1 in the Swedish Elite League in Stockholm on Saturday. Forsberg, the NHL's most valuable player in 2003, silenced the sellout crowd of 8,500 at Linkoping when he scored a pretty goal to make it 2-0 halfway through the second period. But the big hero was Modo backup goalie Mikael Zajkowski, who stopped 39 of 40 shots in only his fourth game as a starter in the league. "My best game ever considering the opposition," said Zajkowski, backup to NHL goaltender Tommy Salo. For Modo, it was only the second win in the last eight games but the team was fifth in the standings.
■ Tennis
France, Russia end even
French Open champion Anastasia Myskina drew Russia 1-1 with defending champion France in the Fed Cup final in Moscow on Saturday after Nathalie Dechy upset US Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 7-6 (4), 8-6. Myskina beat Moscow-born teenager Tatiana Golovin 6-4, 7-6 (5) to level a final Russia was expected to dominate before a highly expectant home crowd at Krylatskoye Ice Palace. But Dechy jolted Russian hopes of their first Fed Cup title by breaking Kuznetsova when she served to win the opening singles at 6-3, 5-4, then prevailed against a top-10 player for the eighth time in her career.
NO HARD FEELINGS: Taiwan’s Lin Hsiang-ti and Indonesia’s Dhinda Amartya Pratiwi embraced after fighting to a tense and rare 30-29 final game in their Uber Cup match The Taiwanese men’s team on Wednesday fought back from the brink of elimination to defeat Denmark in Group C and advance to the quarter-finals of the Thomas Cup, while the women’s team were to face South Korea after press time last night in the Uber Cup quarter-finals in Horsens, Denmark. In the first match, Taiwan’s top shuttler Chou Tien-chen faced a familiar opponent in world No. 3 Anders Antonsen. It was their 16th head-to-head matchup, with the Dane taking his fourth victory in a row against former world No. 2 Chou, winning 21-14, 13-21, 21-15 in 1 hour, 22 minutes. The
Jannik Sinner continued his quest to become the first man in history to win five Masters 1000 tournaments in a row with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Danish qualifier Elmer Moller at the Madrid Open on Sunday. The world leader extended his winning streak to 19 matches, a run that began early March in Indian Wells, and he has captured 24 consecutive victories at the Masters 1000 level, dating back to the Paris Masters last October. Searching for a maiden title at this level on clay, Sinner advanced to the round of 16 at the Caja Magica with a 77-minute performance against
Tennis players are facing an unexpected opponent at the Madrid Open. A stomach virus or food poisoning has affected Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Marin Cilic and others, raising concerns. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka avoided an upset by Naomi Osaka on the court on Monday and said she is trying to avoid illness by sticking to a diet of chicken breasts, rice and salad. The rumor among the players was bad shrimp tacos were to blame. Sabalenka knocked on wood for luck and said, “So far, so good. I heard that I have to avoid those tacos,” she laughed, adding “I stick to the
Throwing more than US$5 billion at a divisive new tour and walking away after five seasons does not look like good business, but LIV Golf was not all bad news for Saudi Arabia. Oil-funded LIV, which poached top stars and sent golf’s establishment into a tailspin, helped push the conservative kingdom into global view — one of its key aims, experts said. The exit, confirmed on Thursday after weeks of speculation, does not signal a flight of Saudi money from sport, even after the Middle East war that sparked Iranian attacks around the Gulf, they said. “Saudi Arabia is not
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