■France
Argentina progress after win
Federico Hilaire and Cesar Leguizamon scored twice each to give Argentina a 5-2 victory over the United Arab Emirates on Sunday and send them to the quarter-finals of the beach soccer World Cup, while Russia and Spain kept alive their chances of advancing. In Group D, Brazil routed Japan 8-1 to remain atop Group D. Spain rallied past Mexico 2-1 moving them into second place behind Brazil in Group D with one match remaining. Brazil leads Group D with six points, followed by Spain and Mexico with three each. Winless Japan were eliminated. In Group C, Argentina joined Portugal and Italy with guaranteed places in the final eight. Goalkeeper Andrey Bukhlitskiy kept a clean sheet to help Russia beat Cameroon 4-0. Argentina tops Group C with six points. Russia and the United Arab Emirates are tied in second place with three points. Cameroon were eliminated with their second loss.
■England
Healy lands in hot water
Northern Ireland striker David Healy came under fire on Sunday after he mimicked an Orange marcher in Fulham’s 3-1 friendly win against Celtic on Saturday. Healy pretended to play a flute after coming on in the second half with the incident reviving memories of former England star Paul Gascoigne’s gesture when he played for Rangers in a 1998 Old Firm game. Gascoigne’s actions were viewed as provocative because Celtic’s fans are usually sympathetic to the Irish nationalist cause.But Healy’s agent, Stephen Hughes, insists his client was merely responding in kind after he was targeted by the visiting supporters at Craven Cottage. Hughes told the Daily Mail: “David has told me he was wearing boots with a Northern Ireland flag on the back. They had been made for him to celebrate being the leading scorer in the Euro 2008 qualification matches. The Celtic fans saw that and know he’s a Rangers fan. They were chanting, ‘Where were you on the 12th’, which is the day of the Orange marching bands in Belfast. So he simply pretended to play the flute — there was no attempt to inflame the fans. Afterwards, some of the fans who had been giving him stick sent over programs for him to sign, which he did quite willingly.”
■United States
Brawling mars match
A half-time brawl between more than 100 fans marred an exhibition match on Sunday between West Ham United of the English Premier League club and the MLS’ Columbus Crew. The fights, which overshadowed West Ham’s 3-1 win, began when a handful of West Ham supporters entered the northeast corner of the stadium where the Crew’s most boisterous supporters typically gather. Crew supporters began directing chants toward the rival fans, and fights quickly broke out between more than 100 Crew fans and at least 30 West Ham fans. Columbus police officers and Crew Stadium security staff eventually separated the groups. Highway Patrol officers arrested one fan outside the stadium for disorderly conduct.
■France
Makelele set to join PSG
Chelsea midfielder Claude Makelele has reached an agreement to sign for Paris Saint Germain, the French club announced yesterday. The 35-year-old former international would be presented at a news conference later in the day, the club said. Makelele, who joined Chelsea in 2003 from Real Madrid, won 68 caps before announcing his international retirement after France’s exit from Euro 2008. Makelele is PSG’s second major signing in a few days after Ludovic Giuly joined on Friday from AS Roma.
■MOTOGP
Rossi ends Stoner’s reign
Four-time world MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi ended Australian Casey Stoner’s winning streak on Sunday with victory at the US MotoGP. The Italian took advantage of Stoner’s mistake when the Australian rode into the gravel on lap 24 to claim his fourth win of the season, but the first of his career in the US. “I was fast all week and I had a great start and was very good with my braking,” Rossi said. “It was an important win for me since it was my first in America.” Stoner, the reigning world champion who claimed the last three MotoGP races and five consecutive poles, trailed Rossi by 13 seconds. Chris Vermeulen of Australia was third, 26 seconds behind Rossi.
■ATHLETICS
Deakes out of the Olympics
World 50km walk champion Nathan Deakes said yesterday he has withdrawn from the Australian team for next month’s Beijing Olympics with a hamstring injury. Deakes, 30, said he aggravated his troublesome hamstring last week at his Swiss training camp and a scan revealed a hamstring tear that would require surgery, forcing him out of the Beijing Games. It is the second major setback to the Australian Olympic track and field team in two weeks, following the withdrawal of two-time 400m hurdles world champion Jana Rawlinson because of complications from a toe injury. “I’m still in a bit of shock,” Deakes said. “I’m sure it will sink in in the middle of August when I’m watching the Games. There was no decision to make unfortunately, my body made the decision for me.”
■FOOTBALL
Redskins acquire Taylor
The Washington Redskins acquired defensive end Jason Taylor from the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, hours after learning Phillip Daniels would miss next season. The Redskins shipped their second-round draft pick next year and sixth-round selection in 2010 for Taylor, a six-time Pro Bowl defensive end and the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2006. “We acquired a perennial Pro Bowl player and one of the NFL’s top pass rushers,” Redskins executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato said. “He is a great leader, who will fit in very well with our team. We feel that Jason is a great addition on the field as well as off the field.”
■RUGBY UNION
McCaw ready for comeback
All Blacks captain Richie McCaw could defy medical predictions and play in the Tri-Nations Test against Australia on Saturday, after running freely at training yesterday. There was no official word from team management on his availability, but the 62-Test veteran played an active role in most of yesterday’s practice and showed no discomfort. McCaw’s ball-winning skills were missed by the All Blacks in their two Tri-Nations Tests against South Africa and will be urgently required against Australia, whose 16-9 win over the Springboks last weekend was built around pressure at the breakdown.
■TRIATHLON
Athlete dies in New York
A 32-year-old man died during the New York City triathlon on Sunday, the first death in the eight-year history of the event. Race director Bill Burke said other competitors alerted medical personnel to the man during the 1,500m swim in the Hudson River and he was unconscious when he was pulled from the water just before 8am. Burke said the man’s family was in Argentina and he was not being identified by race officials until they had been contacted. “It’s a tragic day for the event,” Burke said.
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
Former Formosa Dreamers player Ilkan Karaman was killed in a traffic accident in Datca, Turkey, Turkish media reported yesterday. He was 34. The former Turkish national team player was reportedly hit by a car, the driver of which was allegedly drunk, while he was standing on a sidewalk, Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported. Karaman and his friends were on their way to the beach town of Dalaman to go scuba diving when they stopped at a gas station to buy gasoline, it reported. Karaman was hit by the car while waiting on a sidewalk as his friends were buying gasoline, it
ANKLE PROBLEM: Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin had a disappointing end to their tournament after an injury forced them out of their mixed doubles semi-final Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying on Friday was knocked out in the women’s singles quarter-finals at her last Taipei Open. The world No. 3 lost 21-18, 16-21, 22-24 to Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in a match that stretched 68 minutes at the Taipei Arena. Despite her higher ranking, Tai said she was not too sad about the loss, given her struggle with a lingering knee injury. “Wins and losses are just part of the game. Actually, I think I’m going to lose every single match considering my condition now,” said the five-time champion of the Super 300 event, who has announced plans
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