■ RUGBY UNION
Leinster stings Wasps 41-11
Ireland skipper Brian O’Driscoll scored twice as Leinster ran in six tries in a 41-11 demolition of former double champions Wasps in the European Cup on Saturday. Lionel Beauxis amassed 22 points to help Stade Francais to a convincing 37-15 win over Scarlets in Pool 4. In the same section, England scrum-half Danny Care scored a try in a man-of-the-match performance as Harlequins beat winless Ulster 42-21, notching up a valuable bonus point in the process. In the equally tight Pool 3, Leicester beat whipping boys Treviso 60-16 while Ospreys kept their campaign alive by eeking out a hard-fought 15-9 win over Perpignan.
■ BOXING
Hopkins upsets Pavlik
Former world champion Bernard Hopkins upset middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik with a unanimous decision in their 12-round, non-title fight on Saturday. There were no knockdowns, but the 43-year-old Hopkins defied his age by battering the slower, supposedly stronger Pavlik throughout the one-sided fight to inflict his first defeat as a professional. Hopkins, near tears before the decision was announced, called the performance the best of his 20-year career, better than his wins over Antonio Tarver, Felix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya.
■ CYCLING
Cunego makes it three
Italian Damiano Cunego won the Tour of Lombardy for the third time on Saturday after a daring solo breakaway with 15km remaining of the 242km course from Varese to Como. The Lampre rider broke clear on the technical descent of the Civiglio mountain along Lake Como’s famed waterfront. That victory added to previous successes in 2004 and last year for the 2004 Giro d’Italia champion, who has already tasted success in a major one-day event this season by claiming the Amstel Gold Race. He is now only two wins behind the legendary Fausto Coppi, who won the Tour of Lombardy five times.
■ MOTO GP
Rossi wins Malaysian
Newly crowned world champion Valentino Rossi won the Malaysian MotoGP on his Yamaha yesterday, with Dani Pedrosa riding a Honda finishing a distant second. Rossi, who locked up the championship in Japan three weeks ago, passed Pedrosa in lap 10 and then raced to the checkered flag at his favorite Sepang circuit with ease. The Spaniard started in pole position while Rossi, from Italy, was second on the grid. The 29-year-old Rossi finished the 116.4km journey over 21 laps in 43 minutes and 06.007 seconds. Rossi, who had said he was out to have “fun” in the remaining races, stormed to victory in style on a dry track, pulling a wheelie as he approached the finishing line. Italian Andrea Dovizioso, riding a Honda, finished in third place.
■ SQUASH
Ashour upsets Shabana
Ramy Ashour upset world No 1. and Egyptian countryman Amr Shabana 11-6, 7-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7 to reach the final of the world squash championships on Saturday. Shabana was hoping to become the fourth man to win four world titles. An all-Egyptian final yesterday was set up when Karim Darwish beat former two-time champion David Palmer of Australia 11-6, 11-9, 11-8 in their semifinal. The women’s final will feature top-ranked Nicol David of Malaysia against 12th-ranked Vicky Botwright, who will retire after the match to become head coach at the championships venue, the National Squash Center.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in has pleaded with South Korea fans to get behind the team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after more boos were aimed at coach Hong Myung-bo despite leading them to qualification. South Korea reached next year’s finals in North America without losing a game, but that does not tell the whole story. The country’s soccer association has been in the firing line, having scrambled about to find a successor after sacking the unpopular Jurgen Klinsmann in February last year. They eventually settled on Hong, the decorated former skipper who had an unsuccessful stint as coach in 2013-2014, during which
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Ferrari’s F1 fortunes might be flagging, but the Italian team start this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans as favorites, targeting a third consecutive triumph in motorsport’s fabled endurance classic. Roger Federer is acting as celebrity starter with the tennis icon getting the 93rd edition of the jewel in four-wheeled endurance racing’s crown under way tomorrow. Twenty-four hours later, through daylight, darkness and dawn, the 21 elite hypercars are to battle it out over 300 laps (more than 4,000km) in front of a sold-out 320,000 crowd burning the midnight oil with copious quantities of coffee and beer. Ferrari made a triumphant return after
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