■CYCLING
Guderzo wins road race
Italy’s Tatiana Guderzo, bronze medalist at last year’s Olympic Games, won the women’s road race at the world cycling championships on Saturday. The 25-year-old broke away from the field on a climb with just over 12km remaining in the 124.2km race and sped away to win in three hours 33.25 minutes, 19 seconds ahead of her closest rival. Marianne Vos of the Netherlands, winner in 2006 at the age of 19, pipped Noemi Cantele and Kristin Armstrong in a sprint for second place. Guderzo’s compatriot Cantele was third and US rider Kristin Armstrong, winner of Wednesday’s time trial and set to retire after the race, missed out on the medals.
■CYCLING
Frenchman wins under-23
Romain Sicard became the first Frenchman to win the world under-23 road race championship when he stormed to victory on Saturday. The 21-year-old, also the first French rider to win an event at this year’s championships, finished nearly half a minute ahead of his nearest competitor. He completed the 179.4km course in 4 hours, 41.54 minutes after breaking clear with around 10km left. Colombia’s Carlos Alberto Betancur snatched the silver medal after overhauling Russia’s Egor Silin in the last few meters to also finish 27 seconds behind Sicard. Betancur was aiming to become the second successive Colombian to win the race after Fabio Duarte last year.
■BOXING
Diaz returns from furlough
Former lightweight champion David Diaz returned from a 15-month absence to earn a majority decision victory over Jesus Chavez on Saturday. The 33-year-old Diaz seemed to take control during the ninth and 10th rounds, likely sealing the victory. Judge Mike Fitzgerald scored the fight 95-95, but Mauro DiFiore and Scott Dexter gave Diaz the decision by scores of 97-93 and 96-94, respectively. “I was telegraphing my punches,” Diaz said about the first few rounds. Diaz, a Chicago native, hadn’t been in the ring since being knocked out by Manny Pacquiao on June 28 last year in Las Vegas. Despite his 15-month absence, Diaz (35-2-1) looked spry through all 10 grueling rounds against Chavez.
■BOXING
Thai knocks out Irishman
Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym of Thailand knocked out Bernard Dunne of Ireland in the third round to win the WBA super-bantamweight title on Saturday. The Thai landed a trio of powerful left hooks in the third round, each time sending Dunne to the mat. The referee stopped the fight after the third knockdown as blood flowed from the dazed Dubliner’s nose and left ear. The 28-year-old Poonsawat (39-1) had waited 18 months for his shot at the title. It was his first professional victory outside Thailand. Before the fight, he predicted he would knock out the hometown favorite within seven rounds.
■BADMINTON
Bao topples Hidayat
Bao Chunlai shocked Athens Olympic gold medalist Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia to make it a Chinese double at the Japan Open Sunday after Wang Yihan won the women’s crown. The unseeded Asian champion, who previously eliminated third seed Peter Gade of Denmark and Vietnam’s Tien Minh Nguyen, the eighth seed, powered his way to a 21-15, 21-12 win. Earlier, defending champion Wang Yihan chalked up a 21-8, 21-9 victory over Wang Xin in an all-Chinese final to retain the women’s singles title.
Two people died on Thursday after fans and police clashed outside the Estadio Monumental in Santiago ahead of a game in South America’s Copa Libertadores, Chilean authorities said. The fatalities happened shortly before the match between Chile’s Colo-Colo and Brazilian club Fortaleza, when police blocked about 100 fans when they attempted to enter the stadium. There were conflicting accounts of how the fatalities occurred, with local media reporting that one of the dead was a 13-year-old boy. The other victim was an 18-year-old woman, according to a relative at the hospital where she was treated. The fans died after being caught underneath a
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
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