■SOCCER
Mouscron kicked out
Belgian club Excelsior Mouscron were kicked out of the first division on Monday after declaring they would fail to play for a third time this season, the Belgian soccer association said. Mouscron, who are under administration because of debt, have not put out a team for their last two scheduled matches and told the league and association that they would be unable to field a side tomorrow. The club’s expulsion from the league means that all their results are void. The clubs in the top four spots, eligible for European competition, remained in place, although Anderlecht’s lead over Club Bruges at the top of the table was cut to three from five points. Champions Standard Liege gained a place to sixth. The big losers were Lokeren, who lost six points and so replaced Roeselare at the bottom of the remaining 15 sides. However, no club will face automatic relegation now with the 15th-placed side taking part in a playoff with division two teams. Mouscron, who will drop to Belgium’s third division if they continue, said in a short statement that its 120 staff would be receiving their notices and the players would now be free agents.
■DARTS
‘Barney’ nails nine-darter
Raymond van Barneveld produced a nine-dart finish for the second year in a row at the Professional Darts Corporation world championship on Monday. The aim of darts is to get from 501 to zero, finishing on a double, with the fewest number of throws and nine darts is the minimum number needed to achieve this feat. Dutch former champion “Barney” produced darts’ answer to snooker’s 147 break and cricket’s six sixes in an over on his way to a 4-0 second round win over Brendan Dolan at London’s Alexandra Palace. He reeled off a perfect opening leg at the start of the third set, hitting two 180s followed by a treble 20, treble 19 and double 12 to earn himself a £25,000 (US$40,000) bonus prize.
■SKIING
Vonn injury not serious
Olympic favorite Lindsey Vonn had her left lower arm put in a splint following a crash on the opening run of a World Cup giant slalom in Austria on Monday but was able to compete in a slalom race yesterday. Vonn suffered no broken bones in the fall, said Doctor Eduard Sporer from Lienz district hospital. “It’s not a classic broken wrist,” said Sporer, who added that the skier had a bruised bone with swelling in the nearby area. The overall World Cup leader barely used her left pole yesterday but still managed to charge several gates with her hand and wrist protected by the usual guard slalom racers use.
■CRICKET
Test set for tight finish
Pakistan were 170 for 3 needing another 252 runs to beat Australia at the end of the fourth day of the first Test in Melbourne yesterday. Earlier the hosts had declared their second innings on 225 for 8 after 17-year-old Pakistani paceman Mohammad Aamer had picked up his first five wicket haul in a Test match, finishing with 5 for 79. Shane Watson top-scored for the Aussies by posting his first Test century, 120 not out. Pakistan suffered an early setback in their run chase when Doug Bollinger trapped Imran Farhat lbw for 12 but Salman Butt and Faisal Iqbal put on 62 for the second wicket before Butt was lbw to Mitchell Johnson for 33. Iqbal was next out, bowled by offspinner Nathan Hauritz for 48. At stumps Mohammad Yousuf was unbeaten on 45 while Umar Akmal was on 27 not out.
EVERY DAY A VICTORY: Players on the women’s team faced pressure from society just getting out onto the field as they prepare for their first Women’s Asian Cup game today Bangladesh’s national soccer team face daunting odds at their first-ever Women’s Asian Cup, but have already scored a major victory by qualifying. In the South Asian nation of 170 million, social stigma, family expectations, poverty and religious hardliners have long relegated women and girls to sports sidelines. The first women’s soccer league matches took place in 2011 and the squad, known to fans as the Red and Green, have kept pressing forward despite deeply embedded prejudices. “Many more girls would have joined us if the community had been even slightly supportive,” captain Afeida Khandaker told AFP ahead of her side’s March 3
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
TOUGH RIVALS: Taiwanese goalkeeper Wang Yu-ting produced a superb performance as Japan attempted 30 shots and enjoyed almost 90 percent of possession Bayern Munich midfielder Momoko Tanikawa yesterday finally cracked a dogged Taiwan as powerhouse Japan won their AFC Women’s Asian Cup match in Perth, Australia, 2-0. Brimming with a talented squad featuring 16 England-based players, Japan dominated a one-sided match played in fierce heat, but they were left frustrated by an inability to hit the target other than Tanikawa’s strike in the 61st minute and a header from substitute Kiko Seike in the 92nd minute. The highest-ranked team in the competition at eight, Japan are desperate for a third title to add to their back-to-back triumphs in 2014 and 2018, but
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