■RUGBY UNION
Russia qualify for World Cup
Russia have qualified for the World Cup for the first time following Saturday’s 21-21 draw with Romania in the European Nations Cup, officials confirmed on Sunday. Organizers originally said that Russia’s draw meant they were not yet guaranteed their place in New Zealand next year but said on Sunday that because of their superior head-to-head record against Germany and Romania — their only remaining challengers — they were assured of progress. Russia are on 21 points in the Nations Cup standings, two behind Georgia, who secured their qualification on Saturday with a 17-9 victory over Spain. With two matches still to play Russia will post a minimum of 23 points even if they lose to both Germany and Georgia, with a point awarded for a defeat in the Nations Cup competition, which spans two seasons. Portugal or Romania can also reach 23 points if they win their remaining games but Russia would still finish second as they have the superior record, having beaten Portugal twice and the Romanians once. The Georgia v Russia match on March 20 is likely to be the decider in terms of final standings and consequently which World Cup pool the teams will enter.
■BASKETBALL
Minnesota suspend center
The Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday suspended center Al Jefferson for two NBA games after he was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving. The Minnesota State Patrol said an officer stopped the 25-year-old Jefferson early on Sunday for speeding and changing lanes without signaling. Jefferson was taken to a hospital for a blood test, then to jail on suspicion of driving while impaired. He was freed after an hour in jail and is scheduled to appear in court on April 23. David Kahn, Timberwolves president of basketball operations, said Jefferson “feels terrible” about the incident, but said the team felt it appropriate that he be sanctioned.
■BASKETBALL
Shaq to have thumb surgery
Cleveland Cavaliers center Shaquille O’Neal will undergo surgery to repair an injured right thumb, the team reported on their Web site on Sunday without indicating when the veteran was likely to return to action. O’Neal was originally hurt in a game against the Boston Celtics on Thursday and after further evaluation in Maryland two days later, the center was informed he would require an operation on the injury. The surgery was due to take place yesterday and one local newspaper speculated that the 37-year-old could miss the remainder of the regular season.
■CRICKET
England include new faces
England included five uncapped players in their provisional 30-man squad for the World Twenty20 to be staged in the Caribbean from April 30 this year, announced yesterday. Middlesex pace bowler Steven Finn, Hampshire batsman Michael Lumb, seamers Peter Trego of Somerset and Warwickshire’s Chris Woakes as well as Yorkshire spinner David Wainwright will all hope to avoid the cut when the squad is halved at the end of this month. The squad will be captained by Paul Collingwood as regular Test captain Andrew Strauss and his current stand-in in Bangladesh Alastair Cook are not involved with England at Twenty20 level. “The World Twenty20 is an exciting tournament and we have selected an exciting crop of players in this provisional squad,” national selector Geoff Miller said in a statement.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Francesco Bagnaia yesterday profited from a mistake by rookie Pedro Acosta to win the Japan MotoGP sprint and close the gap on overall championship leader, Jorge Martin. Spaniard Acosta crashed with four laps to go while leading the field at Motegi, allowing defending world champion Bagnaia to take first ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez. Spain’s Martin finished fourth and saw his overall lead over Italian Bagnaia in the championship standings cut to 15 points. “I am very happy because with these conditions, it’s not very easy to win and gain points,” Bagnaia said after a sprint race that took place under
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