■BASEBALL
Wang placed on disabled list
Taiwanese pitcher Wang Chien-ming was placed on the 60-day disabled list by the Washington Nationals on Sunday. Wang, still recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his throwing shoulder, last threw in a bullpen session on March 26. The Nationals were due to open their Major League Baseball season yesterday at home against the Philadelphia Phillies.
■SOCCER
French title race heats up
Auxerre squandered an opportunity to go top of Ligue 1 after being held to a 1-1 home draw by Paris St Germain on Sunday. They had to settle for a three-way tie on 57 points with leaders Olympique Lyon and second-placed Montpellier. Auxerre are third on goal difference with seven games left. Romania striker Daniel Niculae put Auxerre in front in the 11th minute but their advantage was quickly cancelled out by Younousse Sankhare. Lyon earned a 2-1 win at Stade Rennes while Montpellier were held 0-0 at home by Monaco on Saturday. “We’re disappointed to see we couldn’t get three points but let’s wait the end of the season before drawing any conclusion,” Auxerre coach Jean Fernandez told Canal Plus television. Olympique Marseille closed to within one point of the top three after a first-half header from Brandao secured a 1-0 victory at home to Racing Lens earlier on Sunday. Marseille, who ended the game with 10 men after defender Stephane Mbia was sent off with 15 minutes left, are fifth on 56 points, behind fourth-placed Girondins Bordeaux on goal difference. Both clubs have two games in hand. Bordeaux lost 2-1 at home to Nancy on Saturday.
■SOCCER
Keane on target again
Robbie Keane fired home a penalty for his 12th goal in 12 games as Celtic won 1-0 at Hibernian on Sunday to cut Rangers’ lead in the Scottish Premier League to 10 points. On loan from Tottenham, Keane drove the spot kick home in the 62nd minute after Hibs’ Anthony Stokes had caught Aiden McGeady in the face with a high kick. In Sunday’s late game, Kilmarnock beat Aberdeen 2-0 for their first win in seven matches to move up one place to 10th and further away from relegation trouble. Aberdeen defender Davide Grassi turned a shot by Scott Severin into his own net in the 25th minute and Allan Russell added Kilmarnock’s second in the 73rd.
■SOCCER
Five-goal Nalchik go top
Spartak Nalchik clinched their third win of the season to go top of the Russian Premier League following a confident 5-2 victory over Rostov. Nalchik have 10 points from four matches, two ahead of Terek Grozny, who beat Samara 2-0, and reigning champions Rubin Kazan, who were held to a goalless draw at Ramenkoye. Midfielder Vladimir Dyadyun netted a double to secure Nalchik’s well-deserved win and take his season’s tally to four goals. Nine-time champions Spartak Moscow dropped points again as they were held to a 2-2 draw at Tomsk. Forward Sergei Kornilenko gave Tomsk a 1-0 lead with a precise spot-kick in the eighth minute after Spartak goalkeeper Soslan Dzhanaev fouled Georgy Dzhioev. Spartak leveled through Brazilian marksman Welliton, who scored from Sergei Parshivlyuk’s cross in the 29th minute. Valery Klimov restored Tomsk’s lead after a piece of good individual work just five minutes later. However, Brazilian midfielder Ibson swept home a rebound after Sergei Pareiko’s blunder just two minutes after the interval to give Spartak a point.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
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