■SOCCER
Antlers maintain win streak
Japanese powerhouse Kashima Antlers on Wednesday earned the honor of being the only team to win all six of their AFC Champions League group games, while Beijing Guoan booked a berth in the round-of-16. Kashima beat South Korea’s Jeonbuk Motors 2-1, with their dominant run securing them top spot in Group F and home advantage in the one-leg knockout stage against defending champions the Pohang Steelers. It condemned Jeonbuk to a trip to Australia to play Adelaide United for a place in the quarter-finals. In the group’s other match, Indonesia’s Persipura Jayapura bagged their first points of the tournament when they beat a lackluster Changchun Yatai of China 2-0, with goals from Eduard Ivakdalam and Yustinus Paew. South Korean outfit Seongnam Ilhwa had already secured home advantage for the round-of-16 before they kicked a ball, but refused to relax, grinding out a 3-2 win over Melbourne Victory. Chinese Super League champions Beijing Guoan grabbed the east zone’s eighth and final spot in the knockout round with a 2-0 win against Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale. In the west, Saudi giants Al Ittihad, the two-time champions, were defeated 1-0 by Zobahan of Iran who finished top of Group B, with Uzbek side Bunyodkor taking the runners-up spot with a 4-1 win over Al Wahda of the United Arab Emirates. In Group A, Nasser Kamil’s last-minute goal earned Qatari champions Al Gharafa a 1-0 win at Al Ahli in Jeddah to claim top spot, with Tehran giants Esteghlal finishing as the group runners-up after going down 2-1 to Al Jazira in Abu Dhabi.
■SOCCER
S Africa defeat Jamaica
World Cup hosts South Africa got back on the winning trail by defeating non-qualifers Jamaica 2-0 in a friendly at Kickers Offenbach Stadium in Offenbach am Main, Germany, on Wednesday. Veteran striker Surprise Moriri punished sloppy defending off a cross to drive a low shot into the corner of the net on 51 minutes and set up Bafana Bafana for their first success in four international outings. Siyabonga Nomvete added a second five mintues from time as he ran on to a pass from fellow substitute Andile Jali and slammed the ball wide of goalkeeper Dwayne Kerr and into the net. Jamaica, last-minute replacements for China, faded after failing to convert a few first-half chances in a game between teams relying almost exclusively on home-based players.
■SOCCER
Pachuca claim title
Pachuca won the CONCACAF Champions League final in dramatic style on Wednesday, with Edgar Benitez’s goal in the third minute of stoppage-time securing victory over rival Mexican club Cruz Azul. The 1-0 result leveled the tie at 2-2 on aggregate, with Pachuca winning on the away-goals rule. Cruz Azul had won the first leg 2-1 in Mexico City. Benitez scored on a bouncing shot that got past Cruz Azul goalkeeper Jesus Corona.
■OLYMPICS
China stripped of medal
China have been stripped of their women’s gymnastics team bronze medal from the Sydney 2000 Olympics after one of the athletes falsified her age, the International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday. An International Gymnastics Federation probe had found in February that Dong Fangxiao was younger than the minimum age requirement of 16 after registering different ages at Sydney and the Beijing Games eight years later. The US, fourth-place finishers in Sydney, are now upgraded to third place and will be awarded the bronze medal.
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
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
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
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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