CYCLING
Aussie Porte wins stage
Richie Porte of Australia won the fifth and penultimate stage of the Tour of the Basque Country on Friday, moving into second place behind Sky teammate Sergio Henao. Porte finished the 166km mountain leg featuring 10 summits between Eibar and Beasain in 4 hours, 40 minutes, 43 seconds. Last year’s winner, Samuel Sanchez, came in second at the head of a group, four seconds off the pace. Porte and Nairo Quintana are both six seconds behind Henao in the overall standings, with Alberto Contador another four seconds behind the Colombian leader.
CRICKET
Sehwag gets the chop
India’s selectors yesterday left out dashing batsman Virender Sehwag from a 30-man preliminary squad for the Champions Trophy in England in June. Seasoned off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and veteran seamer Zaheer Khan were also missing from the list, which has to be shortened to 15 players a month before the one-day tournament opens on June 5. Sehwag’s 219 against the West Indies in 2011 is the highest individual score in one-day internationals. However, he was dropped due to recent poor form. Off-spinner Parvez Rasool was included in the squad, making him the first cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to join the senior ranks.
SOCCER
Kewell joins Qatari club
Former Leeds and Liverpool winger Harry Kewell has signed a short-term deal with Qatar’s Al-Gharafa, ending a year-long spell without a club. Kewell left Melbourne Victory at the end of last year’s A-League season for family reasons. Al-Gharafa, which announced the deal on its Web site, said Kewell had been recruited only until the end of the current Qatar Stars League season which ends next month. Kewell had hoped to find a club in England over the past year to stay close to his family home in Cheshire.
RUGBY UNION
Biarritz squad quarantined
Biarritz have put their entire first team squad in quarantine after an outbreak of the mumps, the French Rugby League (LNR) said on Friday. Flyhalf Julien Peyrelongue has caught the mumps while backrow Benoit Guyot is suspected of also being infected. The squad has been placed in quarantine until Thursday while their Top 14 clash with Perpignan has been pushed back from April 13 to April 14. “Following Biarritz’s statement that they have two cases of the mumps, the league’s medical commission has, as a precautionary measure, banned the club’s players and coaches from meeting up from April 5 to April 11, inclusive,” the LNR said in a statement. Mumps, a common viral disease in childhood, causes swelling of the glands and can be rather more serious when contracted in adulthood, with occasional complications.
SOCCER
Hoffenheim beat Fortuna
With a new coach in charge, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim seized a lifeline in their fight for Bundesliga survival with a 3-0 win over fellow-relegation candidates Fortuna Duesseldorf on Friday. The home side got off to a great start in Markus Gisdol’s first game when Roberto Firmino crashed his shot in off the underside of the crossbar in the 11th minute. The visitors were dealt a blow when Duesseldorf’s Andreas Lambertz headed Sejad Salihovic’s corner into his own net with 15 minutes remaining. Kevin Volland rounded off the scoring on a counterattack in injury time.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
RSS