SKIING
Avvakumova beats Takanashi
Home hopeful Irina Avvakumova triumphed at the FIS Ski Jimping World Cup at the Russian resort of Chaikovsky on Saturday, inflicting a first defeat of the season on Japanese starlet Sara Takanashi. A day after finishing third at the same venue, the 22-year-old Avvakumova claimed her first victory on the circuit with two jumps over 100m for a total of 249.2 points. Germany’s Carina Vogt finished second for the second straight day with 244.9 points, while Takanashi was third on 243.1 points. The 17-year-old Takanashi, who won the first four events of the season, remains comfortably in front in the overall standings, with Avvakumova in second. “My jumps were not as good as I wanted today,” the teenager said. “I hope it’ll go better again next time.”
RUGBY UNION
Welsh rugby bodies clash
Regional Rugby Wales (RRW), the body that represents the Welsh regions, strongly criticized the Welsh Rugby Union on Saturday as the disagreement between the two deepened. RRW wants the union to follow it by backing plans for the Rugby Champions Cup, a breakaway alternative to the European Cup initially proposed by English and French sides. The regions — the Ospreys, Scarlets, Newport Gwent Dragons and Cardiff Blues — gave the union until Jan. 31 to support the new competition. In response, the union on Thursday said it was prepared to offer the regions a new contract, but has since sent a letter to its 32 member clubs expressing support for the European Cup and opposition to an Anglo-Welsh league, which the regions are expected to seek if talks to resurrect the Rugby Champions Cup later this month collapse. In a statement, RRW reaffirmed its desire to see the regions play in the Rugby Champions Cup, saying that any tournament held by European Cup organizers European Rugby Cup would be “inferior.” It also accused the union of “failing miserably” to secure equal revenue distribution with clubs in England and France, and launching “vitriolic and disingenuous” attacks on the regions.
BOBSLED
Germany win World Cup race
Maximilian Arndt drove to gold and Francesco Friedrich piloted his sled to silver on Saturday, as Germany dominated the FIBT World Cup four-man bobsled race on one of their home tracks. Arndt and teammates Marko Huebenbecker, Alexander Roediger and Martin Putze finished two runs in 1 minute, 49.97 seconds. Friedrich and Jannie Baecker, Gregor Bermback and Thorsten Margis clocked 1:50.14. The Russian team of Alexander Zubkov, Alexey Negodaylo, Dmitry Trunenkov and Aleksei Pushkarev took third with 1:50.17. Arndt took the top spot in the four-man season standings, 70 points ahead of US pilot Steven Holcomb, who crashed in the second run, likely costing him a podium finish.
SOCCER
Bordeaux sign striker Hoarau
Girondins de Bordeaux on Saturday announced the signing of former Paris Saint-Germain striker Guillaume Hoarau on a free transfer. Hoarau, 29, was a free agent after leaving Chinese club Dalian Aerbin following a disappointing spell. Hoarau, who hails from Reunion and has won five caps for France, was due to undergo a medical yesterday before penning a contract, the length of which has not been revealed. The tall center-forward scored 38 goals in 114 Ligue 1 appearances for PSG between 2008 and January last year, and scored the winning goal for the capital club in their 2010 Coupe de France final triumph against AS Monaco.
A seven-year-old horse had to be euthanized on Friday after breaking its back on the final fence of a Grand National steeplechase race that it won despite sustaining the serious injury. It follows the death of four horses at the Cheltenham Festival last month — including one after the prestigious Gold Cup. Gold Dancer was competing in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase during Ladies Day at Aintree’s Grand National Festival. The horse managed to cross the finish line approximately four lengths ahead of runner-up Regent’s Stroll. “The winner of our second race of the day, Gold Dancer, was pulled up after
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Ninad Malwade was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
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