RUGBY UNION
Players in machete attack
Three France internationals who play for Clermont Auvergne have been injured in a machete attack by a gang in southern France, police said on Sunday. Aurelien Rougerie, Julien Pierre and Benjamin Kayser were attacked by a 12-strong gang in Millau in the early hours of Sunday morning. A club statement said none of the players’ injuries were life-threatening, adding that weapons used included machetes, knives and swords. The players had been to a nightclub and were walking back to their hotel when they were set upon by the gang for no apparent reason, police said, adding that no one was detained at the scene of the attack. Pierre, who along with Rougerie was part of the France team that lost the 2011 World Cup final, will have surgery on “deep cuts” to his hip.
MOTOR RACING
Conway wins in Toronto
Mike Conway has won the second race of IndyCar’s doubleheader in Toronto, where rain forced the series to run both races on Sunday. The first race was washed out on Saturday and run a little more than five hours before the second race. Rain again played a role as a brief shower soaked the track and forced teams to use varying tire strategies to combat the slick surface. Conway was one of the first drivers to replace the rain tires when the track began to dry and it put him in position to win a race. It was Conway’s second win of the season. Sebastien Bourdais won the first race.
ATHLETICS
Porter stuns champ Pearson
Britain’s Tiffany Porter stunned Australia’s Olympic 100m hurdles champion Sally Pearson at the Anniversary Games on Sunday in a timely warning ahead of their Commonwealth Games duel. US-born Porter won the race, which was staged at London’s Horse Guards Parade, in 12.71 seconds, despite Pearson enjoying the better start. Brianna Rollins, the world champion, was second, with Pearson clocking 12.79 back in third. In the men’s 100m, Michael Rodgers of the US won in 9.91 seconds.
ATHLETICS
Bolt to run on Rio beach
Jamaican world-record holder Usain Bolt is to return to Rio de Janeiro next month to run a special 100m on the beach, he said on his Web site on Sunday. The six-time Olympic gold medalist added the Aug. 17 “Mano a Mano” 100m on Copacabana Beach to three previously announced races in what he said was his finalized schedule for this year. Bolt has delayed opening his season this year because of a foot injury and will start with a 4x100m relay with his Jamaica teammates at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Aug 1 and Aug. 2. The eight-time world champion will also run 100m races in Warsaw, Poland, on Aug 23 and at the Zurich Diamond League meeting on Aug 28.
RUGBY UNION
Kevin Skinner dies aged 86
Former All Blacks captain Kevin Skinner died on Monday at his home in Auckland aged 86, the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) said. “Kevin was a much-admired player, regarded by many as one of New Zealand’s greatest props,” NZRU chairman Brent Impey said. Skinner made his international debut at 21 in 1949 and retired for the first time in 1954, but Impey said it was his return to the game in 1956 that earned him a place in rugby folklore. South Africa were 1-1 with the All Blacks and had dominated the scrum before Skinner was called in to take them on. The rugged forward delivered and the All Blacks won the next two Tests for their first ever series win over South Africa.
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
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