GOLF
Pieters wins KLM Open
Thomas Pieters of Belgium won his second European Tour title on Sunday, two weeks after his first, by shooting a five-under 65 to win the KLM Open in Zandvoort, the Netherlands, by one shot as Lee Slattery faltered on the final hole. The 23-year-old, who won the Czech Masters on Aug. 30, parred the final five holes at the Kennemer Golf and Country Club to finish with a 19-under total of 261. Slattery, the joint overnight leader who was trying to win back-to-back tournaments after taking last week’s Russian Open, had only one bogey all day — but it came on the 18th when a par would have forced a playoff. “I’m a bit surprised,” Pieters said after Slattery’s putt slid just past the hole on the 18th. “I was confident. I teed it up to win and I did it. Next time I’ll do the same.” Eduardo de la Riva of Spain tied Slattery for second after a 63, one shot ahead of Fabrizio Zanotti of Paraguay.
BASKETBALL
Moses Malone dies aged 60
Moses Malone, a Hall of Famer and three-time NBA Most Valuable Player who played for nine professional teams in a 21-year career, died on Sunday at the age of 60. Malone died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack at a hotel in Norfolk, Virginia. Nicknamed the “Chairman of the Boards” for his rebounding skills and “Big Mo” for his 2.08m frame, Malone led the 1982-1983 Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA title in his only championship campaign. “We are stunned and deeply saddened by the passing of Hall of Famer Moses Malone, an NBA legend gone far too soon,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. “Known to his legions of fans as the ‘Chairman of the Boards,’ Moses competed with intensity every time he stepped on the court.” Malone scored 29,580 points and grabbed 17,834 rebounds during his professional career, averaging 20.3 points and 12.3 rebounds a game. He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001.
CYCLING
Wellens wins in Montreal
Belgian Tim Wellens beat Britain’s Adam Yates in a sprint finish to win the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal on Sunday. It was the 24-year-old Lotto-Soudal rider’s third UCI WorldTour victory following success in the Eneco Tour of the Benelux countries the past two years. In terrible weather with driving rain, Wellens beat escape companion Yates of Orica-GreenEdge, who had launched hostilities on the final ascent of the Camillien-Houde climb. However, after 205.7km and 17 laps of a street circuit around Montreal, Wellens sprinted to victory with former world champion Rui Costa of Lampre-Merida taking third just two seconds back. “I like these conditions, there was air. I prefer this to a heatwave,” Wellens said.
CYCLING
Boasson Hagen triumphs
Norway’s Edvald Boasson Hagen claimed victory in the Tour of Britain on Sunday after the eighth and final stage was awarded to Italian Elia Viviani. A close sprint finish to the 86.8km stage in London saw Viviani lose out to Germany’s Andre Greipel of Lotto-Soudal, but the Team Sky rider was declared the winner after protesting that his opponent had impeded him. It gave Viviani his third stage victory of the race, while Spain’s Juan Jose Lobato of Movistar took third place. MTN-Qhubeka rider Boasson Hagen finished 13 seconds clear of Dutch rider Wouter Poels of Team Sky in the general classification, with Britain’s Owain Doull of Team Wiggins pipping Denmark’s Rasmus Guldhamer of Cult Energy ProCycling to the remaining podium place.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
Batting great Virat Kohli yesterday announced his immediate retirement from Test cricket, just days before India name their squad for a tour to England. Kohli, who scored 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85, posted his decision on Instagram five days after India captain Rohit Sharma called time on his own Test career. Since making his debut in 2011, Kohli struck 30 hundreds and 31 fifties with a highest score of 254 not out, mainly batting at number four in the order. “It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket,” the
RSS