OLYMPICS
Rio stadium goes dark
The track and field stadium for this year’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics was without power on Monday, with the city hall and Rio soccer club Botafogo blaming each other for unpaid utility bills. In a statement to The Associated Press, the city hall said Botafogo has been responsible for the utility bills since May last year. However, the club said that the city government owed it money to pay water and electricity bills. The Brazilian newspaper Globoesporte said the unpaid bills totaled 1 million reals (US$250,000). Brazil is in the middle of a deep recession, forcing cutbacks on Olympic organizers.
RUGBY SEVENS
Friend made Aussie coach
Former ACT Brumbies coach Andy Friend has been appointed coach of the Australia rugby sevens team and will guide the side to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. The 46-year-old Friend, who has most recently been coaching Suntory Sungoliath in Japan’s Top League, takes over from interim coach Scott Bowen, who has led the side since Welshman Geraint Jones resigned unexpectedly in August. Friend, who has agreed a two-and-half-year contract, said Australia are “capable of beating any side in the world.”
RUGBY UNION
Mitchell to coach US team
Former New Zealand coach John Mitchell has been hired by the US to lead the national team into the 2020 World Cup. USA Rugby on Monday announced that Mitchell had signed a four-year contract with the Eagles. He replaces Mike Tolkin, who left the head coach’s position after the US lost all four pool stage games at the World Cup in England last year. “I see this as a wonderful opportunity to play a key part in inspiring, mentoring, creating confidence and stability in transforming USA Rugby into a strong, globally-competitive unit by the end of 2019,” Mitchell said. Mitchell, a no-nonsense disciplinarian, was All Blacks coach from 2001 to 2003 and England assistant coach from 1997 to 2000.
SOCCER
Rennes down Nice in Cup
Stade Rennais grabbed the final spot available in the round of 32 of the Coupe de France with a 7-6 victory on penalties over fellow first-division side OGC Nice in Nice, France, on Monday. The teams were tied at 2-2 after extra-time and Gelson Fernandes scored the winning penalty. After Alexandre Mendy gave Nice an early lead, Jeremie Boga equalized with eight minutes left at the end of an impressive team move. The visitors then took the lead through Benjamin Andre’s shot in the top corner in extra time, but Nice winger Hatem Ben Arfa put the teams level from the penalty spot. Rennes will play second-tier side Bourg-en-Bresse Peronnas in the next round, which will also feature four matches between Ligue 1 clubs, including Paris Saint-Germain against Toulouse.
TENNIS
Coric and Pavic advance
Croatian players Borna Coric and Ante Pavic each earned three-set wins over Spanish opponents on Monday to reach the second round of the Chennai Open. The eighth-seeded Coric defeated Marcel Granollers 7-6 (7/5), 2-6, 6-4, while Pavic beat Nicolas Almagro 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/1). Also, John Millman of Australia rallied for a 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) win over Evgeny Donskoy of Russia as all three matches on the opening day went to three sets. The 44th-ranked Coric made several forehand errors, but got his game together for his second win over Granollers.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
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
Former Formosa Dreamers player Ilkan Karaman was killed in a traffic accident in Datca, Turkey, Turkish media reported yesterday. He was 34. The former Turkish national team player was reportedly hit by a car, the driver of which was allegedly drunk, while he was standing on a sidewalk, Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported. Karaman and his friends were on their way to the beach town of Dalaman to go scuba diving when they stopped at a gas station to buy gasoline, it reported. Karaman was hit by the car while waiting on a sidewalk as his friends were buying gasoline, it
ANKLE PROBLEM: Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin had a disappointing end to their tournament after an injury forced them out of their mixed doubles semi-final Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying on Friday was knocked out in the women’s singles quarter-finals at her last Taipei Open. The world No. 3 lost 21-18, 16-21, 22-24 to Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in a match that stretched 68 minutes at the Taipei Arena. Despite her higher ranking, Tai said she was not too sad about the loss, given her struggle with a lingering knee injury. “Wins and losses are just part of the game. Actually, I think I’m going to lose every single match considering my condition now,” said the five-time champion of the Super 300 event, who has announced plans
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