TAEKWONDO
Taiwan secure six medals
Taiwan bagged a total of four gold and two bronze medals at the Canada Open in Montreal, finishing as the biggest winner in the competition. On Sunday, the last day of the three-day competition, Taiwan’s Huang Yu-jen took a gold medal in the 68kg men’s event after his Canadian rival withdrew from the match. In the 87kg men’s event, Taiwan’s Lee Yue-lin finished with a bronze medal after being defeated 2-3 by a Mexican athlete. The two medals on Sunday brought Taiwan’s total to six.
SOCCER
PSG suspend Serge Aurier
Paris Saint-Germain have suspended defender Serge Aurier after he insulted coach Laurent Blanc and many of his teammates in a live video he and a friend recorded with the online app Periscope on Saturday night. The decision to suspend the 23-year-old defender means he will not play any part in today’s Champions League last-16, first-leg match against Chelsea at the Parc des Princes. The announcement came after Ivory Coast international Aurier was reportedly excluded from training with the squad on Sunday following the appearance of the video. In it, he appeared to describe Blanc as a “faggot,” although he was not actually in shot at the time. When his friend, a former French youth international, asks him whether or not “Blanc sucks off Zlatan [Ibrahimovic],” Aurier answers: “Yes, he takes everything, even his balls.” Aurier later apologized, telling Canal Plus and beIN Sports: “What I did was really stupid and inexcusable. I apologize to the coach and the supporters.”
TENNIS
Klizan wins Rotterdam Open
Martin Klizan on Sunday pulled out another come-from-behind showpiece to win his fourth career title with a 6-7 (1/7), 6-3, 6-1 defeat of Gael Monfils in the Rotterdam Open final. The swashbuckling world No. 43 from Slovakia came into the final having saved eight match points in his previous clashes against Roberto Bautista Agut and Nicolas Mahut. Klizan becomes the first Slovak to win the Dutch event, while fifth-seeded French star Monfils now stands 5-18 in career finals. “This is the best result of my career by far. I hope I can be an inspiration to young Slovak players,” Klizan said.
TENNIS
Thiem wins Argentina Open
Austria’s Dominic Thiem on Sunday backed-up his shock semi-final win over Rafael Nadal to clinch the Argentina Open title with a 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 7-6 (7/4) victory over Nicolas Almagro Thiem. The world No. 19 and the youngest player in the top 20 captured his fourth career title, all of which have been on clay. The 22-year-old claimed trophies on the surface at Gstaad, Umag and Nice, all last year.
GOLF
Schwartzel wins at Tshwane
Former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel on Sunday stormed to a sensational eight-shot triumph at the Tshwane Open to claim his 11th career title and second of this year. The 31-year-old South African shot a seven-under-par 63 to finish on 16-under and clinch his eighth European Tour win on home soil. Denmark’s Jeff Winther finished second on eight-under, with South Africa’s Anthony Michael another two shots further back in third. “In the first three rounds I gave myself so many chances. If I had the stroke I had today, it probably would have been my best tournament ever,” said Schwartzel, who was delighted with his putting in the final round at the Pretoria Country Club.
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
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
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,
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
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