SOCCER
Taiwan draw Cambodia
Taiwan are to face Cambodia, while Malaysia and East Timor were paired together again yesterday in the playoff draw for the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers. Malaysia and East Timor occupied the last two places in Group A of the previous round of qualifiers, with Malaysia winning 1-0 in Dili after drawing 1-1 at home in the opener. The first playoff stage for the lower ranking sides in Asia also see the Maldives facing Yemen, Tajikistan, the highest ranked at 150th in the world, playing Bangladesh and Laos drawn with India. The matches will be played on June 2 and 7. The five winners will advance to the next stage of qualifying for the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-hosted tournament, with the losing sides still able to advance if they come through a second playoff, also drawn yesterday. That draw also featured Bhutan, formerly the world’s lowest-ranked international side, who came last of the 39 sides in the second round of joint World and Asian Cup qualifiers, which concluded last month. The continent’s elite 12, including Asian champions Australia, perennial World Cup qualifiers Japan and South Korea, have already booked spots.
CYCLING
Cummings wins third stage
Stephen Cummings of Britain took a tightly bunched leading pack by surprise with a powerful sprint in the last kilometer to win the third stage of the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco on Wednesday. Cummings finished in 5 hours, 1 minute and 57 seconds. The 35-year-old Dimension Data rider timed his final surge perfectly, outsprinting second-place Simon Gerrans of Australia and Italy’s Fabio Felline, who finished third, both in the same time as Cummings. Spain’s Mikel Landa finished 37th in the same time but retained the overall leader’s jersey on the mountainous 193km ride from Vitoria to Lesaka that contained three category-2 climbs.
BADMINTON
Momoto faces Rio ban
Japanese badminton trailblazer Kento Momota is set to miss the Rio de Janeiro Olympics later this year after admitting to gambling at an illegal casino, local media reported yesterday. The 21-year-old world No. 4, 65th ranked Kenichi Tago and other teammates from their domestic Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corp sides said they wagered at the Tokyo casino, which had since closed after police raids, Kyodo News reported. Momota became the first Japanese to win the Badminton World Federation Super Series Masters Final in December last year and also landed the Asian nation a first men’s singles world championship medal when he claimed bronze in Jakarta in August last year. Nippon Badminton Association secretary-general Kinji Zeniya told Kyodo it would “probably be impossible” for the former world junior champion to compete at the Aug. 5-21 Games if the allegations were proven.
TENNIS
Isner ousts Kudla
Top-seeded John Isner had a two-set tournament-record 24 aces to knock out fellow American Denis Kudla 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round of the US men’s clay court championships on Wednesday night. The 30-year-old Isner had 12 aces in each set and was never pushed, despite failing to break Kudla’s serve in the match. Isner lost only four of his 46 first-serve points. South Korea’s 19-year-old Chung Hyeon beat 18-year-old American Tommy Paul 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 to become the third teenager since the tournament moved to Houston in 2001 to advance to the quarter-finals.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
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