SOCCER
Lille, Angers draw 0-0
Lille OSC dropped points in their quest for a top-five place after drawing 0-0 at home to Angers SCO in the French Ligue 1 on Wednesday. Led by the inspired form of highly-rated winger Sofiane Boufal, who has scored 11 league goals this season, Lille had won their previous six league games to shoot up the table. However, the players looked jaded after losing 2-1 to Paris Saint-Germain in a hard-fought Coupe de la Ligue final last weekend, struggling to break down a gritty Angers side that kept Boufal quiet and had four players booked in the second half. The draw leaves sixth-placed Lille four points behind AS Saint-Etienne and OGC Nice with only three games remaining as they battle for a Europa League spot. Lille play Saint-Etienne in the final round of matches.
CYCLING
Kittel claims first stage
Germany’s Marcel Kittel claimed the weather-curtailed first stage of the Tour de Romandie in a sprint finish on Wednesday. The start was scheduled for La Chaux-de-Fonds, but with the threat of ice and hail the riders started from Mathon, reducing the circuit to 100km. Kittel saw off Italy’s Niccolo Bonifazio by half a wheel length with Swiss rider Michael Albasini in third. Spaniard Ion Izagirre retained the lead in the overall standings after his surprise success in Tuesday’s prologue. Wednesday’s shortened ride was lit up by Sander Armie’s breakaway, with the Belgian rider only caught 13km from the finish line. The 27-year-old Kittel capitalized on the work of his Ettix-QuickStep teammates in the closing kilometers and reacted quickly when Albasini made the first burst for the line. “I didn’t have my usual teammates around me as Etixx have mainly selected climbers for this race. But that didn’t stop them from doing excellent work,” Kittel said.
TENNIS
Dimitrov through to quarters
Second-seeded Grigor Dimitrov had to overcome some tough resistance from qualifier Adrian Ungur before coming through 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 for a place in the quarter-finals of the Istanbul Open on Wednesday. Dimitrov, who reached the semi-finals in Istanbul last year, next faces sixth-seeded Jiri Vesely, who rallied to beat Roberto Carballes Baena 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-2. Fourth-seeded Federico Delbonis defeated Dudi Sela 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in the second round to also make the quarters, while eighth-seeded Albert Ramos-Vinolas beat Karen Khachanov 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 to advance. In the remaining first-round match on Wednesday, Illya Marchenko defeated Maximo Gonzalez 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
SOCCER
Vancouver salvage draw
Vancouver hung on with 10 men for most of the second half to salvage a 1-1 home draw against Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday, keeping the gap between the MLS Western Conference contenders at two points. The day’s two other games also ended 1-1, with Eastern Conference leader Montreal getting a stoppage-time goal to draw away at New York City, and Portland gifting host New England a point by netting a very late own-goal. Vancouver went ahead in the 14th minute when veteran Costa Rica international Christian Bolanos scored his first MLS goal, connecting off Cristian Techera’s corner. Sporting equalized 13 minutes later through Chile international striker Diego Rubio, who is on loan from Real Valladolid. Vancouver went down to 10 men in the 51st minute when a poor back-pass from Tim Parker forced fellow defender Kendall Waston to take down Rubio for his second yellow card.
Two people died on Thursday after fans and police clashed outside the Estadio Monumental in Santiago ahead of a game in South America’s Copa Libertadores, Chilean authorities said. The fatalities happened shortly before the match between Chile’s Colo-Colo and Brazilian club Fortaleza, when police blocked about 100 fans when they attempted to enter the stadium. There were conflicting accounts of how the fatalities occurred, with local media reporting that one of the dead was a 13-year-old boy. The other victim was an 18-year-old woman, according to a relative at the hospital where she was treated. The fans died after being caught underneath a
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
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