OLYMPICS
Russian jumper given nod
Russian long jumper Darya Klishina has been cleared to compete internationally as a neutral athlete after a successful appeal against a blanket ban on her country’s track and field athletes for systematic doping. “The IAAF [The International Association of Athletics Federations] Doping Review Board has agreed that Russian long jump athlete Darya Klishina meets the exceptional eligibility criteria to compete in international competition as a neutral athlete,” the IAAF said on its Web site. “Darya Klishina’s participation as a neutral athlete in international competition is still subject to acceptance by the organizer of the competition in question, in accordance with the rules of that competition,” it said.
OLYMPICS
Canadian sprinters qualify
Andre de Grasse ran his fastest 100m of the year to book his place at the Rio de Janeiro Games, while world champions Shawn Barber and Derek Drouin also won their events at the Canadian Olympic trials on Saturday. De Grasse, co-bronze medalist at last year’s World Championships, clocked 9.99 seconds to defeat Aaron Brown in the meeting in Edmonton, Alberta.
OLYMPICS
Serbia, Croatia book berths
Balkan rivals Serbia and Croatia booked two of the last three remaining Olympic basketball berths after contrasting wins over their respective rivals on Saturday. Serbia qualified for the first time as an independent nation with a 108-77 rout of Puerto Rico, while Croatia beat Italy 84-78 in an overtime thriller after the game was held up for 15 minutes when the electronic scoreboard malfunctioned. France were to play Canada in the final of the Manila tournament last night for the last remaining berth. Host nation Brazil, champions the US, Argentina, Australia, Venezuela, Nigeria, China, Spain and Lithuania qualified earlier.
GOLF
Riegger takes lead in NY
John Riegger followed his opening 66 with a five-under 67 on Saturday and was tied with Paul Goydos (66) for the lead at 11-under 133 at the second round of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open in Endicott, New York. First-round leader Scott Dunlap (70) was third at 10-under. Wes Short Jr and Monday qualifier Neal Lancaster also shot 66 and shared fourth, another shot back at En-Joie Golf Club. Riegger thrived on the four par-fives on the narrow, tree-lined course. On Saturday, he birdied two of the three on the front side and eagled No. 12, the final par-five. This will be the first time Riegger has had the lead, or a share of it, entering the final round of a Champions Tour event.
SOCCER
Pele to marry again
Pele is to get married tomorrow for the third time, tying the knot with his girlfriend of six years, Marcia Cibele Aoki. Pele, 75, told O Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper that this time, he has found “love forever.” Pele and Aoki met in New York in the 1980s, but only started seeing each other in 2010, when they crossed paths in an elevator in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Aoki, a 42-year-old businesswoman, has been by the three-time world champion’s side for nearly all his public appearances since 2012, as well as during his repeated hospital visits in recent years. Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele is held by many as being the greatest soccer player in history. He scored 1,281 goals in 1,363 matches, appeared 91 times for Brazil between 1957 and 1971.
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
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