GOLF
Storm stops play
A storm washed out the second round of the Honda LPGA in Thailand yesterday, with pools of water on the fairways preventing any significant play. The mid-morning downpour meant leaders Ariya Jutanugarn and Amy Yang — both on six-under-par after round one — were among the players unable to tee-off. Taiwan’s Yani Tseng and Candie Kung, both well down the field, also did not tee off. Round two was to resume today at 7am, with round three to follow immediately afterward.
CRICKET
O’Keefe routs India
Australia left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe dispatched six India batsmen in just 24 deliveries after lunch as the visitors took a strong hold on the first Test in Pune yesterday. India were at 94-3 on day two before O’Keefe turned on the style against a stunned batting order, who offered no resistance as he raced to career-best figures of 6-35. India conceded a 155-run first-innings lead and Australia made the deficit 298, moving to 143-4 with Steven Smith (59) and Mitchell Marsh (21) the not-out batsmen at stumps.
FOOTBALL
Bernie Custis dies
Bernie Custis, the first black starting quarterback in professional football, died on Thursday aged 88, the Canadian Football League said. Custis made history in 1951 when he started a game for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. “Trailblazers are rightly remembered for being the first,” league commissioner Jeffrey Orridge said in a statement. “Bernie Custis, the first black professional quarterback in the modern era starting with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1951, should be revered as well for being one of our best... A true gentleman, he brought honor to our game and our league, and provided us with a role model to emulate.” Custis played for Syracuse University from 1948 to 1950 and was drafted in 1951 by the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, who used him as a defensive back. Determined to play quarterback, Custis signed with Hamilton as a quarterback-running back and helped the Tiger-Cats to a Grey Cup title in 1953.
ATHLETICS
Russian athletes cleared
Track and field authorities have cleared three more Russian athletes to compete at next month’s world indoor track championships. The International Association of Athletics Federations established new criteria requiring Russian athletes to show they had been subject to compliant anti-doping regimens while the Russian track federation is suspended. The three athletes cleared on Thursday are pole vaulter Anzhelika Sidorova, sprinter Kristina Sivkova and hammer thrower Aleksei Sokirskii.
SOCCER
Maracana power restored
Power was restored to the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday almost a month after it was cut off because the stadium’s administrators had not paid the bill, the city’s electricity company Light said. Power was restored after the stadium’s managers paid the 1.3 million reais (US$424,670) owed for November, December and January, the company said. The stadium, which hosted the 2014 FIFA World Cup final and the closing ceremonies of last year’s Olympics and Paralympics, has fallen into a state of disrepair as authorities battled over who should run the ground.
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
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
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