RUGBY UNION
Japan told to speed up
Japanese organizers were yesterday warned to accelerate their preparations for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, with training venues a key area of concern. Following the conclusion of evaluation meetings in Tokyo, Rugby World Cup Tournament Director Alan Gilpin was underwhelmed by the progress made with two years to go before the sport’s showpiece competition comes to Asia for the first time. “There are some areas where the organizing committee has not progressed as much as we would expect by this stage,” he said in a media release. “The Japan Rugby 2019 organizing committee recognize that they need to accelerate the selection of training venues,” Gilpin added. “These venues must be of a world-class standard that provide the platform for the players to perform at their best.”
GOLF
Leishman in command
Marc Leishman on Saturday fired five birdies in a three-under par 68 to stretch his lead to five strokes over fellow Australian Jason Day and Rickie Fowler in the BMW Championship. Leishman started the day with a three-shot lead. His solid performance at Conway Farms put him on 19-under 194 going into the final round of the penultimate tournament in the US PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoff series. Day and Fowler both carded one-under par 70s for 199. England’s Justin Rose signed for a 66 that put him in solo fourth on 201. Spain’s Jon Rahm carded a 65 to head a group of seven players on 202. Leishman capped his round with a birdie at the par-five 18th to put himself in prime position to seize a third US PGA Tour title.
TRIATHLON
Mola, Duffy win grand final
Mario Mola of Spain and Flora Duffy of Bermuda on Saturday won their second-straight triathlon world championships when they reached the podium in the world series grand final. Mola was third in the men’s race, and Duffy won the women’s, her sixth win out of nine races in the series this year. Mola won four races this year and finished 10 seconds behind grand final winner Vincent Luis of France. Luis broke from the leading pack of four in the last few meters of the run. Kristian Blummenfelt of Norway finished second to replace Richard Murray of South Africa in third place for the season. Five-time world champion Javier Gomez Noya, fourth in the race, was second overall to compatriot Mola. Duffy dominated the women’s race to win by nearly one minute. “Today went just how I wanted it to,” Duffy said. Katie Zaferes of the US was second to finish a career-best third overall. Ashleigh Gentle of Australia was also a career-best second overall, and sixth in the final.
TENNIS
Apology for racist gesture
Brazilian tennis player Guilherme Clezar has apologized after making a racist gesture in a Davis Cup match in Japan. The 24-year-old Clezar put his fingers to the edge of his eyes and then stretched them after successfully challenging a line call. The Brazilian on Friday lost his singles match against Japan’s Yuichi Sugita in Osaka. Clezar was fined US$1,500 by the International Tennis Federation on Saturday for “unsportsmanlike conduct.” In a written apology, Clezar said: “Even though I didn’t mean any prejudice ... I want to express my regret and my most sincere apology.” The federation said it “condemns any form of offensive behavior.” Sugita won 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 (5) as Japan took a 2-0 lead over Brazil in their World Group playoff in Osaka.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
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