SOCCER
Brazil beat Russia 3-0
Brazil on Friday cruised to a 3-0 win over FIFA World Cup hosts Russia without an injured Neymar. In freezing temperatures at Moscow’s vast Luzhniki Stadium, the Brazilians worked hard to break down Russia’s deep defense before three goals in 13 minutes early in the second half. Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev parried Thiago Silva’s 53rd-minute shot into the path of Miranda, who scored from close range. Philippe Coutinho made it 2-0 from the penalty spot 9 minutes later, and Paulinho added Brazil’s third in the 66th with a header off Willian’s cross. Less than three months before the World Cup opens at Luzhniki, the defeat highlighted Russia’s vulnerability at the back. Injuries to two central defenders this year forced coach Stanislav Cherchesov to field a makeshift five-man back line, which was often able to do little more than stay deep and defend in numbers. Up front, the Russians missed the injured Alexander Kokorin — who is unlikely to return for the World Cup — but still managed to create chances against a sometimes-shaky Brazilian defense.
TABLE TENNIS
Ghosh denies rape
Indian table tennis player Soumyajit Ghosh has been provisionally suspended by the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) after an 18-year-old woman filed a rape allegation against him with the police. The 24-year-old, who represented India at the 2012 London Olympics and the Rio Olympics four years later was also named in the squad to compete at next month’s Commonwealth Games in Australia. Ghosh has denied the allegations. The TTFI said in a statement on Friday that it had placed Ghosh under provisional suspension, pending the final outcome of a police investigation and court verdict, if any. “I am in touch with my lawyer and will decide the course of action,” Ghosh told the Hindu newspaper.
BOXING
Alvarez fails second drug test
Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez was temporarily suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission following two positive tests for the banned fat-burning drug clenbuterol, the body’s executive director Bob Bennett said in a statement on Friday. Alvarez is to meet with the commission on April 10 for a final decision on his case, less than a month before his scheduled rematch against multiple middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin in Las Vegas on May 5. The pair battled to a controversial draw in September last year. Alvarez has a 49-1-2 record, with his only loss coming against Floyd Mayweather in 2013, while Golovkin has won 37 of his 38 bouts, with the only blemish on his record the draw against the Mexican.
BIATHLON
Kuzmina wins sprint title
Anastasia Kuzmina won the biathlon World Cup sprint title in Tyumen, Russia, despite a 12th-place finish in Friday’s race that cut her lead in the overall standings. The Slovakian missed three shots as she finished more than 1 minute off the pace of race winner and overall title contender Darya Domracheva of Belarus. Domracheva took the win by 1.2 seconds from Kaisa Makarainen of Finland, while Tiril Eckhoff of Norway was third. That meant that Kuzmina won the sprint season title by 10 points from Domracheva, but that her overall lead was cut to 16 points over Makarainen with two races remaining. The US and Canadian teams were among a number of biathletes to boycott the final World Cup round because they consider Russia’s doping scandals make it an unsuitable host.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
Former Formosa Dreamers player Ilkan Karaman was killed in a traffic accident in Datca, Turkey, Turkish media reported yesterday. He was 34. The former Turkish national team player was reportedly hit by a car, the driver of which was allegedly drunk, while he was standing on a sidewalk, Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported. Karaman and his friends were on their way to the beach town of Dalaman to go scuba diving when they stopped at a gas station to buy gasoline, it reported. Karaman was hit by the car while waiting on a sidewalk as his friends were buying gasoline, it
ANKLE PROBLEM: Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin had a disappointing end to their tournament after an injury forced them out of their mixed doubles semi-final Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying on Friday was knocked out in the women’s singles quarter-finals at her last Taipei Open. The world No. 3 lost 21-18, 16-21, 22-24 to Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in a match that stretched 68 minutes at the Taipei Arena. Despite her higher ranking, Tai said she was not too sad about the loss, given her struggle with a lingering knee injury. “Wins and losses are just part of the game. Actually, I think I’m going to lose every single match considering my condition now,” said the five-time champion of the Super 300 event, who has announced plans
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