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.
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
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
RSS