GOLF
Woods revels in wet
Tiger Woods enjoyed himself in almost serene conditions, carding a second straight six-under-par 64 to grab a two-shot second-round lead over Jeff Woodland at the Zozo Championship yesterday. On a day when spectators were not allowed on the premises due to what the PGA Tour said were unsafe conditions, Woods quietly went about his business in front in near-silence at the Narashino County Club in Chiba, Japan. Woodland shot 66 to stake out second place at 10-under, while Keegan Bradley and local favorite Hideki Matsuyama were two shots further back in a tie for third. The course dried remarkably well after being deluged with 150mm of rain on Friday. Taiwan’s C.T. Pan was in a share of 62nd after a second-round 75.
GOLF
South Koreans dominate
Lee Somi and Lee Seung-yeon had a share of the lead at the LPGA BMW Ladies Championship at home in South Korea yesterday. Lee Somi shot a 67 and Lee Seung-yeon 68 as they reached 13-under after the third round in Busan. Six other South Koreans were in the top 10, while Taiwan’s Hsu Wei-ling shot a 69 for a share of 72nd.
HORSE RACING
Fifth death at Santa Anita
A fifth horse has died at Santa Anita this fall, the 35th overall fatality since Dec. 26 last year at the Southern California racetrack. G Q Covergirl injured both her front legs on Friday on the training track. The five-year-old mare was euthanized on the advice of the attending veterinarian. Trained by two-time Kentucky Derby winner Doug O’Neill, G Q Covergirl had six wins in 16 career starts and earnings of US$200,730. The training track has caused the fewest number of breakdowns. However, there have been three deaths on it since the fall meet began on Sept. 27, including one that was believed to be a heart attack. The other two fatalities occurred during races.
SOCCER
Ekambi scores brace
Karl Toko Ekambi scored a goal in each half on Friday as Villarreal beat Deportivo Alaves 4-1 to move closer to the top of La Liga. Ekambi opened the scoring with a shot from inside the area after a fast counterattack in the 13th minute. He added his second with a touch from close range in the 65th after Lucas Perez had equalized for the visitors with a neat bicycle-kick in the 50th. Gerard Moreno scored the third after another fast break in the 84th, and substitute Javier Ontiveros closed the scoring from a free-kick
SOCCER
Mainz defeat Cologne
FSV Mainz 05 beat Cologne 3-1 at home in the Bundesliga on Friday after the visitors were denied what looked a clear penalty. Cologne were trailing 2-1 and chasing an equalizer when Mainz defender Moussa Niakhate blocked Kingsley Schindler’s cross with his outstretched arm in the 63rd minute. Referee Frank Willenborg was advised to check on video replays, but did not award a spot-kick.
SOCCER
Sassuolo edge Verona 1-0
US Sassuolo beat Hellas Verona 1-0 on Friday in a matchup between two teams in the bottom half of the Serie A standings. Filip Duricic scored shortly after the break with a blistering long-range effort. Sassuolo moved up to 13th place, level on points with 15th-place Verona. Verona hit the post twice, first through Davide Faraoni a minute before Duricic’s goal and again two minutes after Duricic’s score by Valerio Verre.
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
Crowds descended on the home of 17-year-old Chinese diver Quan Hongchan after she won two golds at the Paris Olympics while gymnast Zhang Boheng hid in a Beijing airport toilet to escape overzealous throngs of fans. They are just two recent examples of what state media are calling “toxic fandom” and Chinese authorities have vowed to crack down on it. Some of the adulation toward China’s sports stars has been more sinister — fans obsessing over athletes’ personal lives, cyberbullying opponents or slamming supposedly crooked judges. Experts say it mirrors the kind of behavior once reserved for entertainment celebrities before
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
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