GOLF
C.T. Pan jumps up rankings
Taiwan’s C.T. Pan on Sunday finished ninth at the Genesis Invitational golf tournament in the US with an overall score of 11-under 273 to vault him higher in PGA Tour rankings. Thirty-year-old Pan, who won a bronze in men’s golf at the Tokyo Olympics, shot a four-under 67 in Sunday’s final round after starting the day tied for 18th at seven-under-par. Pan’s strong finish gave him his second top 10 result in nine starts during this PGA Tour season, and moved his ranking in the FedEx Cup standings up to 56th, from 93rd a week earlier. With his US$351,000 in prize money for his ninth-place finish, Pan also rose from 87th to 47th on the PGA Tour money list with total winnings so far this season of US$789,718.
SOCCER
Eriksen closer to full return
Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen on Monday edged closer to making his return to professional soccer registering two assists in Brentford’s 2-2 friendly draw with Scottish club Rangers. Eriksen, who joined Brentford as a free agent last month, played nearly 80 minutes in a friendly match behind closed doors, eight months after having a cardiac arrest on the pitch during a UEFA Euro 2020 match. The 30-year-old floated in a corner that was headed in from close range by Zanka to put Brentford ahead. Manchester United loanee Amad Diallo then scored twice to give Rangers a 2-1 lead, before Eriksen’s free-kick was turned in by Tristan Crama to level the match. Eriksen is hoping to make his first English Premier League appearance for Brentford when they host Newcastle on Saturday.
SOCCER
Defender nets 3 own-goals
New Zealand defender Meikayla Moore on Sunday scored a hat-trick of own-goals as her side were beaten 5-0 by the US women’s national team in the SheBelieves Cup. Moore, who plays for Liverpool in the FA Women’s Championship, notched an otherwise “perfect” hat-trick: Attempted clearances from her right foot, her head and left foot all found their way into the New Zealand net in the fifth, sixth and 36th minutes. The 25-year-old was substituted shortly after the third. “Each player who has played [soccer], and it doesn’t matter what level, has great games and tough games, and Mouse [Moore] had a tough day at the office,” New Zealand coach Jitka Klimkova said. “Obviously, she’s sad and disappointed, but she’s an unbelievable person and player who belongs on this team. We are all behind her in this tough moment for her.”
ATHLETICS
Farah ready for comeback
Multiple world and Olympic champion Mo Farah plans to return to action at the Vitality London 10,000 on May 2 after recovering from a foot fracture, organizers said in a statement on Monday. The 38-year-old Briton, who completed the 5,000m and 10,000m double at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, failed to make the qualifying time for the 10,000m at last year’s Tokyo Games and has been out of action since June. Farah is looking forward to the London race, which he has won seven times. “I’ve been working hard to get back into shape following my injury ... and I’ve got a few more months of hard training ahead of me, so it’s good to have a target like the Vitality London 10,000 to work toward,” Farah said.
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
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later
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