BADMINTON
Lu and Yang exit Singapore
Taiwan’s Lu Ching-yao and Yang Po-han on Friday crashed out of the men’s doubles quarter-finals in Singapore Open, after losing to Indonesia’s Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani. The Indonesian duo swiftly defeated the Taiwanese 21-16, 21-17 in just 32 minutes. The Taiwanese world No. 24 are to have a chance at redemption at the Taipei Open, which starts on Tuesday.
RUGBY UNION
Samoa win Nations Cup
Replacement hooker Seilala Lam yesterday scored two tries including the match-winner in the 70th minute as Samoa rallied to beat Fiji 23-20 to win the Pacific Nations Cup for the first time in eight years. On an eventful final day of the four-nation tournament, Australia A first beat Tonga 39-22 to briefly move atop the table, but Samoa rallied from 17-3 down at halftime to overcome Fiji with Lam’s two second-half tries to win the trophy for the third time. Samoa came into the final round unbeaten on two wins, with 10 points and ahead of Australia A on seven points and Fiji on five.
OLYMPICS
Jim Thorpe wins reinstated
Jim Thorpe has been reinstated as the sole winner of the 1912 Olympic pentathlon and decathlon in Stockholm — nearly 110 years after being stripped of those gold medals for contraventions of strict amateurism rules of the time. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday announced the change on the 110th anniversary of Thorpe winning the decathlon and later being proclaimed by King Gustav V of Sweden as “the greatest athlete in the world.” Thorpe, a Native American, returned to a ticker-tape parade in New York, but months later it was discovered he had been paid to play minor league baseball over two summers, an infringement of the Olympic amateurism rules. He was stripped of his gold medals in what was described as the first major international sports scandal. To some, Thorpe remains the greatest all-around athlete ever. He was voted as The Associated Press’ Athlete of the Half Century in a poll in 1950. In 1982 — 29 years after his death — the IOC gave duplicate gold medals to his family, but did not reinstate his Olympic records, nor his status as the sole gold medalist of the two events.
BASEBALL
MLB to pay out US$185m
The MLB on Friday agreed to pay minor leaguers US$185 million to settle a federal lawsuit alleging contraventions of US minimum wage laws, a case that progressed through the courts for eight years without reaching a trial. An early estimate is that perhaps 23,000 players could share the money with an average payment of US$5,000 to US$5,500, according to a filing by Brian Kriegler, the players’ damages expert. “This settlement is a monumental step for minor league players toward a fair and just compensation system,” Garrett Broshuis, the players’ lead lawyer and a former minor league pitcher, said in a statement. “I’ve seen first-hand the financial struggle players face while earning poverty-level wages — or no wages at all — in pursuit of their major league dream.” If approved, US$120,197,300 will be split among the players, US$55.5 million will go the players’ lawyers and up to US$5.5 million will cover reimbursement costs of the suit.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
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