SOCCER
Indonesia to raze stadium
Indonesia is to demolish and rebuild a soccer stadium where a stampede killed more than 130 people on Oct. 1, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said yesterday, as he vowed to “thoroughly transform” the sport in the soccer-mad nation. The president was speaking to reporters at the state palace after meeting FIFA president Gianni Infantino. “Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang ... we will demolish it and rebuild according to FIFA standards,” he said. A fact-finding team formed by the government released a report last week blaming the stampede after a league match on police firing tear gas in the stadium, a crowd control measure banned by FIFA. The team also said that more than three hours of closed-circuit television footage had been deleted about an hour after the match.
ARCHERY
Taiwanese wins bronze
Taiwan’s Peng Chia-mao on Sunday clinched the women’s recurve bronze at the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final after defeating home favorite Alejandra Valencia in Tlaxcala, Mexico. The 26-year-old Peng, ranked world No. 11 in women’s recurve, went 2-0 ahead in the first set and never relinquished her lead throughout the five-set encounter, shooting 28 in the final set to win 7-3 against the Mexican archer. Valencia tied with Peng in sets two to four to gain three points. Peng’s route to the bronze-medal match saw her sweep world No. 44 Utano Agu of Japan 6-0 in the quarter-finals, but lose 6-4 to world No. 1 An San of South Korea in the semis.
FOOTBALL
Broncos rack up penalties
On the first play of Damarri Mathis’ first NFL start on Monday, the Denver Broncos cornerback committed a 30-yard pass interference penalty. When the Broncos’ 19-16 overtime loss was finished, he had been flagged for pass interference four times for 87 penalty yards — the fifth-most by a single player in any single game since the 2000 NFL season. Mathis faced up to questions in the SoFi Stadium visitors’ locker room after the game, and the fourth-round pick from the University of Pittsburgh did not cry foul over all those flags. “Just need to clean up my technique,” Mathis said. “I was in good position. I don’t even want to [say the calls were] questionable.” The rest of the Broncos (2-4) also largely did not complain after they were hit with 10 penalties for 151 yards in their third consecutive loss. That is the second-most penalty yards in franchise history, the most since 1976 and the most by any NFL team this season.
CURLING
Fire US curling head: group
A majority of USA Curling’s diversity task force has called for the removal of Jeff Plush as the national governing body’s CEO, accusing him of failing to act when confronted with allegations of sexual abuse and other misconduct while serving as the commissioner of the US National Women’s Soccer League. “He cannot be trusted to prioritize the safety and well-being of athletes in this organization,” the group said in a statement. “We are concerned about the immediate safety of US curlers.” An investigation by former US attorney general Sally Yates showed that Plush was aware of abuse allegations against Portland Thorns coach Paul Riley, but did not do anything to prevent him from coaching in the league.
Manchester City have confirmed defender Josko Gvardiol suffered a broken leg in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium. Gvardiol was one of two City centerbacks who went off injured in the second half, along with Ruben Dias, before Enzo Fernandez scored a stoppage-time equalizer for the visitors. The draw left second-placed City six points behind English Premier League leaders Arsenal. City, announcing Gvardiol sustained a tibial fracture to his right leg, added in a statement issued on Monday: “The defender will have surgery later this week and assessment remains ongoing to ascertain the full extent of the
MOTHER KNOWS BEST: Warriors’ coach Kerr said his 91-year-old mother criticized him for his attitude toward officials that led to his ejection from Monday’s game Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Wednesday rescued the Oklahoma City Thunder with a game-tying buzzer-beater before finishing with 46 points in a 129-125 overtime victory against the Utah Jazz. The reigning NBA champions looked to be heading for a third straight loss after the Jazz inched into a 114-112 lead following Lauri Markkanen’s layup with just three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. However, NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander drained a superb 13-foot jump shot to tie it up at 114-114 as the buzzer sounded to send the game into overtime. Gilgeous-Alexander then took over in the extra period with nine points as the Western
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka yesterday got her season off to a winning start for Japan in the United Cup, after the UK’s Emma Raducanu pulled out of their singles clash with a fitness issue, while in Brisbane, Taiwan’s Latisha Chan and Wu Fang-hsien crashed out of the women’s doubles. In Perth, despite Osaka’s win, the UK took the match 2-1 with a deciding mixed doubles victory. Osaka was too strong for reserve and 276th-ranked Katie Swan, winning 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 as Raducanu watched from the sidelines. “I’m proud of how I fought,” Osaka said. “I’d never played here, it was tough.” Britain
Bangladesh will not play their Twenty20 World Cup matches in India after Mustafizur Rahman was released by his Indian Premier League team amid growing tensions between the countries, Bangladesh’s sports adviser Asif Nazrul said on Sunday. Kolkata Knight Riders said on Saturday they had released the Bangladeshi bowler after being told to do so by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Bangladesh are scheduled to play three Twenty20 World Cup matches in Kolkata next month, with the Feb. 7-March 8 tournament being cohosted by India and Sri Lanka. “Bangladesh will not go to India to play the
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