CRICKET
Australia dominate in Test
Marnus Labuschagne yesterday cracked a masterful unbeaten 154 while Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith hit 50s as a dominant Australia took control of the opening Test against the West Indies at Perth Stadium. The hosts reached an ominous 293-2 at stumps on day one following captain Pat Cummins’ decision to bat in hot and dry conditions. The total was built off the back of a 142-run stand between Labuschagne and Khawaja, who came together after David Warner was out for five, then an unbeaten 142 with Smith. A focused Labuschagne, who survived chances on 75 and 137, brought up his eighth century in his 29th Test and with the in-form Smith unbeaten on 59 the omens are not good for the visitors, who have failed to win a Test in Australia for 25 years.
RUGBY UNION
White wrongly cleared
Officials on Tuesday said Australia scrumhalf Nic White was wrongly allowed to play on after he was concussed against Ireland this month. White took a blow to the head in the second half at Lansdowne Road on Nov. 19. As he was leaving the field for a head injury assessment (HIA), he stumbled twice. Those stumbles were “Criteria 1” displays of possible concussion and should have automatically resulted in White’s permanent removal from the field. An independent review ordered by the Six Nations said the stumbles were missed. White passed the HIA by the independent match day doctor and returned to play the last 26 minutes. The decision was widely criticized. World Rugby said the report showed that the match day doctor and Wallabies doctor were reviewing video of the head knock and did not see White stumble. Not until after the match when the medical team was made aware of the stumbles was video of that reviewed.
TENNIS
US coaches sanctioned
US coaches Bob Bryan and Mardy Fish have been fined and received suspended bans for breaking betting sponsorship rules, the International Tennis Integrity Agency said on Tuesday. The pair were fined US$10,000 each and received suspended bans of four months after admitting promoting a gaming operator on social media. Because the pair were on the US Davis Cup coaching team this year, they are considered “covered persons” and thereby banned from such activities. Fish, 40, reached a career-high ranking of world No. 7, and won an Olympic silver medal in 2004. Bryan, 44, a top-ranked doubles player with his twin brother, won 23 Grand Slams, including seven mixed doubles.
HOCKEY
Ovechkin surpasses Gretzky
Alex Ovechkin on Tuesday scored twice, passing Wayne Gretzky for the most road goals in NHL history, as the Washington Capitals beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-1. Ovechkin has scored 403 of his 793 career goals away from home. Gretzky holds the overall record with 894. Ovechkin topped Gretzky 11 minutes, 52 seconds into the first period, firing a one-timer from the left circle past Martin to give the Capitals a 2-0 lead with his 13th goal of the season. He got his first of the night 5:35 in, taking the puck off the stick of Vancouver defenseman Quinn Hughes near the net and batting in a quick shot. It was Ovechkin’s 135th game-opening goal, tying Jaromir Jagr for the most in NHL history.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
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