BASKETBALL
Clippers extend resurgence
Kawhi Leonard scored 30 points, while Paul George added 24 as the Los Angeles Clippers extended their resurgence with a 134-126 victory over Golden State, as the Warriors’ road woes continued despite 50 points from Stephen Curry. Terance Mann added 17 points, Eric Gordon had 16 and Russell Westbrook delivered 15 for the Clippers, who extended their winning streak to four games following a five-game losing streak. Ivica Zubac had 19 points and 16 rebounds for Los Angeles. Curry shot 20 of 28 from the field and eight of 14 from three-point range for the Warriors during his ninth career 50-point game. However, his team suffered their ninth consecutive loss on the road. Elsewhere, the 76ers beat the Cavaliers 118-109; the Heat defeated the Grizzlies 138-119; the Celtics edged the Timberwolves 104-102; the Rockets beat the Lakers 114-110; the Mavericks downed the Spurs 137-128; and the Kings defeated the Bulls 117-114.
SOCCER
Infantino re-elected
Gianni Infantino yesterday was re-elected as FIFA president during the 73rd Congress in Kigali, promising record revenue in the next four-year cycle of US$11 billion as he called for more soccer to be played around the world. Infantino stood unopposed, making his re-election as head of the world governing body a formality. “It is an incredible honor and privilege, and a great responsibility,” Infantino said. “I promise to continue serving FIFA and football around the world. To those that love me, and I know there are many, and those who hate me, I love you all.”
SOCCER
Indonesian officer jailed
An Indonesian court yesterday jailed a police officer for 18 months over negligence contributing to one of the worst stadium disasters in the history of the sport. Last year’s crush in the city of Malang killed 135 people — including more than 40 children — after a 3-2 defeat for Arema by their fierce East Javan rivals Persebaya Surabaya. When supporters invaded the pitch of the Kanjuruhan Stadium, police fired tear gas, causing a deadly stampede. The man jailed on Thursday, Hasdarmawan — who like many Indonesians goes by one name — was a commander for East Java police’s mobile brigade unit. The court is “sentencing the defendant, Hasdarmawan, to one-and-a-half year[s] in prison,” presiding judge Abu Achmad Sidqi Amsya told the court in Surabaya. “The defendant failed to predict a situation that was actually quite easy to anticipate. There was an option not to fire [the tear gas] to respond to the supporters’ violence.” The sentence was shorter than the three years prosecutors had asked for. Hasdarmawan had previously denied ordering his subordinates to fire tear gas toward the supporters. Bambang Sidik Achmadi, a Malang police officer also accused of ordering his subordinates to shoot tear gas, was found not guilty by the court. Amsya said that the charges had “not been proven” and the defendant was free to go. The court was scheduled to pass verdict on one more Malang police officer for negligence. Last week, the court sentenced the head of the match organizing committee, Abdul Haris, and security official Suko Sutrisno to 18 months and one year in prison respectively.
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying on Saturday crashed out of the BWF All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham, with South Korea’s Se Young-an denying the world No. 3 Tai a chance at a fourth All England title. In a replay of their semi-final showdown last year, the world No. 2 Se again beat Tai, saving four match points in a thrilling deciding game to prevail 17-21, 21-19, 24-22. Tai won the women’s singles title in Birmingham in 2017, 2018 and 2020. In the three times the two superstars faced each other prior to Saturday, Tai, 22, had only come out on top once, when
ON ANOTHER LEVEL: In a pregame speech, Ohtani urged his teammates ‘to throw away their admiration’ for the US, because they ‘came here to surpass them, to reach the top’ Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout had dreamed of this moment, along with millions of fans throughout Japan and the US: the two biggest stars on the planet, longtime teammates, facing each other at 60 feet, 6 inches, the world title at stake. Of course, the count went full on Tuesday night, and Ohtani got Trout to swing under a slider on the outside corner, sealing Japan’s 3-2 win and their first World Baseball Classic (WBC) title since 2009. “This is the best moment in my life,” Ohtani said through a translator. Ohtani, the two-way star who has captivated fans across two continents, was
With cherry blossoms reaching full bloom in Tokyo, Japanese sports fans erupted in jubilation yesterday, after their compatriots defeated the US to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC). More than a hundred people gathered near Shimbashi Station in the city center to get special newspaper editions celebrating the victory. The scene quickly turned chaotic, with police officers jumping in to help hand out copies. “I am so proud as a Japanese national,” said Yuji Takeno, a 33-year-old company worker who was among those gathered in Shimbashi. “I also play baseball for leisure and it makes me want to work harder, that’s how
Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka on Tuesday said she struggled to understand the “hate” she encountered in the locker room amid strained relations between some players following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The world No. 2 has previously said she has nothing against Ukrainians and felt bad for them as Moscow’s action rages on. Belarus has been a staging area for the invasion, which Moscow calls a “special military operation.” “It was really tough for me because I’ve never faced that much hate in the locker room,” Sabalenka said ahead of the Miami Open. “There are a lot of haters on Instagram when you’re losing
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