GOLF
Gooch makes LIV history
Talor Gooch yesterday became the first golfer to win back-to-back LIV titles after he defeated Spain’s Sergio Garcia in the first playoff hole at the LIV Singapore competition. Gooch pocketed US$4 million for the victory, the same amount he won in his breakthrough in Adelaide last week. The 31-year-old American had more reason to smile as his team RangeGoats cashed in US$3 million for winning the team event. “I’ll be back home this next couple of weeks and I’m sure I’ll take my wife to a nice little dinner. I might buy her something nice,” he said when asked how he plans to spend his earnings.
SNOOKER
Brecel advances to final
Luca Brecel on Saturday staged one of the most astonishing comebacks in snooker history as he won 11 consecutive frames against China’s Si Jiahui to reach the World Snooker Championship final. He is to face four-time world champion Mark Selby, who beat Mark Allen 17-15 in a match that went into early yesterday. Brecel, who won seven straight frames when coming from behind to defeat seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in the quarter-finals, fell 14-5 behind 20-year-old qualifier Si. He won the final five frames of Friday’s evening session and carried on where he left off on Saturday to end Si’s bid to become the youngest Crucible finalist and the first debutant world champion since Wales’ Terry Griffiths in 1979. “To win is absolutely unbelievable, it is the biggest game of my life. I was in disbelief, I was shaking,” Brecel said.
MOTORCYCLING
Women’s worlds set for 2024
A women’s world championship is to be staged for the first time from next year aimed at laying “the foundations for more equal representation” in the sport, organizers said. Dorna Sports, who promote both the MotoGP and Superbike world championships, said the new tournament would be run on Superbike weekends in Europe. The aim in the debut season is to have at least six rounds, with two races per round with riders competing on identical motorcycles supplied by a single manufacturer. “This new championship aims to create opportunities for female riders who are already competing to provide them with an environment in which they can build a professional career in motorcycle racing,” the International Motorcycling Federation said. No women currently participate in either the MotoGP or Moto2 championships.
SOCCER
Authorities probe fan death
Casablanca authorities have opened an investigation after a fan died outside the gates of the Stade Mohammed V before Raja’s match against Al-Ahly in the CAF Champions League quarter-finals on Saturday. Moroccan media reported that the fan, a 29-year-old woman, died in the crush as thousands of people tried to get into the ground to watch Raja try and overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg in Egypt. Another CAF Champions League quarter-final between Esperance and Algeria’s JS Kabylie in Tunis was marred by crowd trouble, which caused a 40-minute delay to the second half. Esperance fans clashed with Tunisian security forces and lit fireworks on the terraces at halftime of the tie at Rades Stadium. Firefighters had to be called out to extinguish several small fires in front of the stands.
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
The NHL postponed the Los Angeles Kings’ home game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday with several massive wildfires burning across the greater Los Angeles area. The Kings and Flames were scheduled to play on Wednesday night at the Kings’ downtown arena. The NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers were scheduled to host the Charlotte Hornets in the same arena last night. “Our hearts are with our entire Los Angeles community,” the Kings said in a statement. “We appreciate the hard working first responders who are diligently working to contain the fire and protect our community. We appreciate the league’s support in keeping our
TWO IN A WEEK: Despite an undefeated start to the year playing alongside Jiang Xinyu of China, Wu Fang-hsien is to play the Australian Open with a Russian partner Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien yesterday triumphed at the Hobart International, winning the women’s doubles title at the US$275,094 outdoor hard-court tournament, while McCartney Kessler lifted the trophy in the women’s singles. Fourth-ranked Wu and partner Jiang Xinyu of China took 1 hour, 15 minutes to defeat Romania’s Monica Niculescu and Fanny Stollar of Hungary, 6-1, 7-6 (8/6) at the Hobart International Tennis Centre, their second title in a week. Wu and Jiang on Sunday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, beating Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US. Their winning ways continued in Australia as they stretched
EL CLASSICO: La Liga champions Real Madrid would face Barcelona in the Super Cup final tomorrow. Barca secured their final spot after a 2-0 win over Bilbao on Wednesday Real Madrid would chase a record-equaling 14th Spanish Super Cup title in the final against Barcelona after second-half goals by Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo helped them to a 3-0 win over Mallorca in the semi-finals on Thursday. England midfielder Bellingham broke the deadlock after the hour mark with a low shot into the middle of the goal before Mallorca defender Martin Valjent’s own goal doubled the lead in stoppage time followed by a Rodrygo strike from close range. Spanish champions Real are to play Barcelona for the trophy tomorrow after goals by Gavi and Lamine Yamal earned Barca a 2-0 win over
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