SOCCER
Forest, Everton win
Nottingham Forest and Everton on Wednesday shrugged off the threat of a potential Premier League points deduction as they battled into the fourth round of the FA Cup. Forest survived a scare to beat third-tier Blackpool 3-2 after extra-time, while Everton were 1-0 winners against Crystal Palace in another of the night’s third-round replays. It was a welcome tonic for Forest and Everton, who on Monday were both referred to an independent commission by the Premier League after admitting to breaches of financial rules. The alleged breaches of the league’s profitability and sustainability rules relate to the 2022-2023 season and could carry a points penalty. With Everton and Forest embroiled in a relegation battle, that would plunge their top-flight status into severe doubt. Everton have already been deducted 10 points this season for exceeding the allowable loss thresholds at the end of the 2021-2022 campaign.
Photo: AFP
SOCCER
Girona make quarters
Girona on Wednesday defeated Rayo Vallecano 3-1 at home to reach the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey for the first time in five years. Cristhian Stuani scored a pair of goals four minutes apart in the first half for Girona, who are the surprise leaders of La Liga near the competition’s halfway point. They lead Real Madrid by a point having played an extra game. Girona did not get past the second round of the Copa last season. Stuani scored for the hosts in the 15th and 19th minutes, while Daley Blind added the third in the 26th minute. Rayo scored through Randy Nteka in the 36th minute. Meanwhile, CA Osasuna, who lost last year’s final to Real Madrid, were eliminated by Real Sociedad 2-0, with Mikel Oyarzabal scoring in the 57th minute and Mikel Merino adding the second in stoppage-time. Osasuna had only one attempt on target and played with 10 men from the 56th minute after Alejandro Catena was sent off with a straight red card. RC Celta de Vigo won 3-1 against Valencia to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2017.
CRICKET
Australia take control
An inspired spell of bowling from Josh Hazlewood and a brilliant attacking century from Travis Head yesterday put Australia in complete control of the first Test against the West Indies in Adelaide. After Head smashed 119 to take Australia to 283 and a first-innings lead of 95, Hazlewood took four wickets for just two runs at the start of the West Indies second innings to deal a hammer blow to the visitors. At stumps on the second day, the West Indies were 73-6, still 22 runs from making Australia bat again. Joshua Da Silva was not out 17, with Justin Greaves dismissed off the last ball of the day’s play. Hazlewood removed the top four West Indies batsmen in a superb spell of seam bowling, dismissing Tagenarine Chanderpaul for a first-ball duck, captain Kraigg Brathwaite (1), Alick Athanaze (0) and Kavem Hodge (3).
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
Denmark’s double Olympic badminton champion Viktor Axelsen, long a rival of Taiwan’s former world No. 2 Chou Tien-chen, yesterday announced his retirement at age 32, saying back problems meant he could no longer “compete and train at the highest level.” Axelsen, who won gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and again in Paris in 2024, had back surgery in April last year and said he had not overcome his physical issues. “Accepting this situation has been incredibly difficult,” he said in a statement. “But I have now reached a point where my body won’t allow me to continue.” Axelsen retires as one
SEASON ENDING: The Nuggets took the third seed in the Western Conference and are to face the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round The Denver Nuggets, fueled by 23 first-half points from Nikola Jokic, on Sunday beat the San Antonio Spurs 128-118, notching their 12th straight victory to clinch the Western Conference third seed on the last day of the NBA regular season. On a day when coaches rested dozens of players in preparation for the looming playoffs, three-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Jokic had to play at least 15 minutes to be eligible for end of season awards, including MVP. The Serbian big man played just over 18, propelling the Nuggets to a 70-56 halftime lead that they would not relinquish
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