CRICKET
Formosa trounce TCA
Formosa yesterday trounced TCA in their Group B Taiwan Premier League match at the Yinfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. Formosa won the toss and elected to bat, putting together 141-4 in their 20 overs. Man of the match Sandeep Patel hit 43 from 36 deliveries, his five boundaries all sixes as he top-scored for Formosa. In reply, TCA slumped to 80 all out, with none of their top eight batsmen reaching double figures. Himanshu Rathee returned the best bowling figures of 3-19 to help his side win by 61 runs. In the afternoon match, TCA made 139-7 batting first against the Raging Bulls, who were 94-3 in 12.1 overs when it began to rain, ending play for the day.
BOXING
Davis predicts winning KO
Gervonta “Tank” Davis on Saturday night made a triumphant return to the ring after more than a year away, once again showing why he is one of the top pound-for-pound boxers. Armed with a punching power not typically associated with a lightweight, Davis made full use if his skills in dominating Frank Martin and knocking him out at one minute, 29 seconds of the eighth round to retain the WBA championship. “I knew the way he fell he wasn’t getting back up,” Davis said. Davis delivered a right and two lefts to Martin’s face to send the Indianapolis resident to the canvass for his first career loss after winning his first 18 fights. Davis again proved to be one of boxing’s most ferocious punchers, improving to 30-0 — all but two by knockout. He predicted before the fight that its would end in an eight-round knockout. “I was just throwing that out there. Next fight in the first round,” Davis said, smiling.
OLYMPICS
Swimmer’s family scammed
British Olympic freestyle gold medalist Matt Richards has urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to do more to help families of competing athletes attend events at the Paris Olympics after his parents lost money in an online ticket scam. Richards took gold at Tokyo 2020 in the 4x200m freestyle relay and could be competing in six events this summer. He won individual 200m gold at the last year’s World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. “I do find it crazy that when competing at an Olympic Games, the families of the athletes have to source and fund tickets themselves,” Richards wrote on Instagram, addressing @Olympics. “Given that you won’t pay the athletes who compete in the event (that creates billions every year in revenue) due to it ‘not being the Olympic spirit’... do you not think it’s time that you support the families of the people competing, by giving them tickets to the events that their family members are competing in?” Richards then apologized for the “rant,” but said he felt it was a really important subject. Richards’ mother Amanda told the BBC separately that the family had been scammed of £2,500 (US$3,165) by a ticket Web site that “looked perfectly legitimate.” They had been unable to afford tickets in the official ballot where only the most expensive were left by the time they got their turn. “We couldn’t afford to buy tickets for everything he’s swimming in, but we wanted to be there for sort of the important ones,” she said. “We don’t have masses of savings. We just don’t have the money to be able to just buy another set of tickets. We’re devastated... I feel like a fool.”
DOMINATION: McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took the first two spots as Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen followed them Australian Oscar Piastri yesterday roared back from season-opening disappointment in his home race by winning the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two with championship-leading teammate Lando Norris. George Russell finished third for Mercedes, ahead of Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Saturday’s sprint winner Lewis Hamilton fifth and sixth respectively. Piastri’s win denied Norris a third victory in a row, including last year’s Abu Dhabi season-ender, but left champions McLaren unbeaten in two races so far this year. “Mega job guys. The car was very, very lovely,” Piastri said
TO FINAL FOUR: France had 22 chances and scored two goals, while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes. Les Bleus won 5-4 on penalties France on Sunday overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the UEFA Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France. Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain. Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split, Croatia, on Thursday. France had a total of
BRING THE NOISE: Brazil’s Fonseca attracted a boisterous crowd that brought such dominant soccer-style energy the referee switched to Portuguese to ask for quiet Australia’s Alex de Minaur on Monday put an end to Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca’s challenge at the Miami Open, outlasting the 18-year-old 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 in an enthralling contest. Attendance on stadium court had been sparse throughout the day, but the Hard Rock Stadium turned into a mini-Maracana Stadium for Fonseca’s match, complete with Brazilian flags and soccer-style chanting. Fonseca brought his energetic brand of ultra-attacking tennis, but De Minaur was up to the challenge, coping with blistering forehands and a partisan crowd. Such was the dominance of Fonseca’s raucous support that the referee switched to Portuguese for his appeals for quiet. However, De
The Chicago Bulls on Saturday stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 146-115, spoiling superstar LeBron James’ return from a two-week absence with a groin injury. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer James delivered 17 points, six rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes on court. Luka Doncic, back in action after resting a sore ankle, drilled eight three-pointers on the way to a team-high 34 points, but he ran out of steam in the second half, and no one else stepped up. Austin Reaves, who had also missed action with ankle trouble, scored 25 points. Rui Hachimura, playing limited minutes after missing