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.”
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
RSS