South Korea Nears Berth in World Cup
South Korea moved to within a point of its fourth consecutive World Cup appearance Saturday, getting two goals from midfielder Choi Yong-soo en route to a 5-1 victory over Uzbekistan in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
A tie by Korea in either of its two remaining matches, against Japan at home or at the United Arab Emirates, or anything less than a victory by the Emirates in its three remaining matches, will clinch a place in the France ’98 tournament for the Koreans.
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A riot was narrowly averted at the grand finale of the Southeast Asia Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, when police moved quickly to restore order after fans lit fires behind a goal and in stands overcrowded with 130,000 spectators for a soccer game.
Smoke wafted over the field as firefighters tried to extinguish a blaze behind one of the goals at halftime with Thailand leading host Indonesia, 1-0.
Small fires also were burning in the stadium, apparently from seats set ablaze. Hundreds of riot police stood on the field, tear gas and bamboo staves at the ready.
The game ended in a 1-1 tie and Thailand ended up winning, 4-2 on penalty kicks, after a scoreless overtime.
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Ramiro Castillo, a star Bolivian soccer player and a regular on his country’s national team, was found hanging at his home in La Paz. Authorities said Castillo, 31, took his own life.
The player reportedly had been seriously affected by the death of his 7-year-old son earlier this year from the effects of hepatitis.
Figure skating
Elegance, grace and four triple jumps gave Chen Lu the gold medal in the Karl Schafer Memorial competition in Vienna, securing a berth for China at next year’s Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
Chen, a former world champion who also won a silver medal in the 1996 Worlds and a bronze in the last Olympics, needed to qualify for Nagano after she failed to reach the final 24 in the World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Tennis
Byron Black of Zimbabwe, ranked 60th in the world, upset third-seeded Boris Becker, 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, to advance to the final of the $725,000 Marlboro Championships in Hong Kong.
Giant-killer Lisa Raymond stumbled on her way to the final of the $926,000 European Indoor championships in Zurich, Switzerland. Lindsay Davenport didn’t.
The day after handing top-ranked Martina Hingis only her fourth loss of the year, Raymond was ousted by Nathalie Tauziat, 6-3, 7-5.
Davenport, seeded fourth in the strong field, overpowered defending champion Jana Novotna, 6-4, 6-1, in exactly one hour.
Goran Ivanisevic had to quit because of an arm injury and Thomas Muster was upset in the semifinals of the $975,000 ATP Czech Indoor tournament in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Karol Kucera of Slovakia was leading when Ivanisevic pulled out in the second set.
In today’s final, Kucera will face Sweden’s Magnus Norman, who upset the fourth-seeded Muster, 6-7 (1-7), 6-2, 7-5.
Fabrice Santoro of France continued his upset ways on his native soil, ousting seventh-seeded Mark Philippoussis, 6-4, 6-2, in the semifinals of the Lyon Grand Prix.
Boxing
Zjelko Mavrovic shrugged off Vincenco Cantatore’s determined challenge to retain his European heavyweight title with a fourth-round knockout in Vienna.
United States boxers got off to a strong start at the ninth World Amateur Boxing championships in Budapest, Hungary, as light heavyweight Anthony Stewart and heavyweight DaVarryl Williamson scored victories on the first day of preliminaries.
Auto Racing
Cory McClenathan of Anaheim set the NHRA national speed record in Top Fuel at 318.35 mph to take the No. 1 qualifying spot for today’s finals of the Revell Nationals at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis.
Mike Stefanik of Coventry, R.I., wrapped up the NASCAR Busch North series title by finishing ninth in the Dodge Dealers 200K at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn.
Andrea Montermini of Monaco and Antonio Hermann of Brazil, driving the MOMO Ferrari 333SP at Sebring, Fla., won their second consecutive Exxon World SportsCar Championship race.
