Sports World: Rape lawsuit against Ronaldo dismissed

LAS VEGAS • A United States district judge in Las Vegas has dismissed a rape lawsuit against football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, castigating the legal team behind the complaint.

Judge Jennifer Dorsey threw out the case brought by Kathryn Mayorga, who alleged she was sexually assaulted by the Manchester United forward in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009.

In a 42-page ruling, the judge accused Mayorga's attorneys of "abuses and flagrant circumvention of the proper litigation process". In 2010, Mayorga reached a US$375,000 (S$519,660) out-of-court settlement but has since been seeking millions more.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

NEW ORLEANS • Zion Williamson, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 National Basketball Association draft and 2021 All-Star forward, is putting last season behind him and focusing on staying with the New Orleans Pelicans.

The forward missed the entire 2021-22 season due to a broken right foot, and speculation persisted that he might prefer to play elsewhere. But on Saturday, Williamson pledged his future to the Pelicans, who were eliminated in the first round of the play-offs.

REUTERS

MADRID • Yulimar Rojas, the triple jump Olympic champion and world-record holder, recorded the season's longest leap in her first outdoor competition of the season in Alicante, Spain on Saturday.

The Venezuelan jumped 14.83m, eclipsing the previous season's best of 14.58 by Cuban Leyanis Perez-Hernandez set last month. Rojas' world record stands at 15.74m.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

JAKARTA • Badminton's world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen clinched the men's singles title at the Indonesia Masters yesterday, beating Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien-chen 21-10, 21-12 at the Istora Senayan.

In the women's singles, China's Chen Yufei defeated Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon 21-16, 18-21, 21-15 to win her first title since her Olympic triumph in Tokyo last year.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE