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Japan's inability to contain the COVID-19 pandemic means that plans to hold the Olympics in Tokyo should be reconsidered, health experts wrote in a commentary. The 2020 Games, already delayed by one year, are due to begin in fewer than 100 days, even as Japan expands quasi-emergency measures to halt a fourth wave of infections. Japan has exhibited "poor performance" in containing virus transmission, along with limited testing capacity and a slow vaccination rollout, according to the commentary published in the British Medical

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain were revelling in the joy of knocking holders Bayern Munich out of the Champions League in midweek when Neymar offered more cause for celebration. In an interview with Brazilian broadcaster TNT Sports following PSG's away-goals victory in the quarter-finals, Neymar dropped a clear hint that he would be staying at PSG beyond the end of his current contract. "For me there is no debate, it is obvious that I feel very comfortable here and at home at Paris Saint-Germain. I

MADRID: First-half strikes from Paco Alcacer and Gerard Moreno guided Villarreal into the Europa League semi-finals with a 2-1 victory over Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday (Apr 15) and a 3-1 aggregate triumph. Villarreal dominated the game and almost took the lead after 25 minutes when forward Samuel Chukwueze rattled the post with a close-range volley. They did not have to wait long to open the scoring, however, with Alcacer netting 10 minutes later. Chukwueze was initially flagged offside in the build-up, but the

ROME: AS Roma advanced to the Europa League semi-finals with a 3-2 aggregate win over Ajax Amsterdam after Edin Dzeko’s late equaliser secured a 1-1 home draw on Thursday (Apr 15). The Italian side will now face Manchester United, who beat Granada 2-0 on the night and 4-0 on aggregate in their quarter-final second leg, for a place in next month's final. Brian Brobbey struck for Ajax four minutes after his halftime introduction but Dzeko’s 72nd minute finish levelled the scores in the

LONDON: Marc Marquez is a six-times MotoGP world champion but he admitted he had butterflies in his stomach ahead of this weekend's Portuguese Grand Prix when he returns to the track for the first time since last year's season-ending crash. Marquez fractured his upper arm in the season-opening Spanish Grand Prix in July and did not race again all year. The 28-year-old Repsol Honda rider also missed the opening two races of this season in Qatar. "My confidence is not high, I have

Chris Morris - the most expensive player in Indian Premier League history - justified his hefty price tag as he fired four late sixes to see his Rajasthan Royals to a thrilling three-wicket win over Delhi Capitals on Thursday. Chasing 148 to win, the Royals looked to be heading for a second-straight defeat to start the tournament when stumbling to 17-3 inside four overs and 42-5 in the 10th, but David Miller's 62 from 43 balls and the late cameo from £1.6m man

Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been treated in hospital after he contracted malaria while on international duty with Gabon. The 31-year-old scored in Gabon's 3-0 win over DR Congo in Africa Cup of Nations qualification on 25 March. He played in Arsenal's Europa League quarter-final first leg against Slavia Prague on 8 April but missed Sunday's win over Sheffield United. "I've spent a few days in hospital this week," he said on Instagram. "I'm already feeling much better every day, thanks to the

World number one Judd Trump says the return of fans will help bring out his best at the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield. Until now the 2020-21 season has been entirely played behind closed doors because of Covid-19 restrictions. However, the tournament is part of a government pilot scheme to help fans return to sporting and cultural venues. "You miss the coughing and the mobile phones going off," Trump told BBC Radio 5 Live. "When you are losing and you get a frame

British number one Dan Evans claimed the biggest win of his career by beating Novak Djokovic in the last 16 of the Monte Carlo Masters. Evans, who has struggled on clay in recent times, started superbly against the world number one, breaking him in his first two service games. He was able to wrap up the opening set before Djokovic fought back at the start of the second. But Evans recovered and held his nerve to wrap up a 6-4 7-5 win. It

Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli has been reprimanded after hitting a plastic chair with his bat following his dismissal during an Indian Premier League (IPL) match. Kohli made 33 in Bangalore's second successive win this season of the popular Twenty20 tournament after they edged out Sunrisers Hyderabad by six runs in Chennai on Wednesday (Apr 14). But the star batsman was charged for breaching the IPL's code of conduct that relates to "abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures

Caster Semenya retained her 5,000m title at the South African Athletics Championships on Thursday (Apr 15) and confirmed she would not be attempting to qualify for the 200m at the Tokyo Games. The double Olympic 800m champion cannot compete over her favoured distance having refused to abide by a World Athletics ruling that athletes with differences in sexual development competing in races ranging from 400m to a mile must reduce their naturally high levels of testosterone. She has taken that fight to the

Empty stands has been the new normal for tennis since last year due to COVID-19 restrictions but top men's players like Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic said they still find it difficult to maintain their intensity during matches in the absence of fans. The professional circuit was shut down for several months last year before tournament organisers set up 'biosecure bubbles' for players and support staff while keeping fans away from stadiums. Barring the swing in Australia in February, tournaments continue to be

RIO DE JANEIRO - The world’s most famous statue of Jesus Christ was lit up with the Olympics logo and images of sporting arenas on Wednesday to mark 100 days to the Tokyo Olympic Games opening ceremony. Hundreds of LED projectors were used to beam images onto the 98-foot (30-m) Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, according to media reports. The show began and ended with the statue seeming to wear Brazil jerseys in yellow and green, the country’s distinctive sporting colours,

DORTMUND, Germany - Manchester City scored twice in the second half through Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden to beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 on Wednesday and reach the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in six years. Foden, who scored the winner in their 2-1 first-leg victory, fired in off the post in the 76th minute after Mahrez had converted a 55th-minute penalty to secure a 4-2 aggregate triumph and send City into the last four for the second time. “It means a

Double Olympic boxing champion Claressa Shields will make her mixed martial arts debut with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) in June when she faces Brittney Elkin, organisers said on Wednesday. American Shields, the first undisputed boxing world champion in two different divisions in the four-belt era, signed with PFL in December with the goal of becoming the “greatest two-sport athlete of all time”. PFL presents MMA in a format where individuals compete in a regular season, playoffs, and championship for a million-dollar prize,

Italy’s Imola circuit provides a fresh challenge for seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton and young pretender Max Verstappen as the pair prepare for round two of their Formula One battle this weekend. The circuit, with the Santerno river running alongside and a verdant backdrop of trees and parkland, is a marked contrast to Bahrain’s desert Sakhir track that hosted the opener won by Mercedes’ Hamilton. The fast and flowing anti-clockwise layout is also narrower and bumpier than Bahrain, and with fewer opportunities to

Rafa Nadal said he was not worried about contracting COVID-19 despite having trained with Daniil Medvedev, who was forced to withdraw from this week’s Monte Carlo Masters after a positive test. Russian Medvedev, who was seeded second at the ATP Masters 1000 event, was put in isolation on Tuesday, a day after he practised with world number three Nadal. “I was not worried because I practised with him, but I was never close to him,” Nadal said after his second-round victory over Federico

PRETORIA - Captain Babar Azam hit a record-breaking 122 to lead Pakistan to an impressive nine-wicket victory over hosts South Africa at Centurion on Wednesday and a 2-1 lead in the four-match Twenty20 series. Mohammad Rizwan scored an unbeaten 73 as he and Babar, whose century came off 49 balls, shared a record 197-run partnership in a devastating display of batting that enabled the touring side to reel in South Africa’s competitive 203-5 with consummate ease. They won with two overs to spare

ROME - Rome’s Stadio Olimpico was confirmed as a Euro 2020 host venue on Wednesday after the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) told UEFA that fans would be allowed to attend matches. “The authorities have guaranteed at least 25% of the stadium’s capacity will be filled. As a result, UEFA considers Rome to be fully confirmed as a venue for the tournament,” read a statement from European soccer’s governing body. A FIGC statement on Tuesday said that at least 25% of the 72,698-seater Olimpico

British number one Dan Evans will face Novak Djokovic in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters after easing past Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets. Evans, who sealed his first tour-level win on clay in four years on Tuesday, beat the Polish 13th seed 6-4 6-1. Djokovic beat Italian teenager Jannik Sinner 6-4 6-2 in what was the world number one's first match since winning the Australian Open in February. "It was a very good encounter," said the Serb, 33. "I thought