Sports

Sweden's Anna Nordqvist won her third major title after holding her nerve to claim the 2021 Women's Open on a thrilling final day at Carnoustie. The 34-year-old was level with playing partner Nanna Koerstz Madsen on 12 under going down the last, keeping her composure to par and clinch victory as she watched the Dane double bogey. England's Georgia Hall finished in a tie for second place on 11 under. Scottish amateur Louise Duncan was tied 10th on seven under after a fine

World number one Ashleigh Barty warmed up for the US Open by clinching the Cincinnati Open with a straight-set win over Jil Teichmann in the final. Barty, 25, produced a polished performance to beat the 24-year-old Swiss wildcard 6-3 6-1. The Australian managed eight aces and 28 winners as she cruised to another commanding victory. Alexander Zverev took the men's title with an impressive 6-2 6-3 win over Andrey Rublev. It is a fifth title of the season for Barty, who is favourite

Barcelona moved to the top of La Liga on goals scored as Memphis Depay rescued a point in an entertaining draw at Athletic Bilbao. Depay's ferocious strike cancelled out Inigo Martinez's headed opener after Athletic Bilbao had dominated. Both sides hit the crossbar and passed up numerous chances to claim all three points. Barca defender Eric Garcia was sent off in injury time for fouling Nico Williams when clean through. There is no doubt Ronald Koeman's side are in transition - the loss

Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah ran the second fastest women's 100m of all time at the Eugene Diamond League. The Jamaican, who retained her 100m-200m title double in Tokyo, clocked a new world lead of 10.54 seconds. Only American Florence Griffith-Joyner has run faster, when she set her world record of 10.49 secs in 1988. Britain's Dina Asher-Smith finished third in the 200m as she continues her return from the hamstring injury that blighted her Olympic campaign. The race was won by Switzerland's Mujinga

Inter opened their Serie A title defence in commanding style by thrashing Genoa at the San Siro. Milan Skriniar settled nerves with a sixth-minute header to give new boss Simone Inzaghi the ideal start. Summer signing Hakan Calhanoglu swept home a stunning second minutes later after Edin Dzeko's clever lay-off. Arturo Vidal and Dzeko then scored second-half goals for the champions, who were irresistible and look set to challenge again this season. It has been a difficult summer for Inter, the joy of

Football's world governing body Fifa has written to a number of governments to request the emergency evacuation of female players from Afghanistan. Players are said to fear for their lives following the Taliban's takeover of the Afghan capital Kabul. Players' organisation Fifpro is also calling for help. The union said it was working with governments to establish an evacuation plan, adding: "The ambition is to bring as many people to safety as possible." Fifa said the situation in Afghanistan "remains unstable and very worrying".

Southern Brave were crowned the first men's Hundred champions after beating Birmingham Phoenix by 32 runs in an action-packed Lord's final. Chasing 169, Phoenix's Liam Livingstone thrashed 46 from 19 balls, animating a raucous Lord's crowd with an effortless flow of boundaries, before the game swung in dramatic and unlikely fashion. Tim David, only brought into the Brave's squad earlier this week, ran out Livingstone with a 60m direct hit from the deep - the in-form Livingstone agonisingly inches short. Birmingham still needed

Second-half tries from Makazole Mapimpi and Malcolm Marx helped South Africa to a 29-10 victory over an ill-disciplined Argentina in the Rugby Championship. Fly-half Handre Pollard kicked 19 points as the Springboks dominated in Gqeberha, Mapimpi going over after Willie le Roux's pinpoint pass. Hooker Marx dotted down less than 10 minutes later but they failed to score more to get the bonus point. Pablo Matera scored the Pumas' only try in added time in a scrappy finish. Argentina saw forwards Rodrigo Bruni

CNA Organizers of the National Games in China's Shaanxi Province said they will allow spectators at the multi-sport event providing they are vaccinated against COVID-19 and test negative 72 hours before attending. The 14th edition of the National Games, which are held every four years, is expected to feature around 14,000 athletes competing in 501 events in 41 sports and are scheduled to run from Sept. 15-27. All spectators would require to produce proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours

BBC In August 2017, Ben White arrived at Newport County with just two professional appearances to his name and a point to prove. The teenage centre-back, who has since blossomed into an England international and £50m signing for Arsenal, was thrown in at the deep end. "The manager was telling us that we had a young lad coming in who was going to be the next big thing," says Mark O'Brien, the former Newport defender. "We had high enough expectations for him, but

CNA Britain's Andy Murray has been handed a wildcard for next week's Winston-Salem Open, the final tournament before the start of the U.S. Open Grand Slam, organisers said. Murray, who lost to Hubert Hurkacz in the second round of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati on Wednesday, was added to the main draw of the U.S. Open following the withdrawal of Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka. The three-time Grand Slam champion, who had hip surgeries in 2018 and 2019, has played only a handful

THE HINDU Naomi Osaka has no regrets over her stunning third-round loss on August 19 at the ATP and WTA Cincinnati Masters to Swiss wild card Jil Teichmann. The four-time Grand Slam champion went down 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to the world number 76 and admitted after the upset that her Tokyo Olympic third-round loss was on her mind. “I was doing all I was supposed to do,” the Japanese world number two said. “In the second and third sets I was too defensive. “I

This season's Japanese Grand Prix, planned for 8-10 October, has been cancelled because of a rise in Covid cases in the country. "The decision has been taken by the Japanese government to cancel the race this season due to ongoing complexities of the pandemic," said Formula 1. "Formula 1 is working on the details of the revised calendar and will announce the final details in the coming weeks." Japan was due to be the 17th of 23 rounds in this season's circuit. Races

Naomi Osaka says she felt "ungrateful" at points during the last year for being unable to appreciate her success. The world number two was speaking after beating American teenager Coco Gauff at the Cincinnati Open on Wednesday. She also discussed her reasons for withdrawing from the French Open in May, having said on the eve of that tournament that speaking to the media was damaging her mental health. "I wonder what affected me... made me not want to do media?" she said. "I'm wondering if

On 19 August 1989, a 37-year-old man walked on to the Old Trafford pitch before the first game of the new league campaign. Arsenal were the opposition, and the stands were packed; the official attendance was 47,245 - about 10,000 higher than the previous season's average. In full Manchester United training kit, Michael Knighton juggled the ball skillfully before firing it into an empty goal. He stood in front of the Stretford End, arms out, taking in the adulation. A few weeks before,

Yorkshire batsman Dawid Malan has been recalled to the England squad for the third Test against India, with Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley both dropped from the 15-man squad. Malan, 33, played the last of his 15 Tests in August 2018. Seamer Saqib Mahmood is included, while spinner Jack Leach misses out but will be on standby as back-up to Moeen Ali. England fell to a 151-run defeat in the second Test, having drawn the first match in the five-Test series. The third

Newcastle midfielder Joe Willock says he has considered quitting social media over racist abuse he receives on a daily basis. Speaking to BBC Radio Newcastle, the 21-year-old added he still continues to use the platforms due to the "wonderful fans" that support him. "I don't want to lose that connection with the everyday supporters," he said. Willock completed a move to St James' Park from Arsenal on a six-year deal last week. The England Under-21 international feels social media sites need to "step up" to eradicate

The 2022 London Marathon will take place on Sunday, 2 October as the event is moved from its traditional April date for a third successive year. Event director Hugh Brasher confirmed the race has been moved to allow for the "best chances" of a full-capacity event, including crowds. Shura Kitata won the men's elite race in 2020, while Brigid Kosgei defended her women's title, but there were no crowds or fun runners because of the coronavirus pandemic. "The London Marathon is an extraordinary

Fabio Jakobsen won his first Grand Tour stage since suffering serious injuries in a crash last year with a bunch sprint victory at the Vuelta a Espana. The Dutchman, 24, held off Arnaud Demare and Magnus Cort to claim an emotional win on stage four in Molina de Aragon. Jakobsen sustained severe head injuries at the 2020 Tour of Poland in a crash with Jumbo-Visma's Dylan Groenewegen. "It's a dream come true for me," said Deceuninck-Quick-Step rider Jakobsen. "After the crash it was

Liam Livingstone's devastating hitting powered Birmingham Phoenix straight into the men's Hundred final with a crushing eight-wicket win over Northern Superchargers at Headingley. At one stage Livingstone seemed to be in his own six-hitting contest as he smashed the highest score of the tournament so far - 92 not out from just 40 balls. In a match televised live on BBC Two, Livingstone hit an incredible 10 sixes as his side raced to victory with a massive 26 balls remaining. The Phoenix had