Sports

MILWAUKEE: Milwaukee Bucks supporters are buzzing about the possible end of a 50-year NBA title drought while star Giannis Antetokounmpo fights to keep his focus with a crown tantalyzingly near. The Bucks lead the best-of-seven NBA Finals 3-2 over Phoenix with game six Tuesday at Milwaukee, where 20,000 fans will fill the arena and 25,000 more will jam the "Deer District" outside to watch on huge videoscreens. "You can feel the excitement in the city. But we got to focus," Greek forward Antetokounmpo

SILVERSTONE, England: Lewis Hamilton won his home British Grand Prix for a record eighth time on Sunday after battling back from a 10-second penalty imposed for a first-lap collision that halted the race and left Red Bull rival Max Verstappen in hospital. The Mercedes driver, now only eight points behind Verstappen after 10 races, passed Ferrari's Charles Leclerc with two laps to go as a capacity 140,000 crowd rose to cheer him on. Hamilton's team mate Valtteri Bottas finished third after being told

SANDWICH, United Kingdom: Collin Morikawa said his British Open victory on debut was one of the "best moments of my life" after a nerveless display from the 24-year-old American at Royal St George's on Sunday (Jul 18) saw him win by two shots on 15 under par. Resuming one stroke behind overnight leader Louis Oosthuizen, Morikawa fired a bogey-free round of 66 to finish four under par for the day and hold off a late surge from 2017 British Open champion Jordan Spieth.

WASHINGTON: American teen tennis star Coco Gauff will miss the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19, she announced on Sunday (Jul 18). Gauff, coming off a run to the fourth round at Wimbledon, tweeted her sadness at missing out on "a dream come true" at age 17. "I am so disappointed to share the news that I have tested positive for COVID and won't be able to play in the Olympic Games in Tokyo," Gauff tweeted. "It has always been a dream

AC Milan have signed Senegal left back Fode Ballo-Toure from Ligue 1 side AS Monaco on a four-year contract, both clubs announced on Sunday (Jul 18). Ballo-Toure started his career at Paris St Germain before moving to Lille in 2017, where he made his Ligue 1 debut and played 47 times in 18 months. The 24-year-old moved to Monaco in January 2019 and featured 74 times for the club. He made eight appearances for France's Under-21 side before switching allegiance to Senegal, making

All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan scored an excellent unbeaten 96 as Bangladesh defeated Zimbabwe by three wickets in their second One-Day International at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-game series. Zimbabwe posted a competitive 240 for nine in their 50 overs, but the tourists chased the total down with five balls remaining, largely thanks to Shakib's unbeaten half-century which came off 109 balls. After the home side elected to bat, Wessley Madhevere (56) top scored

THE HAGUE: Dutch football great Arjen Robben announced his retirement from his youth club FC Groningen on Thursday (Jul 15), ending an illustrious career spanning two decades. Considered to be one of the best wingers of his generation, Robben rejoined FC Groningen last year after stints that saw him win accolades at Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, in later years. "I've decided to stop with my active football career," Robben said in a Tweet. "It was a difficult choice," said the 37-year-old

SANDWICH, England: Jordan Spieth gave his big-hitting fellow American Bryson DeChambeau a masterclass in the complexities of links golf as the former champion began his latest British Open campaign in fine style on Thursday (Jul 15). Spieth, who claimed the Claret Jug at Royal Birkdale in 2017 but whose form has slumped, recovered from an early bogey to card a five-under 65 - producing a beautifully controlled round in a moderate breeze around the Royal St George's layout. Playing partner DeChambeau crunched a

PARIS: World number one Novak Djokovic said on Thursday (Jul 15) he will play at the Tokyo Olympics, paving the way for the first Golden Grand Slam by a male player. "I booked my flight for Tokyo and will proudly be joining #TeamSerbia for the Olympics," tweeted Djokovic. The Serb has already won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles this year and needs just Olympic gold and the US Open to become the first man to sweep the Golden Grand Slam.

MILAN: Cristiano Ronaldo has given no indication he wants to leave Juventus and is expected back in Turin later this month, club director Pavel Nedved said on Wednesday (Jul 14). "Cristiano is on holiday. We have no signal from his entourage that he wants to leave. We're waiting for him and he will return around July 25 as scheduled," Nedved said at the unveiling of the calendar for the 2021-2022 season. The 36-year-old Portuguese international has one year left in his contract. His

SANDWICH, United Kingdom: The British Open makes an eagerly-anticipated return on Thursday (Jul15) after a two-year hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic with Englishman Richard Bland set to fire the first tee shot at Royal St George's in Sandwich, Kent. It is the 149th edition of golf's oldest major championship which was cancelled last year for the first time since 1945. Twelve months on and there will be up to 32,000 fans a day on the course, but there remains a cloud cast

LONDON: The top three finishers in a new Sprint qualifying race that debuts at the British Grand Prix on Saturday (Jul 14) will be awarded old-style laurel wreaths in the absence of any podium celebrations. The 100km Sprint will set the grid for Sunday's grand prix at Silverstone and, although some points will be awarded to the top three, there will be no formal podium to avoid detracting from the main event. None of the drivers will be credited with a podium or

July 15 - The Milwaukee Bucks rallied from nine points down in the fourth quarter to defeat the Phoenix Suns 109-103 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday to tie the best-of-seven series at 2-2 in front their own elated fans at Fiserv Forum. The teams were tied at the half but small forward Khris Middleton pushed the Bucks over the top, tallying 40 points, six rebounds and four assists. Milwaukee had looked in deep trouble after losing the opening two

Top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece needed a first-set tiebreak but then handled business against Germany's Dominik Koepfer, winning 7-6 (2), 6-3 on Wednesday at the Hamburg European Open in Germany. It marked Tsitsipas' first match since being upset in the first round at Wimbledon by American Frances Tiafoe. He won 86 percent (30 of 35) of his first-serve points en route to securing his tour-best 40th win of the season. Tsitsipas advanced to the quarterfinals to face Serbian No. 6 seed Filip

HE President of Qatar Air Sports Committee Major General Hamad bin Abdullah Al Fetais Al Marri said that Qatar's preparations to host the 44th World Parachuting Championship (CISM) in November 2021 began a year ago, adding more than 40 countries are expected to participate in this tournament, and 21 countries have so far confirmed their participation. In a press briefing today attended by representatives of the Qatari media, the President of Qatar Air Sports Committee added that Qatar's hosting of this championship is

Chris Gayle hit 67 off 38 balls as the West Indies sealed a six-wicket win over Australia in the third Twenty20 international in St Lucia on Monday (Jul 12) to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in their five-match series. Chasing a modest 142 for victory after Moises Henriques (33) and Ashton Turner (24) put on Australia's first half-century stand of the series, West Indies got home in style thanks to Gayle's onslaught that included seven sixes. It was the 41-year-old's first T20 half-century

LONDON: Canada's Bianca Andreescu has decided not to compete at the Tokyo Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the former US Open champion said on Monday (Jul 12). Andreescu is the latest big-name player to opt out of the Jul 23-Aug 8 Games. Rafa Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka, Nick Kyrgios, Serena Williams and Simona Halep have already announced their decisions to skip the pandemic-delayed Olympics. "I have been dreaming of representing Canada at the Olympics since I was a little girl," world

LONDON: Seven times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has voiced support for the three black England football players who missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday (Jul 11), after they were subjected to a torrent of racist abuse on social media. Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka missed their spot-kicks as Italy won 3-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra time at Wembley Stadium. Hamilton, a vocal advocate for social justice, said on Instagram on Monday that

The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) highlighted the historic participation of the first Qatari team in the Gold Cup for the first time in its career. The tournament is being held in the United States of America during the period from July 10 to August 1. The Asian Cup winner will enter the tournament with a list of a distinguished group of players in order to prepare well for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. In a report

REUTERS World number one Novak Djokovic beat Italian seventh seed Matteo Berrettini 6-7(4) 6-4 6-4 6-3 on Sunday to win his sixth title at Wimbledon. His third straight triumph at the All England Club also earned the Serbian a 20th Grand Slam title, equalling the men's record haul held by Switzerland's Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal of Spain. "It means none of us three will stop," Djokovic said during the presentation ceremony when asked what the milestone meant to him. "I have to