Sports

LONDON: Euro 2020 finally kicks off on Friday (Jun 11) as Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal prepare to defend their title and world champions France seek a rare double a year after the tournament was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. France's fearsome forward line makes them favourites to win a third European crown at the pan-continental event, while top-ranked Belgium and a youthful England side will be a major threat. For the first time the tournament is taking place in 11 cities across Europe instead

RIYADH: Singapore fell to another World Cup qualifying defeat on Monday (Jun 7) after a 5-0 loss to Uzbekistan in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh. Singapore’s joint qualification campaign for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the 2023 Asian Cup in China, delayed due to the COVD-19 pandemic, had resumed last week with the Lions’ 4-0 defeat to Palestine. The latest result leaves them out of the running for the next World Cup. Monday’s penultimate Group D match at the King Fahd

Defending champion Iga Swiatek held off a fierce challenge from Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk to reach the French Open quarter-finals with a 6-3 6-4 victory on Monday. The eighth-seeded Pole has now won 22 consecutive sets at Roland Garros going into her clash with Greek 17th seed Maria Sakkari as she bids to become the first woman to retain theRoland Garros title since Justine Henin in 2007. Against an 18-year-old opponent who threw everything at her, Swiatek kept her composure on an empty court

Qatar's football national team qualified for the Asia Football Championship in China in 2023, after defeating visitors Oman 1-0, in the match played Monday at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Al Sadd Sports Club. The match was part of the 8th round of Group E of the AFC World Cup qualifiers that are taking place in Doha with Qatar, Oman, India, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan all participating. Hassan Al Haydous scored the only goal of the match from a penalty kick in the 40th

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has zeroed in on the date for the resumption of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League to be held in UAE. The first game on resumption will be played on September 19 while the final will be hosted on October 15 -- the day India will be celebrating Dussehra this year. Speaking to ANI, a BCCI official in the know of developments of the recent meetings between the BCCI and the Emirates

Doha Falcons came third on Monday in the Valkenswaard of the Longines Global Champions Tour for horse jumping obstacles. The Qatari team was one of 16 from all over the world that took part in the event. They completed the race in 147.84 seconds with no errors in two rounds. The competition saw the return of Bassem Hassan, which helped the Qatari team's performance since he is one of the distinguished athletes in this category. Equnews.com reported that Monaco Aces Jos Verlooy and

The president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has been removed from office for 30 days by the organization's ethics commission, it said on Sunday, only a week before Brazil is due to host the Copa America. Brazilian news reports said Rogerio Caboclo was accused of sexually harassing an employee. The CBF gave few details. "The decision is secret and the process will proceed before the aforementioned commission with the aim of investigating the complaint that was presented," the CBF said in a

BAKU: Sergio Perez said before the Formula One season started that he needed five races to get up to speed with Red Bull and the Mexican duly delivered by winning the sixth in Azerbaijan on Sunday. If victory fell into his lap after team mate Max Verstappen crashed out with a tyre blowout five laps from the end while leading, it was still richly deserved. Perez had qualified only seventh, moving up to sixth after McLaren's Lando Norris was demoted, but he showed

MADRID: Sergio Busquets has left Spain's pre-Euro 2020 training camp after testing positive for COVID-19, the country's football federation (RFEF) announced on Sunday (Jun 6). In a statement, the RFEF said Spain captain Busquets, 32, tested positive earlier on Sunday, with the rest of the squad all testing negative. The RFEF added that those who have been in close contact with Barcelona midfielder Busquets "will remain isolated" as a preventative measure. The squad will carry out individual training programmes in the build-up to

SAN FRANCISCO: Philippine teenager Yuka Saso birdied the third playoff hole to beat Japan's Nasa Hataoka and win the 76th US Women's Open at Olympic Club on Sunday (Jun 6). Saso matched South Korean Park In-bee as the youngest winners in the championship's history at 19 years, 11 months and 17 days, and earned her LPGA tour membership. "I'd like to thank my family, I wouldn't be here without them," she said through tears. "To all my sponsors and to all my friends

PARIS: The COVID-19 pandemic was responsible for its postponement but, with the health situation on the continent gradually improving, the delayed Euro 2020 finally kicks off on Friday (Jun 11) in Rome when Italy host Turkey while Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal prepare to defend the title they won in France five years ago. When the action gets underway in front of a planned 16,000 fans at a quarter-full Stadio Olimpico the overwhelming feeling for European football's governing body UEFA will be of relief

WASHINGTON: Collin Morikawa, last year's PGA Championship winner, fired a six-under par 66 to seize the early first-round lead Thursday (Jun 3) at the US PGA Memorial tournament before thunderstorms halted play. The 24-year-old American, who shared eighth last month at Kiawah Island in defending his shocking major crown, fired seven birdies against a lone bogey to grab a one-stroke lead when competition was halted for lightning at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio. Morikawa, who began on the back nine, birdied the par-3

BERLIN: The late arrival of a quartet of Premier League stars is set to give Germany a timely boost as head coach Joachim Loew looks to fix his misfiring side in their final preparations for Euro 2020. The Chelsea trio of Champions League winners Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Antonio Ruediger, as well as Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, had all joined the squad by Thursday. They were given extra time off after Saturday's European final. Their arrival boosts the Loew's side, who

BARCELONA: Ronald Koeman will remain as Barcelona coach next season after the club agreed to honour his contract, president Joan Laporta said on Thursday (Jun 3). Koeman, who was appointed on a two-year deal last August by Laporta's predecessor Josep Maria Bartomeu, led Barca to victory in the Copa del Rey in his first season in charge. But the Catalans suffered an embarrassing 5-2 aggregate defeat to Paris St Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League and finished a disappointing third

SHANGHAI: A decade ago, more than 110 million people tuned in from China to watch Li Na become the first Asian-born player to win a Grand Slam singles title. But now she is rarely seen on TV or in the country's media. Her big breakthrough for Chinese and Asian tennis at the 2011 French Open was followed by a second major at the Australian Open in 2014 before Li tearfully called it quits later that year. Now 39, Li is only seen fleetingly

RIYADH: Singapore returned to World Cup and Asian Cup qualifying action after more than 18 months on Thursday (Jun 3) with a 4-0 loss to Palestine. The second round of joint qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in China has resumed after a lengthy delay caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Palestine raced to a three-nil lead in the first half at the King Fahd International Stadium, prompting Singapore head coach Tatsuma Yoshida to

Valtteri Bottas said he raised concerns about Mercedes' pit stops ahead of last month's Monaco Grand Prix which saw the Formula One champions fail to remove a wheel from his car, forcing the Finn's retirement from second place. Bottas, whose arrival in Azerbaijan for this weekend's sixth round of the season was delayed by travel disruption, told reporters on Thursday that what happened was not a complete surprise. The stuck wheel was eventually removed at the factory in England some 43 hours after

TOKYO: The president of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee ruled out a cancellation or further postponement of the Olympics as doubts swirled among host cities and medical professionals whether the event can be held safely amid the pandemic. Public opinion polls in Japan have consistently shown that a majority want the Games cancelled or put off yet again after being delayed by one year because of the coronavirus crisis. A majority of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly feel the same way, the Tokyo Shimbun

Taking a hard line with elite athletes – that they are contractually bound to show up before the media - can backfire when there is anxiety among the best performers, says a psychologist. QUEENSLAND: Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka took a stand this week that called attention to the mental health of professional athletes. She refused to conduct interviews with the media after her matches at the French Open, citing concerns over her own mental well-being. And, in return, the tennis authorities fined

WASHINGTON: A US congressional commission on Tuesday (Jun 1) called on American basketball stars to end endorsements of Chinese sportswear firms that use cotton grown in China's Xinjiang region, warning against complicity in forced labour they say takes place there. In a letter to the National Basketball Players Association, the chairs of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China said more than a dozen NBA players had deals with the China-based ANTA, Li-Ning and Peak sportswear firms prior to the publication of recent Western