Sports

BARCELONA: Barcelona chief Joan Laporta gave Lionel Messi a hug and then pledged to do everything in his power to convince the club's all-time top scorer to stay after being officially sworn in as the club's new president on Wednesday (Mar 17). Laporta's pitch to Messi came two days after the Argentine equalled Xavi Hernandez as the club's highest appearance maker on 767 games, marking the occasion by scoring twice in a 4-1 rout of Huesca. "I'll do everything I can to make

TOKYO: The creative director for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Tokyo Olympics announced his resignation on Thursday (Mar 18) for proposing a plus-size female comedian appear as a pig. Hiroshi Sasaki resigned after a report on Wednesday revealed his suggestion about Naomi Watanabe, a hugely popular celebrity, for the opening ceremony. It is the latest headache for organisers of the Games, who are struggling to gain public support and were left reeling by former chief Yoshiri Mori's resignation after an uproar

KUALA LUMPUR: China's Jiangsu FC have withdrawn from the Asian Champions League following their financial collapse, officials said on Thursday (Mar 18), in another sign they are on the brink of being disbanded. Jiangsu won the Chinese Super League for the first time in November, but ceased operations last month after their struggling owners pulled the plug. The shock news provoked hand-wringing about the state of football in China, and prompted calls for a major rethink from top to bottom. Their Champions League

PARIS- Paris St Germain forwards Mauro Icardi and Kylian Mbappe fired them to a 3-0 win over Lille on Wednesday to reach the French Cup quarter-finals. Argentine Icardi put the holders in front by bundling the ball into the net in the ninth minute and France striker Mbappe doubled their advantage from the penalty spot shortly before halftime. Lille, who lead PSG at the top of the Ligue 1 standings by three points, were awarded a penalty in the second half which would

MUNICH: Holders Bayern Munich cruised through to the Champions League quarter-finals for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons after beating Lazio 2-1 at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday to secure a 6-2 aggregate victory. Leading 4-1 from the first leg in Rome, Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring for Bayern from the penalty spot in the 33rd minute, his 39th goal of the season in all competitions, to virtually end Lazio's hopes. The German champions took their foot off the gas before

LONDON: Chelsea beat Atletico Madrid 2-0 on Wednesday to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2014 as Hakim Ziyech and Emerson Palmieri were on target to give coach Thomas Tuchel's rejuvenated team a 3-0 aggregate win. Ziyech squeezed the ball under Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak in the 34th minute of the last-16 second leg as he connected with a cross from Timo Werner who had raced down the left after being fed by fellow German Kai Havertz. The three

LONDON: Badminton world No 1 Kento Momota made a winning return to international action at the COVID-19-affected All England Open on Wednesday (Mar 17), while Indonesia's team were forced to withdraw after a passenger on their flight to Britain tested positive for the coronavirus. The 26-year-old from Japan defeated India's Kashyap Parupalli 21-13, 22-20 in a first-round match played without fans in Birmingham. Momota, who made a successful return to domestic Badminton by winning the All-Japan Championship in December, was playing his first

MUNICH, Germany: Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick said his Bundesliga leaders are determined to continue their good form when they host Lazio and will not take the Italians lightly in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 game on Wednesday. European champions Bayern moved towards the quarter-finals by thrashing Lazio 4-1 in the first leg in Rome last month. They are on a four-match winning run in all competitions and lead the German top-flight by four points after 25 games. "We've delivered

LONDON: Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel dismissed speculation that forward Timo Werner was unhappy at the club and seeking a return to Germany after failing to settle in English football, saying he had seen remarkable improvement since he took charge. Werner has scored only two goals in his last 26 appearances but Tuchel urged the German forward to trust the process as he was on the right track. "Timo has no reason now to be frustrated because he had an amazing match against Liverpool

LONDON: Rafa Nadal will skip the Miami Open that begins later this month in a bid to recover from a back injury in time for the clay court swing, the Spaniard said on Tuesday. Nadal had not played since his quarter-final exit at the Australian Open last month and also skipped the ATP 500 event in Dubai. The 34-year-old has since dropped down one place in the rankings to third after Russian Daniil Medvedev leapfrogged him. "Sad to announce that I won't be

JOHANNESBURG: New Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe raised the bar Tuesday (Mar 16) for national teams in the continent by insisting one of them must win the World Cup soon. "An African team must win the World Cup in the near future," said the 59-year-old South African billionaire at a press conference in Johannesburg. Motsepe was elected unopposed last Friday to lead trouble-torn CAF after a two-year ban over "governance issues" prevented Malagasy Ahmad Ahmad seeking re-election for a second

MADRID: Luis Suarez, despite his Champions League goal drought, and Joao Felix, whose future is in question, will start together as Atletico Madrid try to fight back in their second leg at Chelsea, coach Diego Simeone said on Tuesday (Mar 16). "Only one objective: Victory," said Simeone, whose team face a 1-0 deficit in the last-16 tie after losing their 'home' game in Bucharest. "I must find the necessary tools to achieve this." Despite COVID-19 restrictions, Wednesday's game will be played at Chelsea's

MADRID: Real Madrid easily overcame Atalanta 3-1 at home in their Champions League last-16 second leg on Wednesday (Mar 16) to stroll into the quarter-finals 4-1 on aggregate. Karim Benzema scored a sixth goal in five games to put the 13-times European champions in charge after 34 minutes following a poor kick out by Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Sportiello which was intercepted by Luka Modric. Captain Sergio Ramos put Real further at ease when he converted a penalty on the hour, although the Italian

BUDAPEST: Manchester City marched into the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the fourth straight season after a 2-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach on Tuesday (Mar 16) to complete a 4-0 aggregate victory. First-half goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan secured a comfortable victory in another impressive display from Pep Guardiola's side in the home leg, played in the Hungarian capital due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. De Bruyne blasted City ahead in the 13th minute with an unstoppable left-footed drive into

LOS ANGELES: Tiger Woods said on Tuesday (Mar 16) he has left hospital and is recovering at home after being seriously injured in a car crash in Los Angeles last month. In a statement released on social media, the golf superstar thanked hospital staff who cared for him following his single vehicle car accident on Feb 23. "Happy to report that I am back home and continuing my recovery," Woods said. "I am so grateful for the outpouring of support and encouragement that

Al Shaqab's Racing's homebred MURJAN (Dahor De Brugere x Nevadour Al Maury) won his first race, the Prix Djouras Tu - Wathba Stallion Cup, at Toulouse. Trained by Thomas Fourcy, he raced two times in 2020 without success. MURJAN had not been seen on a racecourse since last June, being gelded in July. This time, he was brave to win a race in which the first four finished nearly in the same stride. MURJAN won that battle, keeping a victorious nose on the

Buttler carried his bat through the innings to guide England to 158 for two with 10 balls to spare Jos Buttler hit a brilliant 83 as England beat India by eight wickets on Tuesday to take a 2-1 lead in their five-match Twenty20 series. Virat Kohli’s 77-run blitz saw India to 156-6 at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad which was kept empty because of the rising number of coronavirus cases in India. Buttler carried his bat through the innings, smashing four sixes

After a long hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic, organised sports action resumed with golfers teeing off at Prestige Golfshire here on Thursday. Around 45 golfers savoured the picturesque Nandi Hills backdrop while hitting their drives and putts, marking among the first scenes of sports in the country since the lockdown came into effect. Adequate precautionary measures were followed to ensure safety. Golfers — comprising mostly of club members — wore masks and maintained social distancing. Every golfer was given a cart for

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is back in international soccer after nearly five years away — and he announced it to the world in his own inimitable way on Tuesday. “The return of the God,” the charismatic striker said to his tens of millions of followers across social media after being picked by Sweden at the age of 39 for the team’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers. Ibrahimovic, Sweden’s record scorer with 62 goals in 112 games, retired from international duty after the 2016 European Championship but

For his 767th match, Messi was honored by Barcelona with a large image behind one of the goals showing him embracing Xavi as the players looked forward and pointed upward. The banner included the words "767 matches" and “touching the sky. Lionel Messi scored twice as he tied Xavi Hernández's record of most appearances for Barcelona on Monday, putting them within four points of the Spanish league lead after beating last-placed Huesca 4-1. For his 767th match, Messi was honored by Barcelona with