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
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
Superstar Lionel Messi won his first trophy with his national team as Angel Di Maria's goal gave Argentina a 1-0 win over hosts Brazil in the Copa America final on Saturday. The victory at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana stadium ended Argentina's 28-year wait for a major trophy, and also ended Brazil's unbeaten home record that stretched back more than 2,500 days. Argentina had last tasted success at a major tournament in 1993 when the great Gabriel Batistuta's brace gave them a 2-1 win over Mexico
TOKYO: The Olympic flame arrived in Tokyo on Friday (Jul 9) but with the public kept away at a low-key welcoming ceremony because of coronavirus fears, the day after a "heartbreaking" announcement that spectators would be banned from most Games events. On a rainy morning exactly two weeks before the opening ceremony of the biggest sporting event since the pandemic began, the flame was brought on stage in a lantern and handed to Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike. Tokyo 2020 organisers and government officials
Nick Kyrgios will not represent Australia at this year's Olympics in Tokyo because he does not want to compete if there are no fans in the stands, he said on Thursday (Jul 8). Earlier in the day, Olympic organisers said the Games would take place without spectators in host city Tokyo as a resurgent coronavirus forced Japan to declare a state of emergency in the capital that will continue throughout the event which starts on July 23. "It has been my dream to
Japan's Naomi Osaka, a self-confessed introvert who withdrew from the French Open and Wimbledon on mental health grounds, has encouraged girls around the world to embrace what makes them different. Osaka, 23, one of Japan's best gold medal prospects at the Tokyo Olympics, used her spot in the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) "Stronger Together" campaign to say that the definition of an Olympian is broader than sometimes thought. "People might think I'm quiet. Different. That I don't fit the box of what an
SINGAPORE: This year's Southeast Asian Games due to take place in Vietnam has been postponed to 2022. "The SEA Games Federation working committee met today and it was decided that the SEA Games will not be held this year," said the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) on Thursday (Jul 8). The biennial event was due to take place in Hanoi and 11 other locations from Nov 21 to Dec 2. Vietnam's national Olympic committee will explore new dates for consideration, added SNOC. "The
LONDON: Jordan Pickford became the England goalkeeper with the longest spell without conceding a goal on Wednesday (Jul 7), narrowly breaking a record stretching back to the Three Lions' triumphant 1966 World Cup campaign. The goalkeeper surpassed Gordon Banks’s milestone of 720 minutes during England’s Euro 2020 semi-final victory over Denmark, as they reached their first major tournament final since 1966 with a 2-1 win after extra time. Six minutes later, Mikkel Damsgaard’s ferocious free kick flew past Pickford to end his run,
MELBOURNE: The Australian Grand Prix has been axed for the second year in a row with the 21st round of the Formula 1 championship a victim of the country's tight border controls, organisers said on Tuesday (Jul 6). "We regret to announce that the 2021 Australian Grand Prix has been canceled due to restrictions and logistical challenges relating to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic," organizers said in a statement on the Nov 21 race. The Australian round of the MotoGP world championship, scheduled for
A new England squad will be named as initial team forced to isolate due to three players and four backroom staff testing positive for Covid-19; Ben Stokes will return to England side as captain; England play Pakistan in the first ODI in Cardiff on Thursday, live on Sky Sports Cricket England have been forced to select a new team for the Pakistan ODI series after seven positive Covid-19 tests pushed the entire squad into isolation. Three England players and four backroom staff have
The Board of Trustees of Qatar Football Association (QFA) Award discussed the preparations for the Best Awards for the 2020-21 season and approved the final list of nominees for the awards. A total of 55 forms were sent out to participants in the voting process and 45 of them were approved while 10 forms were rejected for being incomplete. It was also decided to cancel the QFA Award Ceremony this season and the winners will be announced through the official website as well
RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil reached the Copa America final after a first-half goal from Lucas Paqueta -- his second in two games -- gave them a 1-0 win over Peru on Monday. The host nation will play the winner of Tuesday's other semi-final between Argentina and Colombia in the title decider at the Maracana stadium on Saturday. Brazil have won the Copa America every time they hosted the tournament and in the early part of Monday's match showed exactly why they are
The Qatari national football team finished its preparatory camp outside by defeating El Salvador in a friendly match this evening at the Aldo Drosina Stadium in the Croatian city of Pula as part of its preparations to participate in the Gold Cup tournament hosted by the United States of America during the period from July 10th to August 1st. The only goal of the confrontation was scored by striker Almoez Ali in the 68th minute, although the Qatari team completed the match with
PARIS: NBA star Luka Doncic delivered a triple-double to lead Slovenia over Lithuania 96-85 on Sunday and into their first Olympic basketball tournament. Slovenia punched their ticket to Tokyo with the victory in the FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament in Kaunas, Lithuania. Doncic, 22, scored 15 of his 31 points in the second quarter and added 11 rebounds and 13 assists to lead Slovenia. Lithuania, led by NBA stalwarts Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas, twice clawed back from double-digit deficits. But Slovenia took control
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer headline Wimbledon on Monday (Jul 5) with the two Grand Slam heavyweights looking to edge closer to a dream title showdown. World number one Djokovic, chasing a sixth Wimbledon title and record-equalling 20th major, is already halfway to becoming just the third man to complete a calendar Grand Slam. The Serb faces Cristian Garin of Chile while eight-time champion Federer takes on Italy's Lorenzo Sonego. Chilean 17th seed Cristian Garin had never previously won a main draw match
Lionel Messi scored a free-kick and set up two goals to inspire Argentina to a 3-0 win over Ecuador and set up a Copa America semi-final against Colombia. The 34-year-old forward provided assists for Rodrigo de Paul after 41 minutes and Lautaro Martinez late on. He then curled in a free-kick in injury time after Piero Hincapie was sent off for a foul on Angel di Maria. Last-four opponents Colombia beat Uruguay 4-2 on penalties following a goalless draw. "I've always said that






















