Featured

Caster Semenya retained her 5,000m title at the South African Athletics Championships on Thursday (Apr 15) and confirmed she would not be attempting to qualify for the 200m at the Tokyo Games. The double Olympic 800m champion cannot compete over her favoured distance having refused to abide by a World Athletics ruling that athletes with differences in sexual development competing in races ranging from 400m to a mile must reduce their naturally high levels of testosterone. She has taken that fight to the

RIO DE JANEIRO - The world’s most famous statue of Jesus Christ was lit up with the Olympics logo and images of sporting arenas on Wednesday to mark 100 days to the Tokyo Olympic Games opening ceremony. Hundreds of LED projectors were used to beam images onto the 98-foot (30-m) Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, according to media reports. The show began and ended with the statue seeming to wear Brazil jerseys in yellow and green, the country’s distinctive sporting colours,

DORTMUND, Germany - Manchester City scored twice in the second half through Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden to beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 on Wednesday and reach the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in six years. Foden, who scored the winner in their 2-1 first-leg victory, fired in off the post in the 76th minute after Mahrez had converted a 55th-minute penalty to secure a 4-2 aggregate triumph and send City into the last four for the second time. “It means a

Italy’s Imola circuit provides a fresh challenge for seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton and young pretender Max Verstappen as the pair prepare for round two of their Formula One battle this weekend. The circuit, with the Santerno river running alongside and a verdant backdrop of trees and parkland, is a marked contrast to Bahrain’s desert Sakhir track that hosted the opener won by Mercedes’ Hamilton. The fast and flowing anti-clockwise layout is also narrower and bumpier than Bahrain, and with fewer opportunities to

ROME - Rome’s Stadio Olimpico was confirmed as a Euro 2020 host venue on Wednesday after the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) told UEFA that fans would be allowed to attend matches. “The authorities have guaranteed at least 25% of the stadium’s capacity will be filled. As a result, UEFA considers Rome to be fully confirmed as a venue for the tournament,” read a statement from European soccer’s governing body. A FIGC statement on Tuesday said that at least 25% of the 72,698-seater Olimpico

British number one Dan Evans will face Novak Djokovic in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters after easing past Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets. Evans, who sealed his first tour-level win on clay in four years on Tuesday, beat the Polish 13th seed 6-4 6-1. Djokovic beat Italian teenager Jannik Sinner 6-4 6-2 in what was the world number one's first match since winning the Australian Open in February. "It was a very good encounter," said the Serb, 33. "I thought

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has been named Wisden's leading cricketer in the world for the second year in a row. Stokes, 29, is the first Englishman to win the award twice since its inception in 2004. He scored more Test runs than any other batsman in 2020, with 641 in seven matches, while also taking 19 wickets. Kent all-rounder Darren Stevens has become the oldest person since 1933 to be named as one of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year. Stevens, 44, is

Liverpool's Champions League campaign ended in disappointment as Real Madrid set up a semi-final meeting with Chelsea by keeping Jurgen Klopp's side at bay in a goalless draw at Anfield. Real arrived at Anfield protecting a 3-1 lead from the first leg and while they eventually went through in relative comfort Liverpool will curse themselves for missing several glorious first-half chances. Mohamed Salah shot straight at Real keeper Thibaut Courtois, who also saved well from James Milner, in the opening moments and shot

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was the recipient of the Sir Richard Hadlee medal as player of the year for the fourth time in six years at the country’s 2020-21 cricket awards on Tuesday. Williamson, the number one test batsman, also bagged the International Test Player of the Year award as he led from the front with New Zealand winning 17 of 20 matches across all formats played over their summer, winning all seven series. The 30-year-old plundered test runs which included double

SEVILLE, Spain -Chelsea hung on to reach the Champions League semi-finals with a 2-1 aggregate win despite Mehdi Taremi’s stunning overhead kick in added time handing Porto a 1-0 victory in the quarter-final second leg on Tuesday. The substitute had been responsible for his side’s only attempt on target as they chased a 2-0 deficit from last week’s first leg but he provided an emphatic response in a cagey game with his acrobatic strike deep into added time. Thomas Tuchel’s side had a

The Premier League, EFL, Premiership Rugby, F1 and British Horseracing have adjusted their schedules "as a mark of respect" to avoid clashing with Saturday's funeral of Prince Philip. The Duke of Edinburgh died at the age of 99 on Friday and his funeral will be held at St George's Chapel, Windsor, at 15:00 BST on Saturday, 17 April. A national minute's silence will be held at 15:00. The Football Association recommends no games played between 14:45 and 16:15. In addition, a minute's silence

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League with a broken finger, his Rajasthan Royals team say. The Royals say Stokes, 29, was injured while fielding during their four-run loss to Punjab Kings on Monday. England say their medical staff are in contact and Stokes will have a second X-ray "in the next 24-48 hours" to assess the seriousness of the injury. "I'm devastated," Stokes told the Mirror. "To suffer a broken finger in the very first game is just devastating."

Minnesota Timberwolves and Brooklyn Nets players wore T-shirts calling for "liberty and justice for all" following the fatal shooting of a black man by a police officer on Sunday. The death of Daunte Wright, 20, in Brooklyn Center sparked days of angry protests and an overnight curfew. Tributes were paid at Tuesday's NBA game in nearby Minneapolis, which had been postponed for 24 hours. There was a moments silence before the Nets beat Minnesota 127-97. The Timberwolves also used social media to focus attention on

Mixed doubles will return for the 2021 French Open after being cancelled last year because of Covid-19 restrictions. The draw will feature 16 pairs, rather than the usual 32, when the tournament begins in May. Latisha Chan of Taiwan and Croatia's Ivan Dodig are the two-time defending champions on the Roland Garros clay. The French Open will run from 30 May to 13 June after being pushed back by a week in the hope that more spectators will be able to attend. Source:

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel said reaching the last four of the Champions League is a "great achievement" as the Blues moved into the semi-finals for the first time since 2014. Chelsea will play either Liverpool or Real Madrid for a place in the final after a 2-1 aggregate win over Porto. "We will become a strong side," he told BT Sport after his team lost the second leg 1-0 in injury time. "We could not finish it off with a goal so we

Chelsea survived a spectacular late overhead kick from Mehdi Taremi to overcome Porto and confirm a place in the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in seven years. Thomas Tuchel's side went into this 'home' last-eight second leg - with both games being played in Seville during the current Covid-19 pandemic - protecting a two-goal lead they only briefly threatened to surrender in the dying seconds following Taremi's brilliant finish. Chelsea, who will now face either Liverpool or Real Madrid in the

Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray returned to the court Monday after missing four games with a sore right knee, then in the final minute of the fourth quarter went down with a non-contact injury where he is grabbing his left knee in pain. Murray refused a wheelchair to leave the court but had to be helped back to the locker room because of the knee injury. The Nuggets are waiting on an MRI for a complete picture and diagnosis. Murray is scoring 21.3 points a

Punjab Kings had staged a miraculous comeback last year after a disastrous start, nearly making it to the playoffs in the process, and captain KL Rahul will hope his side is able to build momentum early so as to not build too much pressure over the playoffs qualification towards the business end of the tournament. With their purchase of top-ranked T20I batsman Dawid Malan, and shoring up the pace department with the acquisition of Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith, Punjab will certainly fancy

Madrid will host two groups, two last-eight ties, the semi-finals and the final. The 2021 Davis Cup Finals will be held in three cities, with Innsbruck and Turin joining Madrid as hosts, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced on Monday. The competition was reformed in 2019, with Rafael Nadal's Spain winning the 18-team competition in Madrid, but scheduling issues resulted in a number of late finishes and poor attendances at some matches. The ITF said Madrid, Austrian city Innsbruck and Turin in Italy

After a year’s delay, the Tokyo Olympics are set to begin in July, with the Paralympics scheduled to start in August. Years of planning — and billions in television dollars at stake — mean Olympic organizers are keen to hold the event without postponing again. But polling in Japan has trended strongly against the Games, as Motoko Rich and Hikari Hida report in The Times. Thousands of athletes and other participants will be heading to Tokyo, and less than 1 percent of Japan’s population has been