Featured

MIAMI: Italian teen Jannik Sinner advanced to the Miami Open final on Friday, rallying past Spanish seventh seed Roberto Bautista Agut to reach the biggest championship match of his young career. Sinner, who reached last year's French Open quarter-finals, defeated Bautista 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 after two hours and 28 minutes to become only the fourth teen to reach the men's final in the 36-year history of the ATP Masters 1000 hardcourt event. The 19-year-old Italian, playing only his third Masters 1000, joined 1990

CENTURION, South Africa: A century by Babar Azam set up a three-wicket, last-ball win for Pakistan in the first one-day international against South Africa at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Friday (Apr 2). The Pakistan captain hit a stroke-filled 103 off 104 balls but his dismissal started a collapse in which fast bowler Anrich Nortje took four wickets in four overs. Rassie van der Dussen hit 123 not out, his maiden international century. But South Africa's total of 273 for six did not

BELGRADE: The captain's armband that Cristiano Ronaldo flung to the ground in disgust after Portugal were denied an injury-time winner against Serbia was sold at a charity auction for 64,000 euros (US$75,000) to an anonymous bidder. With seconds to go while the score in the 2022 World Cup qualifier was 2-2 in Belgrade, Ronaldo thought he had netted the crucial goal, when the ball appeared to cross the goal line before Stefan Mitrovic cleared. But without video technology in use, the goal was

LONDON: Manchester United are hopeful fit-again forwards Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood can feature in Sunday's (Apr 4) Premier League match against Brighton & Hove Albion but doubts remain over Frenchman Anthony Martial, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said on Friday. Rashford missed United's FA Cup loss to Leicester City with a foot issue and was ruled out of England's World Cup qualifiers against San Marino, Albania and Poland but the 23-year-old has returned to training. Greenwood also completed Friday's session after missing England's

MADRID: Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil urged his players on Friday (Apr 2) to make history by beating Athletic Bilbao in the final of the Copa del Rey. La Real will face bitter rivals Bilbao on Saturday in the postponed final from last season, which has been put off as long as possible in the hope that fans could attend. As a result it will be the first of two cup finals in two weeks, with Bilbao then facing Barcelona on April 17

SINGAPORE: In European football, incidents of racial discrimination, either on the pitch or online, are a regular feature of every season. Frequently, there are depressing headlines detailing the abuse of black players. It has long been an issue. In England, racist abuse became more common in stadiums in the 1970s and 1980s when black players started to play for clubs and the England national team. There are infamous images of Liverpool star John Barnes back-heeling a banana skin that had been thrown on

MADRID: So often over the years Barcelona and Real Madrid have fought it out between themselves for the Liga title, cruising to 95-plus points while everyone else battles to be the best of the rest. However, with 10 games to go this season, Atletico Madrid sit top of the table in what looks like a year when 85 points might be enough to secure the silverware. It is set to be the closest-run title race for some time, with just six points separating

LONDON: Barcelona advanced to the last four of the women's Champions League with a 4-2 aggregate victory over Manchester City after a 2-1 defeat in the second leg of their quarter-final at the City Academy Stadium on Wednesday. City came into the game with a 3-0 deficit after losing the away leg, played in Monza because of travel restrictions, but they began brightly and pulled back a goal when Janine Beckie prodded home in the 20th minute after Barca had failed to clear

LONDON: Naomi Osaka had grown so accustomed to dominating that she was not immediately sure what lessons to take after her 23-match winning streak came to an abrupt end in quarter-final action at the Miami Open on Wednesday (Mar 31). Osaka, the reigning US Open and Australian Open champion whose last loss came in February 2020, was beaten 6-0 6-4 by Greek 23rd seed Maria Sakkari. "I feel like even if you're not playing great you should still find ways to win. I'm

The Expo 2020 Dubai will be the principal sponsor of the IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals for the upcoming 14th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Taking place from October 1 2021 to March 31, 2022, Expo 2020 will welcome more than 190 nations and millions of people from across the globe to Dubai for 182 visually striking, intellectually enlightening and emotionally inspiring days. Visitors will experience a dynamic and diverse programme, including innovation, culture, art, food, music and sport from every corner

Gareth Bale has praised Wales caretaker coach Robert Page for keeping the team focused despite off-the-field distractions and securing a "massive win" over the Czech Republic in a 2022 World Cup qualifier. Manchester United forward Daniel James's goal secured a 1-0 win over the Czechs on Tuesday (Mar 30). The victory moved Wales up to third place in Group E, one point behind the Czech Republic in second and four adrift of leaders Belgium, having played one game fewer than both. It was

LONDON: Amnesty International said on Wednesday (Mar 31) it hopes England will join other countries in protesting against the conditions of migrant labourers in Qatar ahead of the 2022 World Cup there. Players from Germany, the Netherlands and Norway wore shirts before World Cup qualifiers voicing concern over human rights in Qatar, following a report last month in Britain's Guardian newspaper that at least 6,500 migrant workers had died in Qatar in the decade since it won the right to stage the event.

Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu praised his side's ruthlessness after they recorded their biggest win in World Cup qualifying with Tuesday's (Mar 30) 14-0 thrashing of Mongolia. The win fell one goal short of matching their all-time record, a 15-0 victory over the Philippines in Olympic qualifying in 1967, but Moriyasu was delighted with the way his side took Mongolia apart in the Group F match behind closed doors at Chiba's Fukuda Denshi Arena. The players were focused on what they could accomplish rather

MIAMI, Florida: After players at the Miami Open expressed a reluctance to get the COVID-19 vaccine, the women's tennis governing body said on Tuesday (Mar 30) it would educate athletes and encourage them to get the shot. After fourth round wins on Monday, Ukrainian Elina Svitolina and Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka had aired concerns about how quickly the vaccines had been rolled out and said they would wait before deciding whether to get one. Svitolina added that getting the vaccine made no sense since

TOKYO: A Japanese karate champion who will compete at the Tokyo Olympics testified before an ethics commission on Wednesday (Mar 31), alleging that a federation official hit her in the face with a bamboo sword. Ayumi Uekusa, who will compete in the women's over 61kg kumite category as karate makes its Olympic debut this summer, said she was the victim of a bullying campaign by Masao Kagawa, the technical director of the Japan Karatedo Federation. It is the latest "power harassment" scandal to

Nate Diaz is set to make his return to the UFC on May 15th, in the co-main event of UFC 262. The Stockton fan-favorite will be fighting Leon Edwards upon his return to the octagon. According to an initial report from Ariel Helwani of ESPN, Nate Diaz will face 'Rocky' in what will be the former's first fight since UFC 244 in 2019. The fight will reportedly be a five-round co-main event, the very first in UFC history. Here is the report from Ariel Helwani on Twitter: While

KUALA LUMPUR: A Myanmar footballer who plays for a Malaysian club has been hit with a one-match ban for flashing the three-finger salute used by anti-coup protesters during a game, an official said on Tuesday (Mar 30). Hein Htet Aung, who plays for second-division side Selangor FC II, made the political gesture during a match against PDRM FC earlier this month. A picture of him flashing the symbol went viral, and he was found to have broken rules prohibiting offensive gestures or language,

Indian batsman Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season after injuring his left shoulder during India’s one-day international series with England, his franchise the Delhi Capitals announced on Tuesday. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant will captain the side in Iyer’s absence, the Capitals added. Iyer sustained the injury while diving to stop a shot by England opener Jonny Bairstow and India’s cricket board BCCI said he had partially dislocated his shoulder. “Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the

DEBRECEN, Hungary - World Cup hosts Qatar continued their impressive run as they drew 1-1 with struggling Ireland in Debrecen on Tuesday. Ireland were hoping to bounce back from their humiliating defeat by Luxembourg in their Group A World Cup qualifier at the weekend and took the lead in the first half through James McClean’s deflected strike. But Mohammed Muntari levelled for a lively Qatar side with a fine finish early in the second half. The non-competitive Group A game was originally scheduled

Players at the Miami Open on Monday expressed little love for COVID-19 vaccines, with many saying they want more information before getting a shot. Seventh seeded Aryna Sabalenka expressed more concern over the vaccine than her quarterfinal opponent number one Ash Barty while fifth seed Elina Svitolina said she was inclined to take the advice of friends and wait. “So far I don’t really trust it,” Sabalenka told reporters following her fourth round 6-1 6-2 mugging of Marketa Vondrousova. “It’s tough to say,