SPORTS - Page 11

On Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz overcame a slow beginning and ended strongly to retain his Indian Wells title, defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final with a score of 7-6(5) 6-1. The Spaniard trailed early as his Russian opponent sprinted into a 3-0 lead but soon found his range on the frantic, high-octane court and closed out the first set tiebreak in a match that saw both players exchange breathtaking shots. In the second, Alcaraz romped through his service games and captured

Turkey is set to resume league football on Tuesday after a week-long break, but FIFA chief Gianni Infantino says the violence that erupted in a Super Lig game over the weekend remains unacceptable. The president of a Turkish club, Ankaragucu, Faruk Kodja, ran onto the pitch after their 1-1 draw with Caykur Rizespor and punched referee Halil Umut Meler. The incident led to the Turkish Football Federation suspending league matches. But in a tweet on Monday, Infantino said the “violence

Despite not landing him this summer, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola remains convinced that midfielder Jude Bellingham would be perfect for his team should the opportunity arise. The England star, who is preparing to link up with former Dortmund team-mate Phil Foden at the Etihad, will consider moving to City should his Real Madrid spell come to an end. Having been tipped to leave Borussia Dortmund this summer, Bellingham opted to stay with Carlo Ancelotti’s side and has not disappointed.

On Wednesday, Real Madrid winger Brahim Diaz was selected for the Morocco squad at the age of 24, choosing to represent the North African team over Spain. Despite being a consistent member of Spanish national youth teams, including those led by current La Roja coach Luis de la Fuente, Diaz felt disheartened by the Spanish Football Federation’s lack of attention towards him. Consequently, he made the decision to switch allegiances to Morocco, a move that promises mutual benefits for both

On Thursday, the president of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) stated that the committee will not boycott the upcoming Paris Olympics, despite the International Olympic Committee’s sanctions against Russian athletes due to the invasion of Ukraine. Stanislav Pozdnyakov, the ROC’s president and a former Olympic fencer, noted that he has garnered support from various National Olympic Committees, including China. The IOC ruled last month that Russia and Belarus should not receive invitations to compete as teams in the 2024 Games

On Tuesday, Arsenal’s thrilling penalty shootout victory over Porto marked a breakthrough in their Champions League last-16 struggles and highlighted their resolute determination. This win holds the potential to boost their morale as they aim to compete with Liverpool and Manchester City for the English league title. Despite initially trailing behind the Premier League leaders, Mikel Arteta’s team displayed remarkable resilience, ultimately clinching a 5-4 triumph. This triumph paves the way for a potential top-four finish and a long-awaited return

Novak Djokovic’s return to Indian Wells ended much quicker than anyone could have predicted after the world number one was stunned 6-4 3-6 6-3 by lucky loser Luca Nardi in the third round on Monday. The Serb, who had been out of action for five months due to US travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, appeared in control. Still, his dominance was brought to an abrupt halt as the 20-year-old Italian dominated with his superb baseline play. The victory, which

Ahead of their participation in the European Championships in June, the Netherlands is scheduled to engage in two warm-up friendlies, as announced by the Dutch Football Association (KNVB). Under the leadership of Ronald Koeman, the team will face Canada on Thursday, June 6, followed by a match against Iceland four days later. Both games are set to be held at the De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam, with the Dutch squad departing for Germany a day after the second friendly. The

Otto Wallin, the heavyweight contender, was equally surprised along with the entire boxing community when Francis Ngannou knocked down Tyson Fury. However, the Swede believes it’s improbable that a similar scenario will unfold when the two fighters face each other in Saudi Arabia on Friday. Ngannou managed to stun Fury with a powerful overhead left hand, causing the former world champion to hit the canvas. Yet, Fury struggled to recover from this early setback. Ngannou, who had only been in

A red-hot Dean Wade and some video replay helped the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers overcome a 22-point, fourth-quarter deficit and beat the visiting Boston Celtics 105-104 on Tuesday night. Wade erupted off the bench to score 23 points- 20 in the final quarter, including a putback dunk of a Darius Garland miss with 19.1 seconds left, which proved the game-winner. The victory snapped Boston’s league-best 11-game winning streak and came on a night that was billed as “Kelce Night” at the