Sports

PARIS: Paris St Germain continued their march towards the Ligue 1 title with a 4-1 win at home against Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday with all the goals coming in an explosive first half. Runaway leaders PSG moved to 66 points, 11 ahead of second-placed AS Monaco with five matches left, while Lyon are eighth with 41 points. PSG struck twice …

BEIJING: Beijing on Monday called reports about 23 Chinese swimmers testing positive for a banned substance ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 “fake news”. The sport was rocked at the weekend by revelations that the swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) — a prescription heart drug that is banned in athletes because it can enhance performance — before the Games three …

NEW DELHI: With T20 cricket becoming increasingly more batter-dominated, bowlers with the ‘X-factor’ could make all the difference in the World Cup in June, West Indies head coach Daren Sammy told Reuters. The batting bias of cricket’s shortest format is evident in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), where 200-plus scores have become a routine and 300 does not look impossible …

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s batting order is far from settled with the T20 World Cup less than two months away and according to their head coach Azhar Mahmood, more shuffling is expected. Azhar, appointed in the role solely for the ongoing five-match Twenty20 International series against New Zealand, realised this when Pakistan failed to score big enough to avoid defeat in the …

FOREIGN Minister Ishaq Dar has justified the government’s move to block access to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), saying that it was the government’s prerogative to take actions that are “in the best interests of Pakistan”, VOA reported. In an apparent swipe at Washington’s efforts to ban TikTok unless it cut ties with its Chinese parent company, Mr Dar said “may I ask …

Mark Chapman hit a robust half-century to help an under-strength New Zealand to a shock seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the third Twenty20 international in Rawalpindi on Sunday. The 29-year-old left-hander smashed a 42-ball 87 to anchor New Zealand’s chase of the 179-run target in 18.2 overs against the much-vaunted Pakistan bowling attack, silencing a packed 16,000-holiday crowd. Shadab Khan …

LONDON: Liverpool got back on track after their week from hell as a 3-1 win at Fulham keep their Premier League title bid alive, while Nottingham Forest launched an astonishing rant at the officiating in their 2-0 defeat against Everton on Sunday. Jurgen Klopp’s side crashed out of the Europa League quarter-finals against Atalanta on Thursday after suffering a damaging …

LONDON: Reigning Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir crushed the women’s-only world record in winning the 44th London Marathon on Sunday, while Kenyan compatriot Alexander Mutiso Munyao pulled away from Ethiopian distance great Kenenisa Bekele to win the men’s race. The 30-year-old Jepchirchir crossed the finish line in front of Buckingham Palace in two hours 16 minutes 16 seconds to break Mary …

KARACHI: Pakistan captain Nida Dar’s significant milestone of becoming the second bowler from the country to claim 100 One-day International wickets was soured by the West Indies’ two-wicket victory in the second ODI against the hosts here at the National Bank Stadium. Victory for the visitors meant they gained an unassailable lead over Pakistan in the three-match series after what …

Australian swimming coach Denis Cotterell has rejected allegations of orchestrated doping in Chinese swimming, saying the east Asian nation is adamant about clean sport. Cotterell is working with China’s top swimmers in the lead-up to the Paris Olympics and previously coached 1,500 metres freestyle world record holder Sun Yang, who is now suspended for a doping offence. The World Anti-Doping …