Sports

LONDON: Liverpool’s Premier League title challenge got off to a sluggish start as the Reds were held 2-2 at newly-promoted Fulham, while Tottenham Hotspur delivered on their pre-season hype by thrashing Southampton 4-1 on Saturday. Jurgen Klopp admitted the best part of Liverpool’s day was the result as the Champions League finalists twice had to come from behind at Craven …

BIRMINGHAM: Once again, Pakistan took on Canada in a seventh-place playoff at the Commonwealth Games. Just like four years ago in Australia, Pakistan came out as winners. This time thanks to a last-minute strike by Abdul Hanan Shahid that sealed a nerve-wracking 4-3 win on Saturday. The match at the University of Birmingham hockey stadium was representative of how far …

BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan’s wrestlers continued picking up medals at the Commonwealth Games but a gold proved elusive yet again on Saturday. Mohammad Sharif Tahir, in his maiden international event, went closest at the Coventry Arena. But just like compatriot Inam Butt on Friday, he couldn’t get a final victory against an opponent from arch-rivals India. Sharif lost 9-0 to Naveen Kumar …

Ten members of crisis-hit Sri Lanka’s Commonwealth Games contingent in Birmingham have disappeared in a suspected attempt to remain in Britain, a top sports official from the island nation told AFP on Sunday. The nine athletes and a manager vanished after completing their events, the official said, requesting anonymity. Three of them — judoka Chamila Dilani, her manager Asela de Silva, and …

KARACHI: Alarm bells are ringing for the Pakistan Super League. But perhaps not loud enough for the Pakistan Cricket Board, which is still confident about the product it is selling. Analysts and those involved with the PSL, however, are thinking differently. Until its last edition in January this year, Pakistan’s flagship T20 event was being dubbed as the ‘second-best league …

BIRMINGHAM: A day after the crushing 7-0 defeat at the hands of Australia, Pakistan coach Siegfried Aikman said it was a learning opportunity for his side. Australia put paid to Pakistan’s semi-final hopes at the Commonwealth Games on Thursday night with Jeremy Hayward and Tom Wickham twice each at the University of Birmingham ground. Pakistan, who went into their final …

BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan’s wrestling team had two golds within its reach at the Commonwealth Games on Friday. In the end, they had only two silver medals to show for their efforts. After the country’s leading hope Mohammad Inam faltered in the much-hyped Indo-Pak clash for the +86kg title, Zaman Anwar was pinned in the +125kg final at the Coventry Arena. Their …

“THE last 24 hours have been like a whirlwind,” says Nooh Dasta­gir Butt. “It’s an amazing feeling to see your dreams come true.” Since becoming Pakistan’s first gold medallist at the Common­wealth Games in Birmingham on Wednesday, the 24-year-old weightlifter has been lapping up the adulation coming his way. Nooh has received messages of congratulations from all over the world. Just about …

BIRMINGHAM: There was no catching Shajar Abbas in his 200m heat at the Commonwealth Games on Thursday. Putting aside the disappointment of missing out on the 100m semi-finals by the narrowest of margins two days earlier, Shajar made sure he left nothing to chance this time. He won his heat at the Alexander Stadium in a time of 21.12 seconds …

A Russian court sentenced US basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison on Thursday after finding her guilty of deliberately bringing cannabis-infused vape cartridges into Russia, a ruling that US President Joe Biden called “unacceptable.” Griner was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs by police after the ruling, turning to reporters and saying: “I love my family.” Griner, a …