Sports

PARIS: At the mercy of Bernarda Pera’s deep groundstrokes and struggling with her moves, top-ranked Ashleigh Barty gave the impression that her return to Roland Garros would be short-lived. In ideal playing conditions on the sun-kissed Court Philippe Chatrier, Barty was often left stranded on the red clay by the big shots of her American rival. But two years after …

KARACHI: As FIFA’s patience wears thin with Pakistan, the Pakistan Football Federation Normalisation Committee appointed by the global football body in also getting impatient. After having lauded the government and the Inter-Provincial Coordination ministry for playing a positive role in fostering dialogue to vacate the PFF headquarters — which was occupied by a group of officials led by Ashfaq Hussain …

LONDON: New Zealand captain Kane Williamson insisted the ‘fierce challenge’ posed by Joe Root’s England side will be uppermost in his mind rather than his team’s record at Lord’s when he leads the tourists in the first Test at the ‘home of cricket’ on Wednesday. The match will be New Zealand’s first at Lord’s since their agonising Super Over loss …

LONDON: The men’s Cricket World Cup will once again become a 14-team tournament in 2027 and 2031, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Tuesday. The changes were announced as the ICC, cricket’s global governing body, unveiled its global schedule of events from 2024 to 2031. Meanwhile the Champions Trophy — dubbed as the ‘mini’ World Cup — last staged …

LAHORE: Out of a total of 370 visas applied for Abu Dhabi for the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL 6), seven are yet to come which include three players and four officials. It appears that now the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will be in a better position to announce the schedule of the remaining T20 matches of the league. Currently …

TOKYO: Japan is considering requiring fans attending the Tokyo Olympics to show negative Covid-19 test results or vaccination records, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Monday, as a new poll showed public opposition to the Games remained strong. Japan extended on Friday a state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas to June 20, and with the opening of the Games …

Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar has revealed that before making his international debut for his country, he took the field for Pakistan in a fixture between the teams of the two neighbouring states. The batting great, in his autobiography, Playing It My Way, recollected taking the field for Pakistan in 1987 – two years before his India debut in 1989. It …

SYDNEY: Australia’s softball team flew out on Monday destined for Japan, where they will become the first overseas competitors to arrive for the coronavirus-plagued Tokyo Olympics. The arrival of the ‘Aussie Spirit’ squad on Tuesday constitutes a milestone for the Tokyo 2020 Games, which were postponed for a year over the pandemic and remain dogged by virus fears. The squad …

SAO PAULO: Brazil will host Copa America for the second consecutive time after Colombia and Argentina were stripped of hosting rights for the tournament. South American football body CONMEBOL announced the decision on Monday hours after it ruled out Argentina amid an increase in Covid-19 cases in the country. Colombia was removed as co-host on May 20 as street protests …

CENTURION: New South African captain Dean Elgar is well aware of the cricketing contrast when he leads his team in two Test matches against the West Indies in St Lucia next month. The start date of the second Test on June 18 is the same as that for the World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand in …