Sports

BARCELONA: Real Madrid averted a crisis in the best way possible on Saturday by beating Barcelona 3-1 in the first empty Clasico, landing an early blow in La Liga’s title race. Barca had the chance to inflict a third consecutive defeat on their rivals and increase the pressure on Zinedine Zidane. Instead, Real’s win earns them a six-point lead over …

JOHANNESBURG: Acting president Beresford Williams and five other Cricket South Africa (CSA) board members resigned on Sunday, two days ahead of a deadline threatening intervention from the country’s sports minister. The resignations were annou­nced in a series of tweets on CSA’s official Twitter account. The organisation has been in disarray since chief executive Thabang Moroe was suspended last Dece­mber, prompting calls …

KARACHI: For the first time in their history, Karachi United went into a Pakistan Football Federation (PFFL) match with their destiny in their own hands. This was their chance to fulfill their long-time ambition. This just had to be their time. Since 2014, the club — founded in 1996 — has failed to earn promotion to the top-flight Pakistan Premier …

PORTIMAO: Six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton became the most successful Formula One driver of all time in terms of race wins on Sunday with a dominant 92nd career victory at the Portuguese Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver, who took the chequered flag a huge 25.592 seconds ahead of second-placed team-mate Valtteri Bottas, had equalled Ferrari great Michael Schumacher’s record 91 …

KARACHI: The opening day of any major sporting competition brings renewed hope of building on improvement from the previous season. But Central Punjab’s defence of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy cricket title on Sunday got off on a note of despondency against the cut and swerve of Tabish Khan. Elsewhere in the city, Southern Punjab were in full control already after dismissing last …

ISLAMABAD: The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has found fault with the utilisation of almost Rs3 trillion public funds by the power division, involving huge irregularities, mismanagement, misappropriation and embezzlement. In its report for the audit year 2019-20 that has been laid before the National Assembly after a delay of almost eight months, the AGP also put question marks over …

LONDON: Olympic chief Thomas Bach warned against allowing the Games to ‘descend into a marketplace of demonstration’” on Saturday after criticism of a rule banning protests by athletes. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) president has come under fire for the ruling, announced in a year which has seen widespread support by athletes for the Black Lives Matter movement. But Bach, …

NEW DELHI: England Test captain Joe Root considers his Indian counterpart Virat Kohli as currently the most complete player around and said he expects England team-mate Jos Buttler to soon replicate his limited-overs dominance in Test cricket. Root himself is considered one of the four best batsmen in contemporary cricket, alongside the prolific Kohli, Australian run-machine Steve Smith and New …

LONDON: Youngster Phil Foden came off the bench to inject some life into Manchester City and salvage a point in a 1-1 draw at West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday. City were abject in the first half despite dominating possession, and in-form West Ham deservedly took the lead through Michail Antonio’s acrobatic volley in the 18th minute. …

KARACHI: With international calls imminent chiefly due to Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand during the first-class domestic season, holders Central Punjab brace for a challenging task if they aspire to retain the prestigious Quaid-e-Azam Trophy title. While the senior squad will be engaged in a series of two Tests and three Twenty20 Internationals against the Black Caps from the middle …