Arham beats Nofil to win Jr. Tennis title

ISLAMABAD: Arham Atiq hammered Syed Nofil Kaleem on Monday to clinch the junior First ACPL National Junior Hard Court Tennis Championship title here at the courts of Pakistan Sports Complex.

Arham beat Nofil by 7 6(2) 6 0 and won a cash prize of Rs 20 000 along with winning trophy while Nofil pocketed Rs 12000.

Ilham Khan won the boys under 14 title by beating Huzaifa Abdul Rehman in a thrilling three set match.

Huzaifa won the first set at 7 6 Ilham won the 2nd set at 6 1. In the final set Ilham was leading 4 1 when Huzaifa conceded the match due to injury.

Ilham was awarded Rs 10 000 while Huzaifa got Rs 6 000 along with shields and certificates. In Boys under 18 doubles final Talha Zubair and Hasnain Manzoor beat Syed Nofil Kaleem and Dawar Rehan 6 4 7 6 (4).

Talha Zubair and Hasnain Manzoor claimed the title of Junior doubles when they eliminated top seed Syed Nofil Kaleem and Dawar Rehan in a well contested two set match 6 4 7 6(4).

Talha and Hasnain won the cash award of Rs 10 000 while Nofil and Dawar pocketed Rs 6 000. Senator Syed Dilawar Abbas Patron PTF was the chief guest at the finals and distributed prizes among the winners. (APP)

Aussies make successful start to World Cup title defense

HAGUE: Title defenders Australia have started their hockey World Cup campaign in the Netherlands with a 4-0 win over Malaysia in the opening match on Saturday.

Playing in The Hague, Glenn Turner put the Kookaburras ahead in the 25th minute before three goals in a four-minute spell in the second.

Eddie Ockenden doubled the lead on 50 minutes and Jamie Dwyer put his name on the score sheet a couple of minutes later.

Turner added his second goal when converting a penalty corner to extend the lead to 4-0.

Later on Saturday, Belgium will take on India with England playing Spain in the men's competition.

Juventus celebrate third successive title with win over Atalanta

ROME: The Juventus fans were in a mood to party and their team lived up to expectations as they celebrated winning a third successive Serie A title with a 1-0 victory over Atalanta on Monday.

A second-half Simone Padoin strike enabled the champions to enjoy the moment in front of their supporters by maintaining their 100 per cent home record.Antonio Conte´s side, handed their 30th championship thanks to AS Roma´s 4-1 defeat at relegation-threatened Catania on Sunday, are on 96 points, 11 ahead of Roma and only a point away from equalling the all-time

record set by Inter Milan in 2007.Padion´s powerful 72nd-minute strike which careered in off the post following a nifty flick from Paul Pogba secured Juve´s 18th straight home league win and they only have to beat
Cagliari to finish the season unbeaten at the Juventus Stadium.

Conte made eight changes to the side which failed to overturn a 2-1 deficit in their Europa League semi-final with Benfica and they were rarely troubled by an Atalanta team who stayed in 11th on 47 points and now have no chance of European football.

Stefan Colantuono´s Atalanta are eight points behind sixth-placed Torino with two games remaining after losing four of their last five matches, falling away dramatically after winning six in a row in March.

They are also six behind Lazio and Hellas Verona, who are still in the Europa league hunt after playing out an entertaining 3-3 draw featuring a red card for each side as Verona fought back from 2-1 to lead 3-2 through goals from Iturbe and Romulo.

Juventus celebrate third successive title with win over Atalanta

ROME: The Juventus fans were in a mood to party and their team lived up to expectations as they celebrated winning a third successive Serie A title with a 1-0 victory over Atalanta on Monday.

A second-half Simone Padoin strike enabled the champions to enjoy the moment in front of their supporters by maintaining their 100 per cent home record.Antonio Conte´s side, handed their 30th championship thanks to AS Roma´s 4-1 defeat at relegation-threatened Catania on Sunday, are on 96 points, 11 ahead of Roma and only a point away from equalling the all-time

record set by Inter Milan in 2007.Padion´s powerful 72nd-minute strike which careered in off the post following a nifty flick from Paul Pogba secured Juve´s 18th straight home league win and they only have to beat
Cagliari to finish the season unbeaten at the Juventus Stadium.

Conte made eight changes to the side which failed to overturn a 2-1 deficit in their Europa League semi-final with Benfica and they were rarely troubled by an Atalanta team who stayed in 11th on 47 points and now have no chance of European football.

Stefan Colantuono´s Atalanta are eight points behind sixth-placed Torino with two games remaining after losing four of their last five matches, falling away dramatically after winning six in a row in March.

They are also six behind Lazio and Hellas Verona, who are still in the Europa league hunt after playing out an entertaining 3-3 draw featuring a red card for each side as Verona fought back from 2-1 to lead 3-2 through goals from Iturbe and Romulo.

Chelsea put up a superb show to dent Liverpool title chances

LIVERPOOL: An untimely slip by Steven Gerrard inadvertently helped Chelsea claim a 2-0 win over Premier League leaders Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday that reignited their title ambitions.

The Liverpool captain lost his footing in first-half injury time, enabling Demba Ba to run through and score, with Willian adding a late second as Jose Mourinho´s side moved to within two points of the summit.

The result brought Liverpool´s 11-game winning streak to an end and although it resurrected Chelsea´s title chances, the chief beneficiaries by the end of the day were Manchester City.

Mourinho, who travelled separately from his squad because he is ill, will now turn his attention to Wednesday´s Champions League semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid, with the tie in the balance at 0-0.

Anfield was already simmering when Luis Garcia, scorer of the decisive goal when these sides met in the 2005 Champions League semi-finals, was paraded to fans before kick-off, raising the noise levels even further.

Mourinho had made seven changes to his starting XI, awarding a full debut to 20-year-old Czech centre-back Tamas Kalas, and the visitors set out to spoil the game right from kick-off.

They were dallying over free-kicks within minutes of the whistle being blown, while Gerrard at one point had to wrench the ball from Mourinho´s grasp as the Chelsea manager attempted to prevent a quick throw-in.

Chelsea were the first side to threaten, however, with home goalkeeper Simon Mignolet obliged to parry a shot from Ashley Cole.

At the other end, Luis Suarez teed up Philippe Coutinho to volley into the side-netting and then found Mamadou Sakho with a drilled cross, only for the Frenchman to hoist the ball over the bar from close range.

Suarez also curled an effort over, but Chelsea finished the half strongly, and after the unmarked Kalas had headed badly wide from a corner, Gerrard´s nightmare moment let the visitors in.

After letting a pass from Sakho run under his foot, the England captain slipped as he tried to recover.

As Anfield gasped, Ba stole in, racing through and calmly threading the ball past Mignolet.

Liverpool resumed their assault on the Chelsea goal after the interval, but a deflected Gerrard effort that Mark Schwarzer saved easily was the best they could muster in the early stages.

Rodgers responded by sending on the fit-again Daniel Sturridge and Schwarzer was obliged to exert himself fully moments later, plunging to his left to repel a Joe Allen volley.

Chelsea, however, carried a threat on the counter-attack and it took a fine one-handed save by Mignolet to prevent Andre Schurrle from making it 0-2.

Allen and Gerrard each saw long-range efforts saved by Schwarzer, while the Liverpool captain could only plant a header straight at the goalkeeper from Suarez´s dinked cross.

Suarez had one last chance in injury time, when a punch from Schwarzer fell straight to him, but the goalkeeper palmed the Uruguayan´s shot away.

Chelsea had the last word, with Fernando Torres racing clear and unselfishly teeing up fellow substitute Willian for an easy tap-in that Mourinho celebrated by thumping his chest on the touchline. (AFP)

Man City slips further out of title contention

MANCHESTER: The Premier League trophy could be out of reach for Manchester City after a 2-2 home draw with last-placed Sunderland on Wednesday that capped a demoralizing four days for title chasers.

Samir Nasri´s 88th-minute equalizer at Etihad Stadium will be of little consolation to City, which is now six points behind league leader Liverpool and four points behind second-place Chelsea.T

Third-place City has a game in hand but the surprise result against Sunderland, coupled with Sunday´s 3-2 loss at Liverpool, may be a setback too far in its bid for a second championship in three seasons. "I think we are more mentally tired than physically tired," said City manager Manuel Pellegrini, who is still not giving up hope. "Remember this team, two years ago, were six points behind the leaders and ... won the title at the end. So it is difficult, but it is not the last game we play."

Sunderland is six points from safety with a game in hand, but could have been a lot closer if goalkeeper Vito Mannone had gathered Nasri´s shot rather than fumbled it into the back of the net.

That could be the difference between staying in the Premier League and being relegated. "It´s one more blow," Sunderland manager Gus Poyet said. "I tell you what, I´m testing my heart this year."

Without the injured David Silva and Yaya Toure and with star striker Sergio Aguero lacking match sharpness, City lacked its usual creativity going forward and was sloppy in possession.

Fernandinho gave City the lead in the second minute, running onto a short pass from Aguero that was dummied by Alvaro Negredo and scoring inside Mannone´s near post, but Sunderland had the better of the chances for the rest of the first half.

Connor Wickham finally took one of them in the 73rd minute, volleying in a cross from substitute Emanuele Giaccherini, and the same players combined for Wickham´s second that came on the counter-attack in the 83rd.

City escaped with a point thanks to Nasri, but Liverpool and Chelsea will be celebrating another twist in the title race. "We believe we can win the title," Fernandinho said. "Chelsea and Liverpool have four games and they may drop some points — we think we can still win the title." (AP)

 

Marquez defends Texas title in MotoGP

 

AUSTIN: Marc Marquez made the Grand Prix of the Americas look like a breezy Sunday ride. The reigning MotoGP world champion from Spain cruised to his second win of the season, defending his title in the race where he claimed his first career victory.

And the 21-year-old did it with ease, starting from pole position and leading the entire way. "I never lead a race from the first lap to the end," Marquez said of his eighth career win overall. "It was a little strange."

It certainly wasn´t in doubt.Marquez avoided any trouble in the traffic of the elevated first turn and he soon created a huge gap ahead of his Repsol Honda teammate and countryman Dani Pedrosa as the Hondas ripped through the track´s long straightaways and blasted out of the hairpin turns.

Unlike his season-opening victory in Qatar, when Marquez edged Valentino Rossi by 0.259 seconds, he had a nearly 3-second lead midway through the race and was never challenged. "Marc today was just faster," said Pedrosa, who finished second to Marquez for the second straight year and was more than 4 seconds behind Sunday. "I couldn´t really follow the pace."

No one could. Ducati´s Andrea Dovizioso of Italy was third, nearly 21 seconds behind Marquez, to earn his first podium finish since 2012. Pedrosa had said the only hope of beating Marquez was to overtake him at the start.

Last year, Pedrosa outmaneuvered Marquez on the first turn — a 130-foot climb into a downhill left — and held the lead for 12 laps. This time, Marquez started in front and stayed there — once Jorge Lorenzo got out of the way.

Lorenzo, who started fifth, jumped the start and was penalized with a pit lane ride through at the end of the first lap. Once Lorenzo was forced off the front, the race settled into a Marquez pleasure ride. "My first thought was that, ´I lost on the start,´" Marquez said. "But then I understood when he went on the first lap into the pits. I was concentrated on my race. It didn´t change anything."

Marquez´ only trouble came on a wobbly final turn on the last lap when he nearly dumped the bike on its side before recovering without any problems for the finish.

Even though he´s a world champion, Marquez chalked it up to inexperience. "The race was too quiet... I just wanted to put some RPM on the bike," he said. "It was a small mistake... It´s more experience for the future."

Marquez showed no signs of any lingering problems from a right leg fracture that happened in preseason training. Marquez had said the leg was getting stronger every day but that he would take pain killers for the race "just in case."

Sunday was the first of two races in the U.S. this year, with MotoGP back in Indianapolis in August. The series now moves to Argentina in two weeks before a six-race run in Europe.

With Marquez in control of the chase for the world championship, getting out of the U.S. may help level the playing field. Marquez has never lost on American soil, winning all six times he´s raced in MotoGP or the development levels. "I don´t know why it´s a great country for me," Marquez said. "I like it, so I will ask for a couple more races here next year." (AP)

 

Sangakkara anchors Sri Lanka to maiden World T20 title

DHAKA, Bangladesh: Kumar Sangakkara hit a memorable half-century to help Sri Lanka to a six-wicket victory over India in the World Twenty20 final in Dhaka on Sunday.
The veteran left-hander knocked a 35-ball 52 not out in his last Twenty20 match to guide the Sri Lankan chase of a modest 131-run target in 17.5 overs at a packed Shere Bangla stadium.It was Sangakkara who anchored the chase with six boundaries and a six in his unbeaten knock. The victory gave Sri Lanka their first world title in 18 years since winning the World Cup (50 overs) crown in 1996 and gave the World Twenty20 a fifth champion in as many editions.

The victory also broke Sri Lanka’s jinx of losing the final of major world level events as they had lost two World Cup (50 overs) finals (2007 and 2011) besides being runners-up in as many World Twenty20 events in 2009 and 2012.