Sports

The Tokyo Olympics will top the agenda when the International Olympic Committee’s executive board meets today – but with the board firmly backing the event, any talk of scrapping it altogether due to the Covid-19 pandemic is highly unlikely. With less than six months to go until the troubled Games are due to start, the board will instead tackle questions over the vaccination of athletes, international visitors and the attendance of spectators, and safety regulations among other matters. The Olympic body, which will

Pep Guardiola calls for calm after Manchester City continued their fine form with a 5-0 win at West Brom; City are top after 11th straight win; league position does not concern Spaniard; Sam Allardyce believes 'play to the whistle' response for City's second goal is 'nonsense' Pep Guardiola believes the Premier League title race will be a "marathon" and insists he does not look at the table despite Manchester City sitting top after their 5-0 win at West Brom.Ilkay Gundogan's first-half double and

Maya Weug has made history by becoming the first female driver to join the Ferrari Driver Academy. Weug, 16, was selected from the final stage of the Girls on Track - Rising Stars initiative, a program run jointly by Ferrari and motorsport governing body the FIA. The evaluation camp took place at Ferrari's headquarters in Maranello, Italy, and saw Weug beat competition from 17-year-old Doriane Pin, 14-year-old Antonella Bassani and 15-year-old Julia Ayoub.It means Weug, who started karting at the age of seven,

Pakistan captain Babar Azam is aware that his side has a poor a record against South Africa in tests but he is confident that the past will count for nothing when the two teams meet in the opening test in Karachi from Tuesday. South Africa, led by Quinton de Kock, will play their first test in Pakistan since 2007 and have lost only four out of 26 matches against their opponents. "We should not think about past, we should focus on what's ahead

The ATP Cup debuted last year with 24 teams and was held across three cities in Australia Top-ranked Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal will start their 2021 seasons on Feb. 2 when they lead Serbia and Spain respectively in the team-based ATP Cup ahead of the Australian Open. The top two men’s players will be joined by world number three Dominic Thiem and Russian No. 4 Daniil Medvedev on the opening day of the tournament at Melbourne Park, which will also host the

The decade has seen some champagne football, as well as innovations like Video Assistant Referee (VAR), making it a cusp 10-year period for the sport. Football has always been a popular sport but it broke new ground this decade, becoming a truly global phenomenon that captured the mind and imagination of fans all over the world. This decade saw the sport make big inroads into Asia and certain other parts of the world with domestic leagues like the Premier League making huge impact

Leander Paes, 47, said he skipped the Australian Open as he is apprehensive of playing in a bio-bubble but is looking ahead to the French Open. Indian tennis icon Leander Paes on Monday said he is eyeing a French Open comeback this year in his quest to make a record eighth appearance at the Olympics in Tokyo. Paes, 47, said he skipped the Australian Open as he is apprehensive of playing in a bio-bubble but is looking ahead to the French Open. Playing sport in a bio-bubble is

Manchester City were minutes away from exiting at the fourth-round stage before goals from Phil Foden, Gabriel Jesus and Ferran Torres broke the hearts of the brave League Two side. Manchester City were given a huge FA Cup scare by fourth-tier Cheltenham before a late blitz gave them a 3-1 win on Saturday after Southampton dumped holders Arsenal out of the competition. Six-time winners City were minutes away from exiting at the fourth-round stage before goals from Phil Foden, Gabriel Jesus and Ferran Torres broke the

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Three more people linked to the Australian Open have tested positive for COVID-19 in Melbourne, increasing to 10 those associated with the Grand Slam tennis tournament which begins Feb. 8. Victoria state Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville confirmed the new cases had been detected on Wednesday, adding that authorities are "very confident" one of the cases is a tennis player who is shedding the virus and is not infectious. The player is already in hard lockdown as they were on board a flight

Doha: Reigning Olympic and world champions Denmark yesterday defeated Asian champions Qatar 32-23 in their opening Group II match at the IHF Men’s World Championships in Cairo yesterday.     New Capital Sports Hall, Qatar started well and were neck and neck before the pre-event favourites took control of match.  Denmark were leading 17-12 at halftime. Qatar attempted to make a comeback but an experienced Danish side gave little room to their Asian opponents to seal first victory in main round.     Qatar

Doha: In a spectacular show of strength and stamina, the Hassan Ali Alabdulmalik-bred and owned She's Our Queen yesterday won the Class 2 Thoroughbred Pearl title on turf at Al Rayyan Race Park. Ivan Rossi rode the Debbie Mountain-trained 4-year-old filly to a 1¼-length win in the 2000m run for F & M. She's Our Queen clocked a winning time of 2:05.82 as jockey Rossi picked up the top prize of QR 57,000. Mahaarat, who had Alberto Sanna in the saddle, and Festive,

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has tested positive for the coronavirus, the La Liga club said in a statement on Friday. The French coach was isolating earlier this month after a close contact tested positive for COVID-19 and did not attend a training session as a result. Zidane, who is under pressure following Real's shock cup defeat to third division side Alcoyano earlier this week, will not be available for their La Liga match away at Alaves on Saturday with his assistant David

James Anderson and Joe Root kept England in contention on day two of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. Anderson took 6-40 from 29 overs - his 30th Test five-wicket haul - as England bowled their hosts out for 381. He dismissed Angelo Mathews for 110 but Sri Lanka eked out a good score from 243-6, Niroshan Dickwella making 92 and Dilruwan Perera 67. England fell to 5-2 in reply before Root's enterprising 67 not out from 77 balls led England

Japan PM Yoshihide Suga's latest insistence that the postponed Tokyo Games are on track comes after The Times cited an unnamed government source saying Japan has already shifted its focus to hosting in 2032. Japan dismissed a report claiming officials see cancelling the Tokyo Olympics as inevitable on Friday, as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he was "determined" to hold the Games. Deputy government spokesman Manabu Sakai there was "no truth" to the report in The Times, which quoted an unnamed ruling coalition

Australia vs India: Shardul Thakur feels he can contribute with useful runs for the Indian cricket team. He has seven first-class fifties to his credit. I Can Be Called A Bowling All-Rounder, I Can Bat: Shardul ThakurAustralia vs India: Shardul Thakur feels he can contribute with useful runs for the Indian cricket team. He has seven first-class fifties to his credit.Press Trust of IndiaUpdated: January 22, 2021 02:28 PM ISTRead Time: 3 min It was a debut over two years after his actual

For the third year the phenomenal AL SHAQAB equestrian facility in Doha, Qatar, will be the stage for the electrifying opening leg of the 2021 Longines Global Champions Tour and GCL season. The launchpad to the 2021 season at AL SHAQAB, part of Qatar Foundation, will welcome top international horses and riders from around the world. Founded by His Highness the Father Emir, this spectacular venue will see the best athletes in the world kick-start their campaign for the prestigious LGCT and GCL

The 8th edition of Commercial Bank CHI AL SHAQAB Presented by Longines will be held at the Longines Arena at Al Shaqab, from 25-27 Feb, 2021. The world-class equestrian event will again welcome top-ranking local and international riders to compete in the Olympic disciplines of Showjumping, Dressage, and Para Dressage.  CHI (Concours Hippique International – International Equestrian Competition) is the official title awarded by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) to international equestrian competitions with three or more equestrian disciplines. The three magic letters make

BBC A Spanish tennis player who was among many Australian Open competitors to complain about quarantine rules has revealed she has coronavirus. Paula Badosa said she had felt unwell with symptoms before testing positive for the virus in Melbourne on Thursday. Badosa is believed to be the fourth competitor to test positive in hotel quarantine, but is the first to identify herself publicly. On Friday, she said "sorry guys", adding quarantine rules were "pivotal". "Please, don't get me wrong. Health will always comes

Following confirmation that, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and related quarantine measures required by the New Zealand authorities, Auckland City FC will be unable to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup 2020™, FIFA has adapted the competition’s match schedule. The competition format remains unchanged, with the opening match forfeited. The tournament will now be staged at Education City and Ahmad Bin Ali stadiums, while Khalifa International Stadium, which was originally due to host two games, will not be used. Ahmad Bin