Sports

Round Four Report Callum Shinkwin defeated Kalle Samooja in a play-off to win his first European Tour title after a dramatic final day at the 2020 Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Open. The Englishman was two shots behind the Finn as he stood on the17th tee in regulation and while a birdie there edged him closer, his chances of victory looked slim when he found rough off the tee at the par five last. His second shot over the water took him to the edge

Germany’s Raphael Kandra booked his place in round two of the Qatar Classic after he came back from a game down to overcome the challenge of Switzerland’s Dimitri Steinmann. Kandra, the World No.33, wasn’t at the races early on as Steinmann put in a confident display and attacked with vigour to take a one-game lead for the loss of five points. A change in approach from Kandra in the third game paid dividends though as he lengthened the rallies to sap the energy

World No.42 George Parker twice came back from a game down to get the better of Frenchman Victor Crouin in a gripping five game encounter. The pair had met twice before on the PSA Tour and shared one win apiece, with both matches being won by a 3-0 margin. This time around it was nip-and-tuck as both players enjoyed spells of scintillating squash. The court conditions favoured whoever took the ball in short more and it was initially Crouin who found his drop

Egypt’s Mohamed ElSherbini marked his first appearance since March with a 3-0 victory over Qatari wildcard Syed Azlan Amjad in the first match of the 2020 Qatar Classic to take place on the glass court. ElSherbini, making his Qatar Classic debut, was in control for the majority of the match as he hit consistent lines and punished his opponent at the front of the court. Amjad came into the encounter on a high after winning the QSF 3 Open on this very court

Egypt’s Ali Farag has claimed the World No.1 spot for the first time since January, 2020 after the PSA Men’s World Rankings for November were released today. Farag, the 28-year-old Harvard-graduate, captured the CIB Egyptian Open title in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza a fortnight ago and his run to the final in Cairo saw him end rival Mohamed ElShorbagy’s nine-month reign atop the World Rankings. ElShorbagy drops down to No.2 but will have the opportunity to retake top spot if

Al Shahania Stud’s RB KINDLE (Burning Sand x Rich Kinkga) sprinted to her third consecutive victory when she landed the LOSAIL CUP (PUREBRED ARABIANS) with ease. Th Gassim Mohammad Ghazali trained mare stayed on the rails and up front under Alberto Sanna in the six furlong sprint. She held on to her advantage even as the pace upped and another Ghazali ward, ATEEJ (AF AlBahar x Sahara Croixnoire), came threateningly close under Marco Casamento. But RB Kindle held her own and finished the

The Qatar Classic starts from Sunday at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, with the PSA Platinum level tournament returning to the calendar after making way for the PSA World Championships in 2019. Ali Farag will be World No.1 come the start of the tournament, and the new man at the summit of the World Rankings will also be the defending champion when play begins on Sunday morning in the Qatari capital. The 2018-19 World Champion will be in the No.2 seed

2014 Ryder Cup star Jamie­­ Donaldson will go in search of his first European Tour title in more than six years as he takes a one-stroke lead into the final round of the Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Open. The Welshman, a three-time winner on the European Tour, won his last title at the D+D Real Czech Masters in 2014 and is playing on an invitation this week. The 45-year-old birdied the last to reach 14 under par and move one shot ahead of five

Marcus Armitage and Jamie Donaldson share the lead at the Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Open on 11 under par but will need to complete their second rounds on Saturday morning as play was suspended due to fading light. The pair will return to the course at Aphrodite Hills Resort at 8:00am local time to finish their rounds. 2014 Ryder Cup star Donaldson has one hole to finish, with 33-year-old Armitage still to putt-out on the 16th green. Welshman Donaldson is five under par for

The Japanese rookie is the lead Junior Talent Team rider on the grid in the season finale, with Ogden also in the top ten After a tougher qualifying in Aragon, Takuma Matsuyama was back with a bang at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo as the Junior Talent Team rider missed out on pole by just a tenth-and-a-half to earn himself second on the grid at Valencia. It’s his first front row start in the FIM Moto3™ Junior World Championship and he’ll lead the JTT

The World Athletics Indoor Tour will offer enhanced competition opportunities next year with the introduction of three tiers of competition – Gold, Silver and Bronze – comprising 26 meetings spread across 12 countries in Europe and North America. The expanded tour will broaden the geographical spread of meetings around the world and incorporate additional Area level competitions. Heading into its sixth season, the World Athletics Indoor Tour will feature six Gold level meetings in 2021, kicking off in Karlsruhe on 29 January and culminating in

Former World Champion and World No.1 Karim Abdel Gawad has withdrawn from the upcoming Qatar Classic, which begins at the weekend. New Zealand’s Paul Coll moves up to take Gawad’s spot in the 3/4 seeds, with British and Welsh No.1 Joel Makin then taking the subsequent space in the 5/8 section of the draw. Scotland’s Greg Lobban replaces Makin and moves into the 9/16 seedings, and will receive a bye through to the second round of the Platinum event. India’s Vikram Malhotra replaces

Round One Report American Johannes Veerman and Mitch Waite of England share the lead at the Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Open after carding seven under par rounds of 64 in the first European Tour event to be held on the Mediterranean island. Cyprus became the 50th nation to host the European Tour in its 48-year history as the first round began today, with Veerman and Waite edging ahead on a low-scoring day in Paphos. Waite carded an eagle, seven birdies and two bogeys to

Joshua Cheptegei's world 5000m record of 12:35.36 set at the Wanda Diamond League in Monaco on 14 August has been ratified. The Ugandan, now 24, took two seconds off Kenenisa Bekele’s mark of 12:37.35, set 16 years earlier in Hengelo. Amazingly, it was Cheptegei’s first race since setting a world 5km record on the roads on 16 February, also in Monaco. Paced through the early stages by Roy Hoornweg (2:31.87 at 1000m) and Matthew Ramsden (5:03.77 at 2000m), Cheptegei, the reigning world cross

Gleneagles will host The Senior Open Presented by Rolex for the first time when the iconic Scottish venue welcomes Europe’s only Senior Major Championship in 2022. The King’s Course on the 850-acre Perthshire estate will host the 35th edition of the tournament from July 21–24, 2022, a year after Sunningdale Golf Club welcomes the Championship’s return after its cancellation in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Gleneagles is no stranger to elite golf events, having hosted The 2014 Ryder Cup – the prestigious

Last week’s Italian Open runner-up Laurie Canter hopes his good form can continue as the European Tour visits Cyprus for the first time in its 48-year history for the inaugural Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Open. The Englishman held the 54-hole lead last week at Chervò Golf Club, but was pipped to the post on the final hole by Ross McGowan. Nevertheless, the 30-year-old is feeling positive after his second runner-up finish in the space of five weeks, adding to his Portugal Masters result. Canter

Vodafone Qatar continues to support the country’s sports sector, with Company named as the Official Sponsor of the 2020 Padel Tournament, organized by the Qatar Olympic Committee, which will take place from 27 to 31 October at Al Sadd Sports Club. A mix between tennis and squash, Padel is the fastest growing racket sport in Qatar and the world due to the fun, easy and social nature of the sport. As part of Vodafone Qatar’s sponsorship, its GigaNet network will power the venue

World Junior Champion Mostafa Asal and fellow Egyptian Zahed Salem have withdrawn from the upcoming Qatar Classic. Both players are currently self-isolating after close family members have tested positive for COVID-19. Neither player has received a positive test at this time. Frenchman Victor Crouin takes up Asal’s spot in the draw and he will play England’s George Parker in round one. Crouin’s place is taken by USA’s Todd Harrity, who will go up against Lucas Serme. Former World No.1 James Willstrop takes Salem’s

This year's finest athletics achievements will be celebrated at the World Athletics Awards 2020, to be staged as a virtual event on Saturday 5 December and streamed live on the World Athletics YouTube channel. This year’s ceremony will recognise exceptional achievement in what has been an extraordinary and unprecedented year, both on and off the fields of play, and celebrate the athletes who met the challenges of 2020 head-on to produce some of the finest performances in the history of our sport. Once again,

The Court of Arbitration for Sport rules against Blake Leeper competing in Olympic Games and World Athletics Series Competitions with current mechanical aids (prosthetics) World Athletics’ rules permit competitive use of aids such as prosthetics if they do not give the user an artificial competitive advantage over those not using such aids. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rejected Mr Leeper’s argument that those rules are designed to discriminate against disabled athletes, and instead has fully accepted that they are intended