■ Chess
Anand and Kramnik draw
Careful defense brought Russian challenger Vladimir Kramnik a draw against world champion Viswanathan Anand of India on Thursday in the seventh game of their championship match. The draw means that Anand leads 5-2, maintaining his three-point advantage in the 12-game match. While the draw moves Anand closer to retaining his title, it also stems a bad run for Kramnik, who had lost three of the last four games. US grandmaster Yasser Seirawan praised Anand’s “dominating performance so far.”
■ Cricket
Pakistan could suffer: Imran
Former Pakistan star Imran Khan has warned the standard of his country’s side could suffer because of instability that has prompted the cancelation of home international fixtures. “Not just the Pakistan cricket team, every sport in Pakistan because if it applies to cricket, it applies to every other sport,” he said. Imran also warned that plans for Pakistan to play their home games abroad were unsustainable during an interview on Thursday. Imran, who is now chairman of the Pakistan Movement for Justice, said foreign teams would not be targeted by militants if they came to Pakistan, despite fears that saw the Champions Trophy one-day tournament, due to take place in Pakistan last month, delayed until next year. “Terrorists do not target cricketers because cricket is a passion in Pakistan,” he said.
■ Soccer
‘Holy Goalie’ in trouble
Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc escaped a match ban after a Scottish Football Association disciplinary panel chose to fine him £500 (US$764) on Thursday following gestures he made to Rangers fans during the last Old Firm derby. Photographs published in Scottish newspapers appeared to show the Polish international making a one-fingered salute during Celtic’s loss to Rangers on Aug. 31. Boruc is nicknamed the “Holy Goalie” -— but the epithet is more ironic than a nod to his miraculous saves. Boruc is Roman Catholic, thus fitting in with a long-held tradition at Celtic. But he has regularly found himself in hot water for stepping over the line between displaying his faith and provoking Rangers fans, who are predominantly Protestant. In June he escaped disciplinary action after stripping off his top after a game against Rangers to reveal a T-shirt with the slogan “God bless the Pope.”
■ Cricket
Court overturns Malik ban
A Pakistan court on Thursday overturned a life ban against former captain Salim Malik for alleged involvement in match fixing. Malik was banned following a 2001 inquiry into allegations by three Australian players that he offered them bribes. Malik appealed against the punishment to Pakistan’s top court which earlier this year ordered Lahore’s Civil Court to hear the case. Judge Malik Mohammad Altaf ruled in favor of Malik on Thursday and ordered the ban be lifted. Malik’s lawyer said the court ruled that the Pakistan Cricket Board wrongly imposed the ban after acting on recommendations from the inquiry which was headed by a High Court judge. “The PCB did not have the jurisdiction to ban Salim Malik so the court lifted the ban on our appeal,” lawyer Shahid Salim said. Malik was banned after Shane Warne, Mark Waugh and Tim May claimed he offered them bribes to underperform during Australia’s tour of Pakistan in 1994. Malik’s name also featured in an Indian match-fixing inquiry and the late South African captain Hansie Cronje named Malik as an offender in a probe in South Africa.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
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