■ SOCCER
Espanyol rally to earn win
Luis Garcia scored in the 81st minute as Espanyol rallied to win 2-1 at Valencia in the Spanish league on Saturday. Garcia beat the offside trap down the right flank before sliding a shot past goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand with his right foot to clinch Espanyol's first win over Valencia in more than six years. Albert Riera chested Valmiro Lopez's cross from the right before volleying home with his left foot for Espanyol's first in the 20th. Ruben Baraja opened for Valencia in the fifth, the midfielder beating two defenders to meet David Villa's cross with his head. Espanyol improved to 13 points with their third straight victory.
■ BOXING
Amir Khan retains title
Amir Khan showed he was back on top form on Saturday by stopping Scott Lawton in the fourth round to retain his Commonwealth lightweight title in assured style. Khan defended his title for the first time by halting his fellow Englishman at the Nottingham Arena, central England, with a ferocious assault on the ropes in an impressive display. In a much tidier effort than his last fight, when he was floored before stopping Scotsman Willie Limond in July, Khan penned Lawton against the ropes and unloaded a flurry of blows to the head before the fight was stopped. It was his 14th professional fight since winning silver at the 2004 Olympic Games.
■ SOCCER
Cruz brace sinks Napoli
Julio Ricardo Cruz scored twice on Saturday to help Inter Milan beat Napoli 2-1 in the Italian Serie A. Cruz scored in the 20th and 36th minutes -- the first goal off Zlatan Ibrahimovic's pass, and the second after chesting down Dejan Stankovic's lob. Roberto Carlos Sosa headed in a consolation goal for Napoli in the 84th. Also on Saturday, Riccardo Zampagna missed an 81st-minute penalty for Atalanta in a 0-0 draw with Udinese. Cruz was making only his second start of the season and took his chance well. He slotted the ball into the net from close range for his first goal, after strike Ibrahimovic dribbled past three defenders and provided a perfect pass. The Argentine's second goal was more spectacular, as he controlled Stankovic's floated pass on his chest and hit a powerful shot past Napoli goalkeeper Gennaro Iezzo. Newly promoted Napoli had few opportunities but their tenacity was repaid when Mariano Bogliacino picked out Sosa for a consolation goal. In Bergamo, Atalanta looked to have won the match when Maximiliano Pellegrino was fouled in the area. But Zampagna sent his penalty kick high and the ball ricocheted off the crossbar.
■ SOCCER
Gardner scores Villa winner
Craig Gardner sent Aston Villa into fifth in the Premier League as his first half goal clinched a 1-0 victory over West Ham on Saturday. Midfielder Gardner claimed his second goal in successive matches with a deflected free-kick that was enough for Martin O'Neill's men to condemn the Hammers to a third consecutive league defeat. Gabriel Agbonlahor played a key role in Villa's goal after 24 minutes. The England Under-21 winger surged away from Welsh international Danny Gabbidon, who was forced to concede a free-kick with a despairing lunge. Gardner stepped up to drive in a low strike that took a slight deflection off Gabbidon as it flashed past West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green.
The next generation of running talent takes center stage at today’s Berlin Marathon, in the absence of stars including Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian world record holder Tigist Assefa. With most of the major marathon stars skipping the event in the wake of the Paris Olympics just more than a month ago, the field is wide open in the men’s and women’s races. Since 2015, Kipchoge has won five times in Berlin, Kenenisa Bekele has won twice and Guye Adola once — with all three missing today. Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie and Ethiopian Tadese Takele are among the favourites for the men, while
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of
UP IN SMOKE: More than half a dozen riders crashed out of the race, with Marquez’s title chances in doubt after driving off the track with flames flickering from his bike Jorge Martin yesterday won a crash-filled Indonesia MotoGP to extend his championship lead, while closest rival Francesco Bagnaia limited the damage by claiming the final podium place. The win leaves the Pramac Racing rider 21 points ahead of his Italian Ducati rival, who finished third behind Spaniard Pedro Acosta in sweltering conditions at the Mandalika International Street Circuit on Lombok island. In front of a crowd of 60,000 in motorbike-mad Indonesia, the 26-year-old put his tumble in Saturday’s sprint behind him, canceling out the gains his title rival Bagnaia made after securing victory in that race. “Thank you Indonesia. I am very happy.
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