CRICKET
‘Little Master’ quits IPL
Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar has announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL), saying it was the “right time” to stop playing the Twenty20 tournament. “This is my last IPL. This has been a fantastic season,” Tendulkar said in a TV interview after his team, the Mumbai Indians, won the final on Sunday. Tendulkar is the world’s leading scorer in both Test and one-day internationals. “I think this is the right time to stop playing the IPL. I am 40. Got to accept it. This is the best point to say thank you very much to all the supporters and well-wishers,” he said. Dubbed the “Little Master,” Tendulkar has scored 15,837 runs in 198 Tests with 51 centuries, and 18,426 runs in 463 one-day internationals with 49 centuries.
SOCCER
Celtic clinch the double
Gary Hooper’s brace helped Celtic clinch the double as the Hoops swept to a 3-0 win over Hibernian in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park in Glasgow on Sunday. Hooper struck twice in the first half and Joe Ledley’s late goal completed a record-extending 36th Scottish Cup triumph for Celtic, and their first league and cup double since 2007. “I felt so nervous this morning and all the way during the game really, because of the weight of expectation riding on the game, but the players today were excellent. They controlled the game, and played with great maturity and scored three very special goals. To win the double as a player was great, but to win it as a manager is just fantastic,” Celtic manager Neil Lennon said.
SOCCER
America claim 11th title
Ten-man America beat Cruz Azul 4-2 on penalties to win a record-equaling 11th Mexican league title on Sunday, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat after two late goals forced extra-time. The Eagles trailed 1-0 from the first leg of the final and were quickly a man down at the Azteca after midfielder Jesus Molina was sent off in the 14th minute. They fell behind on the night, and 2-0 on aggregate, to a 20th-minute goal by Colombia striker Teofilo Gutierrez and looked set for defeat, before staging a miraculous late salvo from two corner-kicks. Colombian centerback Aquivaldo Mosquera headed America’s equalizer in the 89th minute from Argentine Rubens Sambueza’s corner. Then, in the third minute of stoppage-time, America goalkeeper Moises Munoz came up for another corner and his header was deflected into the net by defender Alejandro Castro.
SOCCER
Vitoria rally to clinch Cup
Vitoria SC came from behind to beat favorites SL Benfica 2-1 and clinch their first Portuguese Cup on Sunday at the end of a terrible season for the Lisbon club. Vitoria seized a memorable win thanks to a mix of hard work at the back and effectiveness up front, while defeat for Benfica meant they ended the season without a trophy. Late goals from Soudani and Ricardo prevented Benfica from finding some solace after losing the championship to Porto and the Europa League final to Chelsea in the space of just a few days.
SOCCER
IFK win shootout, lift Cup
IFK Gothenburg beat Djurgardens IF to claim the Swedish Cup in a dramatic penalty shootout after the final finished 1-1 after extra-time. Tobias Hysen poked home from close range to give Gothenburg the lead after just five minutes, before Djurgardens midfielder Daniel Amartey equalized with a header seven minutes into the second half.
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
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
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
Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner and Kody Clemens homered on Wednesday as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 9-6 and clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs. Castellanos had three hits and scored three times. Bryson Stott also had three hits and Brandon Marsh drove in three runs for the Phillies, who on Monday claimed their first National League East title in 13 years. Coupled with the Milwaukee Brewers’ 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia secured the bye and home-field advantage in the NL Division Series. The Phillies owned the tiebreaker with the Brewers after winning the season series against the
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