CRICKET
England extend lead to 489
England on Sunday set their sights on a series-leveling victory after dismissing Pakistan for 198 and taking a monumental 391-run first innings lead on a rain-interrupted third day of the second Test. Captain Alastair Cook surprisingly did not force the follow-on, with England reaching 98-1 at stumps for an overall lead of 489 runs on a day when rain disrupted play four times. No team has ever successfully chased down more than 418 runs to win in the history of Test cricket. Chris Woakes, who took 11 wickets in England’s first Test defeat, grabbed 4-67 and led England’s four-man seam attack. Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq (52) scored a fighting half-century, while Shan Masood and No. 10 Wahab Riaz both made 39 in an otherwise poor display by rest of the batsmen. England bowlers exploited overcast conditions and Joe Root ended with four catches at second slip after Pakistan resumed on 57-4 overnight.
GOLF
Vegas wins Canadian Open
Jhonattan Vegas on Sunday rallied to win the Canadian Open for his second PGA Tour victory, birdieing the final three holes at Glen Abbey for an eight-under 64 and one-stroke victory. The 29-year-old Venezuelan Olympic player began the day five strokes behind leader Brandt Snedeker and four behind US Open champion Dustin Johnson and Canadian amateur Jared du Toit. Vegas had five straight birdies on holes two through six, bogeyed the par-four eighth and also birdied the par-five 13th. He then birdied the par-five 16th, par-four 17th and par-five 18th to post at 12-under 276. Johnson, Jon Rahm and Martin Laird tied for second. Johnson eagled the 16th and birdied the 18th for a 69. Laird finished with two pars in a 67. Rahm birdied 16 and 18 in a 67.
TENNIS
Konta wins maiden title
Britain’s Johanna Konta on Sunday captured her first WTA title in style, beating former world No. 1 Venus Williams 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California. Konta, ranked 18th in the world and seeded third, appeared on her way to an emphatic victory in her first career final after racing to a 4-1 lead with two breaks of serve in the second set. However, Williams, seeking her 50th career title, won six of the next seven games to knot the match at a set apiece. Konta, 25, fired 12 aces to three from Williams and did not let the seven-time Grand Slam champion’s resurgence rattle her. She broke Williams in the third game of the final set and took a 3-1 lead with her 10th ace of the match. She broke Williams again to serve for the match at 5-2 and, despite a couple of nervy missteps in the final game, sealed the victory on her third match point.
TENNIS
Monfils tops Karlovic at Citi
Gael Monfils on Sunday ended a two-and-a-half-year title drought by overcoming Ivo Karlovic 5-7, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 in the final of the Citi Open in Washington. The win was Monfils’ first victory since February 2014 in Montpellier, France, and came at a place where two of the players he looked up to — Yannick Noah and Arthur Ashe — had won before him. “I grew up with those names,” Monfils told reporters. “Definitely, to have my name next to them, it’s priceless. It meant a lot for me. I’m very happy, very proud.”
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
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