FORMULA 1
Verstappen takes pole
Formula 1 championship leader Max Verstappen yesterday took pole position for today’s Japanese Grand Prix as he looks to take a giant stride toward a third straight title. The Red Bull driver topped the timesheets in dry conditions at Suzuka with a fastest lap of 1 minute, 28.877 seconds — 0.581 seconds ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. Lando Norris, Piastri’s teammate, was third. Verstappen, who leads teammate and nearest rival Sergio Perez by 151 points in the championship standings, cannot clinch the title today, but a favorable result can set him up to seal it at the Qatar Grand Prix next month. “I already felt from the preparation that we had that this was going to be a good track,” Verstappen said. “You never really know how good it’s going to be, but from lap one it’s been really nice.”
MOTOGP
Bezzecchi fastest in India
Italy’s Marco Bezzecchi yesterday claimed pole position at India’s MotoGP on a hot and humid afternoon at the Buddh International Circuit. The Ducati-VR46 rider clocked a top time of 1 minute, 43.947 seconds in the second qualifying, with Jorge Martin and world champion Francesco Bagnaia completing the front row at positions two and three respectively. However, Alex Marquez was all but ruled out of today’s race when the Spaniard — ninth in the standings — crashed on his Ducati-Gresini and fractured his ribs in the first qualifying session. Bezzecchi scorched the track in extreme heat, which has forced organizers to chop today’s race by three laps to 21. “Was tough, but this morning I felt better on the bike,” Bezzecchi said. “Very happy for this pole position. Important to start the sprint and tomorrow’s [today’s] race at pole.”
CRICKET
India top in all formats
India have become only the second men’s team in the history of the sport to occupy the No. 1 spot across all three formats after defeating Australia in the first ODI of their series in India on Friday. India moved past Pakistan to take the top position in the one-day rankings as a result of their latest victory, just before they host the World Cup. They were already No. 1 in Tests and T20 internationals. Only South Africa in 2012 have previously achieved the feat. India’s five-wicket victory over Australia in Mohali took them to 116 rating points, one ahead of Pakistan, but they could slip down the table if Australia — on 111 points — win the remaining two matches in the series.
SOCCER
Guirassy scores brace
Serhou Guirassy on Friday continued his red-hot scoring form with two goals and an assist as VfB Stuttgart beat SV Darmstadt 98 3-1 to provisionally move into first place in the Bundesliga. Guirassy took his tally to 10 league goals in five games as Stuttgart staged a comeback after falling behind to an own-goal by defender Dan Zagadou in the 17th minute. The striker first set up Enzo Millot for the equalizer in the 22nd minute and then gave his team the lead when he swiveled in the area and smashed a hard shot into the net 10 minutes later. Guirassy added a cheeky lob over goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen to seal the win. He is the first player in Europe’s top five leagues to reach double figures in scoring this season. The win gave Stuttgart 12 points from five games.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
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