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Abu Dhabi: Basketball legends Danny Green and Gary Payton praised the impact of the Jr NBA Abu Dhabi League after it recently concluded its fourth edition with the finals event at NYU Abu Dhabi.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia defeated 10-man China 1-0 in Riyadh on Thursday to get their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign back on track. Salem Al-Dawsari’s goal early in the second half moved Herve Renard’s men into third place in Group C, a point behind Australia in the battle for the second automatic qualification spot, and three clear of Indonesia, Bahrain and China. Japan defeated Bahrain 2-0 to remain nine points clear at the top of the group with three games to play, and become the first nation to clinch qualification for the tournament. Australia’s 5-1 win over Indonesia earlier in the day had piled more pressure on the Saudis, who knew that after collecting just two points from their past four qualification games, and with a trip to a dominant Japan coming up on Tuesday, only a victory would do. As expected, the Green Falcons made most of the running, and midway through the first half they came within millimeters of taking the lead. Al-Dawsari slipped the ball to Nawaf Boushal on the left side of the area and the Al-Nassr star curled a shot that bounced back off the underside of the crossbar. Eight minutes before the break the home team came even closer.
SPLIT, Croatia: Ivan Perisic scored one goal and made another as Croatia beat France 2-0 on Thursday to seize the upper hand in the first leg of their UEFA Nations League quarter-final tie. Perisic crossed for Ante Budimir to head in the opener at the Stadion Poljud in Split after the home side had squandered an early penalty. With France out of sorts, Perisic made it 2-0 before the break and a Croatia side captained by Luka Modric saw out the victory to take to Paris for the return match on Sunday. It was not a good night for France as captain Kylian Mbappe made his comeback having not featured in either of the last two international windows, in October and November. Mbappe did have chances, notably seeing a deflected second-half shot from Ousmane Dembele’s cutback kept out by a fine Dominik Livakovic save. The Real Madrid superstar has now failed to find the net in his last six appearances for his country, since scoring a penalty in a 1-1 draw with Poland at Euro 2024. Les Bleus will now have to find a way of overturning the deficit at the Stade de France on Sunday, otherwise Croatia will be heading to the final four of the Nations League. The semifinals and final will take place in June and will be hosted by either Italy or Germany, depending on which of those sides emerges victorious from their last-eight encounter. France won the Nations League in 2021 but suffered a first ever defeat against Croatia in the group stage of the following year’s edition. This latest repeat of the 2018 World Cup final, won 4-2 by the French in Moscow, saw Croatia win a spot-kick just five minutes in. Liverpool center-back Ibrahima Konate was penalized for a blatant handball inside the area, but Mike Maignan saved Andrej Kramaric’s
“I don’t think it was a vote on women versus men or vice versa,” he saidBach insisted he had “no preferred candidate“COSTA NAVARINO, Greece: Outgoing International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said the election of Kirsty Coventry as his successor should not be reduced to a gender battle of “women versus men.”Bach played down the importance of the 41-year-old from Zimbabwe, an Olympic gold medallist in swimming, becoming the first woman to be elected head of international sport’s wealthiest organization, defeating six other candidates, all men.“I don’t think we should reduce this election to the fact that there were six men and one woman.
“We look forward to a stronger, more independent, and more prosperous Olympic movement under a new leader, and to Russia returning to the Olympic podium,” Degtyaryov saidOne of the major problems Coventry will face will be the return to the Olympic fold of exiled RussiaMOSCOW: Russia hoped for a return from sporting exile on Thursday, believing the historic election of Kirsty Coventry as International Olympic Committee president will lead to a “stronger, more independent Olympic movement.”“We look forward to a stronger, more independent, and more prosperous Olympic movement under a new leader, and to Russia returning to the Olympic podium,” Russian sports minister Mikhail Degtyaryov, who is also head of the Russian Olympic committee, wrote on his Telegram account.One of the major problems Coventry will face will be the return to the Olympic fold of exiled Russia.In Paris last year their athletes were forced to compete under a neutral banner, owing to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.“On behalf of the Russian Olympic Committee, I congratulate Kirsty Coventry on her election as President of the International Olympic Committee!,” added Degtyaryov.“Her brilliant sporting career, Olympic victories, records, and contribution to the development of sport have made her one of the favorites in this campaign.”Russia dogged outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach’s tenure first with the doping scandal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games and then Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
LOS ANGELES: The World Bowling League has revealed its first franchise team, Team OMG, owned by Los Angeles Dodgers superstar and world-class bowler Mookie Betts, who will be joined by his lifelong friend and business partner with The One Marketing Group, Cam Lewis. The announcement marks the official launch of the WBL’s franchise lineup, setting the stage for a new era in the sport of bowling. The WBL, announced in 2024, combines new rules, mixed-gender teams, iconic locations and dynamic team-based gameplay to reimagine the sport of bowling, which is already played by hundreds of millions of people across the world. The WBL, via multiple broadcasting deals in place, will look to deliver fast-paced bowling action across key markets worldwide and provide a global stage for the world’s best bowlers. Betts is a three-time World Series champion, eight-time All-Star, six-time Gold Glove Award-winner, seven-time Silver Slugger Award-winner and MVP-winner.
ABU DHABI: The world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, Ultimate Fighting Championship, has announced its return to Abu Dhabi this summer. The summer fight night, in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism, will take place at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island on July 26. UFC’s return to the UAE capital follows two spectacular events last year. In August, fans were treated to an elite bantamweight showdown at UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs Nurmagomedov, where Umar Nurmagomedov secured a hard-fought victory over Cory Sandhagen with a five-round decision.
LIVERPOOL: Arne Slot admitted “emotions got the better of me” after he was shown a red card following Liverpool’s fiery 2-2 Premier League draw against neighbors Everton in midweek.Liverpool were on course to extend their lead at the top of the table to nine points at Goodison Park on Wednesday but James Tarkowski struck a stunning volley to level in the eighth minute of stoppage time.Abdoulaye Doucoure’s wild celebrations in front of the away fans sparked a furious reaction, with Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones confronting Doucoure, leading to the dismissal of both men.With some supporters on the pitch, stewards and police became involved before Liverpool boss Slot and assistant Sipke Hulshoff were also sent off by referee Michael Oliver.Slot, whose team host struggling Wolves on Sunday, is now waiting for the Football Association to review Oliver’s match report before he finds out what, if any, sanction he will face.He could face no further action, be reminded of his responsibilities, or be charged, which would likely result in a touchline ban.The Dutchman told reporters on Friday there were “many things in extra (stoppage) time that led to me being quite emotional” but was unwilling to go into details about the incident.“I think what happened was that the extra time, the intentional five minutes that ended up being eight... and the emotions got the better of me,” said.“And if I could do that differently, if I look back at it, I would love to do it differently.