Dortmund go top of Bundesliga
BERLIN: Borussia Dortmund knocked Bayern Munich off top spot in the Bundesliga on Sunday as new signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored both goals in their 2-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt. The 24-year-old attacking midfielder was playing in only his third Bundesliga appearance. It means Dortmund go into the international break for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers two points clear of European champions Bayern. The result means Dortmund finish the weekend as the league’s only team with a 100 percent record as Bayern, who drew 1-1 with Freiburg on Tuesday, Mainz and Bayer Leverkusen all dropped points. Earlier, VfB Stuttgart romped to a 6-2 Bundesliga win over Hoffenheim with striker Vedad Ibisevic netting a hat-trick after coach Bruno Labbadia was sacked last Monday. Stuttgart picked up their first points of the season after three straight defeats led to Labbadia’s dismissal. On Saturday, Leverkusen blew the chance to go top with a 2-0 defeat at resurgent Schalke 04. Mainz 05 also wasted their opportunity to go top as they crashed to a 4-1 defeat at Hanover 96. Elsewhere, struggling Hamburg picked up their first win of the season after two consecutive defeats with a 4-0 thumping of promoted Eintracht Braunschweig. Meanwhile, Borussia Moenchengladbach moved up to seventh as they romped to a 4-1 home win over Werder Bremen. Wolfsburg enjoyed a 2-0 win at home to Hertha Berlin with Ivica Olic and Diego on target, while Augsburg picked up their second straight win with a 1-0 success at Nuremberg thanks to a late goal from substitute Kevin Vogt. (AFP)
Brazil are WC favourites: Maradona
Buenos Aires: Football legend Diego Maradona says Brazil are firm favourites to win next year’s FIFA World Cup on home soil. The 1986 World Cup winner predicts a poor showing from European nations during football’s showpiece tournament to be played from June 12-July 13. “Brazil won’t have anybody to match them during the World Cup. We all saw what happened in the Confederations Cup. The European teams drop a level when they play in South America,” Maradona said on Saturday. (IANS)
Chopra slips to 64th on Web.com Tour
Fort Wayne (USA): Indian-born Swede Daniel Chopra, already assured of a PGA card for 2014, shot an even par 72 on the third round to lie tied 64th in the Hotel Fitness golf Championship here. Chopra’s card included an incredible six birdies, but he also gave away four bogeys and a double bogey in the third round to aggregate three-under 213 after three days in a tournament that has been low-scoring. Patrick Cantlay opened a three-stroke lead a week after the former UCLA star missed a chance to wrap up a PGA TOUR card. Fighting a back injury, the 21-year-old Cantlay had two eagles, six birdies and a double bogey in the third round to reach 19-under 197 at Sycamore Hills in the Web.com Tour Finals opener. (PTI)
Chowrasia rounds off with one-under 70 at Wales Open
Cardiff: SSP Chowrasia rounded off the week with one-under 70 to finish with a total of three-over 287 at the ISPA Handa Wales Open here on Sunday. Chowrasia, the lone Indian out of the three who started out the week, had shot 75 in the third and that cost him a better finish at The Celtic Manor Resort. Shiv Kapur and Jeev Milkha Singh had earlier missed the cut. Chowrasia birdied three times, all three times on back nine on 11th, 15th and 18th and his bogeys came on fourth and 16th. Earlier in the third round, Chowrasia was even par after five, but then double bogeyed the eighth and bogeyed 15th and 17th. He was tied 37th and should finish just inside 35th place. Gregory Bourdy birdied his last three holesto end a four-year winless drought with a two-shot victory. The Frenchman started Sunday three shots behind Peter Uihlein of the USA but had a good start with an eagle at the par-5 second hole. (PTI)