West Ham end 14-year wait for win at Tottenham
LONDON: New Zealand defender Winston Reid inspired West Ham to their first victory at Tottenham in 14 years as the Hammers climbed out of the relegation zone with a 3-0 win on Sunday. Reid’s first goal since September 2012 opened the scoring midway through the second half before Ricardo Vaz Te and Ravel Morrison both netted to end the east London club’s long wait for a first triumph at White Hart Lane since April 1999. It was a stunning victory for Sam Allardyce’s side, who started the day in the bottom three and hadn’t even scored an away goal this season before Sunday’s London derby. Their biggest win over Spurs since April 1994 was also their first Premier League success since beating Cardiff on the opening day of the season. Lacklustre Tottenham could have no complaints about their first defeat in seven matches in all competitions and only their second league loss of the campaign. Much of the pre-match attention had focused on the behaviour of both sets of fans, who were under the microscope following offensive chanting from Hammers supporters in the corresponding fixture last season and Tottenham’s insistence that their followers should stop using the word “Yid” in their songs. (Agencies)
Serena powers past Jankovic to win China Open
BEIJING: World number one Serena Williams bagged her 10th title of the year with a 6-2, 6-2 thrashing of Jelena Jankovic in the final of the China Open on Sunday. The top-seeded American broke the eighth-seeded Serb twice in the first set and three times in the second to register her 73rd win of the season. Williams appeared in pain after serving an ace during the third game of the second set and her serve was broken for the only time in the match in that game as Jankovic went 2-1 ahead. But it was Jankovic who had to take a medical time out after the game due to a problem in her hip. The Serb, however, failed to win another game upon her return to the court as Williams racked up five games in a row to close out the match. “I’m really excited. I didn’t think I’d win this tournament starting out, so I’m really happy to be here holding the trophy,” Williams, who complained of a sore back after Saturday’s semifinal, said during the presentation ceremony. Sunday’s victory also gave the 32-year-old Williams her 56th career title. (Agencies)
State Badminton C’ship concludes
Williamnagar: The 31st Meghalaya State Badminton Championship concluded at the Williamnagar Indoor Stadium here on Saturday. The three-day championship was organised by the District Badminton Association, East Garo Hills and District Administration under the aegis of the Meghalaya State Badminton Association. 125 shuttlers from across the State took part in the championship. Raju Joshi won the men’s single title defeating P Joshi, 21-6, 21-8 while the women’s single title was won by Preety Singh who defeated Larhun Warjri 21-16, 21-16 in the final played on Saturday. Later, addressing the gathering Social Welfare Minister Debora Marak lauded the organizers for the efforts to make popular the game of the badminton in East Garo Hills. The Minister also said that such a tournament will promote the sporting activities of the youth of the region.
Salgaocar beat Md Sporting
Mapusa: Salgaocar FC kept their winning momentum going as they scored a convincing 3-0 win over Mohammedan Sporting to notch up their second win in the Airtel I-League at the Duler Stadium here today. Salgaocar, who led 1-0 at half time, scored through Darryl Duffy (43rd), Claude Gnakpa (48th) and Augustin Fernandes (63rd). The win takes Salgaocar’s tally to six points from two matches. Meanwhile, in another match Bengaluru FC beat United SC 1-0. A first-half strike by John Johnson helped Bengaluru win the third round match at the Bengaluru Football Stadium. The win propelled the Bangalore outfit to the top of the table with seven points from three matches. (PTI)