Brazilian Serie A: Fluminense dent Flamengo’s title hopes
Rio De Janeiro, Oct 24: Flamengo’s hopes of winning a third consecutive Brazilian Serie A title suffered a blow on Saturday when they succumbed 3-1 to local rivals Fluminense. John Kennedy struck either side of halftime for Fluminense before Rene gave Flamengo hope with a 71st minute strike. But Abel Hernandez put the result beyond doubt five minutes from time as Fluminense secured their 10th win of the campaign to move up to eighth in the 20-team standings. Flamengo dropped to third, 10 points behind leaders Atletico Mineiro. Also, America Mineiro won 2-0 at Santos, Juventude were drew Ceara 0-0 and Fortaleza won 3-0 at home to Athletico Paranaense. (UNI)
Flesch takes lead in Dominion Energy Charity Classic
Richmond, Oct 24: Steve Flesch birdied the par-4 18th hole for a 5-under 67 and a two-stroke lead over Bernhard Langer and Steven Alker in the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, the first of three PGA Tour Champions playoff events. Flesch reached 13-under 131 with his second straight bogey-free round on The Country Club of Virginia’s James River Course. He has played the back nine in 9 under. The 54-year-old Flesch won the 2018 Mitsubishi Electric Classic for his lone senior title. He won four times on the PGA Tour. (AP)
Masters champion Matsuyama wins by 5 strokes in Japan
Chiba, Oct 24: Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama had three birdies in five holes on the back nine and eagled the 18th for good measure for a five-stroke victory at the PGA Tour’s Zozo Championship on Sunday. It was Matsuyama’s first PGA Tour win in his native Japan, although he’s only had one previous attempt. In 2019, Tiger Woods won the inaugural Zozo Championship, the first PGA Tour event in Japan, and last year the tournament was moved to California due to COVID-19 restrictions. Matsuyama finished with a 65 and a 15-under total of 265 at Narashino Country Club. It was his seventh PGA Tour victory. (AP)
Jamil becomes first Indian coach of ISL club, to manage NEUFC
Guwahati, Oct 24: Khalid Jamil has become the first full-time Indian head coach in the history of the Indian Super League with NorthEast United FC offering him the top job ahead of the upcoming season. Jamil, 44, guided the Highlanders to the semi-finals after taking over in an interim capacity from Gerard Nus last season. Jamil oversaw a remarkable reversal of fortunes last season as the team, after a spate of defeats, made the last four following an unbeaten nine-match run. A former midfielder, Jamil is an experienced campaigner in Indian football having coached the likes of Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. (PTI)
Football star Beckham to become face of Qatar World Cup
London, Oct 24: Former captain of England’s national football team David Beckham is set to become the face of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, in a deal worth $206.4 million, The Sun newspaper reported. The 46-year-old has agreed to become the Middle Eastern nation’s ambassador, making 15 million pounds per year over the next decade under the deal, the tabloid reported. The World Cup 2022 in Qatar has been shrouded by controversy since the beginning due to concerns over alleged human rights violations in the country’s construction sites, as well as Qatar’s attitude towards women and the LGBT community. (UNI)
Vardhan, Balu qualify for main draw of tennis Nat’ls
New Delhi, Oct 24: Former champion Vishnu Vardhan and Sharmada Balu recorded easy wins over their respective opponents to qualify for the men’s and women’s singles main draws of the Fenesta national hard court tennis championships, here on Sunday. Vishnu foiled the bid of talented Ajay Malik 6-2 6-1 while Sharmada Balu beat Kiran Kalkal 6-1 6-2 in her match. Also making it to the men’s singles main draw were Parikshit Somnani and big-hitting Siddharth Vishwakarma. Parikshit outplayed Jagmeet Singh 6-3, 6-2 while Lucknow’s Siddharth got the better of Lohith Aksha Bathrinath 6-2 6-4. (PTI)
Hong Kong marathon resumes after year-long suspension
Hong Kong, Oct 24: The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, which had been suspended for more than one year and a half due to the Covid-19 pandemic, resumed Sunday as the city’s first major sports competition opened to public participation under the new normal. Local runner Wong Kai-Lok finished the men’s full marathon in 2 hours, 31 minutes and 10 seconds to bag the champion title. The first place of the women’s full marathon was claimed by local marathoner Yiu Kit-Ching, who clocked in at 2 hours, 39 minutes and 27 seconds. (UNI)
Kontaveit wins Kremlin Cup in comeback over Alexandrova
Moscow, Oct 24: Anett Kontaveit twice came back from the brink of defeat to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 and win the Kremlin Cup on Sunday to stay in contention for a place at the WTA Finals. Kontaveit turned the second set around from 4-0 down and mounted another comeback to win the decider with a break of serve when Alexandrova served for the match at 5-4 up. Playing in Moscow with a wild card, the Estonian won her third title on tour in as many months after winning the Cleveland Ladies Open in August and the Ostrava Open last month. (AP)
Two Indians win silver medals at IUKL World Championship
New Delhi, Oct 24: Demonstrating phenomenal performance at International Union of Kettlebell Lifting (IUKL) World Championship in Budapest, Dr Payal Kanodia (35-39 years, 68kg category) and Anshu Taravath (58kg category) of Haryana won silver medals for India in the event held from October 22-24. Trained under M3M Foundation, both the athletes competed with 450 athletes from 32 countries who participated in the tournament. This tournament was scheduled to be organised in 2020 but was postponed due to the pandemic. (IANS)