Italy loses three more players ahead of final qualifier
Florence, Nov 14: Italy lost three more players ahead of its final World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland. Alessandro Bastoni and Davide Calabria are both injured, while fellow defender Cristiano Biraghi has returned home because of personal reasons. Italy coach Roberto Mancini has called up Atalanta defender Davide Zappacosta. Four other Italy players withdrew from the squad earlier in the week because of injury: captain and defender Giorgio Chiellini, forward Ciro Immobile and midfielders Nicolò Zaniolo and Lorenzo Pellegrini. European champion Italy drew 1-1 with visiting Switzerland on Friday to leave both teams level on points at the top of Group C. (AP)
Shiv Kapur prevails over Rashid Khan in playoff
Chandigarh, Nov 14: Shiv Kapur prevailed over Rashid Khan in a playoff at the Rs. 1.5 crore Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational 2021 to register his first ever win at a PGTI event, here on Sunday. The tournament was decided in a playoff for the fourth year in succession. The Dubai-based Kapur (64-68-67-70), and Khan (65-67-69-68), were in a deadlock at 19-under 269 at the top of the leaderboard after regulation play having shot final rounds of 70 and 68 respectively at the Chandigarh Golf Club. Olympian Udayan Mane (69-68-67-67) took third place at 17-under 271 after returning a second straight 67. (PTI)
Dane Hansen wins Dubai C’ship, 2nd European Tour win
Dubai, Nov 14: Danish player Joachim B. Hansen hit a 4-under 68 to hold off co-overnight leader Francesco Laporta and a soaring Bernd Wiesberger by one stroke to win the Dubai Championship on Sunday. Hansen had four birdies to finish at 23 under overall having opened with a 9-under 63 in the first round. Hansen and the Italian Laporta are both outside the top 150 in the world and this was only the 170th-ranked Hansen’s second European Tour win. The other was at the Joburg Open in November 2020. (AP)
Jon Rahm withdraws from DP World Tour C’ship
London, Nov 14: Jon Rahm has pulled out of the DP World Tour Championship, despite having a chance to win the Race to Dubai for the second time in three years. Rahm is third on the standings but will not contest the European Tour’s season-ending event. “After lengthy discussions with my team, I have come to the difficult decision not to travel to Dubai next week,” top-ranked Rahm said in a statement. “The demands of a long season with many ups and downs has taken a lot out of me. I feel I need to take time to recharge my batteries while spending quality time with my family. (AP)
Greece’s Gelaouzos wins first Athens Marathon post-pandemic
Athens, Nov 14: Greek runner Costas Gelaouzos won the 38th Athens Marathon in 2 hours 16 minutes 49 seconds on Sunday leading a sweep of the podium places by home competitors. The runner up, Panagiotis Bourikas, was more than five minutes behind, in 2:22:33, followed by Haralambos Pitsolis in 2:24:05. Greece’s Gloria-Tziovana Privilegio won the women’s race in 2:41:30, nearly seven minutes ahead of her closest rival. She was 23rd overall. The race resumed this year after a hiatus in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 9,558 runners registered to line up at the start in the village of Marathon, less than half the record 20,041 who ran in the previous race in 2019. (AP)