(Reuters): Much-travelled Brazilian striker Vagner Love arrived in Kazakhstan to complete his move to the two-times Kazakh champions Kairat, the club said on Monday.   "I hope that we'll quickly finish all the necessary things, a medical, and I'll begin to train," said Love, who rescinded his contract with Brazilian club Corinthians last month.   "I also hope that I'll be able to play soon, because I came here to do my best and help

VILA-REAL, July 6 (Reuters): Barcelona responded to a trying week by producing a scintillating display to thrash Villarreal 4-1 away on Sunday and stay alive in the Liga title race.   The Catalans had drawn their last two matches to hand more momentum to league leaders Real Madrid but Sunday's win took them to 73 points after 34 games, four behind their arch-rivals who won 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao earlier in the day.   An own goal from Pau Torres put Barca

Reuters Six-times world champion Lewis Hamilton has said he was "silenced" earlier in his Formula One career over his plans to protest racism by taking a knee.   The Mercedes driver was one of 14 who knelt before Sunday's season-opening Austrian Grand Prix.   Afterwards Hamilton spoke of a discussion he had years ago with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, whose kneeling protests in 2016 became a symbol of the fight against r

LIVERPOOL, July 6 (Reuters): Liverpool made it 17 wins out of 17 at Anfield after goals by Sadio Mane and Curtis Jones handed the champions a 2-0 win over Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday which pushed Dean Smith's side deeper into trouble.   Following their 4-0 mauling at the hands of Manchester City on Thursday, Juergen Klopp's side struggled to break down a determined Villa.   Klopp fielded another strong side but with the ground empty an

VILA-REAL, July 6 (Reuters) - Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has said that captain Lionel Messi will end his career at the Catalan club, dismissing a report saying the Argentine no longer wishes to renew his current contract when it expires next year.   “Messi has said he will end his working and footballing life at Barca,” Bartomeu told Spanish network Movistar after his side beat Villarreal 4-1 away on Sunday in La Liga.   “I’m

July 6 (Reuters) - Formula One came back with a bang on Sunday as Finland’s Valtteri Bottas won a dramatic Austrian season-opener for champions Mercedes in a race with only 11 finishers and no spectators.   Charles Leclerc finished a surprise second for struggling Ferrari with McLaren’s Lando Norris celebrating his first F1 podium after a time penalty dropped Mercedes’ six-times world champion Lewis Hamilton to fourth.   “I managed to keep

(Reuters): Romanian women's world number two Simona Halep hopes to take part in next month's Palermo Open, the first WTA event to be held after the shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, she said on Sunday.   "I have not yet made a clear decision but I hope to start with Palermo," last year's Wimbledon champion Halep told reporters in the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca before her return to the court after a four-and-a-half-month absence.  

TURIN, Italy, July 5 (Reuters): Cristiano Ronaldo finally scored from a free kick for Juventus and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon made a record 648th Serie A appearance as the league leaders beat their smaller neighbours Torino 4-1 in the Derby della Mole on Saturday.   Ronaldo curled his shot over the wall and into the corner to put Torino 3-1 ahead in the 61st minute, his first goal in 43 free kick attempts during just under two seasons with Juventus.   The wi

First all-India open Tournament scheduled on July 11   Dimapur, July 4 (MExN): The 1st Nagaland All India Online Open Chess Tournament is scheduled July 11 from 5-6:30 PM. The Nagaland Chess Enthusiasts Whatsapp Group under the aegis of Nagaland Chess Association (NCA) and in partnership with like-minded friends and well-wishers would be organising the Tournament. The tournament would be played on Chess Arena by using the Lichess App, an open-source Internet Ch

Kolkata, July 4 (IANS): 'A king' is how Malaysian badminton great Lee Chong Wei chose to describe China's two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan, arguably the greatest badminton player of the 21st century who called time on his illustrious career on Saturday.   Lee and Lin have had many duels in the past, the supreme shuttlers providing the sport grace unmatched in badminton's history. Of their 40 meetings, Lin won 28.   But when the Chinese badminton c

MANCHESTER, England, July 4 (Reuters): Manchester United's three-pronged attack combined to devastating effect as they crushed Bournemouth 5-2 in the Premier League on Saturday to move into the top four and stretch their unbeaten run to 16 games in all competitions.   Mason Greenwood shone with two superb goals while Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and playmaker Bruno Fernandes added one each for United, who climbed into fourth place on 55 points from 33 games.

SPIELBERG, Austria, July 4 (Reuters): Finland's Valtteri Bottas will start the Formula One season on pole position after denying Mercedes team mate and six-times world champion Lewis Hamilton the top slot in Austria on Saturday.   The front-row lockout by Mercedes equalled Ferrari's record of 65, and the "Black Arrows" -- their new livery a statement against racism - were in a private duel at the scenic Red Bull Ring.   Hamilton had sta

(Reuters): Jamie Vardy netted his 100th Premier League goal as Leicester City notched their first victory since the league resumed, beating Crystal Palace 3-0 on Saturday to keep up their drive for Champions League football next season.   Leicester swarmed all over Palace from the first whistle as defender James Justin hit the crossbar early on, but it took until the fourth minute of the second half for Kelechi Iheanacho to finally put his side ahead with a close-range

NORWICH, England, July 4 (Reuters): Brighton & Hove Albion beat rock-bottom Norwich City 1-0 at Carrow Road on Saturday as Leandro Trossard's first-half goal lifted the south coast club nine points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.   It was Norwich's fifth straight league defeat and Daniel Farke's side have not scored a goal since the season restarted last month after the COVID-19 hiatus.   They stayed at the foot of the standings w

(Reuters): Frances Tiafoe has tested positive for COVID-19 and been forced to withdraw from the All-American Team Cup exhibition tournament in Atlanta, the American said on Saturday.   Tiafoe played in the first session on Friday and beat Sam Querrey in straight sets at the event in which the top eight American players are participating.   The 22-year-old Tiafoe had said after the match that he struggled to play in the heat and felt dizzy.   "

SPIELBERG, Austria, July 4 (Reuters): Six-times Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton completed a sweep of Austrian Grand Prix practice on Saturday, with his Mercedes team again one-two on the timesheets while Canadian rookie Nicholas Latifi crashed his Williams.   Hamilton, who led team mate Valtteri Bottas in both of Friday's sessions, resumed his position at the top with a fastest effort of one minute 04.130 seconds around the Red Bull Ring.   Bottas was 0.14

(Reuters): The hard work has not stopped for Premier League champions Liverpool under manager Juergen Klopp despite ending a 30-year wait for the league title, according to midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.   Liverpool clinched their 19th English top-flight crown last week with seven games to spare before losing 4-0 at Manchester City on Thursday.   "There's no days off at all and there's no tolerance for levels to drop," Oxlade-Chamberlai

(Reuters): Everton are targeting European qualification this season but failure to secure a continental berth will not change the Premier League club's long-term plans, manager Carlo Ancelotti said on Friday.   Everton are unbeaten since the season restarted after the COVID-19 hiatus and sit 11th in the standings with 44 points -- three points behind seventh-placed Sheffield United who occupy the final Europa League spot with six games to go.   Everton

(Reuters): American sprinter Gabrielle Thomas's provisional suspension for allegedly failing to make herself available for anti-doping tests has been lifted, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said on Friday.   Thomas, twice a 200 metres winner at the Lausanne Diamond League, had been banned in May by the AIU for allegedly missing three tests in a 12-month period, a violation of anti-doping rules.   But according to the AIU's Twitter account, Thomas p

(Reuters): Formula One stewards rejected on Friday a Red Bull protest against a new steering system used by champions Mercedes in practice for the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix.   The action concerned the cars of six-times world champion Lewis Hamilton and Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas, with Red Bull questioning the legality of the Dual Axis Steering (DAS) system.   Mercedes, who dominated practice with Hamilton fastest in both sessions, were running