https://arab.news/4aewr
Ali Al-Nakhli of Saudi Arabia finished in sixth place in the Men’s 100m final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games on Friday afternoon.
The 22-year-old achieved two personal bests in the Olympic Stadium, first posting a time 11.57 seconds to qualify to the final, where he improved on that with run of 11.53 seconds.
Nick Mayhugh of the USA won the gold medal with run of 10.95 seconds, with Andrei Vdovin of the Russian Paralympic Committee finishing second and Saptoyoga Purnomo of Indonesia third.
PARIS: Coco Gauff battled back from a set down to beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a Grand Slam final for the second time with a dramatic victory in the French Open showpiece on Saturday.
The second-ranked American dug deep to claim a 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-4 victory and her second major title after also defeating Sabalenka at the 2023 US Open.
The 21-year-old more than made amends for her emotional 2022 final loss to Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros, outlasting Sabalenka over two hours and 38 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.
It was a second straight Grand Slam final loss for Sabalenka after her defeat by Madison Keys at the Australian Open in January.
Gauff was rock solid after falling a set down, while Sabalenka made 70 unforced errors in windy conditions in a match which followed a very similar pattern to Gauff’s victory at Flushing Meadows two years ago.
Belarusian Sabalenka was aiming to become the only current women’s player to win three of the four Grand Slam events after her US Open triumph last year and back-to-back Australian Open titles in 2023 and 2024.
But Gauff instead moved 6-5 ahead in their head-to-head record, proving the more consistent player in the first women’s Slam final between the world’s top two since Caroline Wozniacki beat Simona Halep in Melbourne in 2018.
OSLO: Italy’s World Cup qualification campaign has barely begun and already the country is worried about the shocking possibility of failing to reach the final tournament for a third consecutive time after a humiliating defeat by Norway.
Norway already had two wins under their belt in Group I before Friday’s match in Oslo, while Italy had yet to play, having been involved in the Nations League quarter-finals in March, losing out to Germany.
A 2-1 defeat at the San Siro in the first leg left Italy chasing the tie in Germany and they found themselves 3-0 down at the break before staging a second-half comeback to salvage a draw, and some pride.
It was the same story on Friday for Italy at the Ullevaal Stadium, at least as far as the opening act went. Norway roared into a 3-0 lead in the first half but this time there was no Italian fightback in a goalless second half.
“Enough!” screamed the Gazzetta dello Sport front page on Saturday, after Italy suffered their third loss in a four-game winless run, with the newspaper adding that for Italy the “World Cup is already at risk.”
Next year’s World Cup takes place in the United States, Canada and Mexico but in the two decades since Italy won the tournament for the fourth time, they have struggled to perform or, more recently, to even get there.
Berlin 2006 seems a lifetime ago now, with Zinedine Zidane sent off for his head butt to Marco Materazzi’s chest and Italy lifting the trophy after a penalty shootout win over France.
The next two World Cups saw Italy exit at the group stage, and while they triumphed at Euro 2020, on either side of that success they missed out on the World Cup after playoff defeats to Sweden and North Macedonia.
With Italy now playing catch-up and only the group winners qualifying automatically, La Repubblica’s front-page headline “Azzurri humiliated in Oslo, the playoff nightmare returns” hints at the frightening possibilities ahead.
Italy’s loss came less than a week after Inter Milan’s 5-0 mauling at the hands of Paris St. Germain in the Champions League final and on both occasions the tired-looking losers were outclassed by a hungrier, more creative side.
Italy manager Luciano Spalletti was spared following last year’s dismal Euros but is now under real pressure and nothing but a convincing win at home to Moldova on Monday will do, with media and fans increasingly calling for a change of leadership.
MUNICH: Bayern Munich have reportedly agreed a deal with Bayer Leverkusen to take Germany defender Jonathan Tah to the Club World Cup.
Kicker magazine and other media outlets reported Saturday that Bayern, which had announced Tah’s signing “without a transfer fee” on May 29, have agreed to pay Leverkusen up to 4 million euros ($4.6 million) for the player to take a full part in the Club World Cup starting in the United States on June 14.
Tah’s contract with Leverkusen ran to the end of June, meaning he could only join Bayern on a free transfer from July 1 – unless the clubs came to an agreement beforehand.
There was little goodwill between the clubs after Bayern’s failed attempt to sign Tah – Leverkusen’s captain – last season, when Leverkusen chief executive Fernando Carro lashed out against Bayern’s Max Eberl. Bayern’s public pursuit of Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz this season further inflamed tensions between the rival clubs.
Any agreement to let Tah join Bayern before his Leverkusen contract ends would suggest pragmatism has won out at Leverkusen.
Real Madrid set the precedent by paying a reported fee of up to 10 million euros ($11.4 million) to get England right back Trent Alexander-Arnold out of his Liverpool contract one month before it was due to expire, so he could play at the Club World Cup, rather than waiting to sign him with a transfer fee.
Bayern will also need to reach agreement with Hoffenheim if they want to take Tom Bischof to the tournament.
Leverkusen face a summer of rebuilding following Xabi Alonso’s departure as coach, Tah and wing back Jeremie Frimpong ‘s departures for Bayern and Liverpool, respectively, and Wirtz’s expected transfer to Liverpool.
Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka suggested Friday he would be open to a switch amid reported interest from AC Milan, a change from his previous position.
Leverkusen hired former Manchester United coach Erik ten Hag to replace the Real Madrid-bound Alonso, while they have also signed highly rated teenager Ibrahim Maza from second-division club Hertha Berlin, and 21-year-old defender Tim Oermann from relegated Bochum before promptly loaning him to Austrian champion Sturm Graz.
They also loaned promising midfielder Francis Onyeka to Bochum for next season in the second division.
MUNICH: Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo acknowledged he was “another generation” to Spain starlet Lamine Yamal but said Sunday’s Nations League final was more than just a battle between the duo.
The final in Munich has been framed as a showdown between veteran Ronaldo, 40, one of the game’s biggest names, and 17-year-old Yamal, the most exciting young talent in world football.
Ronaldo scored the winner to send Portugal past Germany into the final and Yamal was named man-of-the-match after bagging a brace in Spain’s wild 5-4 semifinal win over France.
Ronaldo however said the focus on the two individuals was overblown, calling Spain “maybe the best national team in the world.”
“There are different generations, one is coming in and another is exiting the stage. If you want to see me as another generation, then that’s OK.
“When you talk about a clash between Cristiano and someone else, that’s not how it works. The media always try to hype things up, which is a normal thing, but it’s one team versus another team.”
“You’ve been talking about Lamine a lot and you’re right to do so because he’s very good,” Ronaldo told journalists, adding “but I’d like to talk about the team.
“They’ve got Nico Williams, great midfielders like Pedri and their coach (Luis) de la Fuente is very good, very strong, very disciplined.”
Portugal last beat their Iberian neighbors in a competitive fixture in 21 years ago at Euro 2024, a match which Ronaldo started.
Like Yamal, Ronaldo burst onto the scene at a young age.
Aged just 18, Ronaldo impressed so much for boyhood side Sporting in a 3-1 win over Manchester United in a friendly in Lisbon that the English club decided to buy him, bringing him to Old Trafford less than a week later.
Like a young Ronaldo, Yamal has consistently impressed since bursting onto the scene, winning a league and cup double with Barcelona this season after lifting the Euro 2024 title in Germany last summer.
The Portuguese veteran asked media to allow the teenager to grow and improve without pressure, reminding them the Spanish star “with funny hair” was just “three years older than my son.”
“The kid has been doing very well, but what I ask is for you to let him grow, not put him under pressure. For the good of football, we need to let him grow in his own way and enjoy the talent he has.”
Both Spain and Portugal have already won the Nations League. Spain are the current champions from their win in 2023, while Portugal won the inaugural tournament back in 2019.
ROME: Brazilian winger Luis Henrique has signed for Inter Milan from Marseille becoming the Italian club’s second signing ahead of the Club World Cup in the United States.
“A new Inter player joins the family, welcome Luis,” this season’s Italian Serie A and Champions League runners-up said on Saturday.
The Brazilian, who arrived in Marseille in 2020, made 108 appearances and scored 11 goals for the French club in all competitions.
