Sports

Defending champions Barcelona and Real Madrid will not be in action in the opening week. Photo: AFP BARCELONA: Spain’s top flight kicks off the 2026/27 season on Saturday, although defending champions Barcelona and Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid are not in action yet. AFP Sport looks at five talking points going into the first round of … Read more

Iga Swiatek poses with her trophy after defeating Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina in a National Bank Open final tennis match, in Toronto. Photo: AFP TORONTO: Former world number one Iga Swiatek captured her first title of the year on Thursday, roaring past a weary Elena Rybakina 6-2, 6-3 to win the WTA 1000 in Toronto. Swiatek, … Read more

Bangladesh’s Tanzid Hasan bats against Australia during their cricket test match in Darwin, Australia. Photo: AFP DARWIN: Tanzid Hasan became the first Bangladeshi to score a Test century in Australia as the visitors dominated to reach 286-3 at tea on the second day of the first Test in Darwin on Friday. Led by a superb … Read more

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan players will assemble in Islamabad on Saturday (tomorrow) to kick-start their preparation for the four-nation invitational hockey tournament to be held in Kazan, Russia, from August 27 to September 1. The camp will be held at the Naseer Bunda Hockey Stadium at the Pakistan Sports Complex, with selected players instructed to report by … Read more

Scotland posted 347 for seven after captain Richie Berrington struck his seventh ODI century, setting Canada a daunting target at Forthill. The hosts then bowled out Canada for 177 to close their League 2 campaign at the top of the standings. Robertson, 23, was the standout performer with the ball, finishing with six for 52 … Read more

Imam and Azan stand firm after Abbas and Ali share six wickets in Beckenham tour match. Pakistan’s tour of England commenced with a highly productive opening day as the visitors restricted the Professional County Club (PCC) Select XI to 305 before making a solid, unscathed start with the bat in their three-day warm-up match at … Read more

Wasim Junior’s five-for and Dahani’s death bowling heroics seal narrow six-run win KARACHI: Pakistan Whites secured a nerve-wracking six-run victory against Pakistan Blues in a nail-biting encounter of the Al Batal Presents University of Lahore National Champions Cup 2026-2027 at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Thursday night. Spearheaded by a lethal pace unit, Whites staged … Read more

Xavi Hernandez’s last coaching job was with Barcelona from 2021-24. Photo: AFP LONDON: Xavi Hernandez has been named as the successor to Ronald Koeman as head coach of the Netherlands national team, becoming their first foreign boss in 48 years, the country’s football association announced on Wednesday. The Barcelona great, who won the 2010 World … Read more

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan continued their impressive run at the ITF Masters World Individual Championships, advancing to the semifinals of the Men’s 45+ Doubles after a thrilling victory over the dangerous Spanish pairing of Francisco Javier Martínez Baena and Pedro Nieto Orellana. In a dramatic quarterfinal played on Court 1 at the … Read more

India and Pakistan will avoid an early meeting at the Asian Games 2026, with the arch-rivals only able to face each other in a medal match under the tournament draw. The two teams are the top seeds in the men’s cricket competition and have been placed on opposite sides of the knockout bracket. They can … Read more