SPORTS

.Wellington, May 23 (IANS) New Zealand allrounder Hayley Jensen has has announced her retirement from international cricket, bringing down curtains to her 11-year career.Jensen, who debuted for the White Ferns in white ball formats against West Indies in 2014, became a regular feature in the squad after selection for the 2018 ICC T20 World Cup, and went on to represent New Zealand on 88 occasions in 35 ODIs and 53 T20Is, scoring 1,988 runs and taking 76 wickets.Jensen said it felt like the right time to step away from international cricket.“Ever since I was 10 years old, I came home from my first cricket tournament and knew I wanted to be a WHITE FERN. To have had the chance to live that dream is something I’ll always treasure.“It’s been an incredible journey — filled with challenges, grow...

Geneva, May 23 (IANS) Novak Djokovic celebrated his 38th birthday with hard-fought revenge at the Geneva Open. The second seed held firm for a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Matteo Arnaldi to reach the semi-finals at the clay ATP 250 event for the second consecutive year.Djokovic, who fell to Arnaldi at the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid last month, reeled off five straight games from 1-4 in the second set to seal a one-hour, 40-minute victory.“It’s great to be in the semi-finals again. Hopefully this year I can go at least a step further, that’s the goal. I think I’m playing really good tennis. A straight-sets win, but it was much closer than the score indicates. I was 4-1 down in the second, but somehow I didn’t lose a game.“I found the optimal state and balance, mentally and emotionally, to be able ...

Ahmedabad, May 23 (IANS) Opener Mitchell Marsh slammed the fastest century by a Lucknow Super Giants batter in their history of being in the IPL while pacer William O'Rourke picked 3-27, including striking twice in the 17th over, to help the visitors beat top-ranked Gujarat Titans’ by 33 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday.After Marsh’s 64-ball 117 was the main driving force behind LSG posting a mammoth 235/2, the visitors removed GT’s in-form top three batters within the first ten overs. GT's middle order was finally put to a stern test, and Shahrukh Khan kept them in the hunt by sharing an 86-run stand off 40 balls for the fourth wicket with Sherfane Rutherford.But O’Rourke’s double strike meant GT finished on 202/9, as LSG won both their games against the hosts this season. Pu...

Ahmedabad, May 22 (IANS) Pacer William O'Rourke picked 3-27, including twin strikes in the 17th over, as Lucknow Super Giants secured a 33-run win over top-ranked Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday.After opener Mitchell Marsh slammed the fastest century by a Lucknow Super Giants batter in IPL’s history through a 64-ball 117 and propelled the side to 235/2, the visitors took out GT’s in-form top three batters within the first ten overs.GT's middle order was finally put to a stern test, and Shahrukh Khan kept them in the hunt by sharing an 86-run stand off 40 balls for the fourth wicket with Sherfane Rutherford. But O’Rourke’s double strike meant GT finished on 202/9, as LSG won both their games against the hosts this season.Chasin...

Madrid, May 22 (IANS) Athletic Bilbao defender Oscar de Marcos gave an emotive final press conference on Thursday before he plays the final game of his long career at home to FC Barcelona on Sunday.The 36-year-old announced several months ago that he was hanging up his boots at the end of the campaign after 16 seasons and 572 first-team appearances. His record sees him as the outfield player with the most matches for the Basque club, with only goalkeeper Jose Angel Iribar ahead of him.Sunday will see De Marcos play his 573rd and final game, but in a press conference held with current and former team-mates, the defender insisted he stuck by his decision to retire, reports Xinhua."I'm not here to say goodbye, I'm here to say 'thank you'. I'd been thinking about retiring for a while and I tri...

Nottingham, May 22 (IANS) Experienced batter Joe Root scored 34 on the opening day of the lone Test against Zimbabwe and in the process became the fastest batter to reach 13,000 runs in red-ball cricket here on Thursday.Root reached the milestone of 13,000 runs, becoming only the fifth batter ever to do so in his 153rd Test, scoring 13,006 runs in 279 innings at an average of 50.80. He has scored 36 hundreds and 65 half-centuries with a highest score of 262.Root is fifth in the list of most run scorers in the history of the game behind Sachin Tendulkar (15921), Ricky Ponting (13378), Jacques Kallis (13289) and Rahul Dravid (13288). The 34-year-old Root is the highest scorer for England in red-ball cricket, with Alistair Cook second with 12472 runs in 134 matches.Root's contribution was a s...

Kuala Lumpur, May 22 (IANS) Chinese shuttlers continued their winning streak on Day 3 of the 2025 Malaysia Masters here on Thursday, scoring decisive victories in all categories. Men's singles shuttler Li Shifeng knocked out Singapore's Jason Teh Jia Heng 21-10, 21-17 at the Axiata Arena, while his teammate Weng Hongyang also advanced after defeating Indonesia's Farhan.In the women's singles, Wang Zhiyi overpowered compatriot Han Qianxi 21-8, 21-17, while fellow Chinese shuttlers Gao Fangjie and Han Yue also secured their places in the next round. Men's doubles duo Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang easily outplayed Christo Popov and Toma Junior Popov of France 21-17, 21-15.In the women's doubles, Jia Yifan and Zhang Shuxian smashed Go Pei Kee and Teoh Mei Xing of Malaysia 21-6, 21-13, while the...

Berlin (Germany), May 22 (IANS) As the 2025 German Cup final approaches, Stuttgart striker Ermedin Demirovic finds himself confronting a wave of mixed emotions. Now 27, the Bosnia international still recalls the painful memory of the 2022 final, when his penalty hit the crossbar during the shootout while playing for Freiburg. That miss, he admits, may haunt him for the rest of his life."Since then," Demirovic said, "I developed compassion for all having to execute a penalty under that pressure."In that May 2022 final, Freiburg's hopes ended in a loss to Leipzig, sealed in part by Demirovic's failed spot-kick.This Saturday's final at Berlin's Olympic Stadium presents a new opportunity for redemption. Stuttgart face third-tier Arminia Bielefeld in a clash that Demirovic insists won't be take...

Ahmedabad, May 22 (IANS) Opener Mitchell Marsh slammed the fastest century hit by a Lucknow Super Giants batter in Indian Premier League (IPL) history through a 64-ball 117 as the side posted a mammoth 235/2 in their 20 overs against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Thursday.Electing to bat first on a black soil pitch, Marsh was severe on the loose deliveries and showcased some great power-hitting skills to hit his first-ever IPL century, laced with ten fours and eight sixes at a strike-rate of 182.81. The standout aspect of Marsh’s amazing knock was his thrashing 25 runs off a Rashid Khan over.He was ably supported by Aiden Markram, making a quick 24-ball 36 while Nicholas Pooran’s promotion to number three resulted in him making 56 not out off 27 balls – laced with fou...

New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) Olympian Raiza Dhillon delivered under challenging and tricky conditions to win a silver medal in the women’s skeet event at the ongoing International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany, on Thursday.The Indian shot 51 targets in the 60-shot final, to finish behind Phoebe Bodley-Scott of Great Britain, who shot 53. Home favourite Annabella Hettmer won bronze.Raiza’s effort saw her win her first individual ISSF World Cup medal at any level as she played out her last junior year. It was also India’s third medal of the prestigious Suhl Junior World Cup and the second silver to go with Kanak’s gold on Wednesday in the women’s air pistol.Classy effortRaiza had quite a bit of work to do in the day, beginning in fourth place with a score of ...