TOKYO: World number one Serena Williams has withdrawn from next week`s Pan Pacific Open in Japan because of injury, organisers said on Thursday. Williams cut her foot on broken glass at a restaurant shortly after winning her fourth Wimbledon crown in July. Tournament organisers said the

LONDON: Liverpool suffered a humiliating home defeat on penalties by League Two (fourth division) Northampton Town in the English League Cup third round on Wednesday. Newcastle United also became the first team to beat champions Chelsea this season when they edged a seven-goal thriller

SOUTHAMPTON: England completed a clean sweep of their 2010 home series when they defeated Pakistan by 121 runs in the fifth and final one-day international on Wednesday. Pakistan, set 257 to win the match and the series, tumbled from 63 without loss to 135 all out after batting under

MADRID: David Villa struck just after halftime to lift champions Barcelona to a laboured 1-0 home win over his former club Sporting Gijon in La Liga on Wednesday. Barca, missing injured Argentina forward Lionel Messi, struggled to break down a well-organised Gijon side before Daniel

NEW DELHI: More nations delayed their teams` arrivals for the Commonwealth Games as organisers raced against time to address security and health concerns that have already led several top athletes to pull out. New Zealand joined Canada and Scotland in delaying its arrival in New Delhi

SOUTHAMPTON: England captain Andrew Strauss called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to leave "no stone unturned" in their probe into cricket corruption after his side ended a scandal-marred season with a one-day series win over Pakistan here on Wednesday."This summer has clearly

NEW DELHI:  The chaotic Delhi Commonwealth Games faced dire warnings Thursday of a mass pullout by teams as organisers worked frantically to save the event from disaster with just 10 days to go.Eight countries have written a joint letter to the Indian organisers, demanding a list of

BERLIN: France midfielder Franck Ribery is expected to be out for at least four weeks with an ankle injury and to miss Bayern Munich`s next two Champions League games, it was revealed on Wednesday.The winger had to be helped off after an hour of his side`s 2-1 win over Hoffenheim in the

PORT ELIZABETH: Isuru Udana took a hat-trick as the Wayamba Elevens finished their Champions League Twenty20 campaign with a 74-run win over the Central Stags here on Wednesday.Wayamba could only score 144 for six in their 20 overs but it proved enough as Udana and unorthodox spinner

PARIS: World football icon Zinedine Zidane said he had no preference which national team his sought-after son Enzo played for, as a potential France v Spain tug-of-war over the 15-year-old gathered momentum.Enzo, named after Zidane`s hero, the former Uruguay star Enzo Francescoli, was

Faridpur:  A gala soccer event styled Khondoker Nuru Mia gold cup football tournament, introduced last year, begins Friday at the local stadium with the participation of 16 district teams of the country. The participating teams are host and reigning champion Faridpur, Meherpur, Khulna,

WELLINGTON: New Zealand Cricket on Wednesday confirmed Pakistan would tour later this year but admitted concerns at how the public would react to the visitors following their scandal-tainted trip to England.New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan dismissed a British newspaper

  LONDON: Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas will be out for up to three weeks with a hamstring injury, the English Premier League club said on Tuesday. The Spanish midfielder, who has been in good form in recent weeks, picked up the injury shortly after scoring in Saturday`s 1-1 draw at

MADRID: The girlfriend of Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas, Sara Carbonero, has hit out at star striker Cristiano Ronaldo for being "selfish"."Ronaldo has always been like that, selfish and an individualist on the pitch and Real Madrid signed him like that," Carbonero, a sports

KARACHI: Pakistani sporting hero Imran Khan brushed aside calls to ban his nation from international cricket until corruption allegations are investigated, saying a country cannot be punished collectively.Former England captains Ian Botham and Michael Vaughan have demanded Pakistan are

NEW DELHI: Australia`s cricket captain Ricky Ponting said on Tuesday he was satisfied with security arrangements for his team`s tour in India even as concerns grew over next month`s Delhi Commonwealth Games."During our tours we are regularly briefed as far as security issues are

NAIROBI: Kenya`s athletics squad for the Commonwealth Games was further decimated Tuesday by the late pull-out of Olympic 1500m champion Asbel Kiprop and women`s world 10,000m champion Linet Masai.Officials said the athletes were suffering from fatigue and injury respectively.Kenya`s

KARACHI: Pakistan great Zaheer Abbas praised England on Tuesday for not abandoning the series with Pakistan despite a tour blighted by mounting allegations of corruption."England cricket officials and players should be praised for their positive stance of continuing cricket with Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan`s sports minister Tuesday vowed tough action against anyone in cricket found guilty of spot-fixing after the beleaguered national team were hit by fresh allegations.The International Cricket Council (ICC) has launched an investigation into a "certain scoring pattern"

NEW DELHI: New Delhi`s Commonwealth Games organisers on Tuesday shrugged off criticism of the athletes` village, saying they will provide an "excellent facility" for guests."I can assure everyone there is no cause for worry," organising committee vice-chairman Randhir Singh told