Shuttler Sankar Muthusamy reaches junior Worlds semis

Santander (Spain)

Rising Indian shuttler Sankar Muthusamy today assured himself of a medal in the BWF World Junior Championships as he reached the men’s U-19 singles semifinals after defeating Hu Zhe An of China. Fourth seed Sankar won 21-18 8-21 21-16 in a quarterfinal match that lasted 1 hour, 31 minutes. He became the ninth Indian to win a medal at the championships, the last being Lakshya Sen (bronze) in 2018. Sankar faces Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul of Thailand in the semifinals.

Kochi

Mumbai continue unbeaten run, beat Kerala Blasters

Mumbai City FC continued their unbeaten streak with a 2-0 victory over Kerala Blasters in an Indian Super League match here today. First-half goals from Mehtab Singh and Jorge Diaz were enough to secure all three points for the Islanders. Kerala Blasters lost their third consecutive game after winning their opener earlier this month.

Bengaluru

Tamil Thalaivas thrash Jaipur Pink Panthers

Tamil Thalaivas came out all guns blazing under new head coach Ashan Kumar and recorded a 38-27 win over Jaipur Pink Panthers in the Pro Kabaddi League here today. Narender put up a superb performance with 13 points in the match. In the other matches, Haryana Steelers and Puneri Paltan played out a 27-27 draw, while Patna Pirates beat UP Yoddha 34-29.

Manchester

Ronaldo scores on return, Man U beat Sheriff 3-0

Cristiano Ronaldo scored on his return to the Manchester United line-up to seal a 3-0 victory over Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League that secured a spot in the knockout round. The victory set up a decider against Real Sociedad for first place in Group E. Sociedad recorded their fifth straight victory in the competition, 2-0 at Omonoia, to stay three points ahead of United.

BARCELONA

Fraud charges against Neymar dropped

Spanish prosecutors today dropped all fraud and corruption charges against Brazil forward Neymar and other defendants in a case over his transfer to Barcelona from Santos in 2013. Prosecutors had sought a two-year prison term for Neymar and the payment of a ^10 million fine in the case brought by Brazilian investment firm DIS, which owned 40% of the rights to Neymar when he was at Santos. DIS argues that it lost out on its rightful cut from the transfer because the true value was understated.

MEXICO CITY

Red Bull to pay $7m fine for cost cap breach

Formula One champions Red Bull have been fined $7 million for breaching the sport’s budget cap last season and will be allowed 10% less wind tunnel time over the next year, the governing FIA said. The FIA added that the decision, accepted by Red Bull, was final and not subject to appeal. — Agencies