Sports

NEW DELHI: India’s top wrestlers said they had decided to suspend protests on Wednesday after the country’s sports minister promised a swift probe of their federation chief who they accused six months ago of sexually harassing female athletes. The wrestlers have been camping in New Delhi for months since April seeking the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has denied the allegations.

PARIS: If Iga Swiatek meets Aryna Sabalenka for the French Open championship, more than the trophy would be at stake. The No. 1 ranking would be, too. But there’s work to be done for both players first — getting to the final. In Thursday’s semifinals, No. 2 Sabalenka of Belarus will play unseeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic, before No. 1 Swiatek of Poland faces No. 14 Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil. Sabalenka is unbeaten in Grand Slam action in 2023; she won her first major title at the Australian Open in January.

BARCELONA: Lionel Messi will sign for Major League Soccer side Inter Miami, the player said Wednesday in interviews with Spanish media, choosing the United States as his next destination over a Barcelona reunion or blockbuster deal to play in Saudi Arabia. The Argentine forward, 35, has spent the last two seasons at Paris Saint-Germain, playing his final game for the club on Saturday, after moving from Barcelona in 2021, where he spent the majority of his career.

“You do not stop running because you get old, you get old because you stop running.” This is the paraphrasing of George Bernard Shaw’s famous saying on “playing” and getting old, by Christopher McDougall, from his seminal 2009 book “Born to Run,” about the legendary running tribe, the Tarahumara. It is especially poignant on June 7, which is Global Running Day. Across the GCC, many runners of all abilities and ages will mark the day in their own way, no doubt with the appropriate hashtags and photos.

DOHA: Anthony Hudson has agreed a two-year deal to guide Al Markhiya in the Qatari soccer league a week after quitting as interim head coach of the US men’s national team. The club posted confirmation of the two-year contract on its social media platforms late Wednesday, saying Hudson’s immediate goal is to help Al Markhiya improve on the seventh-place finish it achieved in its first season after promotion to the Qatar Stars League.

  PARIS: Novak Djokovic, in his words, felt “quite sluggish, quite slow” for nearly two full sets against Karen Khachanov in the French Open quarterfinals Tuesday. Afterward, Djokovic called it his worst stretch of the tournament, a fair assessment. He dropped the opening set, something he hadn’t done at Roland Garros this year. As the second went to a tiebreaker in Court Philippe Chatrier, he knew it was vital to step up his game, bring forth his best.

PRAGUE: West Ham and Fiorentina haven’t won a European trophy for more than 50 years. The drought will end for one of them when they play out the Europa Conference League final on Wednesday in Prague. “This will be the biggest match that the club has had in so long, so it’s going to be an honor to be part of and hopefully we can create some history on the night for the fans to cheer about,” said West Ham captain Declan Rice, who is widely expected to leave the club after the season.