News

LONDON: Michael Phelps opened defense of his Olympic title in the 200-meter butterfly with the fifth-fastest qualifying time in the preliminaries on Monday. Phelps has yet to have the quickest time in the morning heats at the London Games four years after he won a record eight gold medals in Beijing. He finished third in his heat at 1 minute, …

WIMBLEDON, England: Victoria Azarenka moved into the second round in the Olympics on Monday with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 win over Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania. Azarenka’s match at Wimbledon was rescheduled from Sunday because of rain. The world No. 1 from Belarus could end up on court six consecutive days if she reaches the gold medal round in singles. Azarenka …

LONDON: Ryan Lochte grabbed at the edge of the pool, head down, staring at the water. Michael Phelps glared at the scoreboard, trying to digest the first silver medal of his Olympic career. Right beside them, the French celebrated. It was just like 2008 but with the roles reversed. This time, it was France chasing down the United States – …

LONDON: Freddie Evans maintained Britain’s perfect start to its home Olympic boxing tournament with an 18-10 victory over Algerian welterweight Ilyas Abbadi on Sunday. Evans earned a solid victory in the final bout of the afternoon session, delighting the sold-out crowd waving dozens of Union Jacks and giving repeated standing ovations. Custio Clayton earned Canada’s first Olympic boxing victory in …

BEIRUT: Real Madrid are believed to have agreed a 36-million-pound ($56.69 million) fee with Tottenham for Croatian midfielder Luka Modric. Modric has already revealed a desire to join the Spanish champions and has just been waiting for the two sides to agree on a price. The playmaker was fined two weeks wages last week after refusing to train with the …

LONDON: Britain’s teenage star Tom Daley is hoping China’s divers will crack under pressure at the London Olympics as he seeks to break the dominance of the “Dream Team” on home soil. The 18-year-old kicks off his London programme alongside partner Peter Waterfield in the men’s synchronised platform on Monday, and follows up with the individual platform on August 10 …

WASHINGTON: Salt Lake City’s mayor has extended a tongue-in-cheek invitation to David Cameron, offering the prime minister a map to show him where the “middle of nowhere” is. The taunt was the latest salvo in a transatlantic heated exchange over the 2012 Olympics. It all started when US presidential hopeful Mitt Romney made some ill-advised remarks about London’s Olympic preparations …

BEIJING: China’s top diplomat told the country’s Olympic athletes to behave in a “modest and unassuming” way in London, state media reported on Friday, as the country tries to manage expectations for a team which topped the medals table in Beijing in 2008. By the time the Beijing Games closed on Aug. 24 2008, China had earned 51 golds, leapfrogging …