Category Sports News

Scottish Open Swimming Championships

Dates: 27-29 June at Royal Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh

On day two of the Scottish Swimming Championships, Kara Hanlon, Suzie McNair, and Ciara Schlosshan won additional titles.

Hanlon, a four-time British champion, won the 200-meter breaststroke to add to her 100-meter gold medal on Friday.

Gregor Swinney won the men’s event while McNair won the 200-meter individual medley (IM), having previously won the 400-meter IM, and Schlosshan won the 50-meter butterfly for the first time in her career.

Melissa Mainwaring won the 100-meter backstroke gold, while Andrew Bertoli won the 400-meter IM.

Jamie Ferguson won the 100-meter race while Faye Rogers won the 200-meter IM and 400-meter freestyle.

The world’s number one and countless Grand Slam champion, Aryna Sabalenka, admits to having “lost control” of her emotions when the sport’s biggest prizes are in dispute.

Therefore, Wimbledon gives Sabalenka the opportunity to reclaim her fourth Grand Slam title and the chance to transform a humble encounter into a turning point.

The 27-year-old has reached the Australian Open and French Open finals this year, but she has lost both of their title matches. After being defeated by Coco Gauff in Paris three weeks ago, she described her conqueror in insulting terms that she later acknowledged had been “completely unprofessional.”

She said in her first opinion that Gauff was successful because of Sabalenka’s own errors from “easy balls” rather than because she played incredible.

Gauff’s performance was described as “just a joke” by Sabalenka, who added, “Sometimes it felt like she was hitting the ball right out of the frame.” You are somewhat on the back foot because of how magically the ball magically lands in the court.

The comments, which came after the American’s 2023 US Open final, were widely believed to be Gauff’s, did not give the American enough credit for the American’s second Grand Slam title.

Sabalenka remarked, “I’ve always had a great relationship with Coco.”

“I really didn’t want to offend her,” she said. I simply had to let go of my emotions. I completely lost it.

I followed my instructions. I believe that I am given what I deserve. I had a difficult time going through. The lesson has been learned.

“This time, I experienced emotions.” Sometimes I can become overly emotional in the semi-finals or finals. That could be improved, I hope.

I think I should stick to the same mindset I have throughout the tournament because I think I’m overeager in the tournament’s final stages because I want to win.

Sabalenka has lost four of her past six finals, but she is far ahead of the competition in the WTA rankings. She will face Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine in the first round of Wimbledon, which she has not yet won.

Since I learned a lot from Paris, I’m kind of happy, said Sabalenka, “to be honest.” I was able to relax and be open to myself rather than simply ignore some things. I sincerely hope it will never occur again.

She stated that she would enjoy facing “Gauff” in the Wimbledon final. They won’t be able to meet until then because they are the top two seeds. In their first career head-to-head matchup, Gauff leads by 6-5.

When competing sports teams have to switch emotions, especially when the stakes are high.

Novak Djokovic has developed a strong sense of handling the biggest situations, and he can still find the right words even when he’s down.

However, the 24-time Grand Slam champion had no problem with it.

He therefore comprehends Sabalenka’s challenge of remaining calm while the adrenaline is high.

“We are all human beings that have difficult emotions that they have to deal with right away after losing a significant match,” said Djokovic.

“Grand Slam finals,” as she did against Coco, for instance. When your emotions are so high, your blood starts to run high.

Even though I believe it’s important to pay respect and acknowledge the success of your opponent who just beat you, it’s not always easy to suppress that and prioritize diplomacy.

After a practice session, Sabalenka reached out to Djokovic for pre-tournament support.

Betfred Super League

Warrington Wolves (12) 24

Goals: Sneyd 4; Josh Thewlis, Jake Thewlis, Powell, Fitzgibbon

Hull FC (10) 10

With a 24-10 victory over Hull FC, Warrington Wolves increased their chances of placing in the top four of the Super League this year.

Josh Thewlis, Jake Thewlis, Sam Powell, and Lachlan Fitzgibbon scored in their closing contests to close the gap on the sixth-placed Black and Whites.

Following their last-gasp defeat by second-place Huddersfield Giants, Wolves were significantly improved with four goals scored by Marc Sneyd.

After five minutes, Josh Thewlis ducked past two Hull players to run clear from within his own 22 and make a fantastic solo effort. Warrington took the lead.

When Matt Dufty’s catch-and-pass led to Jake, the younger of the Thewlis brothers, scoring, gave them the lead.

When Roderick Tai, a Warrington centre, was found to have fouled the ball in-goal before Jordan Rapana dotted down, the try was declared invalid in the 22nd minute.

On the second half-hour mark, when Sezer’s outstanding line break unselfishly chose Barron to take the visitors off the board, Hull started to ratchet up.

Sezer fought his way past some sluggish Warrington defense eight minutes later to keep his team within two points at half-time.

However, Warrington quickly responded after the break when Powell ran over a gap in the Hull defense to score his first Super League try this year. Sneyd’s straightforward conversion made the game a two-score affair.

Dufty dummied to break past some subpar defending as Hull started to tire, and his inside pass set up Australian second-row Fitzgibbon for the home side.

Sam Burgess, a coach at Warrington, told BBC Radio Merseyside:

“It turned out well today,” I said. I believed we had the upper hand in the majority of the game, so I’m happy for the players that we’re back in the winning circle and can regain some momentum.

The players will take a little time out of it because it has been a while since we’ve led from the beginning, which was pleasant.

On Josh Thewlis’ attempt:

John Cartwright, the coach of Hull FC, told BBC Radio Humberside:

“Too many simple errors, just too many.” We anticipated that they would be very quick and powerful.

We were only two points down on the back of a lot of errors in the second half, but we only became happier in the second half.

Powell, Thomas, Harrison, and Ratchford are the others.

Rapana, Barron, Briscoe, Litten, Martin, Cust, Sezer, Ese ‘ese, Bourouh, Knight, Hardaker, Aydin, Chamberlain, and Hull FC.

Ashworth, Charles, Eseh, and Fash swapped.

In the Saturday All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-final, Tyrone held their resolve to defeat Dublin 0-23 to 0-16.

In a game in which both teams struggled with shooting, Malachy O’Rourke’s Red Hands won the game for the first time since the 2021 All-Ireland final.

Both sides put everything into what turned out to be a bloody battle, but Dublin’s failure to take their chances once more came back when they missed as many chances as they scored.

In the first 35 minutes, they would benefit from their long-range shooting with the breeze at their backs, so a two-pointer from a Kieran McGeary free would be the start of things to come.

It was Peter Teague’s turn to split the posts from outside the arc after Stephen Cluxton responded from a 45 that came after Cormac Costello saved with a fingertip.

Early on, Dublin struggled with their shooting because shots were diverted short or strewn, but Costello, who was not one of the guilty parties, landed from both free and play.

Peter Harte scored a two as a result of Tyrone’s long-range ability, but Brian O’Leary, a late addition to the Dublin team in place of Lorcan O’Dell, kicked his first score in county colors and was so impressed that he was sent back for another score, bringing the score to 0-6 at halftime.

Before Niall Scully gave Dublin the lead for the first time, only for Tyrone to regain the lead through a second two-pointer from Harte, it was nip and tuck heading into the break. Darragh Canavan and Costello traded scores before the pair exchanged scores.

In the 42nd minute, Dublin’s Cormac Costello tapped a gilt-edged goal chance past the post, and both teams snagged some respectable scoring opportunities in the opening period.

Mistakes were starting to dominate as the greasy conditions started to add to the problem, but Paddy Small’s fifth and final goal was scored with a Dublin point, but Canavan had to nudge Tyrone ahead right away to make the most of the situation.

The lead remained open until Con O’Callaghan, who had been playing for the Dublin bench for the final 20 minutes, made an immediate impact with a score as Ciaran Daly and Niall Devlin scored.

Tyrone always had an answer with Ciaran Daly responding, even though Ciaran Kilkenny narrowed the gap to one.

In the 59th minute, Dublin had a chance of scoring again thanks to Paddy Small, who read the danger and passed Costello in front of the lingering Costello. Luke Breathnach chose to square instead of fisting over.

Both teams committed poor misses, but Dublin was even more so as a result, with 10 shots past the post and six into Morgan’s hands being a major factor in their failure. However, the gap only extended to the final five minutes when Tyrone broke for home as a substitute Ruairi Canavan set up a six-point run that included a two-point free from Morgan at the death to propel Malachy O’Rourke’s men into the final four.

Dublin: S Cluxton (0-1, 1×45), E Murchan, D Byrne, S MacMahon, B Howard, J Small, L Gannon, P O’Cofaigh-Byrne (0-1), K McGinnis, S Bugler, C Kilkenny (0-1), N Scully (0-1), P Small (0-2), C Costello (0-6, 2f), B O’Leary (0-2).

Subs: C Murphy for K McGinnis (44), C O’Callaghan (0-1) for B O’Leary (50), L Breathnach (0-1) for N Scully (57, head injury), T Lahiff for P O’Cofaigh-Byrne (59), R McGarry for S Bugler (65), T Clancy for E Murchan (68)

Tyrone: N Morgan (0-3, 1x2pf, 1×45), C Quinn, P Hampsey, N Devlin (0-1), P Teague (0-2, 1x2p), R Brennan, K McGeary (0-2, 1x2pf), B Kennedy, C Kilpatrick, S O’Donnell, M Donnelly, C Daly (0-2), D McCurry (0-2, 1f), P Harte (0-4, 2x2p), D Canavan (0-3).

Subs: B McDonnell for R Brennan (44), E McElholm (0-1) for D McCurry (52), A Clarke for C Quinn (56), C Meyler for P Teague (59, head injury), R Canavan (0-2) for P Harte (63), M O’Neill for K McGeary (68)

Borussia Dortmund accepted a £55 million offer for Chelsea’s winger, and the winger is now scheduled to undergo a medical there.

The 20-year-old Englishman earlier in June, made a seven-year deal with Chelsea.

On June 10, Dortmund rejected a bid for Gittens worth 42 million, with the German Bundesliga side known to be putting up a £60 million offer.

After returning to Manchester United after completing a loan spell that cost the Blues a £5 million penalty fee, he was identified as Chelsea’s main target to replace Jadon Sancho.

Mykhailo Mudryk also has a temporary suspension after being accused by the Football Association (FA) of breaking anti-doping regulations by failing a drug test.

Because he has played for Dortmund, Gittens would not be able to compete in the upcoming Club World Cup.

With midfielder Andrey Santos returning from his loan spell at Strasbourg, he would be Chelsea’s fourth summer signing, along with striker Liam Delap, midfielder Dario Essugo, and defender Mamadou Sarr.

After winning the Club World Cup with Palmeiras, Estevao Willian, 18, will join Chelsea.

Chelsea will next look to add a versatile forward, with Brighton’s Joao Pedro included among those on the wish list. Newcastle is one of the Premier League clubs that is believed to be interested in the Brazil international, with Brighton rejecting two offers from Premier League clubs.

Paul Pogba, who had received a doping suspension, signed a two-year contract with Monaco that made him eligible for play football again.

After Juventus’ opening game of the 2023-24 season against Udinese, the 32-year-old former Manchester United and Juventus midfielder was randomly tested.

Following an appeal, he later received a four-year ban that was voided to an 18-month ban.

After writing the final word on the Monaco deal, an emotional Pogba thanked the audience for their support and capped his own announcement video with the words “La renaissance,” presumably promising fans a career revival.

He and Juventus mutually terminated their contract in November, and he has since started playing free agent since March.

In the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), it was established that Pogba had unintentionally taken dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a substance that boosts testosterone and was put on the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) banned list.

Crucially, the decision only applies to females, though it is important to note.

Pogba made his debut at Manchester United before moving to Juventus, where he won Serie A in each of his four seasons, including two Doubles.

In his first season at Old Trafford, he won the Europa League and the FA Cup before earning a world-record $89 million at Old Trafford in 2016.

Pogba, who has 91 caps for France, then scored in the final of the 2018 World Cup victory over Croatia in Russia, helping Les Bleus to victory.