Joshna wins 18th national title, Ghosal his 13th

Chennai

There is no stopping Joshna Chinappa and Saurav Ghosal, it seems. The country’s squash aces reigned supreme in the 77th Senior National Championship at the ISA courts here, claiming their 18th and 13th national titles, respectively. Joshna beat Tanvi Khanna 8-11 11-6 11-4 11-7 while Ghosal crushed Abhishek Pradhan 11-6 11-5 11-6.

St Louis

Humpy in lead, Harika held in Cairns Cup chess

Koneru Humpy remained in joint lead with world champion Wenjun Ju with 4.5 points after a drawn game in the seventh round of the Cairns Cup. Humpy, the world rapid chess champion, had to settle for a draw with American Irina Krush in the seventh round. Harika Dronavalli was held to a draw by American Carissa Yip, who has bounced back strongly after four straight defeats with two wins and a drawn game. Humpy took on Krush in a Nimzo-Indian game and could not force a result as the American held on in 52 moves.

Kochi

ISL: Kerala register first win over Bengaluru

Kerala Blasters beat Bengaluru FC 2-1 in their Indian Super League match. Bartholomew Ogbeche (45th, 72nd) scored a brace while Deshorn Brown (16th) scored for Bengaluru, who have already secured their place in the playoffs.

Durban

Curran holds nerve, England win thriller to level series

Tom Curran took wickets with the last two balls of the match as England turned the tables on South Africa in the second T20I. England’s win in a high-scoring match, punctuated by 30 sixes, levelled the three-match series.

Brief Scores: Eng: 204/7 (Stokes 47, Roy 40, Moeen 39; Ngidi 3/48); SA: 202/7 (de Kock 65, van der Dussen 43*) — Agencies

BARCELONA

Barca sneak past Getafe to keep pressure on Real

Barcelona beat third-placed Getafe 2-1 at home on Saturday to stay on the heels of La Liga title rivals Real Madrid but the champions were made to sweat for all three points by the impressive visitors. Antoine Griezmann sent the Catalans ahead in the 34th minute,while Sergi Roberto doubled the lead five minutes later. Getafe pulled one back in the 66th from striker Angel Rodriguez.

Los Angeles

Varner leads as Woods sees bad day at

Tiger Woods’s hopes of a record-setting 83rd US PGA Tour victory at the Genesis Invitational dwindled Friday with a disappointing 2-over-par 73 at the Riviera Country Club.

Already five off the pace to start the day, Woods finished the second round at an even-par 142 for 36 holes and seven behind clubhouse leader Harold Varner, who carded a 68 for a 7-under total of 135. agencies