Sagan ends legal dispute against UCI

PARIS - World champion Peter Sagan and the International Cycling Union (UCI) on Tuesday agreed to end the legal dispute about the rider's disqualification from this year's Tour de France. Sagan was sensationally kicked off the Tour for elbowing British rival Mark Cavendish in a hectic sprint finish to the fourth stage in Vittel. The Slovak and his Bora team immediately appealed the decision, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) denied the request for a temporary suspension to allow Sagan to complete the Tour. "Subsequently, however, all parties involved had the opportunity to provide evidence and call witnesses," the UCI said. "Having considered the materials submitted in the CAS proceedings, the parties agreed that the crash was an unintentional race incident.”–AFP

Golf WC returning to Melbourne in 2018

SYDNEY - The World Cup of Golf will be held in Melbourne for a third consecutive time in 2018, organisers said Tuesday, with 28 teams teeing off. US PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said it was a no-brainer to bring the tournament back to the region's famed Sandbelt courses. "Golf in the Sandbelt region speaks for itself, and we appreciate the Metropolitan Golf Club opening its doors for this historic team event," he said. Denmark will be defending their title after Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen proved the perfect blend of flamboyant youth and wily experience for a shock triumph in 2016. Twenty-eight two-man teams will represent their countries from November 21-25 for the 59th edition of the tournament – the only event in which top golfers compete for their countries outside Olympics.–AFP

Meezan, Allied enter CPL T20 semis

LAHORE - Meezan Bank, Allied Bank, Ufone and Descon have qualified for the Pepsi CPL Twenty20 Championship semifinals. In the first match played here at Shah Faisal cricket ground, Meezan Bank defeated Brighto Paints by 5 runs. Meezan, batting first, scored 156-8 with Mohsin Pervaiz hitting 38, Syed Salman Ali 30 and Rizwan Wakeel 24. Brighto fell short of 5 runs losing 8 wickets. Anas Malik slammed 43 and Zeeshan Raza 41. From Meezan Bank, Mohsin Pervaiz also bagged 3 wickets and adjudged as man of the match. The second match saw Ufone thrashing Gourmet Foods by 103 runs. Ufone piled up a huge total of 247 with Khayam hammering 79 and Bilal 77 runs. Gourmet were bowled out for 141 with Khurram scoring 50. Khayyam grabbed 3 wickets and emerged as man of the match. Allied Bank routed Servis Industry by 7 wickets in the third match. Servis, batting first, slammed 141-7 in the allotted overs with Khawaja M Abdullah gathering 39, Farhan Asghar 31 and M Mohsin 24. Allied Bank replied strongly and chased the target for the loss of 3 wickets. Khawar Saeed smashed 49, M Awais 46 and Rizwan 29 runs. Rizwan Aslam was declared player of the match. In the fourth and last match of the day, Descon emerged as winners after toppling Pepsi Cola by 4 wickets. Pepsi, batting first, posted 159 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in the allotted overs. Ali Khan played captain’s innings by hammering impressive 63 runs while Ammas Zaeem contributed 32 and M Habib 26. Waseem William of Descon bagged 3 wickets. Descon replied very well and chased the target losing 6 wickets. Saeed Mujahid Ali remained top scorer with 50 runs while Rana Tahir slammed 43 runs. From Pepsi, Sheroz Tahir took 3 wickets and M Atta got two but their efforts couldn’t bear fruit for their team. Rana Tahir was named player of the match. Now Ufone will exhibit their prowess against Descon in the first semifinal of the championship while Meezan Bank will vie against Allied Bank in the second semifinal.–Staff Reporter