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Diego Armando Maradona , one of the greatest football players of all time, died on Wednesday at the age of 60, plunging his native Argentina and football fans around the world into mourning. Renowned along with Pele as one of the finest players ever to grace the field, the Argentine World Cup-winning captain had undergone brain surgery this month and died of a heart attack. Maradona will forever be remembered for his “ Hand of God ” goal against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final in Mexico City, when he pushed the ball into the net. Minutes later he swerved through the helpless English defenders for a superb second goal, capping a victory that perfectly encapsulated the mixture of brilliant skill and often outrageous behaviour that ran through his life. Pele described Maradona as a “dear friend” and the 80-year-old Brazilian said he hoped they would “play together in the heaven” one day. Gary Lineker , who was a member of the defeated England team in 1986, said Maradona w

Malaysia rugby player Lawrence Petrus completed his first season in Australia with a victory. The Tawau-born player helped his team to win the Championship Division of the Rugby WA Fortescue Premier Grade League on Saturday. Playing for University of Western Australia (UWA), Lawrence was named in the starting line up against Joondalup for the Championship Division final. UWA clinched the championship after winning the nail-biting final 21-17 at the McGillivray Oval in Mount Claremount. Lawrence said the final was a tight match but his team played with strong discipline to secure the title. Despite finishing fifth in the table, UWA played with a lot of determination. The former UPM Serdang Angels player was named in the league's team of the week twice this season. He is now looking forward to continue playing in Australia for another season. TIGERS UNITED

  PHOTO: JST Johor Darul Ta'zim  (JDT) won their seventh consecutive Super League title after trouncing Sabah 4-1 at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri yesterday. JDT got their goals through  Diogo Luis Santo  (38th minute),  Safawi Rasid  (57th, 81st) and  Leandro Velazquez  (84th) while  Sabah  got their consolation goal through  Dennis Buschening  (74th). After claiming their eighth win of the season, the  Southern Tigers  have bagged 26 points, nine more than nearest challengers  Perak  (17 points) in the 12-team standings.  JDT  still have one more match to go while Perak have two games in hand. The defeat, however, has put Sabah, who have nine points, in danger of being relegated. PHOTO: JST Meanwhile,  Petaling Jaya City FC  escaped from the relegation zone after an emphatic 4-2 roasting of  UiTM FC  at UiTM Stadium, in Shah Alam. The four goals of PJ City FC were scored by R. Barathkumar in the 46th minute, Anawin Jujeen (48'), R. Kogileswaran (66') and W

Bayern Munich edged Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 to win the 2019/2020 Champions League in Lisbon. Kingsley Coman scored the only goal in an entertaining affair between the league champions of Germany and France. It is their sixth Champions League victory and a first one since the 2012/2013 season. The match was entertaining and lived up to the billing. PSG will be ruing their missed chances in the first half, especially the one by Angel Di Maria . Bayern took the lead in the 59th minute after Joshua Kimmich found Coman unmarked at the back post. Coman sent a powerful header to beat Keylor Navas . TIGERS SUPER SPORTS Bayern have ended PSG's run of scoring in 34 successive games in the competition, and become the first team to keep a clean sheet against French Champions. The Champions League is Hansi Flick 's third trophy since taking charge of Bayern in November. He had earlier lead the Bavarians to the Bundesliga 2019/2020 title and the DFB-Pokal . Bayern have gone level with L

Liverpool  won the 2019/2020 Premier League . The club's title was confirmed after Chelsea defeated second placed Manchester City 2-1 on Thursday night. The Merseyside giants needed one victory to seal the league but City's failure to beat Chelsea means they can't are out of the title challenge. It's Liverpool's first ever Premier League victory, and the first time in 30 years that they've won a top division league title.  As the corona virus pandemic halted the season, Liverpool supporters faced the real possibility that the season could be finished early, with same suggestions that the season would be cancelled altogether. However, this wasn't the case and the Premier League has been able to resume behind closed doors without any fans in the stadiums. TIGERS UNITED It's a particularly unusual way to win the league because, with all the measures put in place in response to the virus, the Reds will not be able to celebrate their long-awaited success w

Juventus bagged their ninth consecutive Serie A title on Sunday after a 2-0 win over Sampdoria that put them over the line with two matches to spare. Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 31st goal of the season before Federico Bernardeschi sealed the victory in the second half as another Scudetto is heading to I Bianconeri . Despite Ronaldo missed a late penalty, Maurizio Sarri 's side moved seven points ahead of second-placed Inter Milan to seal a 36th title. The ' Scudetto ' is Sarri's first and extends a record run which Antonio Conte started with three titles from 2012 and Massimiliano Allegri continued with the following five. Sarri's team had missed the chance to wrap up the title on Thursday when the ' Old Lady ' of Italian football fell to a 2-1 defeat at Udinese . But they made no mistake at the Allianz Stadium despite being pushed hard by Claudio Ranieri 's Sampdoria, one of the most in-form teams since the return of Serie A from the three-mont

Real Madrid clinched their first La Liga title in three years after they edged past Villarreal at an empty Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium. Zinedine Zidane says winning the title this season made him happier than winning the Champions League. Karim Benzema scored between the legs of Sergio Asenjo and added a controversial second from a retaken penalty. In bizarre fashion, Sergio Ramos had rolled the first attempt for Benzema to smash in but the effort was disallowed. Vicente Iborra pulled one back but it did not stop Real to wrap-up their 34th Spanish title.  Zidane's side have won all 10 of their matches since Spanish football restarted in June. They head into the final day of the season with an unassailable seven-point lead over second-placed Barcelona. Behind closed doors in a 6,000-seat stadium at the club's training complex is perhaps not the stage for the grand crowning Real would have imagined for their first title since 2017. But that did not stop Zidane's squad

The  FA of England  says that it "remains committed" to finding a way in which to conclude the season and is open to playing up until the end of June. In their recent statement issued, the governing body confirmed that there will be no professional football in England, including the  Premier League , until at least April 30 as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. Initially, fixtures in the country were suspended until the weekend of April 3-5 as a minimum , but this has been extended as the UK battles the pandemic, with more than 2,500 cases confirmed in the country. The FA released a statement on Thursday, which said: "The FA, Premier League,  EFL  and women’s professional game, together with the  PFA  and  LMA , understand we are in unprecedented times and our thoughts are with everyone affected by Covid-19. With all games suspended, the  Covid-19  outbreak has delayed  Liverpool 's Premier League celebrations. They are currently on top of the table and n

Perak moved to the second position in Liga Super after beating PJ City 2-0 at Perak Stadium. The Bos Gaurus showed their superiority playing on home turf by getting goals in both halves. Perak took-off with a good start by dominating the match. Mehmet Durokovic named seven young players in his starting line-up. Shahrul Saad broke the deadlock in the 24th minute with a powerful header to give the home team the lead. PJ City tried to find the equaliser, but Perak held on until the break. As the match resumed, the Bos Gaurus continued their domination. Thierry Chanta Bin scored Perak's second goal of the night with a nice freekick in the 63rd minute. The crowd went crazy and the score remained until the final whitle. The win lifted Perak to the second place in Liga Super, followed by Melaka United with just one point adrift.  The Match | Facebook

New Zealand hung on to win a tense final at the HSBC Canada Sevens in front of another bumper crowd at BC Place in Vancouver. The All Blacks Sevens ’ 17-14 victory over rivals Australia means they stretch their lead at the top of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series standings to 11 points after six rounds of the competition. The silver medal represents Australia’s best result of the Series so far and their second podium finish following bronze in Hamilton. The final was a see-saw affair, which included three yellow cards, but ultimately a pair of tries from Joe Ravouvou sealed the victory for New Zealand who duly performed their famous Haka in celebration after receiving their medals. The All Blacks Sevens reached the final courtesy of a dominant 17-5 quarter-final victory over Fiji before seeing off last year’s HSBC Canada Sevens champions South Africa , running in five tries to win a high quality semi-final 27-15. Hosts Canada were outstanding throughout the wee

Photo: Winning Matters American Trevor Simsby picked up his first Asian Tour title after sinking a four-foot birdie putt to emerge triumphant on the second play-off hole against Andrew Dodt of Australia at the weather shortened Bandar Malaysia Open on Sunday. The 27-year-old Simsby, who earned his 2020 Asian Tour card after capping a commendable season on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) last year, opted for an aggressive style of play in his three trips down the 18th hole which clearly paid off for him at the Kota Permai Golf and Country Club. He went for the green on the par-five, 565-yard hole but found himself in the right rough in regulation play. He then hit his third shot to the green and two-putted for par to sign for a closing two-under-par 70 and a 13-under-par 203 total. THE MATCH Simsby, who played in the second last group, endured an agonising wait in the clubhouse before countryman Jarin Todd and Australian Andrew Dodt matched his efforts by ca

South Africa staged an incredible comeback to win the HSBC Los Angeles Sevens with a thrilling 29-24 extra-time victory over Olympic Champions Fiji . In a repeat of the final from the previous round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Sydney, it was South Africa who this time triumphed thanks to an extra time try from Sakoyisa Makata after the scores had finished level at full time 24-24. Fiji opened the final strongly with three unanswered tries in the first five minutes, but the Blitzboks clawed back the scoreline and equalised with a converted try by Branco Du Preez in the final minute of normal time. Earlier in the day South Africa won a hard-fought quarter-final against hosts USA with a last minute try from JC Pretorius edging them home 12-10 much to the disappointment of the exuberant Los Angeles crowd, which was being orchestrated by celebrity actor David Hasselhoff. In the semi-final the Blitzboks produced a dominant display to beat current Series leade

Brad Kennedy returned to the winner’s circle again when he signed for a stunning eight-under-par 63 to win the 101st New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport on Sunday. The Australian had won New Zealand’s prestigious National Open in 2011 and held aloft its prized trophy for the second time after overcoming a two-shot deficit to pip compatriot Lucas Herbert to the title with his winning total of 21-under-par 264 at the Millbrook Resort .  Herbert, who won the Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour in January, was seemingly in control of winning his second title in two months. However, a costly double-bogey on 13 pegged him back momentarily before he battled back gallantly with three straight birdies from the 15th hole. Standing on the 18th tee, Herbert still had a chance to at least force a play-off with Kennedy but hit his shot into the water which effectively cost him the title. Herbert’s closing bogey meant he would end the week in second place, two shots ahead of f

Japan defeated Uruguay 5-0 in an unforgettable final at Montevideo's Estadio Charrúa, bringing to an end the second tournament on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series in South America. After 22 minutes of rugby where both sides cancelled each other out, Japan captain Chihito Matsui finally managed to break the deadlock when he scored in the second half of sudden-death extra-time. The Match | Facebook Following both rounds of the Challenger Series events hosted in Chile and Uruguay, Japan are top of the standings on 39 points, followed by Hong Kong in second and Germany in third place with Chile sitting in fourth position. The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series focuses on the development of the next generation of sevens stars from emerging sevens nations featuring 13 core teams who compete over two rounds alongside three invitational teams. ONLINE MAGAZINE

Germany have won the first men’s tournament of the inaugural HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series in Viña del Mar, Chile, after beating Hong Kong 10-0 in a hard-fought final at the Estadio Sausalito. TIGERS SUPER SPORTS In a match where points were at a premium, Bastian Himmer 's try was the only difference between the sides at half-time. If there was any tiredness it didn't show as the tackles and the commitment of each player continued after the break. Despite Hong Kong's best efforts, though, they could not find a way over the line and instead it was Germany who scored what proved to be the final points of the match, Tim Lichtenberg bursting through the narrowest of gaps to double their lead with five minutes left to play. Hong Kong tried everything they could to find a response but Germany controlled possession well and were able to see the match through and secure victory. As winners in Chile, Germany lead the standings with 22 points, foll

Fiji came out on top against South Africa for the second time in eight days, although this time their prize was not ninth place but a first HSBC Sydney Sevens title. Both teams had been determined to bounce back from that disappointment in Hamilton and served up a Cup final every bit as thrilling as their last meeting in Singapore when Fiji had led 19-0 at half-time only for South Africa to storm back and triumph 21-19. Fiji nearly had the dream start in their first Cup final of the season, but JC Pretorius and Selvyn Davids managed to hold Meli Derenalagi over the line. It would only be a temporary respite, though, because as the rain began to fall again the ball skewed out the side of a breakdown and Napolioni Bolaca reacted quickest to score the opening try. RUGGER DISTRICT | RUGBY EQUIPMENT A barnstorming run from Zain Davids created the momentum for Pretorius to score with Fiji suffering a double blow with Josua Vakurunabili yellow-carded for a tackle