Woods hits 68

Akron: Australian Marc Leishman charged into a one-shot lead in the opening round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, on Thursday. He fired six-under 64. Tiger Woods launched his title defence with a two-under-par 68.
Adam Scott, British Open winner Rory McIlroy and Masters champion Bubba Watson opened with matching 69s.

Ana advances

Stanford: Venus Williams advanced to the Bank of the West quarter finals Thursday, beating fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 7-6 (1). Fifth-seeded Ana Ivanovic also advanced, beating qualifier Carol Zhao 6-1, 6-1. The Serb will face top-ranked Serena Williams.

Ochoa signs

Madrid: Malaga have signed Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who impressed at the World Cup finals, as a replacement for Willy Caballero after the Argentine left to join Manchester City this month. The 29-year-old has agreed to a three-year contract and passed a medical.

Ruud role

Amsterdam: Ruud van Nistelrooy has been named as one of the Netherlands national team assistant coaches, the Dutch football association said on Friday.

Reds optimistic

New York: Liverpool are closing in on deals for Alberto Moreno and Javier Manquillo, with hopes rising that both players could be signed in the coming days. Moreno has been Liverpool’s main target this summer, but negotiations with Seville for the 22-year-old have proved difficult, with the Spanish club refusing to do business for anything less than £20 million.

New entrants

Moscow: Crimean soccer clubs have been accepted to play in the Russian football championship next season, the Russian Football Union said on Thursday.

Ali gloves sold

Cleveland: The gloves worn by Muhammad Ali in his 1971 “fight of the century” against Joe Frazier have been sold for approximately £240,000. An anonymous bidder bought the gloves for $388,375 at an auction at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland.

Nine records

Calcutta: Nine meet records were created on the second day of the Amway 64th State Athletic Championship being held at the SAI complex on Friday.
Shashi Bhushan Singh (boys’ U-20 1500m), Jihadul Islam (men’s triple jump), Debarjun Murmu (boys’ U-18 110m hurdles), Satyajit Saren (boys’ U-20 110m hurdles), Suravi Biswas (girls’ U-18 shot put), Bhairabi Roy (girls’ U-20 triple jump), Pijush Kanti Bandopadhyay (boys’ U-20 discus throw), Chandan Bauri (boys’ U-18 200m) and Krishna Roy (girls’ U-14 high jump) were the record-breakers.

Choudhary manager

Calcutta: Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) president Amitabh Choudhary will be the Indian team manager for the five one-day Internationals and one Twenty20 International in England.

Sportsdesk & Agencies