Sports
Olympic flame arrives in Marseille amid ‘unprecedented security’
The Olympic flame has arrived on French soil at the southern port city of Marseille amid tight security, 79 days before the opening ceremony of the Paris Games.
After a 12-day trip from Greece on board the 128-year-old three-masted sailing ship Belem, the torch was carried on to land by France’s 2012 Olympic men’s 50m freestyle swimming champion Florent Manaudou.
It was handed to Paralympic track athlete Nantenin Keita, a 400m champion at Rio 2016, before Marseille-born French rapper Jul lit the Paris 2024 Olympic cauldron in front of an estimated crowd of 150,000 that included President Emmanuel Macron.
“It marks the end of preparations – the Games arrive in the life of the French people. The flame is here. We can be proud,” said Macron.
The Olympic flame relay was to set off from the Mediterranean coastal city on Thursday and travel around France and to six overseas territories before arriving in Paris for the opening ceremony on 26 July.
A flotilla of more than 1,000 boats welcomed the Belem to Marseille.
Officials said 6,000 law enforcement officers, canine units and elite forces snipers would be on patrol.
“Life goes on in Marseille but in great security conditions,” said interior minister Gerald Darmanin. “It’s an unprecedented level of security.”
France raised its security threat level last October after a teacher was killed in a knife attack, while there are concerns that wars in Ukraine and Gaza could increase the threat.
In April of this year, Mr Darmanin spoke of an online threat to European sporting events that he said had been “publicly expressed” by the Islamic State group.
The president of the Paris 2024 organising committee, Tony Estanguet, said Marseille was the “obvious choice” to host the boat parade given it is France’s oldest city and was founded by Greeks.
Members of French National Gendarmerie Intervention Group guard the Belem as it sails into Marseille (BBC)
“It’s something we’ve been waiting for for a very long time. The Games are coming home,” added Estanguet, referring to French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin, who revived the idea of the Games as practised by the Greeks until the 4th Century.
“It’s a huge honour and I think it’s an exceptional promotion for the city,” said retiree and boat owner Henri Gerente. “It will be watched by hundreds of millions of people, so I am very proud and I hope that everyone will participate in this momentum. It can only be a good thing for the economy and for everything else, for the image of the city. So I’m proud of it.”
The torch was to begin its journey to Paris on Thursday, with former Marseille footballers Jean-Pierre Papin, Didier Drogba and Basile Boli among the torch bearers.
More than 10,000 people will take part in the 7,500-mile torch relay before the flame reaches the capital city and is installed near the Louvre, in the Jardin des Tuileries.
The opening ceremony of the Olympics is due to see more than 10,000 athletes sail along a 6km stretch of the River Seine through the centre of Paris on 160 barges.
However, last month President Macron said the opening ceremony could move if the security risk is too high.
(BBC)
Delhi Capitals (DC) made it 12-1 for chasing teams in WPL 2025 as they beat Mumbai Indians (MI) by nine wickets in Bengaluru. The win, coming with 5.3 overs to spare, also helped DC replace MI at the top of the points table. They now have eight points from six games and MI six from five.
After being sent in, MI looked positive at the start but once their openers fell, Jess Jonassen and Minnu Mani ran through the middle order, picking up three wickets each. Each of MI’s top five batters reached double digits but none of them crossed 22. Towards the end, Amanjot Kaur struck an unbeaten 17 off ten balls to push the side to 123 for 9.
With DC chasing a well-below-par total, Shafali Verma and Meg Lanning added 85 for the first wicket in 9.5 overs. Shafali fell for 43 off 28 but Lanning carried on. She brought up her second half-century of the season, off 40 balls, and stayed unbeaten on 60 off 49 balls.
MI were off to a quick start. Both Yastika Bhatia and Hayley Matthews opened their accounts with first-ball fours off Marizanne Kapp. When Jonassen came to bowl the fourth over, Matthews greeted her with two fours off her first two balls.
But DC applied the brakes on the scoring rate after that. In the sixth over, bowling around the wicket, Shikha Pandey had Bhatia caught behind for 11. Bhatia’s tally for WPL 2025 now stands at 38 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 84.44.
Soon after, Matthews miscued Annabel Sutherland to Shafali Verma at mid-off. DC could have had Harmanpreet Kaur as well, for 1. In the eighth over, she edged Titas Sadhu but the ball flew between the wicketkeeper and slip. At the end of nine overs, MI were 49 for 2.
In DC’s previous game, Jonassen was named the Player of the Match for her batting. Tonight, she showed why bowling remains her stronger suit. Harmanpreet, having got her eye in, was looking to up the ante. In the tenth over, she muscled Sadhu over wide long-on for a 79m six. Three balls later, she showed her touch game. She moved towards the off side and tapped the length ball to the left of short fine leg for four.
But Jonassen cut her innings short on 22, trapping her lbw with an arm ball. MI still had Nat Sciver-Brunt, the leading run-getter this season, in the middle. Before this match, she had three fifties in four innings. For her, Jonassen slowed down the pace and beat her in flight. Sciver-Brunt was early into the shot, ending up chipping it back to the bowler. With another flighted delivery, Jonassen bowled G Kamalini to finish with figures of 3 for 25.
In between, Mani dismissed S Sajana and Amelia Kerr in the space of three balls. Kerr’s wicket was as much Sutherland’s as it was Mani’s. Mani had got Kerr to top-edge a pull. Sutherland, who was at long-on, ran in diagonally to her right and dived full-length to complete the catch inches off the ground. Sanskriti Gupta also fell to Mani, her slog finding Jemimah Rodrigues at deep midwicket.
MI knew they needed early wickets and, therefore, set attacking fields. Lanning, who has not been at her best this season, took advantage and picked up two fours off Shabnim Ismail in the first over of the chase.
MI’s plan to bowl short to Shafali also backfired. Sciver-Brunt ended up conceding five wides, and when she got it right, Shafali dispatched her to the boundary. In the fourth over, she hit Sciver-Brunt for two fours and a six in four balls.
At the other end, Lanning hit back-to-back fours off Ismail before meting out the same punishment to Matthews in the next over. By the end of the powerplay, DC had raced to 57 for no loss and had brought down the required rate to 4.78.
Even after the field restrictions were relaxed, DC did not slow down. In the ninth over, Shafali hit Kerr down the ground for two sixes. Amanjot eventually broke the stand when she had Shafali caught at deep midwicket.
By then, though, the contest was over. Lanning and Rodrigues took just 28 balls to knock off the remaining 39 runs.
Brief scores:
Delhi Capitals Women 124 for 1 in 14.3 overs (Meg Lanning 60*, Shafali Verma 43, Jemimah Rodrigues 15*; Amanjot Kaur 1-12) beat Mumbai Indians Women 123 for 9 in 20 overs (Yastika Bhatia 11, Harmanpreet Kaur 22, Hayley Matthews 22, Nat Sciver-Brunt 18, Amelia Kerr 17, Amanjot Kaur 17*; Minnu Mani 3-17, Jess Jonassen 3-25, Shikha Pandey 1-16, Annabel Sutherland 1-21) by nine wickets
[Cricinfo]
by Reemus Fernando
Skipper Rivith Jayasuriya anchored the top order batting lineup with a half century to help Prince of Wales survive the rain hampered first day of the 75th ‘Battle of the Golds’ big match against St. Sebastian’s at De Soysa Stadium Moratuwa on Friday.
Put to bat the Cambrians lost open bat Palingu Perera for one run. From then on Jayasuriya held the top order batting together but perished against Malintha Silva’s spin before the close of play.
There were rain interruptions in every session and only 45 overs were possible.
Jayasuriya faced 112 balls for his half century and scored five fours and a six.
Paceman Adesh Almeida was successful in the first session getting the wickets of Palingu Perera and Oshan de Silva.
Gawesha Fernando and Nethul Anuhas were at the wicket at close.
Deciding to bowl first Nalanda removed Ananda open bat Danindu Sellaperuma for no runs but a valuable 93 runs stand for the second wicket between Nethula Edirimanne and Dinada Athalage helped Ananda make an even contest on a rain hampered day one of the 95th Battle of the Maroons at SSC ground on Friday.
Ananda were 154 for three wickets at stump after rain interruptions spoilt a better part of the opening day.
Edirimanne made 49 runs (9x4s) and Athalage remained unbeaten on a half century.
Ananda’s most reliable batsman this season, Kithma Withanapathirana batted with intent but perished for a 28-ball 32 runs.
Athalage’s unbeaten knock contained just four fours. He faced 140 balls.
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