Nour El Sherbini retained the El Gouna International Squash Open (Photo: Flickr/Creative Commons)

Athletics

The doctor who gave double Olympic champion Mo Farah a controversial supplement has the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on April 19 that he failed to properly document the treatment.

Dr Robin Chakraverty said the amount of L-carnitine was well within World Anti-Doping Agency limits. Dr Chakraverty said the substance was given to help the Briton’s performance.

He said he gave 13.5 millilitres of the legal supplement, below the maximum allowed of 50ml within six hours, by injection and not via drip. Ed Warner, the UK Athletics chair, told MPs that not recording injections was “inexcusable” although Dr Chakraverty said record keeping had since improved.

The use of the substance, given to Farah in 2014, is being looked at by the US Anti-Doping Agency  – which has called it an infusion – to determine whether rules were broken.

A stadium in Makhachkala, the capital of Russia’s North Caucasus Republic of Dagestan, will be named after iconic pole-vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, Dagestani Sports Minister Magomed Magomedov said.

Boxing

Amir Khan has put his comeback on hold after missing out on a showdown with Manny Pacquiao. The former two-weight world champion has not fought since he was knocked out by Canelo Alvarez last May.

He had agreed to fight former training partner Pacquiao later this month but negotiations broke down and Khan has now shelved his return until after he observes Ramadan over the summer.

He said: “I’ve been able to see how my hand has responded in camp since my operation on it late last year. It felt very good and I’ve not had any problems with it, which I’m pleased about. That was my main reason for trying to get a tune up fight before Ramadan so that I could test out my hand, but because it’s responded so well to some hard sparring and in the gym, day-after-day, I’m now looking to get a bigger fight after Ramadan. ”

Cricket

England all-rounder Moeen Ali has refused to rule out a return to Warwickshire with his Worcestershire contract set to expire at the end of the summer. Moeen, who has played 37 test matches for England, left Edgbaston in 2006 in search for more first-team opportunities.

The 29-year-old still lives in Birmingham just three miles from the ground and admitted he was flattered at reports linking him with a move to Warwickshire. “It’s nice, if it’s true then it’s nice – if a county where I started my cricket want me back,” said Ali.

Ali will play four matches for Worcestershire before linking up with England, as they look to win the ICC Champions Trophy on home soil.

Fawad Alam has said his snub from the Pakistani national team is due “favouritism” from within the Pakistan Cricket Board.

The 31-year-old all-rounder, who made his debut in international cricket in 2007, has played just three Tests, 35 ODIs and 24 T20Is. Alam, who has the highest batting average in Pakistan’s first-class history (55.40), believes everyone is picked on the basis of their performance in the domestic circuit while he is ignored time and again. “There are a lot of reasons. I cannot enlist them on screen but favouritism is there,” said Alam.

“People think it is a rumour but it is a reality. Newcomers are inducted into the national team and are said to be the performers in the domestic circuit, but then where is Fawad Alam scoring all those runs?” asked the left-handed batsman.

Alam, who last played international cricket in 2015 against Bangladesh, further said sometimes he feels that he is not destined to play for Pakistan.

Football

Zinedine Zidane has admitted that his job is not “safe” at Real Madrid amid swirling rumours about his future. The Frenchman could not have had a better first season in charge, winning the Champions League after less than six months as coach, and his second campaign has only been soured by a Copa del Rey elimination to Celta Vigo.

Yet there is increasing talk of a squad unimpressed with the rookie coach and Florentino Perez turning against the man he’d been willing to sack as second-team coach just months before he replaced Rafa Benitez in early 2016. And now Zidane has tackled the speculation head on by admitting he knows he could be out in the summer.

“No, [I’m not safe] at all, I’m not preparing anything. What I do is what is left for this season.

I know this club, I know what it is to coach Real Madrid, for better or worse. I’m ready for every eventuality. I’ll only talk about the next game, and it will be like that until my last day as a coach here. I don’t know what will happen after the season ends,” he said in a press conference.

Transfer News: Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho is planning on a swoop for Borussia Dortmund rising star Ousmane Dembele, according to reports. Mourinho will allegedly target the France international this summer, the Sun claims. However, they could pay up to £50million to secure his services after the 19-year-old’s impressive first season at Dortmund, scoring eight times and assisting 15.

Dembele joined the German side last summer from Rennes, turning down English clubs Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal in the process. The striker preferred the Bundesliga side due to their willingness to play and develop youngsters.

Liverpool and Arsenal have submitted bids for Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, according to Spanish outlet Don Balon. The 29-year-old frontman could be leaving the Santiago Bernabeu this summer after some less than inspiring performances and the portal understands that the Premier League duo are both in the race to grab his signature.

They face competition, however, with Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Inter all showing interest. Benzema recently stated that he was happy in the Spanish capital and that he would love to commit his future to Los Blancos; President Florentino Perez seems to have other ideas and may use funds collected from any potential sale to bolster the squad ahead of next season.

Nice could move to re-sign Hatem Ben Arfa this summer if he chooses to leave Paris Saint-Germain, according to the club’s President Jean-Pierre Rivere.

Ben Arfa, 30, scored 17 goals and provided six assists from 34 Ligue 1 appearances in his sole season at Allianz Riviera last campaign but has only managed one assist and is yet to score for PSG in Le Championnat this term.

Speaking on Canal Football Club, Rivere said that Ben Arfa had to follow his dream of a move to PSG after his stunning season on the Cote d’Azur but suggested he would be open to the attacker’s return.

Squash

El Gouna International Squash Open, Egypt: Nour El Sherbini defeated compatriot Raneem El Welily in front of their home crowd to retain her title at the Women’s World Championship.

El Sherbini, who became the first Egyptian and the youngest player ever to win the world title last year, won 11-8 11-9 11-9 in El Gouna. “I’m over the moon, two or three months ago I wouldn’t have imagined I would have won because I haven’t won a title this season,” said the 21-year-old

Grégory Gaultier Gaultier became the first non-Egyptian to win the El Gouna International after he clinched the men’s title on April 14 after beating Egypt’s Karim Abdel Gawad 3-0 in the final.

The Frenchman, who defeated Egypt’s Marwan ElShorbagy in the semi-final, claimed the title after beating Gawad in straight sets (11-6, 11-8, 11-7) in 51 minutes.

Sania Mirza said she hopes to build on with her new doubles partner – Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan. Mirza’s partnership with Czech Republic’s Barbara Strycova came to an end a few weeks ago due to a “difference in priorities”.

Her partnership with Strycova lasted 10 tournaments. The Indian had earlier parted ways with Swiss ace Martina Hingis.

“I have had a solid, solid start to the year. I have already played a Grand Slam final [mixed doubles] at the Australian [Open], a title [in Brisbane], some finals [Miami, Sydney] and a bunch of semi-finals. I am very critical of myself and always feel I can do better, no matter what and possibly win more titles,” said Mirza.