Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Cycling-Valente maintains golden start for U.S, Hinze shines for Germany

Jennifer Valente continued the American women’s team’s flying start to the UCI World Championships with a perfectly-timed charge for gold in the scratch race on Friday. The Olympic omnium champion picked a path through the pack to launch her victory sprint on the 40th and final circuit of the Chris Hoy Velodrome and held on for gold.

Soccer-Women’s World Cup heats up as former champions Norway and Japan square up

As the Women’s World Cup enters the business stage when the last 16 kicks off on Saturday, the surprises and shocks in the group stage have thrown up some mouth-watering fixtures, starting with the clash of former Champions Norway and Japan. There is a sense that the expanded 32-team format has improved the tournament after heavyweights Germany, Canada, Brazil and China were knocked out while minnows like Morocco and Jamaica advanced for the first time.

Rugby-Four-try Samoa down Tonga in Pacific Nations Cup

Samoa ran in four tries as they continued their preparations for the World Cup with a 34-9 bonus-point win over Tonga in the final round of the Pacific Nations Cup in Apia on Saturday. Hooker Sama Malolo scored the opening try from close range in a tight first half in the Samoan capital but three more after the break took the game away from the Tongans.

Rallying-Evans leads in Finland after Rovanpera rolls his car

Toyota’s Elfyn Evans was handed the lead in Rally Finland on Friday after team mate Kalle Rovanpera rolled his car out of contention. Championship leader Rovanpera had been out front but the 22-year-old lost control on a right-hand corner 11.1 km into stage eight, with the car coming to rest on its roof on the side of the track.

Tennis-Fritz wins twice in one day to reach semis in Washington

American Taylor Fritz backed up a three-hour, 6-7(2) 6-3 6-4 win over Andy Murray in their rain-postponed match with a 6-3 6-3 dismantling of Jordan Thompson in the evening session to reach the Washington Open semis on Friday. Murray overcame an early break of serve in the marathon first set to force a tiebreak that was dominated by the veteran three-time major champion from Scotland.

Pre-Olympics women’s swimming event postponed as storms dirty Seine river

Participants of this weekend’s Open Water Swimming World Cup were barred from a Friday morning training session in Paris’ river Seine as heavy rainfall caused water quality to dip below health standards, while a women’s event was postponed. Organisers said the women’s 10 kilometre race originally planned for Saturday – a qualifying event for marathon swimming at the Paris 2024 Olympics – had been postponed to August 6.

Tennis-Pegula rallies past Svitolina to reach semis in Washington

Top seed Jessica Pegula came from behind on Friday to beat Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 4-6 6-3 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the Citi Open in Washington DC, where she will play Greece’s Maria Sakkari. The American fired a serve up the T that Svitolina could not handle to end the high-quality contest and its riveting 54-minute third set.

Soccer-Man City are the ‘team to beat’ in Community Shield, says Arteta

Arsenal are determined to fight for all trophies in the new season as the Premier League runners-up begin their 2023-24 campaign against treble winners Manchester City in the Community Shield, manager Mikel Arteta said on Friday. Arsenal’s title challenge crumbled last season in the face of a relentless City, who have won three successive top-flight titles before winning their maiden Champions League crown in June.

Biles to compete at U.S. Classic after two-year hiatus

U.S. gymnast Simone Biles will return to the competition floor in suburban Chicago on Saturday, two years after the “twisties” forced her to withdraw from team finals at the Tokyo Olympics. Biles, a seven-time Olympic and 25-time world medallist, showed off routines on all four apparatus in podium training on Friday ahead of Saturday’s Core Hydration U.S. Classic in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

Soccer-Dutch prepared for South Africa and their electric striker Kgatlana

The Netherlands’ back line will have to rely on trust and togetherness to stop lightning-fast striker Thembi Kgatlana when they face South Africa in their round of 16 game at the World Cup in Sydney on Sunday, said defender Stefanie van der Gragt. Kgatlana netted two of her team’s six goals including the last-gasp scorcher that dramatically dumped Italy out of the tournament.

(With inputs from agencies.)