Gobena wins in Japan

OSAKA: Ethiopia's Amane Gobena pulled away from nearest challenger Marisa Barros of Portugal in the last four kilometres to win the Osaka international women's marathon on Sunday. The 27-year-old Gobena picked up the pace after the 38km mark to leave Barros behind, crossing the finishing line in two hours 25 minutes 14 seconds. Barros came in second in 2:25:44, followed by Japan's Mari Ozaki in 2:26:27.

Gates claims NZ Open

WELLINGTON: American Robert Gates recovered from a late meltdown to claim the New Zealand Open golf championship by one stroke from Australian Andrew Dodt at The Hills course in Queenstown on Sunday. Gates held a six-stroke lead after seven holes on the final round but fell back to be square with Dodt and needed a three feet putt for par on the 18th to avoid a play-off. He finished with a closing round two-over-par 74 to be 14-under 274, one clear of Dodt and two ahead of fellow American Jamie Lovemark.

Snow hit Serie A

ROME: Serie A leaders Inter Milan's visit to Parma on Sunday has been postponed due to heavy snow. The match, which was due to kick off at 1400 GMT, will now be played on Wednesday February 10 at 1945 GMT, the Italian Soccer League said on its website. The rescheduling means that the second-leg of Inter's Italian Cup semi-final against Fiorentina, which was due to be played on February 10, will now take place on April 14, unless an earlier date becomes possible. The first leg will be played at the San Siro on Wednesday.