Irie breaks 200m

CANBERRA: Japan's Ryosuke Irie broke the men's 200-metre backstroke world record with a time of one minute 52.86 seconds here on Sunday. Irie, 19, lowered the old mark of 1:53.94 held by American Ryan Lochte at the Beijing Olympics on August 15 last year. Irie, who swam a 1:54.02 at the Japanese World championship trials three weeks ago, sliced 1.08 seconds off Lochte's old record on the final day of the Duel in the Pool meet against Australia here. —AFP

Spurs captain held

LONDON: England and Tottenham Hotspur footballer Ledley King has been arrested outside a London nightclub on suspicion of assault, British media reported on Sunday. King, the Spurs captain, was reportedly held after a man was attacked in the early hours outside a club in Soho, central London. The alleged incident came hours after Tottenham drew 0-0 with Everton in the Premiership. The arrest came after patrolling police officers were flagged down by members of the public. King, 28, is a defender who has 19 international caps. - AFP

'Gasquet fails drugs test'

PARIS: France's Richard Gasquet, the world No 23 and former Wimbledon semi-finalist, failed a drugs test at the Miami Masters in March, it was claimed here on Saturday. Traces of a recreational drug, believed to be cocaine, were discovered in his A-sample, Radio RMC Info reported, citing unidentified sources at the French Tennis Federation (FFT) and at Team Lagardere, the 22-year-old's training base. Gasquet pulled out of his opening match in Miami against Spain's Albert Montanes because of a shoulder injury. - AFP

Rennes upset in final

PARIS: Brazilian striker Eduardo scored twice on Saturday to help second-division Guingamp rally past Rennes 2-1 in the French Cup final for their first title in club history. Guingamp became the first second-division club since Le Havre in 1959 to win the cup trophy. Eduardo scored the winning goal in the 82nd minute. Rennes took the lead in the 69th with a header from Carlos Bocanegra. But Guingamp equalised three minutes. Guingamp is in 13th place in the second division, while Rennes is seventh in the French top-tier league. - AP