Sports News Roundup: Former Chelsea keeper Cech signs with Oxford City Stars; Motor racing-100 years of Le Mans spans tragedy and triumph and more

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Soccer-Inter's Martinez living the dream as he seeks Champions League and World Cup double Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez is hoping to finish the best season of his career on high by helping his side win their fourth Champions League title against Manchester City on Saturday to pair it with his World Cup triumph with Argentina.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Soccer-Inter's Martinez living the dream as he seeks Champions League and World Cup double

Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez is hoping to finish the best season of his career on high by helping his side win their fourth Champions League title against Manchester City on Saturday to pair it with his World Cup triumph with Argentina. The 25-year-old striker said he is over the injury problems he has had over the course of a long season and is looking forward to completing a dream campaign.

Cricket-Rahane helps India hang tough against Australia onslaught

Pat Cummins produced a vicious bowling onslaught to leave India battered and bruised as they were dismissed for 296 before Australia reached tea on 23 for one on day three of the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval on Friday. Australia will be eager to tighten their grip on the match as they lead India by 196 runs, with Usman Khawaja batting on 13 along with Marnus Labuschagne on eight.

PREVIEW-Tennis-Swiatek aiming for third title, Muchova out to spoil the party

Top seed Iga Swiatek will bid to win her third French Open crown in four years on Saturday and join an exclusive club of three-time winners including Serena Williams and Monica Seles. But the 22-year-old Pole faces an unexpected hurdle in the final with unseeded Czech Karolina Muchova having defied injuries and the odds to book her first Grand Slam final spot.

Soccer-Former players much more likely to have neurodegenerative diseases - FA study

Former professional footballers were found to be 3.46 times more likely to have neurodegenerative diseases and are more at risk of being diagnosed with dementia, a study commissioned by England's Football Association said. An independent research study, jointly commissioned by the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA), was conducted by the University of Nottingham, with their first findings peer reviewed and published.

Ice hockey-Former Chelsea keeper Cech signs with Oxford City Stars

Former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech has signed with Oxford City Stars as their goaltender for the 2023-24 campaign, the third-tier ice hockey side said. The 41-year-old, who won four Premier League titles, the Champions League and four FA Cups for Chelsea, previously played for Guildford Phoenix and the Chelmsford Chieftains.

Motor racing-100 years of Le Mans spans tragedy and triumph

British textiles heir Edward 'Eddie' Hall achieved a unique feat in the history of the Le Mans 24 Hours by driving the entire race solo in 1950, remaining in his 1930s Bentley even during the pitstops. After 236 laps, a distance of some 3,200 km, the privately-entered Yorkshire racer finished a remarkable eighth. He turned 50 a month later.

Soccer-US remain top in FIFA rankings before Women's World Cup

Holders United States will head into next month's Women's World Cup as the top-ranked team, with no changes in the top five in the latest FIFA rankings published on Friday. The U.S., who have held the top spot since June 2017, continue to lead ahead of Germany, Sweden, European champions England and France, respectively.

Soccer-Latest 'deadline' looms in Man Utd takeover saga

Manchester United fans can be forgiven if they refrain from eagerly checking the news on Friday as the latest "deadline" looms in the meandering seven-month saga of the club's sale that is beginning to resemble the final series of TV's Succession. In this real-life battle of the billionaires, Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani and Briton Jim Ratcliffe have each seemingly taken turns to be the preferred bidder, but in what has been something of a vacuum of confirmed news, and against virtual silence on the matter from the club, almost their every move comes with the caveat of "reportedly."

Soccer-City poised to match Utd's treble, but drama of 1999 will stand alone

Manchester City will emulate Manchester United's 1999 treble if they beat Inter Milan in Saturday's Champions League final but it would take something truly extraordinary to match the spine-tingling way Alex Ferguson's side made history 24 years ago. In fact, should pre-match predictions of a comfortable City win play out against Inter, Pep Guardiola's side's treble would look almost like a walk in the park compared to the white-knuckle ride endured by United in 1999.

Tennis-Djokovic downs ailing Alcaraz to book French Open final spot

Novak Djokovic made a huge leap towards a record 23rd men's Grand Slam title with a 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1 victory against an ailing Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open semi-finals on Friday. World number one Alcaraz had just levelled the contest when disaster struck as he limped to his bench holding his right leg at 1-1 in the third set.