2021, The Year In Sports: May recall

2021, The Year In Sports: From Manchester City clinching a third EPL title in four seasons to Chelsea claiming top honours in European football for the second time, here is a look at the top sporting moments from May.

Chelsea beat Manchester City 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League final to clinch its second title.

From Manchester City clinching a third EPL title in four seasons to Chelsea claiming top honours in European football for the second time, here is a look at the top sporting moments from May.

May 2: Inter ends long wait

Inter Milan clinched its first Serie A title in 11 years, ending Juventus' nine-year dominance as Italian champion.

Antonio Conte, head coach of Inter Milan, lifts the Serie A trophy as his players celebrate after the match against Udinese at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan.

 

May 4: IPL called off due to Covid crisis

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 was suspended midway after an increase in coronavirus cases among players.

May 4: Mourinho to take over as Roma manager

Jose Mourinho was appointed AS Roma manager from the start of next season. The 58-year-old replaced fellow Portuguese Paulo Fonseca.

FILE PHOTO: The legendary manager landed a job with the Italian club a month after being sacked by Tottenham Hotspur.

 

May 5: Gomathi Marimuthu’s appeal against doping ban rejected

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has rejected an appeal by Indian middle-distance runner Gomathi Marimuthu against her four-year suspension for doping in 2019.

 

May 8: Moscow Olympic gold medallist M.K. Kaushik succumbs to COVID-19

Olympic gold medallist, former India coach, Arjuna and Dronacharya awardee Maharaj Kishen Kaushik passed away at a city hospital. He was 66.

May 9: Chelsea retains title

Chelsea retained its Women's Super League title as Fran Kirby scored twice in a ruthless victory over Reading.

May 11: Man City wins EPL title

Manchester City was crowned Premier League champion for the third time in four seasons as Leicester City secured its first Old Trafford victory over Manchester United since 1998 to take a major step towards a place in next season's Champions League.

Fernandinho of Manchester City lifts the Premier League Trophy with teammates following a 5-0 drubbing of Everton at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester.

 

May 11: Watling to retire from all cricket

New Zealand wicketkeeper BJ Watling announced he would retire from all cricket after the Kiwis' tour of England in June.

May 12: Former hockey umpire passes away

Former hockey umpire and technical official Ravinder Singh Sodhi died on Wednesday due to coronavirus-related complications. He was 66.

May 13: Powar returns as India Women coach

Ramesh Powar returned as the India Women coach, after his first stint ended in acrimony in late 2018 amid a fallout with Mithali Raj.

FILE PHOTO: India Women coach Ramesh Powar with T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur.

 

May 15: Rangers taste historic success

Steven Gerrard's Rangers side became only the second team to win the Scottish Premiership and go an entire season without losing a game after the champion beat Aberdeen 4-0 at home on the final day.

Rangers players celebrate with the Scottish Premiership trophy following their victory over Aberdeen in Glasgow, Scotland.

 

May 16: Barca wins maiden WCL title

Chelsea conceded four goals in the first 36 minutes as Barcelona blew it away to win its first Women's Champions League in Gothenburg.

May 16: Nadal wins Italian Open

Rafael Nadal beat world number one Novak Djokovic to win a 10th Italian Open title.

'King of Clay' Rafael Nadal is all smiles in his natural habitat at the Italian Open.

 

May 18: AB de Villiers' retirement to remain final

Cricket South Africa (CSA) confirmed that AB de Villiers would not be coming out of international retirement to play in the T20 World Cup in the UAE.

May 20: India Women to play first day-night Test

BCCI announces that India Women would play their first pink-ball Test on 30 September when they face Australia in Perth in a first Test meeting between the teams in 15 years.

May 20: Shooting coach Monali passes away

Indian shooting coach and technical official Monali Gorhe died of COVID-induced Black Fungus. She was 44 and is survived by her mother and sister.

May 21: Boxing coach Bharadwaj passes away

Legendary boxing coach Om Prakash Bharadwaj, the first from the discipline to be honoured with the Dronacharya award in 1985, died following prolonged illness and old-age issues. He was 82.

May 22: Atletico wins La Liga

Goals from Luis Suarez and Angel Correa cancelled out Oscar Plano's opener as Atletico Madrid beat Real Valladolid 2-1 to win a first La Liga title in seven years.

Atletico Madrid players celebrate winning the La Liga title after their victory over Real Valladolid at Estadio Municipal Jose Zorrilla in Valladolid, Spain.

 

May 22: Gauff wins first clay-court title

Coco Gauff cruised past Wang Qiang in all of 74 minutes to clinch her career's first clay-court title at the Emilia-Romagna Open.

May 22: Himanta Biswa Sarma elected to BWF council

Badminton Association of India (BAI) president Himanta Biswa Sarma was elected to the BWF Council for a four-year period till 2025.

May 25: Mohali hockey stadium renamed after Balbir Singh Sr

The Mohali International Hockey Stadium was officially renamed after the legendary Balbir Singh Sr on the occasion of his first death anniversary.

May 28: Allegri returns to Juventus

Juventus reappointed former boss Massimiliano Allegri just hours after sacking Andrea Pirlo.

May 29: Chelsea crowned King of Europe

Chelsea won the Champions League for the second time with a fully deserved victory over Manchester City in an all-Premier League confrontation in Porto.

Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta lifts the Champions League Trophy following his team's victory during the UEFA Champions League final against Manchester City at Estadio do Dragao in Porto, Portugal.