Weekly Digest (March 7-March 13): From Cristiano Ronaldo's historic hat-trick to Duplantis' World Record
From Cristiano Ronaldo's historic hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur to Armand Duplantis' World Record at the Belgrade Indoor Meeting, here are the top sporting headlines from the week gone by.
Published : Mar 13, 2022 22:44 IST
From Cristiano Ronaldo's historic hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur to Armand Duplantis' World Record at the Belgrade Indoor Meeting , here are the top sporting headlines from the week gone by.
CRICKET
On a day-two pitch with square turn and low bounce, pace spearhead
All you need to know about the ongoing ICC Women’s World Cup ( READ )
The Marylebone Cricket Club has made a few changes to its Code of Laws that governs the international game. The new changes won’t come into force until October, 2022. ( READ )
India’s Ravindra Jadeja is No. 1 in the list of all-rounders in the latest ICC rankings after his spectacular performance with bat and ball in the first Test between India and Sri Lanka in Mohali. ( READ )
S. Sreesanth announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Wednesday. ( READ )
Faf du Plessis has been appointed captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) ahead of the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2022), the franchise announced during a press conference at the RCB Bar & Cafe on Saturday. ( READ )
India batter Cheteshwar Pujara signed a contract with Sussex for the upcoming English county season on Thursday. ( READ )
Kolkata Knight Riders signed Aaron Finch as replacement for England batter Alex Hales, who cited bubble fatigue as the reason for his withdrawal, ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 on Friday. ( READ )
FOOTBALL
Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo etched his name in the record books as professional football's all-time leading scorer with 807 goals after a brilliant hat-trick against Premier League rival Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. ( REPORT )
Hyderabad FC made a spectacular turnaround to erase a goal’s deficit and beat ATK Mohun Bagan 3-1 ( REPORT ); Sahal Abdul Samad's superb goal in the first half gave Blasters a 1-0 victory over Jamshedpur FC, in the first leg of the first semifinal of the Indian Super League (ISL) ( REPORT )
The Premier League board disqualified Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich as a director at the English top-flight football club after he was sanctioned by the British government over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. ( REPORT )
Indian women's football team head coach Thomas Dennerby named a 22-member squad for the SAFF U-18 Women's Championship football tournament to be held in Jamshedpur from March 15 to 25, on Saturday. ( REPORT )
Serie A on Friday elected Lorenzo Casini as its new president after his predecessor stepped down last month. ( REPORT )
The Ballon d’Or will now be awarded based on performances over the course of a regular European season, rather than a calendar year, France Football magazine said on Friday. ( REPORT )
UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings against Paris St Germain president Nasser Al Khelaifi and sporting director Leonardo following Wednesday's 3-1 Champions League defeat by Real Madrid. ( REPORT )
The Russian football federation appealed on Tuesday to have its FIFA and UEFA bans frozen and other punishments overturned. ( REPORT )
The global football union is asking FIFA to allow foreign players based in Russia to leave their clubs permanently, although the governing body looks set to only permit a temporary suspension of their contracts. ( REPORT )
Indian football team skipper Sunil Chhetri has been ruled out of India's international friendlies against Bahrain and Belarus on Monday, with Hormipam Ruivah, Laldinliana Renthlei earning National team callups. ( REPORT )
TENNIS
Naomi Osaka was rattled by a heckler early in her second-round match against Veronika Kudermetova on Saturday and never recovered as she lost 6-0, 6-4 at Indian Wells. ( REPORT )
Prajnesh Gunneswaran put up a valiant effort before losing to top-seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain in three sets in the final of the ATP Challenger tournament in Monterrey, Mexico on Saturday. ( REPORT )
Indo-Belgian pair of Sania Mirza and Kirsten Flipkens was knocked out of the Indian Wellls Masters on Saturday following a loss in the pre-quarterfinals. ( REPORT )
Andy Murray overcame a slow start and a third set service break to beat Taro Daniel 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the first round of Indian Wells on Friday to notch his 700th career win. ( REPORT ). Murray said he would donate his prize money won from tennis tournaments in 2022 towards aid efforts for children affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. ( REPORT )
Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Alexander Zverev was put on probation for one year by the ATP on Monday for violently hitting the chair umpire’s stand repeatedly with his racket following a loss in doubles at the Mexico Open. ( REPORT )
Novak Djokovic said that he will not be able to compete in the hard-court tennis tournaments in Indian Wells, California, or Miami because he is unvaccinated and can't travel to the United States. ( REPORT )
Riya Bhatia, the country’s third best ranked singles player, got back into the Billie Jean King Cup team that was announced by the All IndiaTennis Association (AITA) on Tuesday. ( REPORT )
Ukrainian refugee Dayana Yastremska took Zhang Shuai to three sets on in the final of the Lyon Open that the Chinese player eventually won 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. ( REPORT )
Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez saved five championship points to defend her title in Monterrey against Colombia's Camila Osorio. ( REPORT )
BADMINTON
India's Lakshya Sen lost to Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand 18-21, 15 -21 in the German Open Super 300 tournament final on Sunday. ( REPORT )
India’s chief national coach, P. Gopichand, filed his nomination for the post of vice-president in the Badminton Association of India. ( REPORT )
World No. 1 Pramod Bhagat clinched gold in all the categories he participated in while Sukant Kadam continued his good run and ended with a Gold and a Silver at the recently concluded Spanish Para badminton International II. ( REPORT )
Sukant Kadam has achieved world no 2 ranking in SL 4 category following his exploits in the international circuit in the last three months. ( REPORT )
HOCKEY
The Indian women's hockey team beat Germany 3-0 in a dramatic shoot-out to avenge their first leg defeat to share the honours in the two-legged tie of the FIH Pro League on Sunday. ( REPORT )
The Indian women's hockey team lost 1-2 to Germany in a shoot-out after both the teams were locked at 1-1 at the end of the regulation time in the first match of the double-leg FIH Pro League on Saturday. ( REPORT )
Indian men's hockey team will open its campaign at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games against Ghana on July 31, while the women's team will also square-off against the same rivals on July 29. ( REPORT )
On International Women's Day, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) announced India's first corporate women's hockey team. ( REPORT )
The Pro League double header between the Indian men's hockey team and Germany on March 12 and 13 was postponed following an outbreak of COVID-19 in the visitors' camp, the sport's governing body FIH said on Tuesday. ( REPORT )
SHOOTING
Olympian Chain Singh came good the second time as he won the 50-metre rifle 3-position event, beating Swapnil Kusale 17-13, in the National shooting selection trials at the Madhya Pradesh Academy on Saturday. ( REPORT )
Shreyasi Singh shot 109 and missed the semifinals of women’s trap by three points in the shotgun World Cup in Nicosia, Cyprus, on Saturday. ( REPORT )
Acting on the recommendation of International Olympic Committee, the world shooting governing body’s executive committee on Monday ratified its “leadership” decision to ban Russia and Belarus from all its competitions. ( REPORT )
Rhythm Sangwan and Anish Bhanwala gave a golden finish for India as they won the mixed rapid fire pistol event with a 17-7 victory over Thailand in the Shooting World Cup which concluded in Cairo on Monday. ( REPORT )
ATHLETICS
Jeswin Aldrin and Ancy Sojan produced career best jumps in the long jump events of the first leg of the Indian Grand Prix at the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium on Sunday. ( REPORT )
Olympic champion Armand Duplantis broke his own world pole vault record with a 6.19-meter clearance at the Belgrade Indoor Meeting on Monday. ( REPORT )
World Athletics (WA) marked the International Women's Day with a new series of pledges aimed at increasing female participation on the field of play but also among coaches, officials and administrators up to the highest level. ( REPORT )
MOTORSPORT
Four-times Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel wore a special helmet to express solidarity with Ukraine following the country's invasion by Russia as he took to the track at the start of the final pre-season test in Bahrain on Thursday. ( REPORT )
Kevin Magnussen was rehired on Wednesday by Haas F1 to replace Russian driver Nikita Mazepin, who was fired over the weekend following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (REPORT )
Alpine has offered its reserve driver Oscar Piastri as a Formula One stand-in for rival McLaren, giving the team more options to choose from if COVID-stricken Daniel Ricciardo is unable to race in next weekend's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. ( REPORT )
Russian driver Nikita Mazepin hit back at the U.S.-owned Haas Formula One team on Wednesday for firing him after his country invaded Ukraine and announced a foundation to support athletes unable to compete due to war or politics. ( REPORT )
TABLE TENNIS
India’s G. Sathiyan was the lone Indian to progress in singles when he defeated Pang Yew En Koe of Singapore 11-5, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8 in the first round of the World Table Tennis Singapore Smash on Saturday. ( REPORT )
CHESS
N.Priyanka (7 points) drew with Samriddhaa Ghosh and inched closer to the title after taking a half-point lead following the eighth and penultimate round of the girls' section in the National junior chess championship on Saturday. ( REPORT )
Indian Grandmaster S L Narayanan emerged winner in the Grandiscacchi Cattolica International Open on Tuesday while his compatriot R Praggnanandhaa finished runner-up. ( REPORT )
M.Pranesh (Tamil Nadu) and Tanisha Bormanikar (Maharashtra) followed contrasting ways to claim the honours in the National sub-junior chess championship on Tuesday. ( REPORT )
Vidit Gujrathi drew with Vladimir Fedoseev and P. Harikrishna lost to Amin Tabatabaei in the sixth round to end their campaign in the FIDE Grand Prix chess title in Belgrade on Monday. ( REPORT )
BOXING
Six Indian Junior boxers, led by Vini, Yakshika and Vidhi registered contrasting wins to claim the gold medal at the 2022 ASBC Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan on Sunday. ( REPORT )
Indian boxers Vanshaj and Aman Singh Bisht registered commanding wins to enter the youth men’s finals at the 2022 ASBC Asian Youth & Junior Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan. ( REPORT )
Tokyo Olympics bronze-medallist Lovlina Borgohain (70kg), Nikhat Zareen (52kg) and Pooja Rani (81kg) on Wednesday made the cut for the women's world championships to be held in Istanbul in May. ( REPORT )
GOLF
Indian golfer Aditi Ashok shot her best round in three days as she carded 4-under 68 to climb five places at the 2022 Honda LPGA Thailand on Saturday. ( REPORT )
Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama has withdrawn from the Players Championship in Florida due to a back injury, the PGA Tour said on Thursday. ( REPORT )
Tiger Woods took his place among the best of all time on Wednesday night when he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. ( REPORT )