Weekly Digest (March 8-14): Double delight for Mumbai City, fencer Bhavani Devi qualifies for Olympics

From Mumbai City FC winning the Indian Super League (ISL 2021) title to Indian fencer Bhavani Devi qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, here are the major sporting stories from the week gone by.

Published : Mar 14, 2021 23:38 IST

Mumbai City FC won its maiden Indian Super League title, while Bhavani Devi became the first Indian fencer to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
Mumbai City FC won its maiden Indian Super League title, while Bhavani Devi became the first Indian fencer to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
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Mumbai City FC won its maiden Indian Super League title, while Bhavani Devi became the first Indian fencer to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

From Mumbai City FC winning the Indian Super League title to Indian fencer Bhavani Devi qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, here are the major sporting stories from the week gone by.

FENCING

CA Bhavani Devi has become the first Indian fencer to qualify for the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. ( REPORT )

FOOTBALL

Mumbai City FC claimed its maiden Indian Super League (ISL) title with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over ATK Mohun Bagan (ATKMB) at the Fatorda Stadium on Saturday. ( REPORT )

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Skipper Amrinder Singh lifts the ISL trophy for Mumbai City.
 

Relegation battling Parma stunned AS Roma by beating the Champions League hopefuls 2-0 at the Stadio Ennio Tardini on Sunday to end a 17-match winless run in Serie A. ( REPORT )

Second-placed RB Leipzig lost ground in the Bundesliga title race when it was held to a 1-1 home draw by Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday. ( REPORT )

Erling Haaland sent Borussia Dortmund into the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time since 2017 with two goals in a heated 2-2 draw with Sevilla. ( REPORT )

Paris Saint-Germain withstood early pressure from a much-improved but wasteful Barcelona side to draw 1-1 on Wednesday and reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League. ( REPORT )

A 27-member Indian football team sans skipper Sunil Chhetri, who tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week, will leave for Dubai on Monday for a preparatory camp ahead of the side's upcoming international friendlies against Oman and UAE. ( REPORT )

Sergio Oliveira struck in extra time to send Porto into the quarterfinals of the Champions League despite its thrilling 3-2 loss against Juventus. ( REPORT )

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Porto's Sergio Oliveira, center, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Champions League clash against Juventus.
 

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Thursday confirmed the hosts for the AFC Champions League 2021 group stage, and that FC Goa's Group E matches will be played in Goa. ( REPORT )

Germany coach Joachim Loew will step down after this year's European Championship, bringing forward his previous plan to quit after the next World Cup. ( REPORT )

CRICKET

Virat Kohli (73 n.o., 49b, 5x4, 3x6) pulled himself out of a mini slump, while Ishan Kishan (56, 32b, 5x4, 4x6) made it a debut to remember in India’s seven-wicket win over England in the second T20 on Sunday. ( REPORT )

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Indian captain Virat Kohli brought up his 26th T20I half-century to lead India's 165-run chase against England.
 

The South African women's team's top-order batters fired in unison and helped their team clinch the five-match series against India with a seven-wicket victory in the fourth ODI here on Sunday. ( REPORT )

India will play its inaugural World Test Championship final against New Zealand at Southampton's Ageas Bowl Stadium from June 18-22, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly confirmed on Monday. ( REPORT )

Mithali Raj reached the 7,000-run mark in one-day internationals during the fourth ODI between India and South Africa in Lucknow on Sunday. On Friday, she became the first Indian woman to score 10,000 international runs. ( REPORT )

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India skipper Mithali Raj joins Charlotte Edwards in the 10,000 international run-club. She reached the milestone during the 3rd ODI between India and South Africa in Lucknow.
 

Flamboyant all-rounder Yuvraj Singh was at his vintage best as the southpaw slammed four successive sixes during a Road Safety World Series T20 in Raipur, rising again nearly two years after walking into international sunset. ( REPORT )

A192-run opening stand between Evin Lewis and Shai Hope and cool finishing by Nicholas Pooran steered the West Indies to a five-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second one-day cricket international on Friday. The West Indies also earned a winning 2-0 lead in the three-match series. ( REPORT )

Legendary former India spinner Bishan Singh Bedi has been discharged after spending nearly three weeks at a city hospital here following a bypass surgery. ( REPORT )

Following his breathtaking century in the fourth Test against England, India’s Rishabh Pant achieved a career-best seventh position in the ICC Test rankings. ( REPORT )

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Rishabh Pant scored a stunning century in the fourth Test against England.
 

TENNIS

Novak Djokovic is capable of extending his record for holding the men's world No.1 ranking for most weeks to 400, said Russia's Daniil Medvedev who will climb up to a career-best ranking of second on Monday. ( REPORT )

Nikoloz Basilashvili downed Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the final of the Qatar Open for his fourth ATP title. ( REPORT )

Former World No. 1 Garbine Muguruza was relieved to finally avoid tripping at the last hurdle and end her trophy drought on Saturday in Dubai, the Spaniard's first WTA singles title in almost two years. ( REPORT )

Roger Federer’s comeback to the tour after nearly 14 months out ended with a 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 loss to Nikoloz Basilashvili in the Qatar Open quarterfinals on Thursday. ( REPORT )

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Roger Federer reacts during his quarterfinal loss to Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia.
 

BOXING

Ace Indian pugilist Mary Kom has said that the upcoming Tokyo Olympics will be her last appearance at the quadrennial showpiece event. ( REPORT )

TABLE TENNIS

Sharath Kamal, G. Sathiyan, Manika Batra and Sutirtha Mukherjee will be eyeing qualification for the Tokyo Olympics from the World Singles qualification tournament in Doha. There are four spots available for men and five for women. ( REPORT )

BADMINTON

The Badminton World Federation Friday announced that this year's US Open and Canada Open will not take place due to the COVID-19 "restrictions and complications" across the globe. ( REPORT )

HOCKEY

Mandeep Singh struck a brace as the Indian men's hockey team eked out a close 3-2 win over Great Britain to end its Europe tour on an unbeaten note earlier this week. ( REPORT )

Chief coach Graham Reid feels India needs to accelerate its learning from the Europe tour and tighten the defence in the build up to this year's Tokyo Olympics.( REPORT )

The 33-member core probable group of the Indian men's hockey team is back at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru for the national coaching camp. The 18-day camp will conclude on March 31 before the team departs for the FIH Hockey Pro League against Argentina in Buenos Aires.( REPORT

The core group players of both the Indian men's and women's hockey teams will be entitled to a monthly allowance of Rs 50,000 under the government's Target Olympic Podium Scheme till the Tokyo Games in July-August this year. ( REPORT )

WRESTLING

Cutting out distractions, polishing every aspect of his game and exploring the best option for vaccination, ace wrestler Bajrang Punia is seriously into the Tokyo Olympics preparatory mode. ( REPORT )

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Bajrang recently returned from USA after attending a one-month training camp at Cliff Keen Wrestling Club in Michigan.
 

MOTORSPORT

Red Bull's Sergio Perez and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz said on Friday that they have accepted Bahrain's offer of a COVID-19 vaccine, making them the first Formula One drivers to confirm they had done so. ( REPORT )

Murray Walker, the voice of Formula One as a commentator on British television, has died. He was 97. ( REPORT )

Two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso says he expects to race all season with titanium plates in his broken jaw. The 39-year-old Spaniard told reporters at testing in Bahrain on Friday that he did not expect any issues on track, however, in what will be his comeback campaign after two years away. ( REPORT )

GOLF

Gaganjeet Bhullar claimed his career's second runner-up finish in an European Tour event after finishing tied second at the Qatar Masters. ( REPORT )

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