Weekly Digest (September 6-12): Messi breaks Pele's record; British teen Raducanu wins US Open
Be it Lionel Messi breaking Pele's international goal-scoring record or Emma Raducanu becoming the first British woman in 44 years to win a Grand Slam title at the US Open, it was an exciting week of sports. Here are the headlines from the past week.
Published : Sep 12, 2021 21:20 IST
Emma Raducanu created history at the US Open final after defeating Canada's Leylah Fernandez becoming the first British woman to win the US Open title in 53 years and the first to win any major title in 44 years.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, both had their share of the spotlight as Ronaldo, who played his first game for Manchester United after 12 years, scored a brace against Newcastle in the Premier League.
Earlier in the week, Lionel Messi broke Pele's record to become the leading men South American international goalscorer as he took his tally to 78 goals for his country courtesy of his hat-trick against Bolivia in the World Cup qualifiers.
CRICKET
Unless the BCCI and the ECB mutually decide the fate of the fifth Test - whether it’s abandoned or forfeited - the ICC will have to adjudicate the issue and award the WTC points accordingly. ( REPORT )
Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel have both been included in India's squad for 2021 T20 World Cup which begins in October. ( REPORT )
Bangladesh has named its 15-member squad for the 2021 T20 World Cup to be held in the United Arab Emirates and Oman in October-November. ( REPORT )
Defending champion West Indies recalled Ravi Rampaul for the first time since 2015 and left out Carlos Brathwaite from its 15-man squad for next month's T20 World Cup. ( REPORT )
India will tour South Africa for an all-format series in December-January, Cricket South Africa (CSA) has said. ( REPORT )
Jonny Bairstow, Chris Woakes and Dawid Malan have pulled out of the UAE-leg of the Indian Premier League. Sherfane Rutherford is chosen as replacement by SRH for Bairstow. ( REPORT )
ACB CEO Hamid Shinwari implores Cricket Australia to reconsider its decision not to host its men's team for a Test match in November. ( REPORT )
Australia's SBS TV has quoted a Taliban spokesperson as saying that women's sports — and women's cricket specifically — will be banned by his group in Afghanistan. ( REPORT )
FOOTBALL
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice on his return to Manchester United after 12 years in a 4-1 victory over Newcastle in the Premier League. ( REPORT )
No Cristiano Ronaldo. No wins for Juventus. The Bianconeri remained winless in Serie A and slumped to their second consecutive defeat since Ronaldo went back to Manchester United after losing at Napoli 2-1. ( REPORT )
Romelu Lukaku marked the first home match of his second spell at Chelsea with two goals in a 3-0 win over Aston Villa in the English Premier League. ( REPORT )
Paris St Germain kept its perfect Ligue 1 record intact as it hammered promoted Clermont 4-0 with a brutal display. ( REPORT )
Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy, who is accused of raping two women and sexually assaulting a third alleged victim, will go on trial in January. ( REPORT )
The head of the U.S. Football Federation asked the unions of the women’s and men’s national teams to agree to equalise FIFA's World Cup prize money on their own. ( REPORT )
Jurgen Klopp and Julian Nagelsmann decry FIFA’s plans for biennial World Cups. ( REPORT )
Former Germany and Bayern Munich football player Jerome Boateng was found guilty of domestic violence against his former partner and ordered to pay her 1.8 million euros ($2.12 million) ( REPORT )
Argentina captain Lionel Messi's hat-trick against Bolivia elevated him as South America's leading men's international goal-scorer, eclipsing Brazilian great Pele. ( REPORT )
FIFA detailed its plan for reshaping international football around playing the men’s World Cup every two years despite European opposition that could lead to a boycott. ( REPORT )
The Japan Football Association (JFA) has withdrawn from hosting the 2021 Club World Cup due to the COVID-19 situation in the country. ( REPORT )
Brazil's health agency Anvisa blames the Brazilian and Argentinian football federations and South American football body CONMEBOL for the chaos that halted last Sunday's World Cup qualifying match between the archrivals. ( REPORT )
SC East Bengal has appointed Spaniard Manuel Diaz as head coach after mutually parting ways with Robbie Fowler. ( REPORT )
TENNIS
Emma Raducanu of Great Britain overcame Canada's Leylah Fernandez to clinch the women's singles US Open title on Sunday in New York. ( REPORT )
Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury overcame a slow start to beat Bruno Soares and Jamie Murray in the US Open men’s doubles final on Friday. ( REPORT )
Former world number one Kim Clijsters has taken a wild card for the Chicago Fall Tennis Classic next month as she prepares for her first competitive appearance on the women's tour since last year's U.S. Open. ( REPORT )
Juan Martin Del Potro said on Tuesday he hopes to return to competitive action in 2022 after being sidelined for over two years with numerous knee injuries. ( REPORT )
HOCKEY
India men's hockey team skipper Manpreet Singh said it's time to stop basking in the glory of the historic bronze medal at the Tokyo Games and start focussing on qualifying for the Paris Olympics by winning next year's Asian Games. ( REPORT )
The Indian women's hockey team has gained a lot of confidence from its stellar display at the the Tokyo Olympics, according to midfielder Salima Tete, who feels the side showed signs of a bright future despite not ending on the podium. ( REPORT )
Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh felt that the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham would serve as a good competition for the side, before the Asian Games next year. ( REPORT )
Hockey India has called up 25 players for the senior women's national coaching camp scheduled to begin at the Sports Authority of India, Bengaluru on Monday.( REPORT )
BOXING
The upcoming national men's boxing championship is unlikely to feature any of the five pugilists who competed at the Tokyo Olympics, ruling them out of contention for next month's world championships in Serbia as well. ( REPORT )
GOLF
Amateur Sneha Singh produced an error-free three-under 69, to cruise to a massive five-shot win in the 8th leg of the Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour at the Golden Greens Golf Club on Friday. ( REPORT )
India's Shubhankar Sharma closed with four successive birdies for a round of 4-under 68 that saw him rise to T-12 at the BMW PGA Championship.( REPORT )
Jeev Milkha Singh became the first professional golfer in the world to receive the prestigious 10-year Dubai Golden Visa in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the sport. ( REPORT )
TABLE TENNIS
TTFI formed a five-member committee to examine the allegations made by Indian paddler Manika Batra against the team's head coach Soumyadeep Roy in her reply to the show-cause notice by the federation . ( REPORT )
Indian paddler Suhana Saini won the first international title of her career, by claiming the WTT Youth Contender Otocec Open, in the U-15 category. ( REPORT )
Young Indian paddler Mudit Dani is all set to participate in the top division European League after he signed up to play for the B75 Table Tennis club in the Danish Super League. ( REPORT )
With some of India’s top paddlers not participating at the National camp for the Doha Asian Championships, TTFI requested SAI to get Madhurika, Krittwika Sinha Roy and Takema Sarkar for the camp. ( REPORT )
WRESTLING
Star Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Wednesday underwent a surgery on her right elbow, days after pulling out of the World Championship trials. ( REPORT )
MOTORSPORT
Daniel Ricciardo won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Sunday while his teammate Lando Norris finished second to complete an astonishing one-two for McLaren. ( REPORT )
Pole sitter Francesco Bagnaia of Ducati held off a spirited challenge from Honda's Marc Marquez to win his first MotoGP race at the Aragon Grand Prix on Sunday. ( REPORT )
George Russell will join Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton's next teammate, with the world champion confirming its all-British 2022 driver line-up. ( REPORT )
Formula One driver Valterri Bottas is leaving Mercedes at the end of the season and replacing the retiring Kimi Raikkonen at Alfa Romeo. ( REPORT )
Formula One could turn sprint races into stand-alone events next year with more points on offer and separate from Sunday's main Grand Prix. ( REPORT )
Formula One teams could be obliged to run young drivers in Friday practice sessions from next season to provide an opportunity for fresh talent to gain track time and shine. ( REPORT )
The Argentine Grand Prix has been cancelled for a second year running due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ( REPORT )
HOCKEY
Hockey India has called up 25 players for the senior women's national coaching camp scheduled to begin at the Sports Authority of India, Bengaluru on Monday. ( REPORT )
ATHLETICS
Two world records tumbled on Saturday when Kenya's Agnes Tirop surged to victory in the 10 km race and Ethiopia's Senbere Teferi triumphed in the 5 km distance at an event in Herzogenaurach, Germany. ( REPORT )
The first National Under-23 Championships will not be held at the Nehru Stadium in Chennai ( REPORT )
Elaine Thompson-Herah led a host of Olympic champions to glory in an action-packed Diamond League Final final in Zurich on Thursday, just a month after the end of the Tokyo Games. ( REPORT )
Badminton
The Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament was cancelled by the Badminton World Federation for the second year in a row ( REPORT )