Weekly Digest (Dec 21-27): From Hamilton's latest honour to cancellation of TT World Team Championships

From Lewis Hamilton being named 'BBC Sports Personality of the Year' to cancellation of the 2021 table tennis world team championships, here are this week's top headlines.

Published : Dec 27, 2020 22:48 IST

Lewis Hamilton (left)poses with the 'BBC Sports Personality of the Year' trophy. The referee grabs a ball during the table tennis competition Duesseldorf Masters at ARAG CenterCourt in Duesseldorf, Germany. (File Photo)
Lewis Hamilton (left)poses with the 'BBC Sports Personality of the Year' trophy. The referee grabs a ball during the table tennis competition Duesseldorf Masters at ARAG CenterCourt in Duesseldorf, Germany. (File Photo)
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Lewis Hamilton (left)poses with the 'BBC Sports Personality of the Year' trophy. The referee grabs a ball during the table tennis competition Duesseldorf Masters at ARAG CenterCourt in Duesseldorf, Germany. (File Photo)

From Lewis Hamilton being named the 'BBC Sports Personality of the Year' to the cancellation of the 2021 table tennis world team championships, here's a wrap of all the major sports news from the week gone by.

CRICKET

The BCCI’s AGM has, in principle, approved the proposal to add two new teams to the Indian Premier League fold, asking the IPL Governing Council to work out the modalities. It means that, in all likelihood, the IPL will expand into a 10-team affair in 2022, with a rejigged format and increased number of teams. (REPORT)

Debutant pacer Mohammed Siraj on Saturday termed receiving the India Test cap as his life’s “biggest achievement” and said he made it count by focussing on bowling dot balls to build pressure on the Australian batsmen, on Day One of the Boxing-Day Test. (REPORT)

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The legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni was on Sunday named captain of ICC's ODI and T20 International teams of the decade, while Virat Kohli was voted the skipper of the Test team. (REPORT)

The idea of erecting a statue of Late Arun Jaitley at the Ferozshah Kotla here has made former Test captain Bishan Singh Bedi write to the newly-elected DDCA president Rohan Jaitley to take his name off one of the spectators’ stands. Not known to mince words, Bedi expressed his anguish by renouncing his DDCA membership in a hard-hitting letter spanning over 850 words. (REPORT)

Keep up with all the updates from India's tour of Australia in our weekly cricket podcast - MatchPoint Paradox:

Opening batsman David Warner is doing everything he can to recover from a groin injury but is still no certainty to play in the third Test against India, Australia coach Justin Langer said on Sunday. Warner tore an adductor muscle in the lead-up to the four-Test series and was ruled out of the Adelaide opener as well as the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. (REPORT)

Former England batsman John Edrich, who made more than 100 first-class centuries, has died at the age of 83, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Friday. (REPORT)

Former England cricketer Robin Jackman, who played four Test matches and 15 one-day internationals, has died, the International Cricket Council said. He was 75. (REPORT)

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Former Pakistan captain and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq feels that the controversy surrounding fast bowler Mohammad Amir's retirement will harm the country’s cricket. Amir recently retired from international cricket due to his differences with team management comprising chief coach Misbah ul Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis. (REPORT)

Vidarbha will be without the services of its seasoned campaigner Faiz Fazal in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2020-21 starting in January. The senior batsman has written to the Vidarbha Cricket Association stating that he isn't keen on continuing in T20 cricket at the domestic level. (REPORT)

FOOTBALL

Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus and defender Kyle Walker have tested positive for COVID-19. (REPORT)

PSG has sacked head coach Thomas Tuchel hours after his side cruised to a 4-0 victory against Strasbourg in Ligue 1, according to reports. (REPORT)

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Manchester United beat Everton in the semifinals of the EFL Cup to set up a semifinal date with neighbour Manchester City. Tottenham Hotspur will face Brentford in the other semifinal. (REPORT)

Atletico Madrid and England defender Kieran Trippier has been suspended for 10 weeks and fined 70,000 pounds ($94,052.00) following a breach of betting rules. (REPORT)

English women's football has seen a spike in coronavirus infections with 32 positives after tests on 864 players and club staff in the top two leagues. (REPORT)

Keep up with all the updates from the 2020-21 ISL season in our weekly football podcast - The Full Time Show:

AC Milan snatched a stoppage-time winner with a Theo Hernandez header to beat Lazio 3-2 at home and stay top of Serie A after the visitor had earlier hit back from two goals behind. (REPORT)

Jamshedpur FC head coach Owen Coyle slammed the referee's failure to check the goal-line in the 2-1 loss against FC Goa. (REPORT)

TENNIS

Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Frances Tiafoe were among the winners of the ATP’s top awards for 2020 on Monday. (REPORT)

Britain's former world number one Andy Murray has been awarded a wildcard for February's Australian Open, tournament director Craig Tiley said on Sunday. (REPORT)

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World number one Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from this month's ATP Player Council elections citing the governing body's new rule that would make it a "conflict of interest" because of his role in the Professional Tennis Players' Association (PTPA). (REPORT)

Ramkumar Ramanathan   continued to have a fruitful time at his training base in Florida, as he won the $25,000 UTR Pro tennis event in Naples. (REPORT)

Sumit Nagal has been awarded a singles main draw wild card for the 2021 Australian Open which will begin on February 8. Australian media reported that the World No. 136 has received the lone wild card reserved for a player from the Asia-Pacific region. (REPORT)

Andy Murray will begin his 2021 season at the Delray Beach Open next month after accepting a wildcard for the ATP 250 tournament, the men’s tour said on Saturday. (REPORT)

TABLE TENNIS

The table tennis world team championships has been cancelled because of the pandemic, which was originally scheduled for March in the South Korean city of Busan but then got postponed three times. (REPORT)

MOTORSPORT

The Haas Formula One team said on Wednesday that new signing Nikita Mazepin will race next season after the team internally dealt with an incident where the Russian posted and then deleted a video clip showing a female passenger being groped in a car. (REPORT)

Lewis Hamilton was named 'BBC Sports Personality of the Year' on Sunday, rounding off a remarkable year in which he became Formula One world champion for a record-equaling seventh time. (REPORT)

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Narain Karthikeyan, India’s first Formula One driver, will spearhead an all-Indian racing team in the 2021 Asian Le Mans Series, which will be held in Abu Dhabi in February, 2021. (REPORT)

Even as the coronavirus pandemic continues to threaten the world, JK Tyre took a big risk in organising the first round of the 23rd   FMSCI   (Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India) National Racing Championships for four-wheelers at the Kari Motor Speedway in Chettipalayam, Coimbatore, on the second weekend of December, but went home pleased as punch having spread happiness and cheer to all involved in the sport. (REPORT)

BADMINTON

An Indian team consisting of P. V. Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, B Sai Praneeth, Kidambi Srikanth, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, Ashwini Ponnappa and N. Sikki Reddy will travel to Bangkok for two back-to-back million-dollar Thailand Opens, from January 12-17 and January 19-24. (REPORT)

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HYDERABAD, TELANGANA, 29/01/2020: Hyderabad Hunters P.V.Sindhu in action against Michelle Li of North East Warriors in the Premier Badminton League match at the GMC Balayogi Stadium in Gachibowli in Hyderabad on January 29, 2020. Photo: Nagara Gopal
 

Russian doubles badminton player Nikita Khakimov has received a five-year ban after being found guilty of offences relating to "betting, wagering and irregular match results", the Badminton World Federation (BWF) said. (REPORT)

ATHLETICS

The official cost of the postponed Tokyo Olympics has increased by 22 per cent, the local organising committee has said while unveiling its new budget. (REPORT)

Explainer: Russia's doping ban reduced, no Tokyo Olympics of FIFA World Cup: 

Tokyo Olympic officials said that they have reached a “basic agreement” with all 68 domestic sponsors to extend their contracts into next year to support the postponed Games. (REPORT)

HOCKEY

The Indian men's hockey team ended 2020 at fourth in the FIH rankings while the women's team finished the year in ninth positions, after a major part of the calendar was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. (REPORT)

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Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced that the state is planning to build a world class hockey stadium with capacity of 20,000 in Rourkela, the city which would co-host the 2023 World Cup with Bhubaneswar. (REPORT)

BOXING

Canelo Alvarez unanimously outpointed previously undefeated Callum Smith to win the WBA & Ring super-middleweight championships and vacant WBC super-middleweight title at the Alamodome. (REPORT)

The Boxing Federation of India has once again decided to extend the term of its existing office-bearers and executive committee members. (REPORT)

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