Weekly Digest (Dec 28-Jan 3): Federer pulls out of Australian Open, knighthood for Hamilton

From Roger Federer pulling out of the 2021 Australian Open to F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton being awarded a knighthood, here are this week's top headlines.

Roger Federer (left) will miss the Australian Open for the first time in his career as he continues his recovery from knee surgery. Lewis Hamilton (right) had a stunning 12 months on and off the track.

From Roger Federer pulling out of the 2021 Australian Open to F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton being awarded a knighthood, here are this week's top headlines.

CRICKET:

Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw and Navdeep Saini have been placed in isolation after a video posted on Twitter purportedly showed the group eating in an indoor restaurant in Melbourne. (REPORT)

The schedule for Australia’s Test series against India was under threat again on Sunday after reports the Indian contingent was unhappy at the prospect of re-entering strict quarantine for the fourth Test in Brisbane. (REPORT)

Sourav Ganguly, the former India captain and current BCCI president, is "stable" and "completely conscious" after undergoing an angioplasty on Saturday. (REPORT)

Rohit Sharma joined the Indian team in Melbourne on Wednesday after completing his two-week quarantine in Sydney. (REPORT)

Kane Williamson has gone past Australia's Steve Smith and India skipper Virat Kohli to become the world's top-ranked Test batsman. (REPORT)

 

Tamil Nadu pacer T. Natarajan has replaced Umesh Yadav, who was ruled out of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after sustaining a strain in his left calf muscle during the second Test in Melbourne. (REPORT)

The Australia-India women's ODI series slated for next month has been postponed to next season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (REPORT)

Arjun Tendulkar, Sachin Tendulkar's son, has been named in Mumbai’s 22-member squad for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which will be played this month. (REPORT)

Fast bowler S. Sreesanth is all set to make his return to professional cricket with the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy beginning on January 10. (REPORT)

Cricket in 2020 under shadow of Coronavirus: Bio bubble, IPL, ICC awards, highlights

FOOTBALL:

French champion Paris St Germain has named former Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino as its new head coach, with the Argentine signing a deal until June 2022. (REPORT)

Five Manchester City first team players have tested positive for COVID-19 and will not be involved when it plays Chelsea in the Premier League this weekend, manager Pep Guardiola said. (REPORT)

Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani was banned for three games by the English Football Association after using a Spanish term for Black people which he said was intended as an affectionate greeting. (REPORT)

A Luis Suarez header gave Atletico Madrid a 1-0 home win over Getafe on Wednesday in coach Diego Simeone's 500th game in charge, keeping the side at the top of La Liga and ending the year with an unbeaten home record. (REPORT)

Barcelona midfielder Philippe Coutinho will be sidelined for three months after undergoing surgery on his left knee. (REPORT)

Diego Costa, whose contract at Atletico Madrid runs out in June 2021, has left the La Liga club immediately due to personal reasons. (REPORT)

 

Fulham's Premier League match at Tottenham Hotspur that was scheduled to kick off at 1800 GMT on Wednesday has been called off due to a COVID-19 outbreak at the West London club, Spurs said. (REPORT)

Manchester United went level on points with leader Liverpool with a 2-1 victory that ended Aston Villa’s five-game unbeaten run. (REPORT)

Football in 2020: Highlights of the coronavirus-hit year

BADMINTON:

The Indian badminton team, including Olympic hopefuls Saina Nehwal, B Sai Praneeth and Kidambi Srikanth, on Sunday left for Thailand to compete in back-to-back BWF World Tour Super 1000 events. (REPORT)

Lakshya Sen has pulled out of this month's consecutive tournaments in Thailand due to a back strain that he sustained during training. (REPORT)

Assam, Guwahati: 15/02/2019: Lakshya Sen celebrates after beating P Kashyap in semifinals in the 83rd Senior National Badminton Championship 2018-19 in Guwahati on Friday, February 15, 2019. Photo: Ritu Raj Konwar / The Hindu

 

World number one badminton player Kento Momota has tested positive for COVID-19, prompting the withdrawal of all Japanese players from this month's tournaments in Thailand, the Badminton World Federation said on Sunday. (REPORT)

HOCKEY :

India's 1975 hockey World Cup-winning and 1972 Olympics bronze winning team member Michael Kondo passed away due to age-related ailments. (REPORT)

India will resume international hockey after almost an year with the women's national team touring Argentina from January 18 - February 1. (REPORT)

A 33-member Indian men's hockey core probable group will return to the national camp scheduled to begin in Bengaluru from January 5. (REPORT)

TENNIS:

Six-times champion Roger Federer has withdrawn from the Australian Open as he continues to work his way back to fitness from two knee operations earlier this year, his agent said. (REPORT)

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 30: Roger Federer of Switzerland walks off court after losing his Men's Singles Semifinal match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia on day eleven of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 30, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

 

Davis Cup coach Zeeshan Ali is excited about taking over as head of the National Tennis Centre. (REPORT)

Slovakian tennis player Dagmara Baskova was banned for 12 years on Thursday for match-fixing offenses, the Tennis Integrity Unit said. (REPORT)

Andy Murray has pulled out of the season-opening Delray Beach Open in Florida next week to reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19 ahead of the Australian Open in February. (REPORT)

The Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) announced a State-ranking Tour that aims to provide opportunities for players across age groups and levels to experience a competitive tennis environment. (REPORT)

American Sam Querrey was handed a suspended $20,000 fine by the ATP for breaching COVID-19 protocols at the St. Petersburg Open in October, the governing body for men's tennis said on Wednesday. (REPORT)

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has joined Roger Federer in withdrawing from the 2021 Australian Open after failing to recover fully from a lower back injury. (REPORT)

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 07: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France reacts during a practice session ahead of the 2018 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 7, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

 

The BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells that was scheduled to be held in California in March has been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns, tennis governing body ATP said on Tuesday. (REPORT)

Gilles Simon, Marcus Daniell and Pablo Andujar were voted as the new members on the 2021-22 ATP Players Council, the governing body for men’s tennis said on Tuesday, days after world number one Novak Djokovic pulled out of the elections. (REPORT)

Tennis in 2020: Nadal 20, rise of Thiem and Kenin; Osaka makes statement

MOTORSPORT

Seven-times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton   was awarded a knighthood in the UK New Year's honours list published on Wednesday. (REPORT)

The government of Catalonia has given the go-ahead for Spanish Grand Prix organisers to agree a contract extension with Formula One for 2021. (REPORT)

Motorsport in 2020: F1, MotoGP, Le Mans, W Series and Formula E highlights