Weekly Digest (Feb 15-21): From Djokovic's 9th Australian Open title to IPL Auction 2021

From Novak Djokovic winning a ninth Australian Open title to the 2021 Indian Premier League auction, here are the top sports headlines from the week gone by.

Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic poses with the trophy after defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final on Sunday.

Men's singles world number one Novak Djokovic claimed a record-extending ninth Australian Open title after beating Daniil Medvedev in straight sets at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

Meanwhile, the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction in Chennai saw the likes of South Africa's Chris Morris, New Zealand's Kyle Jamieson and Australia's Glenn Maxwell earn the big bucks.

Here's a wrap-up of all the major sports news and updates from the week (February 15 to 21) that passed:

CRICKET

India's spinners patiently ran through the England line-up on Day Four of the second Test as India grabbed a 317-run win. ( REPORT )

Suryakumar Yadav has earned an international call-up for the T20I series against England in March. He will be joined by his Mumbai Indians team-mate Ishan Kishan who put up a grand show in the Indian Premier League 2020 in the United Arab Emirates. ( REPORT )

READ |

South African bowling all-rounder Chris Morris shattered Yuvraj’s record at the IPL 2021 auction when he was picked for Rs 16.25 crore by Rajasthan Royals. ( REPORT )

Cricket South Africa said it was left "puzzled" by Cricket Australia's decision two weeks ago to not travel for a three-Test series next month. ( REPORT )

Fast bowler Kyle Jamieson ended up with Royal Challengers Bangalore for USD 2 million approximately, making him the highest paid New Zealander and fourth highest in the IPL's 14-year history. ( REPORT )

Here's the full, updated team squad list of all eight teams after the Indian Premier League Auction 2021 held in Chennai. ( READ )

Former Sri Lanka pace spearhead Chaminda Vaas has been appointed as the team's fast bowling coach. ( REPORT )

Kings XI Punjab has formally changed its name to Punjab Kings ahead of the 2021 Indian Premier League auction. ( REPORT )

Australian pacer Jhye Richardson was signed by the Punjab Kings at the IPL 2021 auction for Rs. 14 Crore.

 

The long wait for Mumbai’s coach for the Vijay Hazare Trophy ended when Ramesh Powar, the former Mumbai and India off-spinner, was handed over the reins of the team. ( REPORT )

Former India batsman Sanjay Bangar has been roped in as batting coach by Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the 14th season of the Indian Premier League. ( REPORT )

FOOTBALL

La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid's recent wobble in form continued as it fell to its first defeat in 12 league games, losing 2-0 to Levante at home. Real Madrid cut the lead at the top to three points having played a game more. (REPORT)

Liverpool's 2-0 defeat at Anfield was its first loss at home to city rival Everton since 1999 and was a fourth home league defeat in succession -- something it has not experienced since 1924. (REPORT)

Amin Younes reinvigorated the Bundesliga title race by leading Eintracht Frankfurt to a 2-1 win over table topper Bayern Munich on Saturday. (REPORT)

India's 2022 FIFA World Cup/2023 Asian Cup qualifying round matches, which were scheduled to be played next month, have been postponed to June due to coronavirus-related travel and quarantine restrictions. (REPORT)

RELATED |

The AIFF Disciplinary Committee on Friday handed an additional two-match ban and imposed a fine of Rs 2 Lakhs on Mumbai City FC's Hugo Boumous for 'gross serious indisciplinary unsporting acts and misdemeanours'. (REPORT)

Marta scored on a penalty kick in the 30th minute and Brazil went on to defeat Argentina 4-1 in the opening match of the SheBelieves Cup. (REPORT)

ATK Mohun Bagan cemented its position at the top of the current Indian Super League (ISL) by convincingly outplaying its traditional rival SC East Bengal 3-1 at the Fatorda Stadium. (REPORT)

Kerala Blasters has parted ways with head coach Kibu Vicuna after the team's 4-0 loss to Hyderabad FC in the Indian Super League. (REPORT)

BADMINTON

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) said on Friday that Tokyo Olympics hopefuls will have until June 15 to secure qualification for the Games after a number of World Tour events were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ( REPORT ) 

HOCKEY

The India men's hockey team will ramp up its Olympic preparations with tours of Germany and Belgium this month. This will be its first international sojourn since the COVID-19 pandemic halted sporting activities across the world last March. (REPORT)

Goalkeeper P. R. Sreejesh will lead the Indian hockey team in place of Manpreet Singh during their upcoming tours to Germany and Belgium.

 

Narinder Batra has decided to contest for re-election as International Hockey Federation (FIH) president in the governing body's polls scheduled in May. (REPORT)

SHOOTING

Shooter Manu Bhaker has demanded action against two Air India employees for harassing her when she tried to board a flight to Bhopal from Delhi. (REPORT)

All of India's top shooters, including the 15 Tokyo Olympics quota holders, are going to participate in the World Cup, scheduled to be held from March 18 to 29. (REPORT)

The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has announced that the 64th National shooting championship will be held in Bhopal and Delhi, in April. (REPORT)

India will not take part in the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Changwon in April because of South Korea's mandatory two-week quarantine rules, which will come in the way of the shooters' training. (REPORT)

TENNIS

World No.1, Novak Djokovic beats Medvedev to lift his 9th Australian Open en route his 18th Grand Slam Trophy at the Rod Laver Arena on Sunday. (REPORT)

Naomi Osaka beat Jennifer Brady in a 6-4, 6-3 win to claim her second Australian Open title and fourth Grand Slam at the Rod Laver Arena on Saturday. (REPORT)

Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek won their first Grand Slam title together on Sunday, taking down defending champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 6-3, 6-4 in the final. (REPORT)

Rajeev Ram and Barbora Krejcikova won their second major title as a pair as they beat Matthew Ebden and Samantha Stosur to win the Australian Open mixed doubles final on Saturday. (REPORT)

Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka won the Australian Open women's doubles final on Friday to collect their second Grand Slam trophy as a team.  (REPORT)

India’s Ankita Raina on Friday won her maiden WTA title as she and her Russian partner Kamilla Rakhimova clinched the doubles event in the Phillip Island Trophy here. (REPORT)

After a break of almost 27 months, India’s Yuki Bhambri has announced his return from yet another injury-forced hiatus by entering the ATP 250 Singapore Tennis Open, starting next week. (REPORT)

Japan's Naomi Osaka celebrates with the trophy after winning the women's singles final at the 2021 Australian Open against Jennifer Brady.

 

BOXING

The International Boxing Association has questioned the International Olympic Committee's decision to cancel the sport's world qualifiers for this year's Olympics, saying the plan to instead allocate quotas based on rankings would deprive several young boxers of a chance to gun for a spot in Tokyo. ( REPORT )

Indian women boxers continued their fine run as Alfiya Pathan (81+kg) claimed the country's first gold medal in the finals of the 30th Adriatic Pearl tournament in Budva, Montenegro. ( REPORT )

ATHLETICS

Russian athletes will compete under the acronym ROC at the Tokyo Olympics this year, as part of sanctions for several doping scandals, the International Olympic Committee said. ( REPORT )

Croatia's double high jump world champion and Olympic medallist Blanka Vlasic announced her retirement after a prolonged battle with injuries. ( REPORT )

Seiko Hashimoto, 56, was named president of the Tokyo Olympic organising committee as she replaced 83-year-old Yoshiro Mori, a former Japanese prime minister who was forced to resign last week for making sexist comments. ( REPORT )