Mirabai wins Gold at Qatar Int'l cup
Doha: Former world champion weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu notched up the women's 49kg category Gold medal to open India's account at the 6th Qatar Int’l Cup on Friday. The 25-year-old won Gold with an effort of 194kg in the Olympic qualifying Silver level event, the points from which will come in handy when the final rankings for 2020 Olympics cut are done. To qualify for Tokyo, a weightlifter must compete in at least one event in each of the three periods of six months (spread over Nov 2018 to April 2020), at least six events overall and in at least one Gold and another Silver level event.
Nadal wins ATP Sportsmanship Award
London: World No 1 Rafael Nadal has been voted the winner of ATP's Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for a second straight year and third time overall. Andy Murray was selected as the Comeback Player of the Year after successfully returning to win the Fever-Tree C’ships doubles title at The Queen's Club and the singles title at the European Open in Antwerp. Roger Federer won the Fans' Favourite Award for a record-extending 17th straight year, along with American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan, who won for the 14th time.
Bavuma to miss boxing day test
Johannesburg: South African middle-order batsman Temba Bavuma has been ruled out of the Boxing Day Test against England due to a muscle strain. “Proteas batsman Temba Bavuma will miss out on the first Test match against England after sustaining a Grade 1 hip flexor muscle strain which was revealed by scans on Thursday,” CSA confirmed in a tweet. He will remain in the camp and begin his rehabilitation program with the team's medical staff with the goal of returning to play within seven to 10 days, the cricket board further said.
indian team leaves for U19 World Cup
Mumbai: The Priyam Garg-led Indian team left for the upcoming U-19 World Cup to be held in South Africa in January next year on Friday. “Good luck to our U19 boys who left for South Africa today as part of their preparartion for the U19 World Cup that will start from 17th January,” the BCCI said in a social media post with a video of the players at the airport. The team will play three one-day matches against the Proteas U-19 side, followed by a Quadrangular Series featuring South Africa U-19, India U-19, Zimbabwe U-19 and New Zealand U-19 before the real action begins.
Dravid's son cracks double ton
New Delhi: Former India captain and batting great Rahul Dravid's son, Samit, cracked a double century in an Under-14 state-level match this week. Samit, 14, scored 201 for Vice-President's XI against Dharwad Zone in an Under-14 inter-zonal tournament. His 256-ball innings was laced with 22 fours. The match ended in a draw as Samit added to his first innings tally by scoring an unbeaten 94 in the second essay. He also took three wickets.
Khadjiev suspended over doping
Lausanne: French wrestler Zelimkhan Khadjiev, a world Bronze medallist who has qualified for the 2020 Olympics, has returned a positive doping test & has been provisonally suspended, the international wrestling federation announced. The freestyle wrestler, of Chechen heritage, tested positive for an unspecified drug at Sept world c’ships. Agencies