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India’s Sumit Nagal made it to the final round of the Australian Open 2024 Qualifiers final round. Aman Sehrawat won the gold medal in the men’s singles event at the Zagreb Open 2024 and kicked off his new year on a champion’s note. In the footballing world, Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson revealed that he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and has a year to live.
Tennis:
Sumit Nagal sails past Edward Winter to reach AO 2024 Qualifiers final round
India’s Sumit Nagal made it to the final round of the Australian Open 2024 Qualifiers final round on Thursday, January 11. Nagal defeated wildcard Australian Edward Winter in the second round clash 6-3, 6-2 that lasted for one hour and four minutes at the KIA Arena. In the final round of the clash, Nagal will lock horns with Alex Molcan of Slovakia on Friday, January 11. If Nagal makes it through, he will enter the main round of the Grand Slam event for the first time since 2021 and fourth overall.
Your boyfriend won’t be happy: Maria Sakkari to Aryna Sabalenka after latter’s comments on Novak Djokovic
Greek tennis player Maria Sakkari told Aryna Sabalenka that her boyfriend won’t be happy hearing the comments she made on Novak Djokovic. Sakkari, Sabalenka, Djokovic, and Stefanos Tsitsipas came together for the pre-Australian exhibition match. Djokovic told Sabalenka, “I’m going to show you a couple of signals of what I’m going to do here and you say yes or no okay.” Later, the Serb started to wiggle his fingers behind his back, to which Sabalenka replied, “I don’t understand them but we can try.”
The Belarussian then asked the crowd, “Can people help me to understand what he’s showing,” before Djokovic started shaking his back. Replying to the Serb’s antics, Sabalenka said, “Wow, what a beautiful view I have.” The crowd burst into laughter before the Sakkari shouted, “I’m sure your boyfriend won’t be happy with that.” Sabalenka replied I hope he’s not going to watch it."
Paula Badosa reacts to Aryna Sabalenka’s dance to 'Fireball' tune ahead of Australian Open 2024
Paula Badosa reacted to Aryna Sabalenka’s dance with her team to the famous tune ‘Fireball’ ahead of the Australian Open 2024. In between her practice sessions, Sabalenka took part in the viral trend of dancing to the beats of Pitbull's song ‘Fireball’. The Belarussian was joined by her teammates, along with coach Anton Dubrov. The video was shared by the official handle of the Australian Open. Badosa reacted to Sabalenka’s dance and dropped a comment. The Spanish star wrote, “I can’t with this video,” while sharing a few laughing emoticons.
Wrestling
Aman Sherawat clinches gold in men’s singles at Zagreb Open 2024
India’s Aman Sehrawat won the gold medal in the men’s singles event at the Zagreb Open 2024 and kicked off his new year on a champion’s note. The 20-year-old wrestler took down China’s Zou Wanhao 10-0 by technical superiority in the final. The Indian wrestler, who is currently ranked 13th in the world maintained his dominance over his Chinese counterpart right from the beginning. Sehrawat didn’t leave room for any error and wrapped up the fight with a minute and eight seconds left on the clock.
Hockey:
Hockey India announces 26-member Indian Men's Team for South Africa Tour
Indian hockey team announced their 26-member India men’s team for the South Africa tour. The team will have a Four-Nation tour in Cape Town, South Africa starting 22nd January 2024. The tournament will feature France, Netherlands, India, and hosts South Africa. While Harmanpreet Singh is named to lead the team, FIH Player of the Year winner Hardik Singh will shoulder the responsibilities of Vice Captain. Chief Coach Craig Fulton said ahead of the tour, "We are quite excited to get on with the season in the Olympic year with the South Africa Tour where we will play quality teams. We have chosen a big squad in order to give players exposure and it will also give me an opportunity to see some of the players in competition mode ahead of the FIH Hockey Pro League.”
Football:
Ex-England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson reveals battle with pancreatic cancer
Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson revealed that he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and has a year to live. In February 2023, Eriksson stepped down from his role at Swedish club Karlstad citing health concerns. Eriksson, talking to Swedish Radio P1, said, "Everyone can see that I have a disease that's not good, and everyone supposes that it's cancer, and it is. But I have to fight it as long as possible. I know that in the best case, it's about a year, in the worst case even less. I don't think the doctors I have can be totally sure, they can't put a day on it."
Andre Onana to mis Cameroon's AFCON opener against Guinea
Goalkeeper Andre Onana will miss Cameroon's opening game of the Africa Cup of Nations against Guinea. The former Inter Milan star will be playing for Manchester United in their Premier League against Tottenham Hotspur the day before the Intercontinental Cup. As reported by Reuters, Man United and the Cameroon Football Federation were discussing the arrival date in the Ivory Coast for Onana, who already delayed his travel once to play in the 2-0 FA Cup win over Wigan Athletic on Monday.
Guenther Steiner parts ways with Haas F1 Team after seven-year stint
Team Principal of Haas F1 Team Guenther Steiner has left his role with the American racing organisation promoting Director of Engineering Ayao Komatsu to replace him. Steiner has led the team since Haas' F1 entry in 2016. The Italian was F1’s third longest-serving team principal, behind Red Bull’s Christian Horner and Mercedes’ Toto Wolff. Talking about Steiner's exit, Owner Gene Haas said: “I’d like to start by extending my thanks to Guenther Steiner for all his hard work over the past decade and I wish him well for the future.
Hull City sign Liverpool winger Fabio Carvalho on loan
Championship side Hull City completed the signing of Liverpool winger Fabio Carvalho on a loan deal until the end of the season. The 21-year-old Portuguese played for RB Leipzig for the first half of the season on loan but only started one league game for the Bundesliga side. Talking about the signing, Hull boss Liam Rosenior told BBC, "There's certain players who understand the game differently in a number 10 position. Allied to his pace, athleticism, his bravery to take the ball and finish actions are the reasons Liverpool signed him."
