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India’s Sumit Nagal scripted history by becoming the first Indian man to beat a seed at a Grand Slam, as he took down Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in round 1 of AO 2024. The Pro Kabaddi League felicitated Kabaddi legends during the 1000th game of the league on January 15, Monday. Italian club AS Roma sacked manager Jose Mourinho amidst a poor 2023-24 season.
Football
Pep Guardiola gives one-word response on being asked to choose between Man City and Barcelona
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola gave a hilarious one-word response after being asked to choose between City and Barcelona. Guardiola was at the Best FIFA Football Awards 2023 in London, where he won the Best FIFA Men’s Coach 2023. As Thierry Henry asked him to choose his favourite team, Guardiola considered the question for a second and replied with, “F***!”, leaving everyone in splits. Guardiola then said, "I don't know...it would be a good game! We will see who is the manager. Both are incredible teams. That team in Barcelona was incredible, we were so young. But this team in England, in the Premier League, is really tough and competitive for many competitions.
Lionel Scaloni is to continue as Argentina's coach until Copa America 2024
Lionel Scaloni is to continue as Argentina's coach until the end of the upcoming Copa America. The development surfaced after the Argentina FA (AFA) President Claudio Tapia met with Scaloni to discuss the national team's friendlies in China before the continental tournament in the United States. The development was reported by Gaston Edul, a sports journalist for TyCSports in Argentina, The report said, "Lionel Scaloni will remain in the Argentina national team and will coach through to the Copa America. Surely, in the next few days, an official voice will confirm it."
AS Roma sack Jose Mourinho with immediate effect
Italian club AS Roma sacked manager Jose Mourinho amidst a poor 2023-24 season. Mourinho joined Roma in May 2021 and led the Giallorossi to their first European trophy, the Conference League title in 2022. Addressing this development, AS Roma released a statement on their website confirming that Mourinho and his staff will leave the club with immediate effect. The statement said, “We would like to thank José on behalf of all of us at AS Roma for his passion and efforts since his arrival at the club.”
Lionel Messi retained FIFA Men's Player of the Year trophy
Argentine Lionel Messi retained the FIFA Men's Player of the Year trophy on Monday. Manchester City took home the Best Coach and Best Goalkeeper accolades with Pep Guardiola and Brazil's Ederson winning the men's awards. In the women's category, Sarina Wiegman claimed the Best Coach prize after leading England to the World Cup final. Similarly, Wiegman's England shot-stopper Mary Earps took the Best Women's Goalkeeper Award.
Rally Racing
Spanish motorcycle rider Carles Falcon dies after crash in Dakar Rally
Spanish motorcycle rider Carles Falcon passed away more than a week after his crash in the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia. The 45-year-old was in an induced coma since he was flown to a hospital in Riyadh, and then back to Spain, after falling 448km into the second stage on Jan. 7 from Al Henakiyah to Al Duwadimi. "Carles has left us. The medical team has confirmed that the neurological damage caused by the cardiorespiratory arrest at the time of the accident is irreversible," Falcon's TwinTrail Racing team shared on Instagram. "Carles was a smiling person, always active, who passionately enjoyed everything he did, especially motorbikes. He has left us doing something that was his dream, racing the Dakar."
Tennis
Sumit Nagal stuns Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in AO 2024 round 1
India’s Sumit Nagal scripted history by becoming the first Indian man to beat a seed at a Grand Prix as he took down Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in round 1 of AO 2024. The 26-year-old fought his way to the main draw from qualifiers and displayed brilliant skills to beat 31st-seeded Bublik in straight games (6-4, 6-2, 7-6). Before Nagal, the last Indian to achieve the feat was Ramesh Krishnan in the Australian Open in 1989. He had beaten defending champion Mats Wilander in the second round. In the second round of the tournament, he will lock horns with Shang Juncheng on Thursday, January 18.
Martina Navratilova criticises Naomi Osaka's performance at Australian Open 2024
Martina Navratilova criticised Naomi Osaka’s performance at the Australian Open 2024 after she suffered a first-round loss at the season-opener Grand Slam. Osaka made a comeback at the AO 2024, where she was defeated by Caroline Garcia, who defeated her 6-4, 7-6(2) in the first round of the Melbourne Slam. Navratilova said, "Tennis-wise, maybe a B+, but overall, a C because she [Naomi Osaka] couldn’t get to the ball that she wants to hit because she’s not in shape. I’m surprised that she really started playing, that she got on the tour, and that she played this tournament without clearly being in the top shape that she needs to be in order to put herself in the position to hit the big, big balls. She was stretched out way too much, and the fact that she never had a break point tells you everything you need to know about that match.”
Badminton
Lakshya Sen parts ways with coach Anup Sridhar; joins Vimal Kumar’s camp for now
Reigning Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen parted ways with his coach Anup Sridhar and currently he will be mentored by his childhood coach U Vimal Kumar. Sen said on Monday, “Vimal sir will be travelling with me for now. I am not being coached by Anup anymore.” Former India international was roped in by the Prakash Padukone Academy, to assist the former Badminton star. It is the same academy where Lakshya trains. Vimal said, “They were probably not able to understand each other fully which led to the decision. Plus, Lakshya wanted to try out a few things on his own. I was also taken aback by the decision as the arrangement had been made till the Paris Olympics.”
Kabaddi
Pro Kabaddi League felicitates Kabaddi legends at 1000th PKL match
The Pro Kabaddi League felicitated Kabaddi legends during the 1000th game of the league on January 15, Monday. The league presented customised mementoes to players like Anup Kumar, Dharmaraj Cheralathan, Ajay Thakur, Manjeet Chhillar, and Rishank Devadiga for their contribution to the game over the last 10 seasons. During the ceremony, Dharmaraj Cheralathan reflected upon his PKL journey and said, “The Pro Kabaddi League’s journey has been magnificent. Many lives have changed because of the Pro Kabaddi League and many lives will change in the future as well. I hope that the players become even more fitter in the future and have very long careers.”
