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Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman talked about Indian chess grandmaster R.Praggnanandhaa in her speech while presenting the 2024 Interim Budget. Serbian tennis icon Novak Djokovic mimicked fellow player Nick Kyrgios in an exclusive interview. The Cristiano Ronaldo - Lionel Messi Last Dance is officially off after the Portuguese star was deemed unfit for the fixture after a recent injury. The contest was slated to take place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in the Riyadh Season Cup 2024.
Check out major updates from the sporting world in the last 24 hours.
Chess
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman talks about R. Praggnanandhaa in her speech
Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman talked about Indian chess grandmaster R.Praggnanandhaa in her speech while presenting the 2024 Interim Budget. Sitharaman presented the budget in Lok Sabha on Thursday, February 1, and in her speech, mentioned the progress of Indian chess players that they have made in the past few years. She said, “The country is proud of youth scaling new heights in sports. Chess prodigy and our No. 1 ranked player R Praggnanandhaa put up a stiff fight against the reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen in 2023. Today, India has over 80 chess grandmasters compared to a little over 20 in 2010.”
Tennis
Jannik Sinner visits Colosseum on Australian Open trophy tour
Australian Open 2024 men’s champion Jannik Sinner visited the Colosseum as part of his trophy tour with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup. Sinner became the second Italian to win a Grand Slam by defeating Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the final of the season’s first Slam. Sinner shared pictures of the tour of the Colosseum on his social media and captioned it, "A special place to come home to, thank you for all the love." As he won his maiden Grand Slam, Sinner joined Adriano Panatta, the 1976 Roland Garros champion.
We cannot always expect him to win every Grand Slam: Viktor Troicki backs Novak Djokovic
Viktor Troicki backed 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic after his Australian Open 2024 exit. In a recent interview with Sportal.rs, Trocki backed his compatriot and friend and said, "I think he can do much better than that [Australian Open 2024 performances] and he himself is aware of it. Of course, he is a man and not a machine, we cannot always expect him to win every Grand Slam. Young players are getting better and better, they are freer, they are progressing." He added, "It is not easy to maintain that continuity, and always in top form. That's obvious. Unfortunately, he lost this time, but we all know he doesn't give up and I'm sure he'll be back soon."
Novak Djokovic mimics Nick Kyrgios in TV interview, leaves presenter in splits
Serbian tennis icon Novak Djokovic mimicked fellow player Nick Kyrgios in an exclusive interview on Australian TV. The 24-time Grand Slam winner is known for his impersonation skills and he often mimics other tennis players during practice sessions or exhibition matches. During the interview with ‘Today Show Australia’ the Serb mimicked Kyrgios’ body language and accent, and left the interviewer in splits. Mimicking Kyrgios, Djokovic said, "Whatever bro, whatever bro. I don't care, bro, I don't even care why I'm here, like what's going on.”
Back with more intensity: Rafael Nadal as he trains after Australian Open injury
Spanish tennis icon and 20-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal resumed his training after missing the Australian Open 2024. The Spaniard withdrew from the season-opening Grand Slam due to an injury he suffered in the Brisbane International quarterfinal clash. Nadal shared a picture from his training session, and captioned it, “After a period of not putting anything on here, here we are. Back to the training sessions... with more intensity.” Nadal is set to participate at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, scheduled for February 19-25, 2024.
Football:
Cristiano Ronaldo to miss Last Dance clash against Lionel Messi
The Cristiano Ronaldo - Lionel Messi Last Dance is officially off after the Portuguese star was deemed unfit for the fixture after a recent injury. The contest was slated to take place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in the Riyadh Season Cup 2024. But Ronaldo will not be part of the Al-Nassr squad as per head coach Luis Castro, who revealed on Wednesday that the veteran Portuguese forward is not ready to return after injury.
Nottingham Forest sign Borussia Dortmund's Gio Reyna on loan
Premier League Nottingham Forest completed the signing of Borussia Dortmund's 21-year-old midfielder Gio Reyna on loan until the end of the season. The transfer has been confirmed as a loan deal is without an option to buy. The English-born U.S. international is under-contract with Dortmund until 2026. Reyna joined the Bundesliga club in 2019 and played 11 league matches this season coming off the bench.
Bonhams to auction Napkin Messi signed to join Barcelona
The napkin on which Lionel Messi signed his first contract with Barcelona as a 13-year-old will be auctioned in March for a starting price of 300,000 pounds ($381,000), British auction house Bonhams. The napkin was signed in December, 2000 whenBarca's then sporting director, Carles Rexach, agreed the deal with Jorge Messi, Messi's father, and agent Horacio Gaggioli to recruit the teenager.
Formula 1
Lewis Hamilton to join Ferrari F1 in 2025: Reports
British Formula One driver and seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton is nearing a shocking move to the Ferrari F1 team in 2025. Multiple media reports revealed that Ferrari chairman John Elkann, who has been a keen admirer of Hamilton, has been negotiating with the famed Prancing Horse. Then the development was confirmed by Sky Sports, who further revealed that Hamilton will partner Leclerc for the 2025 season replacing Carlos Sainz as the other Ferrari driver.
