Credit: X
Indian tennis star Sumit Nagal made his way to the second round of men’s singles at the Australian Open 2024 qualifiers. Indian para-archer Sheetal Devi was conferred with the Arjuna Award by President of India Draupadi Murmu. Tottenham Hotspur announced the signing of RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner on a loan deal until the end of the season. The transfer also includes a buy option which the Premier League side can activate in the summer transfer window.
Check out major headlines and other happenings of the sporting world in the past 24 hours.
Football
Victor Osimhen slams Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's agent after Saudi Arabia transfer claims
Napoli star Victor Osimhen lashed out at Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's agent and labelled him a “dumb f**k”. His reaction came after Kvaratskhelia's agent gave an interview earlier this week and said that Osimhen will ‘move to Saudi Arabia next summer’. The 25-year-old didn’t hold back in response to Jugeli and took to social media to slam him. Osimhen, on his Instagram, wrote, "Dear Mamuka Jugeli, you are a piece of filth and a disgrace. I'm embarrassed at your sense of reasoning. Dumbf*ck! KEEP MY NAME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!"
Ex-Dutch star Marc Overmars banned from football over inappropriate behaviour
Former Netherlands winger Marc Overmars has been prohibited from holding any position in professional football for at least a year for his inappropriate behaviour towards women at Ajax Amsterdam. The Dutch Football Association (KNVB) released a statement addressing this development on Wednesday. "We have a duty to report this sanction to FIFA's disciplinary committee ... which has decided to take over the suspension as of Nov. 16, 2023," the KNVB stated.
Tottenham Hotspur announce signing of RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner
Tottenham Hotspur announced the signing of RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner on a loan deal until the end of the season. The transfer also includes a buy option which the Premier League side can activate in the summer transfer window. Talking about his return to London, Timo Werner said, “I hope I can be the best player I can be here. I can play every position in attack. When I left the Premier League I missed it because it is the best league in the world. When I joined my old club, I said I wanted to be a winner and in the end, we won the Champions League, so it should not be too bad to say I come here to win titles.”
Nice striker Terem Moffi to replace Victor Boniface in Nigeria’s AFCON squad
Nice striker Terem Moffi will replace the injured forward Victor Boniface in Nigeria’s squad for the Africa Cup of Nations finals. The 24-year-old Moffi has scored six goals in Ligue 2 this season and was considered a surprise exclusion from the Nigerian squad last month after he played for the Super Eagles in November. Boniface was ruled out on Monday with a groin injury suffered at the Nigerian training camp in Abu Dhabi.
Major Football results
Club Friendlies
Borussia Dortmund 3 - 3 Standard Liege
Young Boys 4 - 3 Sion
Hannover 96 4 - 0 FC Zuerich
International Friendlies
Japan 6 - 1 Jordan
Zambia 1 - 1 Cameroon
Tennis
Sumit Nagal advances to second round of Australian Open 2024 qualifier
Indian tennis star Sumit Nagal made his way to the second round of men’s singles at the Australian Open 2024 qualifiers. Nagal demonstrated dominance over France’s Geoffrey Blancaneaux in the first round of the qualifiers on January 10, Wednesday. It took the 26-year-old an hour and 46 minutes to take down his French opponent with a scoreline of 6-3, 7-5 on Court 8. In the opening set of the game, Nadal secured a command by gaining a 4-1 lead over his counterpart. The Indian went on to comfortably seize victory in the first set despite Blancaneaux's effort. The second round saw the Frenchman giving a tough competition to Nagal through his resilience and took the set to a 5-5 deadlock. However, Nagal broke his rival’s serve and went on to seal a victory in the set as well as the match.
No one takes his injuries seriously anymore: Craig Shapiro on Novak Djokovic’s wrist injury
Popular tennis commentator Craig Shapiro made a shocking comment on Novak Djokovic’s injury. The American was in conversation with journalist Giri Nathan on 'The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast', where they discussed whether the Serb's injury will hamper his Australian Open campaign. On the podcast, Shapiro refused to believe the Serb’s injuries and said, "People thought Novak was hurt last year. He seemed to have his issues but no one takes his injuries seriously anymore, after what he did with that hamstring.”
Badminton
Kidambi Srikanth advances to second round of Malaysia Open 2024
Indian ace shuttler Kidambi Srikanth advanced to the second round of the Malaysia Open 2024 1000 badminton tournament. Srikanth secured a come-from-behind win over the world number 5 Indonesian Jonatan Christie here on Tuesday, January 9. The 30-year-old from Andhra Pradesh notched up a 12-21, 21-18, and 21-16 win in the opening round that lasted for an hour and five minutes. Srikanth is set to lock horns with Hong Kong's NG Ka Long Angus in the round of 16.
Archery
President of India confers Arjuna Award to para-archer Sheetal Devi
President of India Draupadi Murmu conferred the Arjuna Award to para-archer from Jammu and Kashmir Sheetal Devi on January 9, Tuesday. Sheetal is the only international para-archery champion without upper limbs due to a rare medical condition called Phocomelia. She was among the 26 athletes and para-athletes who were picked for the Arjuna Awards this year. Badminton champions Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy were conferred the coveted Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award for a breakout in 2023.
