Category: Sports

Team Europe beats the United States to retain the Solheim Cup with 15-13. Matilda Castren sank a final hole put at the Inverness Club on Monday and won for the second time on American soil.

To edge Lizette Salas, the Finn steered in a right to left to par putt on the 18th as Europe held the trophy. Dane Emily Pedersen secured victory eight years after they won on US soil with three matches to compete before a half a point. With 9-7, Europe started the day ahead and sped to retaining the trophy before the Americans. The US attempted a late comeback before flattering as the pressure mounted. By the end of the day, both the teams got five singles with the other two halved.

Pedersen sank a birdie on the 18th as it was her last stroke for gripping day’s golf as Europe triumphed. However, the celebrations were already underway after Catren finished up over Salad. Meghan Khand and Brittany Altomare revived American hopes to reduce Europe’s lead to 13-11 but Salas faltered on the last sparked European celebration while the Americans won two of the last three matches. Pedersen defeating Danielle Kang was a big deal to survive a late mini-collapse and ensure cup success.

Novak Djokovic fought hard as he beat American wildcard Jenson Brooksby to reach the quarter-finals at the US Open. He kept his calendar Grand Slam hopes alive by winning 1-6 6-3 6-2 6-2.

With a poor first set, the world number one overcame to win with a brushing encounter as he was pushed by Brooksby. Brooksby was well-supported by the full crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium. He found himself embroiled in a super encounter across the two hours and 58 minutes with the world number 99 Brooksby. With the crowd repeatedly jumping out of their seats to applaud their court coverage and shots, both the players were involved in punishing rallies.

Brooksby made his opponent look uncomfortable with a run for much of the match and kept Djokovic in lengthy rallies. Later Brooksby simply ran out of energy and Novak’s fitness and stamina kept him in front in almost every set.

The 20-minute game was a highlight for Djokovic’s competitiveness as he got 24 points, nine deuces, and six breakpoints. Novak is now three steps behind from his 21st Grand Slam title that can be a men’s record. To secure his place in the semifinals he will have to face Matteo Berrettini.

American Shelby Rogers stunts No.1 Ashleigh Barty of Australia three sets to advance at the US Open. Shelby was beaten five times by Bart four of those matches coming this season. On Saturday night, the third round of the US Open Roger ranked No. 43 changed the game.

Roger mixed up her pace and hit moon shots. She threw in some high balls which led her to the third-set tiebreaker in which Barty had served for the match twice. Roger was left on the court shaking her head in disbelief and smiling as she defeated Barty by 6-2, 1-6,7-6 (7-5).

When Roger was asked to explain how she pulled it off she said she was not sure and couldn’t explain it. She said she made balls try to stay in this match as it can’t get any worse because she has lost to her every time and said she wanted to try something different. She was completely at a loss for words.

Roger has earlier missed the 2018 season due to knee surgery followed by a long rehab period. She was unsure she’d get back to the court again after that.

On Wednesday, Cristiano Ronaldo broke the all-time Men’s international goalscoring record with 110th and 111th Portugal goals. A stunning late show for his side took him past Iranian great Ali Daei’s mark. He breaks the record with 2 goals to hit 111.

After the confirmation on Tuesday regarding Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United from Juventus, he scored an 89th-minute equalizer in Portugal’s World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland in Faro. In the game, Ronaldo snatched all three points for Portugal in the sixth minute of injury time. He rose to his highest power with a header from Joao Mario’s right-wing cross.

Serbia is three points behind with a game in hand and Portugal sat at the top of Group A with 10 points from four matches. The next year’s finals will be held in Qatar where the group winners will qualify automatically with the runner-up heading into the play-offs.

Many thought Daie scored 109 goals in 149 appearances from Iran between 1993 and 2006 will never be beaten by any other player. In the opening game of Euro 2004 in Portugal, Ronaldo scored his first international goal in a 2-1 loss against Greece.

The Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest player in the Open era to reach the men’s quarterfinals at the Flushing Meadows. The 18-year-old beat Germany’s Peter Gojowczyk with 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0.

Gojowczyk played the fourth round of a major for the first time ever. He is 14 years older than Alcaraz who made a bright start to edge him in the first set. However, Gojowczyk was hampered midway through the fourth set by an injury to his thigh and took a medical tmeout.

With a bagel in the decider, Alcaraz baselined the German, sealing the victory in three hours and 31 minutes when his opponent was sent a forehead sailing long. He smashed seven aces and 35 winners while winning 15 points at the net. He said that in the first set he thought that he reached his limit physically and mentally and believes the crowd was extremely important to him in this situation.

According to the US statistics, Alcaraz is 18 years and four months old and is eight days younger than Andre Agassi who reached the 1988 US Open quarter-finals and semi-finals. He is also the youngest to reach this stage in New York after Brazilian Thomaz Koch in 1963.

On Sunday, as the controversy over COVID-19 protocols erupted, Argentina’s football team was sensationally abandoned shortly after kick-off from Brazil’s World Cup qualifying clash. The match between the two giants was halted when Brazilian health officials ran onto the pitch and triggered a melee that involved team officials and players from both sides.

The intervention came hours after the health authorities in Brazil said that four England-based players in Argentina’s team needed to be placed in “immediate quarantine” as they breached the COVID-19 protocols. According to Brazil’s National Health Surveillance Agency, four players provided “false information” upon their entry to Brazil. The premier league players who were accused are Giovani Lo Celso (Tottenham), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Emiliano Buendia (Aston Villa), and Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa). Lionel Messi, captain of the Argentina team along with his teammates trooped off the field as confusion reigned over the fate of the game. Later the game was suspended till further notice and CONMEBOL did not say if the match would be replayed or either team would forfeit the game.

The premier league players were accused of not disclosing the fact that they had spent time in the United Kingdom in the last 14 days prior to their arrival in Brazil. The laws are strict as the infection has claimed more than 580,000 lives across the nation.

Sadio Mane opened the scoring as Senegal beat Togo 2-0 in the homeland and earned three points. He earned the points in their opening Group H against Africa’s second round of World Cup qualifying which began on 1 September.

Mane played a neat one-two after blazing over the bar in the first half. Mane earned before poking home just before the end of the second half as the Liverpool star took full advantage of his full potential to represent his nation. He was not bothered about the threat of having to quarantine for 10 days after he returned to England. Throughout the game, Mane was lively in a game wrapped up when Abdou Diallo lashed home nine minutes before the end of the second half.

The victory is seen as revenge by the Senegalese as they could not beat Togo as the Sparrowhawks pipped them in the World Cup 2006 where they played against each other. On Tuesday, Senegal will travel to Congo and Togo will seek their first points at home to Namibia in the Sunday game. Meanwhile, the game ended 1-1 as the neighbors Guinea-Bissau and Guinea met in the World Cup qualifier. They will compete for the first time in 25 years.

On Sunday, Lionel Messi made his much awaited PSG debut with a 2-0 win. He came on as a substitute to make his Paris Saint-Germain debut but Kylian Mbappe stole the show. Mbappe scored both the goals in 2-0 win against the Reims in Ligue 1.

Messi was seen wearing his number 30 jersey, came off the bench in the 66th minute to replace Neymar at the Stade Auguste-Delaune. His fans chanted his name in the stadium with a crowd of 21,00 as he emerged to warm up. For its first goal with the new club, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner will have to wait. His first start will come when PSG hosts Clermont in its next match on September 11.

After Messi’s low key first appearance in a PSG shirt, PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino told the broadcaster Amazon Prime that he is very happy that Messi made his debut as it was very important for him. He said that Messi is still far away from his best form but his training is going well. He will be fit in the next two weeks after the international break and he is positive that the best will come from him.

Sumit Antil wins gold in the javelin throw at the Tokyo Paralympics. On Monday, he broke the world record thrice with three of his six javelin throws in the final at the Tokyo Games.

He threw the spear to 68.55m in his fifth attempt which was at quite a distance and a new world record. He broke his previous world record of 62.88m five times on the day. However, his last throw was a foul and his series read 66.95, 68.08, 65.27, 66.71, 68.55, and foul.

He is a 23-year-old from Sonepat in Haryana who lost his left leg below the knee in a motorbike accident in 2015. Antil became the World No. 1 in the F64 category after he won India’s second gold medal in Tokyo and the first in athletics. F64 category is for the athletes with a leg amputation who compete in the game with a prosthetic in a standing position. This was India’s 7th medal in the Tokyo Paralympics.

Australian Michal Burian won the silver medal for 66.29m and Sri Lanka’s Dulan Kodithuwakku won bronze for 65.61m.

On Monday, the 19-year-old shooter Avani Lekhara scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Paralympics. She won the medal by equalling a total of 249.6 which is also the new Paralympics record.

Lekhara fired her way to the top of the podium in the R-2 Women’s 10M Air Rifle Standing SH1 event. The shooter from Jaipur is a law student who sustained a spinal cord injury in a car accident in 2012. She made her debut for India in the 2017 World Cup in Al Ain, UAE after her father encouraged her to get involved in sports. She initially tried her hands in both shooting and archery but later found her interest more in the shooting. She is the first woman and the fourth Indian athlete to win a Paralympics gold.

Lekhara said that he can’t describe her feeling which is unexplainable and she is feeling on top of the world. She hopes for more medals to come her way in the future. This was her first major international medal after she had finished fourth in the last world championship at the Rio Paralympic in 2019.