Sania bids farewell to Grand Slam career
Indian pioneer Sania Mirza retired from Grand Slam tennis on Friday after losing alongside Rohan Bopanna in the mixed doubles final at the Australian Open. Considered one of her country’s top tennis players,Sania Mirza,who is 36 years old,returned to her park in Melbourne for her final cheer and reached the final.But she and her 42-year-old Bopanna failed to cross the line as she lost 7-6 (7/2) 6-2 to Brazilian duo Luis Stefani and Rafael Matos.Mirza broke down in tears at the post-match awards ceremony.She said” these are tears of joy and I am happy that I came a log way”.Talking about her tennis partner Rohan,she said” he was my first mixed doubles partner when I was 14 and we won the national team.“After 22 years, I couldn’t think of a better person to end my career here and play in the final. He is my best friend and one of my best partners. There is no better place for me or for anyone else to finish a career at a Grand Slam.” Mirza, who is married to former Pakistani team captain Shoaib Malik, has a young son “Izhaan”. It was incredible to play in front of him in the Grand Final.I never thought I would be able to play in front of my own kids in the final,so it’s really special to have him here and my parents too.Known for her ardent convention-breakers,Mirza became the first Indian woman to win her WTA singles title in her hometown of Hyderabad in 2005.She reached the fourth round at the US Open that same year,and in 2007 she was among the top 30 women.However, her wrist injury forced her to focus on doubles,and she partnered Swiss great Martina Hingis,who produced three Grand Slam titles for her.Sania has planned to retire from tennis because she think her body is not having that capacity to play like fire and also she wanted to take care of her child with full time and attention.
Babar Azam is named ICC Men’s ODI Cricket Player of the Year for the second consecutive year
Pakistani cricket captain Babar Azam is named Men’s ODI Player of the Year for the second year in a row by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday for his “match-winning stroke and attractive batting”. The ICC noted that in the past year, Azam has only accumulated 679 runs from his nine ODIs, scoring an average of 84.87 in three centuries and his five half centuries. He also maintained his lead as the number one hitter in his ICC-ODI Men’s Player Rankings, which he has held since July 2021.The ICC also praised Skipper for his role as Pakistan’s captain, “leading the team in style with only one loss in the season” against Australia in Lahore.Cricket statistician Mazhar Arshad commented on Azam’s performance: “He is truly an ODI great”.
FIFA suspends Sri Lanka over ‘red notice’
The warning comes after the Ministry of Sports has issued a series of regulations that are said to affect the autonomy and independence of national sports federations, including the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL). This month, the FFSL reportedly held elections that fell short of the standards agreed with FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), chaired by an ally of the sports minister. FIFA said in a letter on Sunday that the FFSL was suspended “until further notice”.The suspension will prevent Sri Lanka from participating in the international competition, which is in the midst of a major economic crisis, partly due to corruption. Sri Lanka’s men’s team ranks him 207th in the world rankings and the women’s ranks his 155th.
Messi vs Ronaldo in Riyadh today: Will the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia become the new hub for global sports?
Today French club “PSG” and Saudi Arabia’s “All-Star XI” will play a friendly match. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will compete against each other.Today’s match between the two unprecedented players from Argentina and Portugal in the Saudi Arabian city of Riyadh proves the growing influence of the Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia in football.Since 2011, PSG has been owned by a Qatari investor who is said to have ties to the Qatari royal family. Thanks to this investment, PSG had global superstars such as Messi, Kylian, Mbappe and Neymar.In the meantime, Ronaldo will be part of the Saudi All-Star X1 because of his two-and-a-half-year contract of $200 million with Saudi club His Al-Nasr. A fan bought tickets for this friendly match in auction for $2.6 million. It is also a sign that the center of world football is moving from Europe and Latin America to the Middle East.In the past, heavyweights from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have invested in traditional assets such as overseas real estate and companies. But now it’s focus is on the sports industry. Experts say this is a way to diversify the economy along with diplomacy to achieve soft power by royal family.Over the years, there has been a flurry of investments in major English clubs. For example, Newcastle United was acquired by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The list of disputed payments has grown longer. The oil and gas industries of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain have made these countries financially powerful when it comes to world sports. Gulf countries have their sights set on the Winter Olympics. Saudi Arabia won the right to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games last October.According to the schedule, these will be held in Newm. This is a new city in Saudi Arabia, reportedly built at a cost of $500 billion. The city, he said, will be completed by 2026, with ski slopes in the middle of the desert. Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup was seen by many as a great success for the Gulf nations.This suggests that more sporting events may be held here in the future.Saudi Arabia is reportedly considering hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Egypt and Greece. Meanwhile, sports watchers believe Qatar’s capital, Doha, can host 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
PSL 8 Opening Ceremony may shift from Multan to Karachi
The Pakistan Super League 2023 or PSL 8 opening ceremony will now take place in Karachi instead of Multan as previously reported. The new management of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to move the opening ceremony of PSL 8 from the Multan Cricket Stadium to the Karachi National Bank Cricket Arena (NBCA), according to details.Karachi will host the opening ceremony and first match of the Pakistan Super League 2023 or PSL 8 at the National Bank Cricket Arena, while Multan will host only round robin matches at the Multan Cricket Stadium. However, the final schedule for PSL 8 is yet to be announced by the Pakistan Cricket Board, which also confirms the venue for the opening ceremony of PSL 2023.Last week, it was reported that Multan would host the first opening ceremony of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Meanwhile, the first stage matches of the tournament will be played between Karachi and Multan before heading to Lahore and Rawalpindi. According to some reports, PCB’s new management plans to add Quetta as his fifth venue for his PSL 8 tournament, with PCB management working closely with local administration to open the Bugti Stadium. However, there is no confirmation of this report.The PSL 8 opening ceremony and matches will take place on his February 13th, and the tournament is scheduled to end on his March 19th, 2023.
Ice Hockey Championship in Skardu’s snowfalling
The scenic snow-capped mountains of Skardu froze in the snowfall and blowing cold winds welcomed the colorful event of the Ice Hockey Championship 2023 in Skardu to promote and plan winter sports tourism in the country. An official from Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) told that the championship attended by a large number of locals, tourists and adventure seekers.“The championship is an annual event of the Skardu Winter Festival and many teams participate to entertain people through this healthy game. We also set up a stall to sell,” he added.The winter festival welcomes local and international tourists each year to come to Gilgit-Baltistan to enjoy the championships and other activities during the festival, he added.
Mickey Arthur’s return have proven ‘difficult’, according to PCB, and the search for a new head coach is set to continue.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed that it had held talks to appoint South Africa’s “Mickey Arthur” as the men’s team head coach, but added that the search would continue for the time being.Arthur is currently an English cricket coach in Derbyshire. He was previously the greenshirt coach from 2016 to 2019.PCB states “Unfortunately, this option has proven difficult for both parties for a variety of reasons.Under these circumstances they will continue to search for the right person for the post of head coach of the national team.Several top names are already under consideration,” the statement said. The current head of the men’s cricket team and coach is “Saqlain Mushtaq”.He also appears to be headed for an exit. Former PCB chairman Najam Sethi believed “foreign coaches are better suited for the national team than local coaches. They are Skilled and not tied to any particular player. In our culture, our coaches have soft hearts for a selective players,” Sethi said.“It does not mean that the services of the star cricketers will not be recruited, we will utilize their expertise in other ways,” Sethi added.During his previous tenure, he hired ‘Arthur’ as head coach, Team was on number one in Tests and one-day cricket, and won the Champions Trophy [in 2017].”
Sania Mirza decided to retire after WTA event in February
Sania Mirza who is her country’s topmost women’s tennis player, has won six Grand Slam doubles titles and would play her final major this month at the Australian Open, where she bagged the women’s doubles crown in 2016. “ I was going to stop right after the WTA Tests but I tore my tendon in my elbow right before US Open, so I had to pull out of everything, ” Mirza told the WTA Tour’s website in an interview. Mirza, who has been dealing with a moping shin injury, had planned to retire at the end of the 2022 season but an elbow injury in August ruled her out of the US Open.“ Actually I am kind a person who does things on my own terms. So I do not want to force myself to go furthur.That is why i ’ve been thinking about this for so long” she added.The tennis star said in the interview, “ I am 36 and my body is now giving up, that’s the main reason for it.I really do not have the capacity in my mind to emotionally push that much presently. ”She turned pro in 2003. Priority changes and now my priority is my health and fitness so I have decided to not push my body to the limit every single day. ” Mirza will compete alongside Kazakhstan’s Anna Danilina at the Australian Open, which begins on Jan 16,before bidding farewell to the sport in the United Arab Emirates,where she has resided for more than a decade with her husband, former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik.
Ronaldo is happy to be a part of Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr
Ronaldo, who is a free player following his rancorous split with Manchester United in November, joined Al Nassr last week on a 2.5 year deal estimated by media,to be worth further than 200 million euros($210.94 m). He arrives in Saudi Arabia with a vast collection of club honours after a spangling spell at Spanish titans Real Madrid from 2009- 18 where he won two La Liga titles, two Spanish Mugs, four titleholders League titles and three Club World cups.Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo said his “ work is done ” in Europe, adding that he’s ready for new challenges ,both on and off the pitch after being unveiled as a player of Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.“I ’m thankful to Al Nassr, for giving me this opportunity to develop football for the younger generation, for the women as well. For me, it’s a challenge, but I also feel veritably happy and proud, ” Ronaldo said. He further added that he had so many opportunities in Brazil, Europe, Australia and even in Portugal but he gave his word to this club and there was no going back.
Rizwan-Nida nominated for cricketer of the year by ICC
The International Cricket Council( ICC) on Thursday announced the nominations for the ICC T20I cricketer of the year.Pakistan wicketkeeper and batter Mohammad Rizwan and all-rounder Nida Dar making the cut in their separate sections.Rizwan was nominated for T20I cricketer of the year by the ICC in 2021.In the men’s section, the other three players are: India’s Suryakumar Yadav, England’s Sam Surran and Zimbabwe’s Sikander Raza.Among the leading runner in the t20- over format this year, Yadav is at the top spot with,164 runs followed by Rizwan( 996 runs), Virat Kohli( 781 runs) and Sikander Raza( 735 runs).Hailing Rizwan for his performance in the format, the justice body said the Pakistani cricketer scored 996 runs with 9 catches and 3 stumpings in 25 matches in this year. It said Rizwan also smashed 10 half- centuries in 2022 in T20Is, and finished with 175 runs in the T20 World Cup.On the other hand “Nida Dar”made 396 runs in 16 matches at normal of 56.57, and 15 wickets in hand.Dar is the first and the only Pakistani bowler to claim 100 T20I wickets and presently, the 2nd highest wicket taker in Women’s T20I according to the ICC. She also impressed with the bat. She struck three fifty- plus scores this time an unbeaten fifty at the Commonwealth Games against India at the Asia Cup, and a well- made 61 at home against Ireland in November.Apart from Nida Dar, the other women nominees are India’s Smriti Mandhana, New Zealand’s Sophie Devine and Australia’s Tahlia McGrath.