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Aryna Sabalenka crushes Zheng to defend Australian Open title
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27 Jan 2024, 17:09
An authoritative Aryna Sabalenka blew China's Zheng Qinwen off court Saturday to successfully defend her Australian Open title - the first woman to do so in more than a decade.
The Belarusian world No 2 proved too powerful for the 12th seed with a 6-3, 6-2 drubbing in 76 minutes to claim her second Grand Slam crown on Rod Laver Arena.
It capped an incredible display of power and poise from Sabalenka over the past fortnight, with the 25-year old surging to the title without losing a set through her seven matches.
The last time the tournament witnessed a successful women's title defence was in 2013, when fellow Belarusian Victoria Azarenka achieved the feat.
With her latest exploits, Sabalenka cemented her reputation as one of the game's most consistent contenders at Grand Slams, reaching at least the semi-finals in her past six majors, making three finals and winning twice.
In vivid red, she overwhelmed Zheng with her crushing groundstrokes deep into both corners and a consistently reliable serve.
Zheng had reached her first Grand Slam final without meeting a seed after a host of players crashed out early on her side of the draw, and the gulf in class was quickly exposed.
The Belarusian opened with a comfortable serve then got a look at two break points at 15-40 in Zheng's opening service game when the Chinese star sprayed a backhand wide.
She seized the chance, attacking her opponent's second serve for the break.
Sabalenka consolidated on serve for 3-0, but only after saving three break points as Zheng's nerves settled and she worked to get into the contest.
The Chinese star finally got on the board as her serve hit its mark in game four, with two big unreturnable aces and a forehand winner giving her confidence.
But she had few answers to the booming Sabalenka serve, struggling to get the ball back over the net and into any rallies.
Zheng saved three set points with a pair of aces and a winner to hold for 3-5, but it was delaying the inevitable as Sabalenka closed out the set on serve in 33 minutes.
Three double faults, including on break point, immediately put Zheng on the back foot on the second set as the pressure took its toll.
And there was no way back as she conceded another break to slump 4-1 behind when Sabalenka perfectly played a drop shot.
Fighting until the end, Zheng saved four championship points before the second seed closed out the match to bank her 14th career title.
Despite the loss, it has been a breakthrough tournament for Zheng, who will move into the world's top 10 when the new rankings are released next week.
Sabalenka will remain at No 2 behind Iga Swiatek, who crashed out in the third round.
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Champions League: / German Club Borussia's Massive 7-1 Victory
Borussia Dortmund had a field day at home, thrashing Celtic 7-1 in a dominant Champions League performance.
On Tuesday night at Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund completely overwhelmed the Scottish club. Emre Can opened the scoring for the hosts with a penalty in the 7th minute. Celtic responded quickly, with Daizen Maeda equalizing in the 9th minute, but that was their last success.
Dortmund launched a relentless attack, with Karim Adeyemi restoring the lead in the 11th minute. The German winger completed a brilliant hat-trick by scoring two more goals in the 29th and 42nd minutes.
In the meantime, Serhou Guirassy scored from a penalty in the 42nd minute and added his second in the 66th minute to make it 6-1. Felix Nmecha sealed the victory with a 79th-minute strike, leaving Dortmund with a resounding 7-1 win over Celtic.
World Cup Opening Match / Tigresses to Face Scottish Women Today
The Women's T20 World Cup is being kicked off today. Bangladesh is facing Scotland to play the opening match. The match will start at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Thursday (October 3) at 4 pm Bangladesh time.
The T20 World Cup has been shifted from Bangladesh to the United Arab Emirates due to political reasons.
Being a relatively easy opponent, the Tigresses want to start the T20 World Cup mission with a win. However, the victory of the Bangladesh team in the World Cup is not much celebrated. Bangladesh has played 21 matches in 5 World Cups since 2014, out of them only 2 were won. However, the Tigresses went to the United Arab Emirates with big dreams for this World Cup.
After the official photo session of the women's team on September 24, the captain Nigar Sultana Joty told about their plans.
The Bangladesh captain said, "I will try to win the match first. Except in 2014, we could not even win a single World Cup match. We played good cricket in recent times. But there is no point in playing good cricket if you cannot win matches. First of all, we want to win the match. Secondly, when we get the flow, I think our team will be able to play the semi-finals."
Joty said, "If we want to take our cricket a step further, there can be no bigger stage than the World Cup. If we perform well there, we want to do something good not only for us but for the rest of the girls who want to play cricket in the future wearing Bangladeshi jerseys."
She said that the first match is special, so we want to win the first match. It is the most special for us. Because the first match in the World Cup will be the 100th match of my T20 career. It will be a great achievement for me and my team. If Allah keeps me healthy, I will definitely play. If I play, the first goal will be to win.
Bangladesh squad: Nigar Sultana Joty(capt, wk), Nahida Akter, Murshida Khatun, Shorna Akter, Ritu Moni, Sobhana Mostary, Rabeya Khan, Sultana Khatun, Fahima Khatun, Marufa Akter, Jahanara Alam, Dilara Akter, Taj Nehar, Shathi Rani, Disha Biswas.
Futsal World Cup: Brazil in Final After 12 Years
After 12 years of the Futsal World Cup, Brazil, the highest five-time champion of the World Cup reached the final.
The Futsal World Cup semi-final match kicks off in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Wednesday (October 2). Brazil beat Ukraine by 3-2 to win the final.
Brazil won dramatically in the semi-final which started at 9 pm Bangladeshi time. Diego from Brazil scored two goals in the match. The winning goal came from Ukraine itself. Ihor Korsun and Igor Chernyavsky scored twice for Ukraine.
Brazil took 52 shots on Ukraine's goalpost in the match, 16 of which were on target. Ukraine took 50 shots, 12 of which were on target. However, Ukraine's own goal eliminated them from the tournament.
Brazil is the maximum five-time champion in the Futsal World Cup. However, after 2012, they did not win the title again.
ICC Women's T20 World Cup / Bangladesh Opt to Bat Against Scotland
Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first against Scotland in the opening match of the Women's T20 World Cup 2024.
Nigar Sultana, playing in her 100th T20I, did not hesitate when deciding to make first use of the surface in Sharjah. The sweltering heat - a high of 38 degrees Celsius heat, and 53% humidity - and a pitch that should play true, informed that decision. "We think it will be very good for batting, and the ball will come onto the bat nicely," the Bangladesh captain said.
Her opposite number Kathryn Bryce stated she, too, would have opted to set a total in these conditions.
Bangladesh, having qualified as the original hosts, is ranked ninth on the ICC T20I rankings, three places higher than Scotland. They have also won all four previous meetings between the two sides in this format. Sultana's charges completed their preparations in Dubai with a victory over Pakistan after losing to Sri Lanka in the warm-up matches, and are on the hunt for a first World Cup win since 2014 when they had previously hosted the tournament.
Scotland, meanwhile, will be looking to make a statement of intent in their first World Cup appearance of any kind. They earned the right by finishing as finalists in the qualifiers earlier this year, which were also played in the UAE, and were buoyed by victory against Pakistan in their first warm-up match before they also fell to Sri Lanka. Spinner Olivia Bell, who did not feature in the qualifiers, made Thursday's XI.
Skipper Bryce is also coming off the back of a memorable home summer, acknowledged at Tuesday's PCA Awards when she became the first non-English winner of the Women's Player of the Year award. It was one of four accolades for the 26-year-old, along with Domestic Overall MVP, Charlotte Edwards Cup Player of the Year, and captain of the Metro Bank Women's Team of the Year.
That this fixture acts as the curtain raiser owes to the fact the tournament had originally been scheduled for Bangladesh. Anti-government protests across the country between July and August led to the ICC shifting hosting duties to the UAE, making this the first women's T20 World Cup at a neutral venue.
Playing XI
Bangladesh: Shathi Rani, Murshida Khatun, Sobhana Mostary, Nigar Sultana (capt & wk), Taj Nehar, Shorna Akter, Ritu Moni, Fahima Khatun, Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, Marufa Akter
Scotland: Saskia Horley, Sarah Bryce (wk), Kathryn Bryce (capt), Alisa Lister, Priyanaz Chatterji, Darcey Carter, Lorna Jack-Brown, Katherine Fraser, Rachel Slater, Abtaha Maqsood, Olivia Bell.
Score: Click here to know score updates
T20 World Cup 2024: / Bangladesh Women Clinch First Win, Defeat Scotland
Bangladesh kicked off their World Cup campaign with a 16-run win over Scotland. This is the Bangladesh women's team's third victory in the T20 World Cup, following two wins in the 2014 tournament against Sri Lanka and Ireland.
In their opening match of the 2014 T20 World Cup, Nigar Sultana Joty's team defeated Scotland by 16 runs. Bangladesh batted first and set a target of 119 runs, while Scotland was restricted to 103 runs.
Sobhana Mostary top-scored for Bangladesh with 36 runs, while Ritu Moni claimed 2 wickets for 15 runs with the ball.
With this match, Nigar Sultana Joty became the first Bangladeshi woman to play 100 international T20 matches. Additionally, Nahida Akter became the third Bangladeshi (across men’s and women’s cricket) to claim 100 international T20 wickets.
Scotland's innings began with Fahima Khatun dismissing their first batter. Saskia Horley, attempting a shot down the pitch, was stumped by Nigar Sultana Joty. Captain Kathryn Bryce was bowled by Marufa Akter for 11 runs.
Ailsa Lister scored 5 runs before being dismissed by Ritu Moni. Despite the fall of wickets, opener Sarah Bryce remained a threat. Meanwhile, wickets kept falling at the other end. Priyanaz Chatterji was run out, and Darcey Carter was dismissed by Ritu Moni after scoring just 2 runs.
Bangladeshi bowlers then triggered a collapse, taking one wicket after another. Lorna Jack was dismissed for 9 off 13 balls, leaving Scotland 6 wickets down.
Earlier, Bangladesh posted 119 runs for 7 wickets. The team's scoring rate was slow from the start. Murshida Khatun departed after scoring 12 runs off 14 balls, while Sathi Rani and Sobhana Mostary played cautiously as usual. After a 42-run partnership, Sathi was dismissed.
Sathi, who hit three boundaries, was out for 29 runs off 32 balls. Shortly after, debutant Taz Nehar was dismissed for a golden duck. In the warm-up matches, she had scored 17 runs against Pakistan and 16 against Sri Lanka.
Sobhana Mostary, despite her slow approach, appeared promising for a bigger score. However, she was stumped off Olivia Bell’s bowling in the 16th over after scoring 36 runs off 38 balls.
Sworna Akter, known as a hard-hitter, couldn't shine against the Scots. She was dismissed for 5 runs off 7 balls without hitting a boundary. Ritu Moni also lost her wicket, stumped by the wicketkeeper off Saskia Horley’s bowling, after scoring 5 runs. Captain Nigar Sultana Joty contributed 18 runs, while Fahima Khatun added 9.
Futsal World Cup / Argentina Overcomes France to Face Brazil in Final
In an exhilarating encounter, Argentina triumphed over France with a score of 3-2 in the second semi-final of the Futsal currently being held in Uzbekistan. With this victory, the Albicelestes are set to play in their third consecutive final, facing Brazil on Sunday at noon, a match that will be broadcast live on DIRECTV.
Under the guidance of coach Matías Lucuix, who led the team to victory in 2016 and a runner-up finish in 2021, Argentina heads into the final with a perfect record of wins. Although they encountered tough competition from the French, the Argentine team managed to maintain the lead throughout the match.
Kevin Arrieta opened the scoring with a penalty in the 2nd minute, followed by Nicolás Menéndez equalizing just three minutes later with a well-placed low shot. Angel Claudino then doubled Argentina's lead in the 7th minute, marking a blistering start for the South Americans.
Mamadou Touré found the net for France in the second half, scoring in the 5th minute, but with just 3 minutes and 28 seconds remaining, Kevin Arrieta's left foot converted a double penalty to secure the victory for Argentina. Once again, goalkeeper Nicolás Sarmiento emerged as a key figure for the Argentinian side.
Brazil, five-time world champions in futsal, 11-a-side football, and beach football, returns to a final after a 12-year hiatus. They have previously won the first three World Cups in 1989, 1992, and 1996, as well as in 2008 and 2012. Argentina will be looking to secure their title in what promises to be a thrilling contest.
Bangladesh vs India Match / 2500 Police Deployed in Gwalior
More than 2,500 police personnel have been deployed and prohibitory orders have been put in place in Gwalior ahead of the first T20I between India and Bangladesh that takes place in the city on Sunday.
Security has been tightened following a call for a city-wide shutdown by a right-wing group on 6 October, the day the T20I leg of Bangladesh’s tour of India gets underway.
The Hindu Mahasabha has announced a 'Gwalior Bandh' on Sunday while other ring-wing outfits have called for the match to be canceled in protest against alleged atrocities committed against Hindus in Bangladesh since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government.
Additionally, security has also been beefed up at the two hotels that the Indian and Bangladeshi teams have been staying in since Wednesday.
"On the day of the match, personnel will be on the streets from 2 pm. They will be on duty till spectators reach home after the game is over. After prohibitory orders were invoked, monitoring has been tightened. We are keeping an eye on social media as well," Gwalior Zone Inspector General of Police Arvind Saxena told PTI.
Prohibitory orders issued in Gwalior
Besides the massive police deployment, the District Magistrate (DM) and Collector Ruchika Chauhan issued the prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) on the recommendation of the Superintendent of Police (SP).
The orders ban protests and circulation of inflammatory material, especially on social media to maintain peace in the region, and will remain in force till Monday, 7 October — a day after the match.
The SP noted that different organizations were engaged in taking out processions, organizing demonstrations and effigy burning to protest against the match.
Religious sentiments were being incited and a communal atmosphere was being created with objectionable messages, pictures, videos, audio, and other means on social media platforms which is detrimental to social harmony, he said.
The SP recommended the imposition of prohibitory orders to maintain peace, law, and order in the Madhya Pradesh district.
As per the orders, any person within the limits of the district will face action if he or she via social media platforms disrupts the international match or incites religious sentiments. Banners, posters, cut-outs, flags, and other things with objectionable or inflammatory language and messages stand banned.
Demonstrations and effigy burning, among other things, at private or public places will not be allowed during the period, according to the administration.
Gatherings of five or more people, carrying firearms, blunt and sharp weapons like swords and spears are also prohibited. Use of inflammable substances such as kerosene, petrol, and acid has been banned within a radius of 200 meters of all buildings, it said.
The India-Bangladesh clash will take place at the new Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium, which has a capacity of 30,000 and is hosting an international cricket match after a gap of 14 years.
Source: Firstpost
