Ankita wins ITF doubles title in Dubai
DUBAI, Dec 13: Top Indian tennis player Ankita Raina won her third doubles title of the pandemic-hit 2020 season, clinching the Al Habtoor challenge with Ekaterine Gorgodze here. The unseeded Indo-Georgian pair won 6-4 3-6 10-6 against Aliona Bolsova Zadoinov from Spain and Slovakian Kaja Juvan in the final of the USD 100,000 hard court event on Saturday. Ankita said success on the singles circuit is unparalleled but a deep run in doubles draw is not without significance. “The doubles has always helped me in singles. Playing well in doubles has always been followed by good run in singles in my career. You get to practice with good players, get to play and can work out a few things in matches,” Ankita told PTI. It was the fourth doubles final of the season for Ankita but the biggest trophy of the calender since her earlier two titles were at the USD 25,000 level. In February this year, Ankita had made three finals, winning back-to-back titles in Nonthaburi (Thailand) with Bibiane Schoofs and ending runners-up in Jodhpur with compatriot Snehal Mane. (PTI)
Olympic Summit favour staging Tokyo Games despite pandemic
Tokyo, Dec 13: Senior organisers of the Olympic games have expressed their support for staging of the Tokyo Games next summer despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. On Saturday, representatives of the Olympic Summit organised a virtual meet that involved key Olympic representatives and the meeting was chaired by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach. A statement regarding the meet read “The summit expressed its full commitment to and confidence in the successful organization of safe and secure Olympic Games Tokyo 2020,” At the meeting it was agreed that vaccines will be added to the “toolbox” of COVID-19 countermeasures developed to ensure a safe and secure games. According to Kyodo news agency report the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, global anti-doping fight, the future of the political protest-banning Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, esports and gaming, and Olympic Agenda 2020 were other topics discussed. (UNI)
Ajax’s Promes arrested in connection with stabbing
AMSTERDAM, Dec 13: Police in Amsterdam on Sunday arrested Ajax forward Quincy Promes over his alleged involvement in a stabbing in July, Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported. A police spokesman confirmed the arrest of a 28-year old man from Amsterdam on Sunday morning in relation to the stabbing of a man in July in the neighbouring town of Abcoude, but he did not confirm the man’s identity.Ajax could not be reached for comment.Citing witnesses, de Telegraaf reported that the incident happened at a family reunion hosted by Promes on the premises of a company he owns. The paper said the player got into a fight with one of his relatives there and stabbed him.Police said the man stabbed, who was seriously injured in the incident, pressed charges last month.Promes, who formerly played for Sevilla FC and Spartak Moscow, did not show up for practice at Ajax on Sunday, de Telegraaf said. He has scored seven goals in 47 international appearances for the Dutch national team, and scored Ajax’s second goal in their 4-0 win over PEC Zwolle on Saturday. (Agencies)
South Africa defender Madisha killed in car accident
JOHANNESBURG, Dec 13: South Africa international defender Motjeka Madisha has been killed in a car accident in Johannesburg, the South African Football Association (SAFA) confirmed on Sunday. Madisha, 25, was travelling with one other person when their car struck a billboard post and burst into flames. Both men died. Madisha, who played for South African Premier Soccer League champions Mamelodi Sundowns, won 12 caps for his country and most recently featured in their Africa Cup of Nations qualification double-header against Sao Tome e Principe last month. (Agencies)
MSP Sports Capital buys into McLaren F1
LONDON, Dec 13: U.S.-based investment group MSP Sports Capital is taking a significant minority stake in McLaren Racing in a deal the Formula One team said would give them the tools to return to the top of the sport. The long-term investment, announced on Sunday, is for an initial 15% holding rising to a maximum 33% by the end of 2022. McLaren said it values the British racing outfit at 560 million pounds ($740.5 million). Under the deal, MSP will put 185 million pounds into the former world champions, who last won a race in 2012 but are still historically the sport’s second-most successful team, over a two-year period. MSP is headquartered in New York and the principals have a background as owners and investors in Major League Baseball and the NBA among other ventures. (Agencies)