San Marino player oldest to win Davis Cup match
BAKU, July 28: Domenico Vicini has become the oldest player to win a Davis Cup match. He turns 51 in September. Vicini and doubles partner Marco de Rossi of San Marino beat Martin Muedini and Mario Zili of Albania 6-3, 7-6 on Wednesday in Group IV play. The match was Vicini’s 99th overall in his 24th Davis Cup tournament. The Davis Cup tweeted: “History man Vicini is just one appearance away from playing his 100th tie, a landmark no-one has ever reached!” He can hit that milestone Friday. Three years ago, Vicini set a Davis Cup record as the oldest player to win a singles match. That was at age 47,318 days. Vicini made his Davis Cup debut with San Marino in 1993. San Marino is one of the world’s oldest republics and has a population of some 33,000. It is landlocked and bordered by Italy. (AP)
FIG annual congress shifted to allow Russian officials
LAUSANNE, July 28: The International Gymnastics Federation said Wednesday its annual congress will be moved out of Norway so that officials from Russia and its ally Belarus can attend. The FIG congress was due to be held in Norway in October but the FIG said it will be moved. It said the Norwegian Gymnastics Federation withdrew as host because it “must comply with the recommendations from the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports and the Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality to not welcome any officials or delegates from Russia or Belarus to events in the country.” FIG said it is looking for another host. FIG suspended Russian and Belarusian gymnasts from competing in March, less than two weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine. (AP)
Pakistan to boycott int’l chess event in Chennai
ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI, July 28: Pakistan said on Thursday that it will boycott the International Chess Federation event in Chennai citing the torch relay of the event passing through Jammu and Kashmir, a move termed by India as “highly unfortunate”. Pakistan was invited by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) to participate in the 44th Chess Olympiad scheduled to be held in Chennai, India, from July 28 to August 10. Pakistan’s Foreign Office said in a statement, “Pakistan condemns India’s mischievous attempt to mix politics with sports. As a protest, Pakistan has decided not to participate in the 44th Chess Olympiad and will also raise the matter with the International Chess Federation at the highest level”. (PTI)
Sebastian Vettel to retire at end of F1 season
Budapest, July 28: Four-time Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel will retire at the end of the season to spend more time with his family, the German driver said on Thursday. Vettel won his four F1 titles from 2010-13 with the Red Bull team. His last race victory came with Ferrari in 2019. This season with Aston Martin, he has been largely unsuccessful with a best finish of sixth place. “The decision to retire has been a difficult one for me to take, and I have spent a lot of time thinking about it,” Vettel said. He expressed his desire to spend time with his family. Vettel became the youngest world champion at 23 in 2010 and later became the third driver to win four consecutive championships after F1 greats Juan Miguel Fangio and Michael Schumacher. (AP)