Sports

Melbourne, Jan 16: More than 15 years after she reigned supreme at the top of the women's doubles rankings, Swiss tennis great Martina Hingis has reclaimed the world no.1 rank. The 35-year-old has joined doubles partner Sania Mirza as co-World No.1 in the latest Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings released here on Saturday. With the Australian Open starting here on Monday, the development is

Melbourne, Jan 16: Maria Sharapova says her Australian Open preparations have gone smoothly despite her lack of recent on-court action, all barring a mix-up at the Melbourne Park laundry over a pair of leopard print underwear. Sharapova, Australian Open champion in 2008, pulled out of her title defence at the Brisbane International two weeks ago because of a left forearm problem, one of a string

Sydney, Jan 14: India's Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis on Thursday recorded their 29th win on the trot en route to their entry into the women's doubles final of the WTA Sydney International. This is the longest winning streak since 1994 but, contrary to previous reports, the world record is still 15 matches away - it's held by Jana Novotna and Helena Sukova, who won 44 matches in

Jan 14: Chennai Smashers qualified for the semifinals after beating Bangalore Top Guns 3-2 in the last league match of the Premier Badminton League 2016 on Wednesday. In a rather smart move, Chennai opted for the trump match in their very first game of the tie and won it to make life difficult for the hosts. Bangalore Top Guns then had to win all their matches to gain five points, excluding the

Sydney, Jan 13: Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis continued their dream run of form, winning their 28th doubles match in a row after they overcame Chen Liang and Shuai Peng 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of WTA Sydney International semifinals with a straight set triumph. The run of 28 consecutive wins equals the world record for the longest doubles winning streak since Gigi Fernández and Natasha

New Delhi, Jan 12: Indian squash player Ravi Dixit, who won gold at the 2010 Asian junior championship, is now struggling to fund his campaign for next month's South Asian Games. Frustrated with no support, the 20-year-old wrote a post on Facebook stating he was willing to sell his kidney in order to support his career. “I have been playing squash for the last 10 years. Even after winning so many

Zurich, Jan 12: Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi won an unprecedented fifth Ballon d'Or award in Zurich on Monday, with the Argentine reclaiming the prize from three-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo. Brazil striker Neymar, who plays alongside Messi at Barca, was also in the running to be crowned world player of the year after he was included on the three-man shortlist for the first time. Messi and

Coatzacoalcos, Jan 11: A bus carrying amateur football players and fans plunged into a river after careening off a bridge in eastern Mexico today, leaving at least 16 people dead, authorities said. Another 10 people were injured in the crash in the municipality of Atoyac in the eastern state of Veracruz, officials said. A preliminary investigation found that the bus was speeding, causing the

Jan 10: Zinedine Zidane got off to a flying start as Real Madrid coach when Gareth Bale hit a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday after a Lionel Messi treble had fired Barcelona to the top of La Liga. Zidane, a former Real and France midfielder who took over from the sacked Rafa Benitez on Monday, was given a hero's welcome by his adoring fans at the Bernabeu and the team

Geneva, Jan 9: Lionel Messi is favored to win the FIFA Ballon d'Or on Monday, ending Cristiano Ronaldo's two-year hold on soccer's top individual prize. Messi already has a 4-3 lead in their career duel for the annual FIFA prize but has recently been eclipsed by his great rival. That changed in 2015 when Messi inspired Barcelona to regain the Champions League title among five major trophies to