(Photo: Hadi Abyar/Tasnim News Agency)
Athletics
Mo Farah has defended his title in the Big Half race, finishing in one hour one minute 14 seconds in London on March 10.The four-time Olympic champion won the half marathon in a sprint finish to beat his time of 1:01:40 in the inaugural event last year. The 13.1-mile race is the 35-year-old’s final one before he goes for a first London Marathon win on 28 April.
Cricket
The Pakistan Cricket Board has written to the International Cricket Council (ICC) calling for action to be taken after India’s players wore military-style camouflage caps in the third one-day international against Australia in Ranchi on March 8. India say they wore the caps in tribute to the country’s armed forces in the wake of the killing of at least 40 paramilitaries in Indian-administered Kashmir on February 14.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) approached the ICC before the game about the use of the military caps, and the ICC confirmed that permission had been granted as it was part of a charity fundraising effort.
PCB chairman Essan Mani said he has written to the ICC to protest against the caps, saying India had “tried to use cricket for politics”. Another letter was expected to be sent within hours, Mani said. “We have made our point very strongly to the ICC which now has no doubts or confusion about our intention or stance now on this matter,” he told reporters. “Their [India] credibility in the cricketing world has gone down very badly,” he added.
Football
Real Madrid have confirmed Zinedine Zidane’s return to the club as manager, replacing the sacked Santiago Solari. The Frenchman, who left Real last summer after leading the club to three successive Champions League titles, has signed a contract at the Bernabeu until June 2022.
Real’s board of directors met with Solari on March 11 to dismiss the Argentine and rehire Zidane. Zidane was first appointed Real Madrid boss in January 2016 after a spell in charge of the B team, and he became the first coach to win the Champions League in three straight seasons. He was already the only coach to have claimed back-to-back Champions League titles, but despite his European success he came under pressure for winning only one La Liga title during his two and a half years in charge.
Liverpool forward Sadio Mane has been nominated for the Uefa Champions League Player of the Week and the Goal of the Week.The 26-year-old bagged a brace on March 13 as Jurgen Klopp’s men dumped Bayern Munich out of the elite club competition with a 3-1 victory at the Allianz Arena .Mane’s unstoppable display started off with an astonishing effort that gave the visitors an early lead in 26th minute with a superb turn that was backed by a brilliant finish. He later secured the Reds’ passage to the quarterfinals with his second goal that extended his tally to three in eight outings in the tournament this term.
Tennis
Nearly five months after giving birth, Sania Mirza has been spotted on a tennis court and now sets her sights on a professional return in August. The 32 year old indian says she is spending five hours in the gym each day to regain her strength.
