Athletics
Mo Farah looks set to miss the World Indoor Championships in March to focus on the defence of his Olympic titles. The Briton, 32, says the Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix on February 20 at which he will race the 3,000m – is likely to be his only indoor race of 2016.The World Indoors take place in Portland, Oregon – where Farah now lives – from March 17-20 .
Cricket
Usman Khawaja’s comeback to the Australian side has been cut short after a hamstring injury has ruled him out of Australia’s next two Test matches.
The 28-year-old, who made two hundreds in the first three innings of the ongoing Test series with New Zealand injured himself while chasing a ball on day two of the WACA Test. His re-injured left hamstring sustained a moderate strain, which will rule him out of the third Test against the Kiwis and the opening Test against West Indies.
Tennis
2015 WTA Finals, Singapore, Oct 25 – Nov 1: Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis capped off a sensational 2015 season with yet another doubles title. The Indo-Swiss pair brushed aside Spaniards Gabrine Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro 6-0, 6-3 to capture the WTA doubles title. The top-seeded pair took a little over an hour to win their ninth title of the year.
Mirza and Hingis completely outclassed their Spanish counterparts. Having raced through the first set 6-0, Muguruza and Navarro showed some fight, winning three games. However, the effort wasn’t enough to dethrone the pair who just a day before, secured WTA Year-End world number 1 doubles ranking. They dropped serve only once through the match and broke their opponents five times to wrap up a comprehensive victory. Mirza and Hingis didn’t give away a single set in the tournament.
Hingis and Mirza are 9-1 in finals this season, with two Grand Slam titles (Wimbledon, US Open), five WTA Premier titles (BNP Paribas Open – Indian Wells, Miami Open, Family Circle Cup – Charleston, Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, China Open – Beijing), and one WTA International title (Guangzhou International Women’s Open). They have now stretched their unbeaten streak to 22 matches.
Pakistani doubles specialist Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi will partner Britain’s Jonathan Marray on the ATP Doubles circuit next year. Qureshi had a disappointing season in 2014 and has dropped to No. 37 in the world rankings, failing to make it for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals after qualifying for four years in a row.
Football
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was named Swedish footballer of the year for the tenth time in his career – his ninth win in a row. The Paris St Germain striker has had a stellar year, winning last season’s Ligue 1 title – the 12th league crown of his career – and scoring 30 goals in 35 appearances.
Premiership: Papiss Cisse has vowed to force his way back into the Newcastle starting line-up after falling down the pecking order through a combination of injury and the arrival of Aleksandar Mitrovic.
The Senegalese has struggled with a number of ailments over the last few seasons, having gone under the knife for a broken kneecap in the previous campaign and suffering a back strain earlier this season.
The 30-year-old, who has scored once in eight appearances in 205-16, has not started a game since September, with Mitrovic and Perez the preferred choice of manager Steve McClaren.
Transfer news – Juventus are planning a raid on the Premier League and are targeting moves for Chelsea playmaker Oscar and Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri, according to reports in Italy. The Serie A champions are long-term admirers of Brazil international Oscar and were widely reported to have tried to tempt him to Turin last summer.
Juventus are also reportedly preparing an audacious swoop for Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil. The German World Cup winner is finally starting to show the kind of exemplary form he promised upon his £42.4 million arrival at the Emirates, and that much has sparked plenty of interest from Turin. Juventus are currently seeking a creative No. 10 to underline their Champions League-winning credentials, and Ozil certainly fits the bill.
