Dakar Rally: Goncalves 10th after Stage 5, Santosh 37th
Ha’il (Saudi Arabia)
Paulo Goncalves continued to press forward and delivered a second consecutive top-10 finish as Hero MotoSports consolidated their position after Stage 5 of the Dakar Rally. Gocalves brought home his bike at the 10th place, while teammate Sebastian Buhler finished the stage in the 21st position. CS Santosh finished in the 37th place while Joaquim Rodrigues suffered a minor crash, but managed to close the stage in the 25th position. Goncalves climbed up several positions for the second day in a row to finish in the 59th place in the overall rankings. Buhler maintained his top-20 position to reach the 19th place while Santosh broke into the top-40 at the 39th place in the overall rankings.
Johannesburg
Buttler fined for verbal volley at Philander in second Test
England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler has been fined 15% of his match fee and handed one demerit point after a foul-mouthed verbal volley aimed at South Africa batsman Vernon Philander during the second Test at Newlands. Buttler was heard swearing at Philander through the stump microphone on Day 5 as the South African batted to save the Test for the home side, who succumbed to a 189-run defeat to leave the four-match series level at 1-1. Buttler accepted the sanction, which means there will be no need for a formal hearing. He could have been fined up to 50% of his match fee and received two demerit points. When a player receives four demerit points in a 24-month period, they are converted into suspension points. Two suspension points equates to a ban from one Test match or two limited-overs internationals.
Hong Kong
Sandhu sixth, Jeev tied-31st after Day 1 of season-opener
Ajeetesh Sandhu finished with back-to-back birdies to get into the top-10 with a 3-under 67 in the opening round of the season-opening Hong Kong Open golf tournament. Sandhu, who had a decent season in 2019 with two runner-up finishes on the Asian Tour and a win on a domestic tour, is tied-6th. He is two shots behind the co-leaders, Australia’s Wade Ormsby and Japan’s Tomoharu Otsuki. Shiv Kapur was the next best Indian at a 2-under 68 and tied-12th. Rashid Khan and Jyoti Randhawa turned in sub-par rounds of 69 each to be tied-20th. Jeev Milkha Singh and SSP Chawrasia shot a 70 each and were tied-31st.
Bengaluru
Bengaluru keep pace with top guns with 2-0 win
Erik Paartalu grabbed a goal and an assist as Bengaluru FC reduced the gap at the top of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) table with a convincing 2-0 win against Jamshedpur FC here on Thursday. The hosts scored from a set-piece when Erik Paartalu (8′) scored from Dimas Delgado’s corner. Sunil Chhetri (63′) doubled the lead after the break.
SYDNEY
Medvedev’s heroics take Russia into semifinals
Daniil Medvedev continued to baffle his opponents at the ATP Cup today, securing a hard-fought 6-4 4-6 6-3 win over Diego Schwartzman to take Russia into semifinals. A dynamic Nick Kyrgios and dogged Alex de Minaur powered Australia into the semifinals with an epic 2-1 win against the Tim Henman-led Britain.
WELLINGTON
Williams, Wozniacki shine again, enter ASB quarters
Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki ensured the Auckland Classic retained their two main draw cards as they battled to second round victories today, although promising teenager Coco Gauff was knocked out. Williams outlasted Christina McHale with a 3-6 6-2 6-3 victory, while Wozniacki fought back to overcome Lauren Davis 6-1 4-6 6-4. Gauff was upset by Germany’s Laura Siegemund 5-7 6-2 6-3.
Brisbane
Ash Barty shaken up in first round in Brisbane
World No. 1 Ash Barty suffered a surprise 6-4 7-6(4) defeat on Thursday to Jennifer Brady, who claimed the first top-10 win of her career to advance to the Brisbane International quarterfinals. Karolina Pliskova overcame a mid-match blip to secure a 6-4 6-7(5) 6-1 win over Ajla Tomljanovic. Naomi Osaka beat Sofia Kenin 6-7(3) 6-3 6-1.
New York
NBA: Rockets blow away Atalanta Hawks
James Harden scored 41 points en route to his second triple-double of the season and the visiting Houston Rockets beat the Atlanta Hawks 122-115 on a historic night on Wednesday. — Agencies
