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Rome
Rafael Nadal won the Rome Masters for the eighth time on Sunday when he defeated defending champion Alexander Zverev 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 after a stunning comeback.

German second seed Zverev was 3-1 up in the decider before two rain stoppages halted his momentum.

Top seed Nadal raced away with the last five games to secure a 32nd Masters title and ensure a return to the world number one spot.

The 31-year-old also showed why he will once again be the runaway favourite when Roland Garros begins in a week where he'll be bidding for an 11th French Open title.

Zverev, 21, came to the court riding a 13-match win streak which included last weekend's trophy in Madrid.

However, by the end of Sunday's rain-hit final, his record against the Spaniard stood at five defeats in five meetings.

Nadal was 3-1 down at the first rain break but cut the gap on the resumption.

After a further half an hour off court during the second interruption, Nadal came back out firing, winning four straight games to wrap up the win on his second match point.

"The rain break was so important, I didn't think it would help me but it did. I was able to come back out with clear ideas, I'm very happy," said Nadal.

"To win Rome eight times is amazing, it's hard to describe. To have the chance to win here again is so great.

"As for Roland Garros, I'm going to enjoy this victory and think about Paris in a few days.

"For Alexander it's amazing to have won that many matches in a row," Nadal said after winning in just over two hours.

"Today this trophy is with me for a short time, but I'm sure you will get it again."

He added: "This was a very difficult match played at one of the best events of the world.

"To win again after my first (Rome title) in 2005 is amazing, the 2005 final was one of the best memories of my career."

Nadal remains the best clay-courter of the Open Era with an astonishing 408-36 record

He will next seek an 11th French Open crown to match the 11 he owns from Monte Carlo and Barcelona.

"You are an amazing champion and you proved that today," Zverev told the Spaniard at the trophy presentation.

"You are the greatest clay player of all time, we all saw that. I'm disappointed that my streak is over, but I did lose to Rafa, so maybe it's OK.

"I was so close but I lost it at the end."

With the sun shining, Nadal made light work of what looked like a disastrous start to the match as he dropped serve in the opening game.

But the king of clay quickly mounted a fightback, breaking world number three Zverev to love and going on to deny the German a winning service game in the entire set.

Nadal closed out the opener in 32 minutes on an overhead smash to leave his challenger scratching for answers after losing six straight games.

Zverev finally held serve to start the second set and answered Nadal by breaking the top seed twice to reach 5-0 as the first dark clouds of the week gathered over the Foro Italico and the conditions slowed.

Nadal temporarily stopped the rot as he won his fist game of the set but Zverev levelled the match at a set each a game later.

That set the stage for the roller-coaster third set decider.

New Delhi 
Boxing in India has for many years been one of the most popular sports and with the launch of Super Boxing League (SBL) with participation from top pugilists from India and abroad, the stage is set for some exciting ring action.

Keeping up the momentum of the game and to promote the league, SBL has partnered with MoMagic for digital marketing across all the platforms for SBL Season One.

MoMagic works on data driven technology to help brands, ecommerce players and business partners acquire quality users and drive effective revenue growth.

The company has a unique 360-degree user-insight intelligent technology platform to understand and predict user behaviour with 24/7 constant optimisation on user acquisition and boosting business revenue.

Speaking on the win, Arun Gupta, Founder and CEO MoMagic Group said, "One of the most notable trends that we are witnessing today is the digital revolution, which is having a significant impact on consumer behaviour and market structure. Today, Internet is becoming a key channel for gathering information, arriving at purchase decisions and transacting online with more and more consumers using the medium. SBL is an exciting brand to work on and with this collaboration we wish to provide best of our expertise to SBL for promoting the event on a targeted consumer base."

The inaugural edition of the league is all set to commence from today in the national capital.

Speaking about the league and the collaboration with MoMagic, Bill Dosanjh, founder and promoter said, "Super Boxing league - world's leading boxing league - in its inaugural season itself has attracted wide fan base in the country."

"Super Boxing League is all set to woo Indian audiences with the best of action in boxing and we plan to optimise our reach to a wide-across fan base - target audience with our strategic collaboration for Digital marketing across platforms with MoMagic."

He added, "Recognising the impact of digital era as an opportunity, we wish to use an aggressive digital marketing strategy to promote the Super Boxing League through consumer driven platform provided by MoMagic.

DUESSELDORF, GERMANY 

Reigning champion Chris Froome wasted no time flexing his muscles at the Tour de France as he powered to sixth place Saturday in a treacherous opening time trial won superbly by Team Sky colleague Geraint Thomas.

Heavy rain turned what, on paper, had looked like a regulation 14-kilometer circuit alongside the Rhine river into an incident-packed Grand Depart that could have major consequences in the three-week battle for the yellow jersey.

While it was a great start for Team Sky, with Thomas, three-time champion Froome and Vasil Kiryienka all in the top six of the 198 riders to start, a sickening crash ended the Tour for Movistar's Alejandro Valverde.

Several riders continued after crashing on the greasy roads, but there was no getting up for Valverde, third overall in 2015, after he skidded off the route and careered into crowd barriers. He was taken to a hospital with leg injuries.

It was heartbreaking for Valverde and also a huge blow for teammate Nairo Quintana, who was counting on Valverde's experience in the mountain stages to come.

Welshman Thomas, riding his eighth Tour, looked completely at home in the puddles as he became the eighth Briton to wear the yellow jersey — making up for the disappointment of crashing out of the Giro d'Italia as team leader.

He displayed brilliant handling to cross the finish line at the huge Messe Duesseldorf exhibition complex in 16 minutes, 4 seconds. He was five seconds ahead of BMC's Swiss rider Stefan Kueng, who was two seconds ahead of Kiryienka in third.

Froome, the last rider out, was 12 seconds slower than Thomas, but significantly quicker than all his main General Classification (GC) rivals.
Quintana was 48 seconds slower than Thomas, with Australian Richie Porte one second quicker than the Colombian. French GC hopefuls Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet were 50 and 51 seconds off the pace, with Spain's Alberto Contador 54 down.

Thomas said it had been a great day for Welsh sport, after Sam Warburton captained the British and Irish Lions to victory over the New Zealand All Blacks in rugby.

"That inspired me, to be honest," he said. "I didn't believe I would hang on, felt sure Tony [Martin] or someone would beat my time. This is amazing for me after what happened at the Giro, and massive for the team. The jersey is a huge bonus."

Hopes that Martin would mark the first German Grand Depart since Berlin in 1987 with a home win were washed away as he could only manage fourth quickest.

While Porte will be concerned to be trailing Froome before the Tour starts for real, he said at least he had not suffered the same fate as Valverde.

"It wasn't a day to take risks," Froome's former teammate said. " ... I was petrified, to be honest. It was such a slippery course."

Palma
Former World No 1 Victoria Azarenka's return from maternity leave was cut short by young Croatian Ana Konjuh at the Mallorca Open on Thursday.
The Belarusian, who saved match points in her first-round victory against Japan's Risa Ozaki, went down 6-1,6-3 to the seventh seed on the grasscourts at Santa Ponsa.

Konjuh, 19, dominated from the start and Azarenka had no answer to the depth and power of her opponent.

"I know Azarenka is coming back, but it's always tough to play against her," said Konjuh, who did not allow Azarenka a point until the third game of the match.

"She's one of the best players in the world.

"I was motivated for sure, and I'm really glad that I could play so well today and win."

Italian Roberta Vinci also reached the last eight with a 6-4 5-7 6-2 win over Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens.

Defending champion Caroline Garcia's match against Jana Cepelova was suspended at 2-2 in the third set as the light faded.

Stuttgart
Sticking to a limited schedule has helped Roger Federer enjoy a renaissance late in his career but the Swiss says rest time is now over and he is looking forward to returning to action at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart.
The 35-year-old was ruled out for six months last year as he recovered from a knee injury but made a winning return this season at the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami before opting out of the entire clay-court season.

The former World No 1 is eager to get back to competition in 2017 after a 10-week layoff.

"There are no more breaks now," Federer told the ATP's official website (atpworldtour.com)

"I've had enough breaks. I'm a practice world champion now and that's not who I want to be. I want to be a champ on the match courts.

"So I'm going to be playing a regular schedule for the second part of the season... And this is the beginning here at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart."

During Federer's absence, Rafa Nadal won four clay tournaments, culminating in Sunday's French Open victory, and Federer said the Spaniard could finish the year on top of the world rankings.

"Obviously Rafa is in great position to finish World No. 1. For him it's going to be all about staying injury free," he added. "For me it's about getting back to winning ways, where I left off in Miami."

Federer said he expected Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Kei Nishikori and Stan Wawrinka to step up their game in the second half of the season.

"It's going to be an epic finish to the end of the season. Quite exciting actually for the ATP Tour."

Federer will play either Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert or German Tommy Haas in the second round at Stuttgart on Wednesday.

Istanbul
Turkey captain Arda Turan announced his retirement from international football on Tuesday, hours after being kicked out of a training camp by coach Fatih Terim for allegedly verbally and physically abusing a journalist.
"I think the time has come...I am ending my career with the national team," said the 30-year-old Barcelona midfielder, capped 96 times, at a brief press conference in Slovenia, broadcast on Turkish television.

Turan had been told to leave the Turkey team's camp in Slovenia where they are preparing for a 2018 World Cup qualifier against Kosovo on Sunday, the daily Hürriyet and news channel NTV earlier reported.

He was reported to have lambasted veteran sports journalist Bilal Mese during a flight after a 0-0 friendly draw against Macedonia in Skopje on Monday.

Turan was furious at articles written during Euro 2016 which claimed the Barcelona winger had a falling out with Terim over player bonuses.

"What kind of a country is this? They allow you onto this plane. F*** those who allowed you onto this plane," Turan reportedly ranted at Mese, calling him "shameless".

Eyewitnesses claimed Turan grabbed Mese by the throat and was about to hit him when other players intervened.

"Do I feel remorse? No, I don't feel any remorse. I am quite calm," added Turan.

"I really love my country. I really love my flag. I have always said: "If that's what you want, I will retire."

Mese – a sports journalist since 1973 – has threatened to take legal action against Turan when he returns to Turkey, his newspaper Milliyet said.

"We strongly condemn this assault," the Association of Sports Journalists of Turkey said in a statement.

"The fact that this assault was committed by the captain of our national side reinforces its seriousness."

Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo heads to Saturday's Champions League final against Juventus on the brink of realising a burning ambition of matching Lionel Messi's record of winning the Ballon d'Or five times.
"I want to catch Messi," Ronaldo confessed when collecting his third World Player of the Year crown back in 2015.
Now the Portuguese has four to his name, but Messi still remains one step ahead with five.

The two have dominated the award for the past decade in the battle to not just be considered the best of their generation, but among the best of all time.

Yet, whilst Juventus's stubborn defence forced Messi to fire blanks in a 3-0 quarter-final aggregate win for the Italians over Barcelona, Ronaldo can complete another stellar season by ensuring Madrid become the first side to retain the Champions League.

"I am aware of the fact that what I've done in football has already left and will continue to leave a mark," Ronaldo told UEFA.com.

"I haven't broken so many records by accident. That's not an obsession for me, but I do like breaking them."

Ronaldo has already added his name to more record books during this season's Champions League.

His hat-trick against Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals made him the first man to score more than 100 Champions League goals.

And he duly added another hat-trick in the semi-finals against Atletico Madrid to carry Real to the final in Cardiff this weekend.

"He has a good opportunity with the season that he has had, above all in the Champions League this year," Predrag Mijatovic, who scored the winning goal when Real last met Juventus in the Champions League final in 1998, told AFP.

However, the Montenegrin believes Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon could finally end Messi and Ronaldo's reign if he lifts the Champions League for the first time at 39 to complete the treble for the Italian giants.

"I think the next Ballon d'Or will come from the team that wins the Champions League," added Mijatovic.

"Cristiano is there, as is Buffon and other great players at Real Madrid like Sergio Ramos that could aspire to it."

Ramos more than Ronaldo has been Real's hero in beating Atletico in two of the past three Champions League finals, scoring in both games in Lisbon and Milan.

However, the Spanish international doesn't seem interested in depriving his teammate of a fifth Ballon d'Or to tie Messi's record.

"If I wanted to win individual awards I would have played tennis," Ramos said on Tuesday.

In contrast to Madrid's previous finals in recent seasons, though, Ronaldo arrives in Cardiff in his best form of the campaign having been spared for a series of league games recently.

Despite Ronaldo missing nine La Liga games in total, Madrid didn't miss a beat, winning every single one to edge out Barcelona and claim a first league title in five years.

"It was very intelligent management on the part of the coach because everything had minutes, everyone played and contributed," added Ronaldo on Sergio Ramos.

"I feel better than in recent years. That is why I think this year will be good for me.

"I hope to help the team with a good performance and goals if possible."

If he adds to his 14 goals in his last nine games against the meanest defence in this season's Champions League, Ronaldo will likely have his name etched on yet another Ballon d'Or.

Paris
Serena Williams' bombshell pregnancy announcement last month triggered a sequence of events that has left this year's women's draw at Roland Garros wide open and primed for a new champion.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner learned she was pregnant just two days before starting a successful assault on January's Australian Open and won't return before next year.
The French federation then refused to award Maria Sharapova a wild card for the tournament with the Russian on the comeback trail following a 15-month doping suspension.

With Li Na long since retired that means the winners of five of the past six French Opens -- Williams (2013, 2015), Sharapova (2012, 2014) and Li (2011) -- are absent from the field, while several pretenders to the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen are battling injury and loss of form.

Simona Halep, the 2014 runner-up, established herself as arguably the leading challenger by winning the Madrid Open before reaching the Rome final, but an ankle injury has hampered her preparations.

The Romanian, who faces Slovakia's Jana Cepelova in the first round, earlier this week rated her chances of playing in Paris as just "50-50".

But after practice on Friday, Halep sounded far more confident.

"I expect to play, I should be OK but I am waiting for another ultra-sound on Saturday," said Halep, who arrived early in Paris for treatment on torn ligaments.

World number one Angelique Kerber has endured a miserable clay-court season, losing early in Stuttgart and crashing out in her Rome opener, while retiring from her last-16 clash in Madrid with a lower back injury.

The German opens with a tricky first-round tie against fellow left-hander and former top-10 player Ekaterina Makarova.

Defending champion Garbine Muguruza's fortunes on the surface have proved almost as bleak.

Her only three wins came in Rome where she reached the semi-finals before a neck injury forced her to quit against eventual champion Elina Svitolina, the fourth time the Spaniard has failed to complete a match in 2017.

Muguruza begins her title defence against 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone, the wily veteran making her final French Open appearance before retiring at the end of the year.

'Already won my biggest fight' 
Petra Kvitova provides one of the tournament's feel-good storylines with the two-time Wimbledon champion making a shock comeback in the French capital.

The former world number two has been sidelined since December after suffering career-threatening injuries to her left hand while fighting off a knife-wielding intruder at her home the eastern Czech town of Prostejov.

"I actually already won my biggest fight. I stayed in life and I have all my fingers," Kvitova told reporters at Roland Garros.

"I knew this day would come but sometimes when I was watching tennis on TV, I didn't really feel great. I felt like the tennis was taken away from me, and it wasn't my decision.

"Suddenly I couldn't do what I love. So I'm happy that I can be here."

As 15th seed, Kvitova will face Julia Boserup of the United States in the first round.

The Czech star is one of few players with genuine Grand Slam pedigree in the draw, with Victoria Azarenka, the 2012 and 2013 Australian Open champion, not quite ready for Roland Garros after the birth of her son.

The 27-year-old hasn't played since last year's French Open but is scheduled to return in Mallorca next month as a tune-up ahead of Wimbledon.

Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki suffered a scare when she limped out of Strasbourg with a back problem, while third-ranked Karolina Pliskova's best results this season have come on hard courts.

Svitolina climbed to a career high of sixth after landing her fourth title of the season at the Italian Open, although the Ukrainian remained coy on her chances.

"There is no one I can name as a favourite," she said, with Svitolina's run to the 2015 quarter-finals the only time she has advanced to the second week at a major.

Meanwhile Italy's Sara Errani, the 2012 finalist, has tumbled down the rankings and needed to come through three rounds of qualifying just to reach the main draw.

Prague
Petra Kvitova will make a "last-minute decision" whether to compete in the French Open as she prepares a comeback five months after her playing hand was badly injured in a knife attack, her spokesman said on Tuesday.
The two-time Wimbledon champion suffered career-threatening injuries to her left hand as she fought off a knife-wielding intruder at her home in the eastern Czech town of Prostejov in December.

The draw for the French Open will take place on Friday and Kvitova's spokesman Karel Tejkal said the Czech star could still make the 28 May - 11 June Grand Slam.

"It's not by chance that her name is still on the entry list for Roland Garros. The decision will be taken at the last minute," Tejkal said.

"We can already say it out loud – her long-term goal is to be fit enough to compete in Wimbledon."

The 27-year-old Kvitova won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014. This year's event at the All England club starts on 3 July.

Doctors had said the Czech player would not be able to return to competition before the second half of the year.

But Kvitova returned to training early in May and she was included on the entry list for the French Open.

"This unfortunately does not mean necessarily that I will be ready to play in Paris, but that I'm doing everything possible to give myself the chance and keep a positive mindset," Kvitova said at the time.

Roger Federer made a smart decision by pulling out of this month's French Open, where he has less chance of adding to his 18 grand slam titles than on the sport's quicker surfaces, world number two Novak Djokovic said on Thursday.

Federer, who announced his withdrawal from the 28 May-11 June claycourt major on Monday, said he felt he needed to avoid playing on clay this season to help prolong his career.

"You know, he's very smart in his decision-making... He knows what he's doing," 12-times major winner Djokovic told reporters.

"Of course he's aware he has much better chance to win big trophies on quicker surfaces."

Federer defied age and logic to win the Australian Open in January after a knee injury kept him out of tennis for six months, and followed that up with two more high-profile titles at Indian Wells and Miami.

The 35-year-old, fifth-ranked Swiss is now focused on being in top form for Wimbledon, which begins on 3 July and where he is a seven-times champion.

"Grass obviously is where he feels the most comfortable," Djokovic said.

"I'm not too surprised with this (French Open) decision. I mean, he had a lot of matches played at the beginning of the year, and he did amazingly well."

Djokovic faces Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the last-16 of the Italian Open on Thursday.

Paris
International Olympic Committee (IOC) delegates arrived in Paris afternoon ahead of an inspection of the city's 2024 Games bid.

Emmanuel Macron has vowed to find time to meet the commission delegates although no appointment has been set yet as he will be inaugurated as French President to replace Francois Hollande on Sunday.
Switzerland's Patrick Baumann will lead the 11-strong commission on a three-day visit having just spent as long in Los Angeles, the only other city competing to host the 2024 Olympics.

"We have three very intense days of work. We're really looking forward to these three days," said Baumann.

"There's already been a lot of interaction between the IOC and Paris.

"What the commission hopes for is to live what there is in the bid file. To get a direct idea of what the city of Paris and the bid committee are proposing."

Sunday will be spent holding interviews between the commission and the bid team, led by co-presidents Tony Estanguet and Bernard Lapasset, before a dinner at one of the top Parisian landmarks, the Petit Palais.

Other major iconic sites and sports venues in the City of Lights that will host events -- such as the Eiffel Tower, Grand Palais, Champ de Mars, Roland Garros and the Stade de France -- will be visited on Monday.

After more interviews on Tuesday morning, the commission will hold its evaluation press conference before leaving.

Paris has prepared for the visit by displaying its bid logo on the giant Montparnasse Tower and the Olympic colours on buildings such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Voting to decide the host city will take place on 13 September in Lima.

Southampton
Alexis Sanchez scored his 20th goal of the Premier League campaign as Arsenal won 2-0 at Southampton on Wednesday to keep their hopes of a top-four finish alive.

Sanchez opened the scoring on the hour at St Mary's before substitute Olivier Giroud made the game safe with a header seven minutes from time.

Victory took Arsene Wenger's side above Manchester United into fifth place in the table and left them three points below Manchester City, who occupy the fourth and final Champions League qualifying berth.
"We were focused and I felt that when we suffered, we stuck together," Arsenal manager Wenger told the BBC.

"We have another clean sheet and I know we can go forward and score goals. The whole team was dynamic, focused and showed a convincing desire to win the game."

Arsenal must now win their three remaining games and hope City or third-place Liverpool drop points if they are to secure a 20th successive season of Champions League football.

Having previously taken two points from a possible 24 in away games against current top-half teams, victory was a welcome tonic.

However, it came at the cost of an injury to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has found form in a new wing-back role.

"We don't know how bad it is," said Wenger. "It's a tight hamstring. We'll know more in the next 48 hours."

Arsenal went into the game on the back of a 2-0 win over Manchester United and procured the first sight of goal, with Aaron Ramsey firing wide after a foray by Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Saints had an opportunity to make the breakthrough when Arsenal's back three contrived to play both Dusan Tadic and Manolo Gabbiadini onside, but the latter's effort was repelled by visiting goalkeeper Petr Cech.

Oxlade-Chamberlain gave way in the 36th minute, with Hector Bellerin taking his place.

Gabbiadini curled a free-kick wide before Cech was called into action again, touching a powerful Nathan Redmond effort over the crossbar.

Sanchez had been quiet, but with 15 minutes on the clock in the second period he made the breakthrough.

Picked out by Mesut Ozil, he cut inside Saints centre-backs Maya Yoshida and Jack Stephens, leaving both on the deck, before finishing crisply.

Chile international Sanchez, 28, has now scored 20 goals in a league season for the first time in a career that has also featured spells with Udinese and Barcelona.

Giroud made sure of victory in the 83rd minute, nodding home after Ramsey had headed the ball across the box following more good work from Sanchez.

Arsenal saw out victory with little trouble to complete a first league win at Southampton since their famous 'Invincibles' season of 2003-04.

Southampton manager Claude Puel, whose side remain 10th, felt his players deserved to take more from the game.

"It's often the same against the big six," said the Frenchman.

"We cannot find a win. Every time we play good quality football with chances, but without the clinical edge and it's harsh on the players.

"For me, we deserved minimum a draw and maybe a win. For them, in one situation, they scored. It's difficult to accept.

"It was interesting for many moments, but it's important to score. It's a shame and a big frustration. It was another game against a top-six side without reward."


Los Angeles
A team of International Olympic Committee delegates kick off a three-day tour of Los Angeles Wednesday as the city attempts to demonstrate its readiness to stage the 2024 Olympics.


With just four months to go until a 13 September vote in Lima that will decide the race, the IOC's Evaluation Commission will spend this week studying the fine detail of Los Angeles's bid before heading to rival Paris next week.


The back-to-back visits of the only two cities in the running for the 2024 Games usher in what is expected to a frenzied final spurt of campaigning.


The bidding contest has been overshadowed in recent weeks by speculation that the IOC is aiming to offer the 2028 Olympics to whomever loses out on the 2024 Games, anxious to lock in two strong bids at a time when the pool of cities willing to stage the mammoth sporting spectacular is shrinking.


But Los Angeles will spend the next three days aiming to make the case that the Californian metropolis is the right city at the right time.


The Los Angeles bid, which enjoys wide public support according to recent surveys, has emphasized the fact that its vision for the 2024 Games would require no new venue construction, with events staged in an array of stadia which exist or are already in the process of being built.


IOC delegates will be ferried around the city to examine venues which include the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the iconic centerpiece of the 1932 and 1984 Olympics.


"We are very well prepared, we are enthusiastic, we have been rehearsing, literally every minute is planned," LA24 chief executive Gene Sykes told AFP.


One potential hurdle for LA 2024 officials to overcome this week as they seek to impress IOC delegates is traffic congestion, a perennial complaint of often-gridlocked locals.


No 'fake version' of LA

Bid chiefs are adamant however that there will be no attempt to ease the passage of the IOC delegation by rigging traffic lights as officials move around the city.


"That's against the rules," bid chief Casey Wasserman said.


"We're not trying to show them a fake version of what LA is -- we're trying to show them exactly what LA is, and exactly the LA they will get."

Los Angeles 2024 officials also point to the $88 billion of expanded subway, light rail, bus and express lane projects that will be operational by 2024, an investment Wasserman described as "the largest ongoing transportation and infrastructure project in American history."

Wasserman believes, too, that the city's notorious traffic congestion issues are overstated in the context of an Olympic fortnight.

"Ask anybody from LA what their best memory was of the 1984 Games and they'll say there was no traffic," said Wasserman, a successful sports talent agent who acted as an Olympic torch bearer during the flame relay for the 1984 games.

Wasserman believes the readiness of Los Angeles's venues and infrastructure, which includes plans to host the Olympic athletes village at the UCLA campus, creates a "very clear line in the sand" between the city and Paris.

"Los Angeles is a bid that can uniquely connect the Olympic Games with the future," Wasserman said at a recent briefing in London. "And the reason we can say that and the reason we can absolutely do that is because we've got universal public support and we've got all of our facilities that exist today.

"And if you take those two things, as risks, off the table, what you can actually do is focus on serving the Olympic movement for seven years. No other city can say that."

New Delhi
Indian pacer Jhulan Goswami has become the leading wicket-taker in Women's One Day Internationals (ODI) going past Australian Cathryn Fitzpatrick record of 180 wickets.

Goswami, playing his 153rd ODI against South Africa Women during the ongoing Women's Quadrangular Series in South Africa on Tuesday, took three wickets to take her career tally to 181 wickets.

Fitzpatrick, who had taken 180 wickets in 109 matches, had retired in 2007.
With 271 International wickets across all formats, the 34-year-old Indian pacer is the all-time leading wicket-taker in women's cricket.
Goswami made her ODI debut against England in 2002.

In 2007, she won ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year award, followed by Arjuna Award in 2010 and two years later she won the prestigious Padma Shri.

Currently, she ranks second in ODI Rankings for Bowlers

Bengaluru 
Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) and Namdhari XI progressed through to the final of the 7th Sub Junior National Hockey Championship 2017 (Men) 'B' Division after registering comprehensive victories in their respective semi-final clashes on Thursday.

In the first semi final, Mumbai School Sports Association put in a dominant display of hockey to beat Hockey Rajasthan 5-1. Rajveer Singh Dhariwala opened the scoring for the winners in the second minute of the game, and from there on they dominated the game.

7th Sub Junior National C'ship: MSSA to take on Namdhari XI in finalMumbai School Sports Association's controlled display of attacking hockey nullified Hockey Rajasthan's threat. Other goal scorers for them were Sartaj Alam (7', 55'), Mohd Sadiq (36') and Arvind Yadav (60').

In the second semi final, Namdhari XI, the stand out team of the tournament, beat Bengal Hockey Association 2-1 in a closely contested game. But goals came only in the second half when Akashdeep Singh opened the scoring for Namdhari XI in the 41st minute, with a slick PC conversion.

Both teams played cautiously, careful to not engage each other and leave open spaces in their back line. Namdhari XI extended their advantage with a Surpreet Singh PC conversion in the 54th minute.

Within a minute though Bengal Hockey Association struck back, Kallu Ali ensuring the final minutes would be nervy and action packed. Namdhari XI kept their composure though, and with the victory took their place in the finals.

In Bhopal, 7th Junior National Hockey Championship 2017 (Women) 'A' Division kicked off yesterday, with high quality hockey on display through the day.

In Pool C, Hockey Coorg beat Delhi Hockey 2-0 to start their tournament off on a positive note. M Devi (4', 18') scored a brace for Hockey Coorg in the victory.

In Pool D, Hockey Odisha beat Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu 3-0. Mariana Kujur's brace (19', 53') and Dipit Lakra's 51st minute strike were enough for the victors to take the three points.

In Pool C, Hockey Jharkhand beat Hockey Karnataka 5-3 in a high scoring thriller. Sangita Kumari scored a high-class hat trick (1', 52', 58') and Albela Rani Toppo scored a brace (15', 53') in Hockey Jharkhand's victory.

Hockey Chandigarh beat The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd 4-1 in Pool A. Goals for Hockey Chandigarh were scored by, Poonam Olla (18'), Kavita (20'), Amritpal Kaur (31') and Shalu Mann (45'). Anjali Tudu scored The Mumbai Hockey Assoiation Ltd's goal in the 40th minute.

Hockey Punjab beat Hockey Patiala 3-1 in Pool A. Gurkamalpreet Kaur of Hockey Punjab scored a quick fire brace (30', 32') in their victory. Hockey Patiala's goal was scored by, Mitali in the 69th minute.

In Pool B, Hockey Haryana outclassed Chhattisgarh Hockey to win 19-0. Reet (15', 20', 29', 38', 42') and Amandeep Kaur (5', 8', 24', 34') scored a hat trick each in the victory.

Wellington [New Zealand]
While Maria Sharapova is still waiting to hear if she can play at the French Open, world number one Andy Murray has said that he expects the Russian tennis player to receive a wildcard for Wimbledon qualifying if she fails to make it through her ranking.

Last month, Sharapova made a comeback on the tennis court from her 15-month doping ban to reach the semifinals at the Stuttgart Open, but she failed to gain enough points to qualify for Roland Garros.

Whether Sharapova will receive a wildcard at Roland Garros will be known on May 15 , just a week before qualifying begins for the second major of the season, which is slated to be held from May 28 to June 11.

The five-time Grand Slam champion had earlier also received wild cards for Madrid (May 7-13) and Rome (May 15-21) tournaments.

However, Murray remains confident that the Russian player would be on the grasscourts of south-west London.

"I think there's a good chance Wimbledon would give her one (a wildcard) to get into qualifying," Stuff.co.nz quoted Murray as saying.

"I think we've got to wait and see what happens because there might not even be a decision to be made because she might be in the main draw after Madrid or Rome, so there's a good chance she can get in by right," said Murray while attending an event for June's Aegon Championships tournament at the Queen's Club in London.

Sharapova can only qualify for the main draw of the Wimbledon if she manages to reach the semifinals of either the Madrid or Rome tournaments.

The rankings deadline for Wimbledon qualification is May 29

New Delhi
The legendary Oinam Bembem Devi, Jeje Lalpekhlua and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu have been nominated for the Arjuna Awards this year by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
The 36-year-old Bembem called time on her illustrious international career at the end of the South Asian Games last year in Shillong, and an Arjuna will be a fitting reward for her services to the game, the AIFF felt.
She has been the biggest name in the women's game.

Gurpreet, a 26-year-old goalkeeper, who is the only Indian to have played top-flight football in Europe, also stands a good chance.

Gurpreet had turned out for Norwegian top division club Stabaek last year, and was impressive.

AIFF Player of the Year Jeje has been a key member of the national team for a while and played for Mohun Bagan in the I-League.

MKRdezign

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