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Sports News in Brief: August 2009: Athletics

1) Usain Bolt broke his own 100m world record at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, running 9.58 seconds. 2) Lin Dan of China won his third straight men's singles badminton world title. 3) England regained the Ashes by defeating Australia in the 5th Test.

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Abhijit Jadhav
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132 views9 pages

Sports News in Brief: August 2009: Athletics

1) Usain Bolt broke his own 100m world record at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, running 9.58 seconds. 2) Lin Dan of China won his third straight men's singles badminton world title. 3) England regained the Ashes by defeating Australia in the 5th Test.

Uploaded by

Abhijit Jadhav
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SPORTS NEWS IN BRIEF: AUGUST 2009

ATHLETICS
World Athletics Championship, 2009

The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin,


Germany from Auguast 15–23, 2009. The majority of events took
place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and race-walking
events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate.

United States, with 10 gold, 6 silver and 6 bronze medals, topped the
medals tally, followed by Jamaica, Kenya, Russia, Poland and
Germany.

Sprint king Usain Bolt proved lightning does strike twice as he


smashed his own 100m world record, exactly one year after setting
the previous benchmark at the Beijing Olympics. Bolt took 33 strides
down the track at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium and sliced the largest
chunk off the world record since electronic timing was introduced.
Bolt pushed himself and the result was a stunning time of 9.58
seconds in the men's 100-metre final: eleven-hundredths of a second
better than his game-changing mark of 9.69 in Beijing.
His world record performance was all the more remarkable as the 22-
year-old was involved in a car crash in Jamaica in April 2008 when his
car overturned in a ditch off a highway. Bolt had a small operation on
his left foot, but his lightning strides showed nothing to be wrong
with his feet.

With Olympic and world championship gold medals now in his


possession, Bolt said he was tempted to complete the set of major
championship medals by running at the CWG in New Delhi in
October, 2010.

Jamaica’s sprinting dominance continued in sizzling style when


Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser clocked 10.73 seconds to win
the women’s world 100 metres. Now, only Florence Griffith-Joyner
and Marion Jones remain among those who have run faster than
Fraser.

Usain Bolt also shattered his own 200 metres world record to win
gold at the world championships in a breathtaking 19.19 seconds and
secure his place as the greatest sprinter ever seen.
BADMINTON
World Championship, 2009

Olympic champion Lin Dan has become the first badminton player to
clinch a hat-trick of world titles, beating fellow Chinese Chen Jin in
straight games to win the men's singles title of this mega event held
at the Gachibowli stadium, Hyderabad. Lin had won the earlier World
Championship in 2006 and 2007, apart from winning four All-England
titles in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009.

In all-Chinese women’s singles final Lu Lan beat Xie Xingfang in


straight sets to win the world title.

Danish mixed pair Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhl thrashed
the two times World Champions from Indonesia, Nova Widianto and
Lilyana Natsir to win the mixed-doubles title.

The Chinese pair of Fu Haifeng and Cai Yun defeated Koreans Lee
Young Dae and Jung Jae Sunge to win the men’s doubles title.

China’s Zhao Tingting and Zhang Yawen won the women’s doubles
final against Cheng Shu and Zhao Yunlei, also of China.

Jwala-Diju create history V. Diju overcame a back strain and Jwala


Gutta battled a stiff left (playing) arm to create history by becoming
the first Indian mixed doubles pair to win a Grand Prix Gold. The
third-seeded Indians pulled off a stunning 24-22, 21-18 win over
Indonesians Hendra Aprida Gunawan and Vita Marissa in the final of
the Chinese Taipei Gold Grand Prix and walked home with $11,560 as
prize money.

BOXING
Vijender is World No. 2

Vijender Singh has been ranked second in the 75 kg category by the


International Boxing Association. Akhil Kumar (57 kg) and Jitender (51
kg) are placed 9th and 13th in their respective categories. In the 48 kg
category, Thokchom Nanao Singh is at fifth spot.

CRICKET
England-Australia Test series (The Ashes)

England regained the Ashes with a sweeping 197-run victory over


Australia in the fifth test at the Oval, despite a battling century from
Michael Hussey which threatened to take the game into a fifth day.

Australia, who needed at least a draw to retain the Ashes they won
back by crushing England 5-0 in 2006-7, were dismissed for 348 in
their second innings after being set a record 546 for victory. The
series was tied 1-1 after Australia won the fourth test at Headingley
within three days.

Earlier, Australia had batted with grim determination through the


final day to earn a draw in the third Ashes Test against England.
Centurion Michael Clarke and Marcus North shared a partnership of
185 and Shane Watson and Michael Hussey also made patient half-
centuries in a total of 375 for five which ensured they would go into
the fourth test only 1-0 down in the series.

Australia completed a crushing victory over England in the fourth test


to level the Ashes series at 1-1. The touring side ended England’s
entertaining lower order resistance 20 minutes after lunch on the
third day, Mitchell Johnson bowling Graham Onions to dismiss the
hosts for 263 and seal victory by an innings and 80 runs.

Sri Lanka-New Zealand Test Series

An illness-depleted New Zealand were bamboozled in the face of


pace and spin as Sri Lanka cruised to a 202-run victory in the first Test
to lead the two-match series. The Kiwis, set an improbable target of
413 runs, collapsed to 210 all out in their second innings before tea
on the fifth and final day at the Galle International Stadium.
Sri Lanka clinched second spot behind South Africa in the official
rankings as they swept aside New Zealand by 96 runs in the final
cricket Test to sweep the series 2-0. Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath
claimed five wickets as the Kiwis, set an improbable victory target of
494 runs, were bowled out for 397 in their second innings just before
tea on the fifth day.

Sri Lanka-Pakistan One Day series

Teenager Umar Akmal smashed an unbeaten 102 off 72 balls as


Pakistan won the fourth one-dayer by 146 runs to record their first
win on a dismal tour of Sri Lanka. Umar's maiden international
century and a dogged 89 from skipper Younus Khan lifted Pakistan to
321-5 after the tourists elected to bat in the day-night match at the
Premadasa stadium.

Sri Lanka-Pakistan T20 match

Pakistan clinched a 52-run victory over Sri Lanka in a one-off


Twenty20 international to finish their losing tour on a high on
Wednesday. Pakistan, who lost the test series 2-0 and the one-day
series 3-2, dominated the match with skipper Shahid Afridi guiding
his team to a competitive 172 for five in 20 overs.
Zimbabwe-Bangladesh One-Day Series

Bangladesh raced to a five-wicket defeat of Zimbabwe in the fifth


match to win the series 4-1. Zimbabwe’s Charles Coventry equalled
the highest individual One-day International score, but it also
became the highest ODI score in a losing cause.Coventry’s big-hitting
party was gate-crashed by Tamim Iqbal, who helped Bangladesh wrap
up the five-match series. Coventry blasted an unbeaten 194 to equal
former Pakistan opener Saeed Anwar’s 12-year record as Zimbabwe
piled up 312-8 in their 50 overs. But Bangladesh opener Tamim then
hit his country’s highest individual score of 154 as the tourists took
victory with 13 balls to spare.

FOOTBALL
Nehru Cup, 2009

Subrata Paul was hero and saviour rolled into one for India. The
mercurial goalkeeper made three brilliant saves in a nerve-wracking
penalty shootout as India overcame a strong Syria 6-5 to retain the
ONGC Nehru Cup. The tournament was held at New Delhi.
GOLF
Buick Open

Tiger Woods cruised to a bogey free, final round three-under 69 and


a three shot victory to lift the Buick Open title for a third and possibly
final time. The troubled Detroit auto-maker is expected to pull out its
sponsorship which will lead to the tournament disappearing from the
PGA Tour calendar in 2010.

World Golf Championship-Bridgestone Invitational

Tiger Woods created history on the par-70 greens of Firestone


Country Club clinching the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone
Invitational for a record seventh time at Akron in Ohio (USA). India’s
Jeev Milkha Singh tumbled down the ladder playing his worst card of
the event (six over 76) to finish tied 64.

PGA Championship, 91 st

Y.E. Yang, a 37-year-old South Korean who was in PGA Tour qualifying
school nine months ago, has become the first Asian-born player to
capture a major title. Even more memorable was that he beat Tiger
Woods to win the title.
MOTOR SPORTS
Major success for Force India

After 29 false starts, the Vijay Mallya-owned Force India finally nixed
the hoodoo and scored their maiden Formula One points with
Giancarlo Fisichella finishing second in the Belgian Grand Prix. The 36-
year-old Italian driver, rumoured to have one foot in Ferrari, shunned
extravagance to run a flawless race and trailed Kimi Raikkonen’s
Ferrari, which had snatched the lead using the Kinetic Energy
Recovery System, all the way for a podium finish and earns eight
valuable points. The Italian finished less than a second behind
Raikkonen.

TENNIS
Rogers Cup

Mahesh Bhupathi and his Bahamian partner Mark Knowles continued


their rampaging form to lift their fourth ATP title together, beating
seventh seeds Max Mirnyi and Andy Ram in straight sets in the finals
of $ three million Rogers Cup. The third seeds won 6-4, 6-3 to clinch
their first title at an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tennis
tournament.

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