Weekly Digest (June 6-12): From Mithali Raj’s retirement to Verstappen’s win at Azerbaijan GP

India’s veteran batter Mithali Raj, 39, announced retirement from international cricket on Wednesday. In a statement, Mithali said, “I feel now is the perfect time to call curtains on my playing career as the team is in the capable hands of some very talented young players and the future of Indian Cricket is bright.” (REPORT)

Wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen excelled on a tricky pitch in humid conditions to get his career best score and take South Africa to a four-wicket victory in the second T20I against India at the Barabati Stadium here on Sunday. (REPORT)

The Uttarakhand batters were found clueless against Mumbai’s onslaught and handed the 41-times champion outfit a record 725-run win in the Ranji Trophy  quarterfinal on the fourth day at the Alur Cricket Ground 2. (REPORT) 

Bengal became the first team in the history of first-class cricket to have nine of its players score fifty runs or more in the same innings during the first Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Jharkhand. (REPORT)

Nine Bengal players scored fifty runs or more in the same innings against Jharkhand.   –  CAB Media

Dasun Shanaka led from the front with a scintillating half-century as Sri Lanka edged world champion Australia by four wickets in the third and final Twenty20 International to avoid a series whitewash on Saturday. (REPORT) 

Australia has added fast bowlers Jhye Richardson and Kane Richardson to its one-day squad in Sri Lanka as cover for Mitchell Starc who is recovering from a finger injury. Bhanuka Rajapaksa has been recalled by Sri Lanka in its ODI squad. (REPORT)

Pakistan’s young pacer Mohammad Hasnain’s bowling action has been cleared by the ICC, making him eligible to play at all levels of cricket. (REPORT)

FOOTBALL 

Sahal Abdul Samad played the super-sub bringing up a goal in injury time to help India beat Afghanistan 2-1 and keep its AFC Asian Cup chances alive. (REPORT)

A late deflected goal from Ajdin Hrustic secured Australia’s 2-1 win over United Arab Emirates in an Asian playoff Tuesday and set up an intercontinental showdown with Peru for a spot at the World Cup in Qatar. (REPORT)

The use of five substitutes, introduced as a tweak to the rules because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will be formally written into the Laws of the Game at a meeting in Doha on Monday, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) said. (REPORT)

Bengaluru FC, on Wednesday, announced the appointment of Englishman Simon Grayson as the club’s Head Coach ahead of the 2022-23 season, on a two-year contract. (REPORT)

Croatia midfielder Luka Modric has signed a one-year contract extension with Real Madrid and will stay at the European champion at least until June 2023, the club announced on Wednesday. (REPORT)

Luka Modric of Real Madrid celebrates with the UEFA Champions League Trophy after their sides victory in the UEFA Champions League final match between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid at Stade de France on May 28, 2022.

India played true to its form and situation to beat Cambodia 2-0 courtesy of a Sunil Chhetri brace in the opening group D fixture of AFC Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers, at the Salt Lake Stadium on Wednesday. (REPORT)

Italian coach Gennaro Gattuso agreed to take charge of Spanish club Valencia on Thursday for the next two seasons. (REPORT)

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah was named the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) Player of the Year for the second time on Thursday and Chelsea’s Sam Kerr took the women’s award. (REPORT)

Luis Campos is joining Paris St Germain as football advisor to oversee the club’s recruitment, the Ligue 1 champions said on Friday. (REPORT)

Ecuador kept its place at the World Cup on Friday when a FIFA legal ruling rejected a complaint by Chile about an alleged ineligible player. (REPORT)

A Nevada woman has lost her bid in a U.S. court to force international football star Cristiano Ronaldo to pay millions of dollars more than the $375,000 in hush money she received after claiming he raped her in Las Vegas in 2009. (REPORT)

TENNIS

Matteo Berrettini showed signs of recapturing the form which took him to the Wimbledon final last year as he beat Andy Murray 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 to win the Stuttgart Open on Sunday in his first tournament for three months. (REPORT)

French Open champion Iga Swiatek will skip next week’s Berlin Open WTA 500 tournament due to a shoulder issue, but the world number one said on Friday that she hopes to be fully fit for Wimbledon starting later this month. (REPORT)

Indo-Canadian pair of Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov bowed out of the Stuttgart Open at the semifinal stage on Friday. (REPORT)

Wimbledon announced record prize money for this year’s edition of tennis’ oldest Grand Slam tournament, on Thursday. The total prize money of £40.35 million represents an 11.1 per cent increase on last year’s Championships, where capacity at the southwest London venue was reduced for COVID-19 reasons. (REPORT)

Players and tournaments will share profits 50-50 from 2023 on the men’s ATP Tour while total prize money will surge thanks to an agreed expansion of top-tier tournaments, the global governing body of the men’s circuit announced on Thursday. (REPORT)

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz will miss next week’s Wimbledon tune-up event at Queen’s Club in London due to a slight elbow issue, the 19-year-old said on Wednesday. (REPORT)

This year’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals will be played on indoor hard courts in Glasgow, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said on Tuesday. (REPORT)

German world number three Alexander Zverev underwent surgery on torn ligaments in his right ankle on Tuesday after he was forced to retire from his French Open semi-final against 22-times major champion Rafael Nadal last week. (REPORT)

HOCKEY

The Indian women’s team had a forgettable day in office as it received a sound 0-5 thrashing at the hands of Belgium in a FIH Pro League match here on Sunday. (REPORT)

Alexander Hendrickx struck a brace as Belgium notched up a thrilling 3-2 victory over India in the second match of the two-leg FIH Pro Hockey League tournament on Sunday. (REPORT)

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Tuesday said it continues to have “full trust” in Hockey India but expects its member associations to abide by the sports code of their respective countries. (REPORT) 

BADMINTON

PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen, India’s top-ranked female and male shuttlers, respectively were knocked out of the Indonesia Masters at the quarterfinal stage on Friday. (REPORT) 

Former Commonwealth Games bronze medallist and shuttler R.M.V. Guru Sai Dutt announced retirement from badminton on Monday. (REPORT)

File Photo of former Commonwealth Games bronze medallist R.M.V. Guru Sai Dutt.   –  S_S_Kumar

TABLE TENNIS 

Swastika Ghosh on Thursday became the third table tennis player to approach the Delhi High Court over exclusion from India’s Commonwealth Games squad. (REPORT) 

National selectors proceeded to make a course correction and rightly replaced Archana Kamath with a deserving Diya Chitale in the Indian women’s team for Commonwealth Games, starting next month. (REPORT)

ATHLETICS 

D P Manu registered a distance above 80 metres, his 84.35m Personal Best (PB) at the 61st Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Chennai on Saturday moved him into the top four of the all-time India top list. (REPORT)

Words of wisdom: D. P. Manu with his coach Kashinath Naik. Naik, the first Indian javelin thrower to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games, has a word of advice for the four new Indians in the 80m club. “One of the most important things these four youngsters have to learn is patience.” Naik has worked with both Neeraj and Shivpal and now coaches Manu, who set his PB at the Indian throws competition in April.   –  Special Arrangement

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) president Adille Sumariwalla on Saturday said Tejaswin Shankar didn’t seek permission before participating in the NCAA Championships in USA. (REPORT)

Tejaswin Shankar signed off on his collegiate career in some style claiming the 2022 NCAA Men’s High Jump title on Friday with a season’s best jump of 2.27m at Hayward Field. (REPORT)

Two new meet records were set on the opening day of the 61st SNJ-National inter-state athletics championships in Chennai on Friday. (REPORT)

MOTORSPORTS 

Verstappen extended his Formula One championship lead by winning the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday after Leclerc retired from the lead with an engine failure. (REPORT)

Verstappen had passed Perez shortly before Leclerc’s failure and the reigning F1 champion cruised to his fifth win of the season.   –  GETTY IMAGES

Indian racer Jehan Daruvala came within half a second of his first Formula 2 win of the season before finishing second in the Azerbaijan round’s Sprint race. (REPORT)

Former world champion Nico Rosberg has not been allowed to enter the Formula One paddock this season because he isn’t vaccinated against COVID-19. (REPORT)

Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto expressed concerns on Saturday about the appointment of Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff’s former personal advisor Shaila-Ann Rao to the role of interim Formula One head at the sport’s governing FIA. (REPORT)

SHOOTING 

Rahul Jakhar took the individual gold in P5 – mixed 10m air pistol standard SH1 finals and helped the country win the team gold at the Shooting Para Sport World Cup in Chateauroux, France on Friday. (REPORT)

Manish Narwal and Rubina Francis won the 10m P6 air pistol mixed team event to clinch India’s third gold medal at the ongoing World Shooting Para Sport World Cup in Chateauroux, France on Wednesday. (REPORT)

Sriharsha Devaraddi Ramakrishna has become the second Indian para shooter to earn a quota for the Paris Paralympics after securing a gold medal in mixed 10m air rifle SH2 at the ongoing Chateauroux Para Shooting World Cup.(REPORT)

India’s Avani Lekhara won gold at the Chateauroux Para Shooting World Cup with a world record score of 250.6 in women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 on Tuesday. (REPORT)

File Photo of Avani Lekhara in action.   –  Getty Images

BOXING 

Mary Kom has been ruled out of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) trials after picking up an injury. (REPORT)

Mary Kom has been ruled out of the CWG trials.   –  PTI

Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain sealed their berths in the Indian team for the Commonwealth Games with dominating wins in the selection trials. (REPORT)

CHESS 

Rahul Srivatshav reached the 2500 Elo live rating mark during the 9th Cattolica Chess Festival 2022 in Italy. (REPORT)

Young Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa emerged winner at the Norway Chess Group A open chess tournament with 7.5 points from nine rounds. (REPORT)

Viswanathan Anand signed off his campaign in the Norway Chess 2022 with a ninth-round victory over local challenger Aryan Tari in their Armageddon game to finish third at Stavanger on Friday. (REPORT)

Viswanathan Anand took third place with 14.5 points from nine rounds.   –  B. Jothi Ramalingam

International Arbiter Gopakumar Sudhakaran has been appointed as the Deputy Chief Arbiter for the 44th Chess Olympiad, becoming the first Indian to be nominated for this prestigious and responsible post in the world’s biggest chess event. (REPORT)

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) and All-India Chess Federation have agreed to introduce and institutionalise Chess Olympiad Torch Relay ahead of the 44th Chess Olympiad. (REPORT)

GOLF

Linn Grant of Sweden became the first female golfer to win on the European Tour on Sunday. (REPORT)

Diksha Dagar and Tvesa Malik and the lone male player, Shubhankar Sharma, were all way off the cut line in the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed golf missed the 36-hole cut with disappointing performances. (REPORT)

Mysore teenager Pranavi Urs could afford the luxury of an even par round and still win the seventh leg of the Women’s Pro Golf Tour by nine shots in Bengaluru on Friday. (REPORT)

Udayan Mane, the lone Indian at the Asian Development Tour’s OB Golf Invitational, grabbed a share of the first round lead after a superb finish that saw him birdie the last four holes in a row. (REPORT)

Tiger Woods, citing his body’s need “to get stronger,” announced on Tuesday that he will not play in next week’s U.S. Open at Brookline, Mass. (REPORT)