Sports News in Brief: December 2009

BOXING
WBC World Heavy-weight Title
Vitali Klitschko retained his title, winning a unanimous points decision against American challenger Kevin Johnson. The 38-year-old Ukrainian spent the entire fight on the offensive against previously unbeaten Johnson but could not find his customary knockout as his opponent opted for survival.

Suranjoy wins gold at President's Cup boxing
Asian champion Suranjoy Singh has become the first Indian boxer to clinch a gold medal at the inter-continental President's Cup. He out-punched Frenchman Nordine Oubaali 8-1 in the flyweight (51kg) final, in Baku, Azerbaijan. The 22-year-old Manipuri's triumph also fetched him US $3,000 at the prestigious season-ending event, where confederations from Asia, America, Africa, Europe and Oceania are pitted against each other.

CHESS
Asian Team Championship, 2009
India-A men's team overwhelmed Sri Lanka to annex the gold in the Tata Steel Asian Team Chess Championship which concluded at Kolkata. Vietnam took the silver while Iran had to be content with the bronze. In the women's section, Vietnam crushed Nepal 4-0 to total 11 points and win the gold. 

National Premier Title
Baskaran Adhiban won the title with a round to spare in match against Abhijeet Gupta of PSPB. Adhiban also bagged his first Grandmaster norm in the process, something which he had narrowly missed thrice in the last two years.

CRICKET
Australia-West Indies Test series
Australia survived a tense final session to force a draw against the West Indies in an absorbing second Test at the Adelaide Oval.

Australia triumphed over a never-say-die West Indies inside four overs on the final day to win the third and final Test by 35 runs, and win the three-Test series 2-0. The West Indies came into the final day requiring 51 more runs for the unlikeliest of victories with Nos. 10 and 11 at the crease, but were eventually dismissed for 323.

South Africa-England Test series
Last man Graham Onions played out a tense final over from Makhaya Ntini as England escaped with a draw on the fifth and final day of the first Test against South Africa at Centurion.

Graeme Swann took five for 54 as England wrapped up victory by an innings and 98 runs on the fifth day of the second Test against South Africa at Kingsmead.

Australia-Pakistan Test Series
Chasing a mammoth total of 422 runs, Pakistan had a daunting task of surviving the penultimate day of the first Test match at Melbourne, and Australian off-spinner Nathan Hauritz made the task impossible with his maiden five wicket haul. Riding on Hauritz's splendid spell (5-101) Australia defeated Pakistan by 171 runs. For Aussie captain, Ricky Ponting, the win was more special, as he has now captained the most Test victories (42) than any other player in the world, and played in more wins (93).

India-Sri Lanka Test Series
India became the number one team in Test rankings after they spanked Sri Lanka by an innings and 24 runs in the third and final cricket Test, played in Mumbai, to clinch the three-match series 2-0.

India-Sri Lanka ODI series
The first match at Rajkot saw a flurry of 4s and 6s resulting in both teams together scoring 825 runs in 100 overs, at a strike rate of 8.25 per over. In the end India just managed to scrape through with a three-run victory. Batting first, India amassed 414 runs in 5 overs. It was the highest ODI total ever recorded on Indian soil. Lankans finished at 411 for 8 in 50 overs, becoming first team ever to score 400-plus while chasing and still lose.

Tillakaratne Dilshan's power-packed century provided the perfect platform for the visitors as Sri Lanka defeated India by three wickets in the second match at Nagpur to level the series 1-1.

Gautam Gambhir hit 150 not out and Virat Kohli his first ODI ton as India beat Sri Lanka by 7 wickets at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, taking an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.

The fifth and final match had to be abandoned because of the 'dangerous' pitch at Feroze Shah Kotla ground in New Delhi. The controversy forced the DDCA to apologise and the BCCI to disband the pitch committee headed by Daljit Singh.

India-Sri Lanka T20 series
Yuvraj Singh belted a whirlwind 60 and bagged three wickets to fashion a six-wicket win for India in the second T20 International against Sri Lanka at Mohali. The win enabled India to level the two-match series. Sri Lanka had defeated India by 29-run loss in the first match in Nagpur.

India is ranked world number one
On December 6, 2009 millions of Indians were united in celebration as their team ascended to the top of the ICC Test rankings after defeating Sri Lanka in the third and final Test at Mumbai. Fittingly, the win that made it possible was marked by stand-out performances from the men who have played a crucial role in India's ascent. Virender Sehwag has scored more runs than any other Indian batsman over the last 25 Tests—played over a two-year period starting November 2007. His rollicking 293—at a pace that left the bowlers ample time to finish the demolition job— proved pivotal as India fulfilled its tryst with the top slot.

Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan have been India's highest wicket-takers during this period. Both picked up six wickets apiece for the match, with Zaheer coming up with a five-wicket haul to polish off the tail and take India to a comfortable win by an innings and 24 runs.

Sehwag breaks records
Virender Sehwag has become the first Indian to post two double centuries against Sri Lanka. He is also the first Indian batsman to rake-up 200 runs through boundaries (202 runs in 40 fours and seven sixes). Only John Edrich (238 runs in 1965), Mathew Hayden (218 runs in 2003) and Inzamam-ul-Haq (206 runs in 2002) have recorded more runs through boundaries than Sehwag. He has also become the first Indian batsman to share six double century stands for the first wicket in Tests.

FOOTBALL
FIFA World Player of Year
Argentine and Barcelona football star Lionel Messi has been named World Player of the Year, while Portuguese and Real Madrid icon Cristiano Ronaldo has secured the Puskas Goal of the Year gong.

SAFF title, 5th
India avenged their last edition title loss as they prevailed over Maldives 3-1 via penalty shoot-out in the SAFF Championships summit clash to claim their fifth crown. The championship was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. After the match failed to produce any goal in the regulation and extra times, the match was decided in a penalty shoot-out.

HOCKEY
Champions Challenge, 2009
New Zealand defeated Pakistan 4-2 to lift the title. Earlier, Pakistan had defeated India 6-3 in the semi-finals.

Champions Trophy, 2009
Australia clinched the ABN AMRO Hockey Champions Trophy title in stunning fashion beating Germany 5-3. Australia clinched the title for the second year in a row and had won the title nine times earlier. The championship was held in Melbourne.

SHOOTING
Gagan shoots double gold in Asian event
Gagan Narang shot an individual gold and also helped India bag the team gold in the Asian Air Gun Championships in Doha. The team comprising Narang, P.T. Raghunath and Sanjeev Rajput won the gold with a score of 1782. The silver was won by China (1779) while Iran (1764) bagged the bronze.

In the junior men's air rifle, Chain Singh won the bronze. In the youth category, Navdeep Singh Rathore shot 585 to qualify for the inaugural edition of the Youth Olympics in 2010.

TENNIS
Davis Cup, 2009
Spain won its fourth Davis Cup title when Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez took the doubles to give the team an unassailable 3-0 lead over the Czech Republic. Spain also becomes the first country since Sweden in 1998 to retain the Davis Cup, after triumphing in 2008 in Argentina.

WRESTLING
Commonwealth Free-style Championship
Indian women wrestlers put up a good show by winning three gold, four silver and five bronze medals followed closely by Canada and Cameroon during the championship held at Jalandhar. Among Indian wrestlers Babita, Geeta and Alka Tomar won gold in the 51, 55 and 59 Kg free-style wrestling.

Indian men grapplers put their opponents on the mat and put up a splendid show by winning 14 medals. Hosts India won seven golds, three silver and four bronze in the free style competition and clinched the team championship trophy.