Nico Rosberg wins Belgian Grand Prix

A frenetic 2016 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix saw Mercedes Nico Rosberg take a commanding win from Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, with the second Silver Arrow of Lewis Hamilton a fighting third, having started from the back of the grid.

Force India Nico Hulkenberg again missed out on that elusive maiden podium, finishing fourth ahead of team mate Sergio Perez and the Ferrari Sebastian Vettel, while Fernando Alonso, last on the grid was a superb seventh for McLaren. The Williams of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas were eighth and tenth respectively, split by Kimi Raikkonen who completed the top ten in the second Ferrari.

For Rosberg it looked like a stroll in the Ardennes as he scored his sixth victory of the year, the 20^th of his career. Three cars were damaged; Verstappen lost a chunk of his front wing, Raikkonen sustained a puncture and front wing damage and limped to the pits, and Vettel also had resultant problems with his front wing. The incident compromised all of their races, through events on the sixth lap threw them a lifeline.

It was on the sixth lap that Kevin Magnussen lost the back end of his Renault, which was running in eighth place on team mate Jolyon Palmer tail, as he reached the top of Eau Rouge. Race was restarted 17 minutes later, after teams had had the chance to change to whatever tyres they wanted. World Champion Hamilton now has 232 points to Rosberg 223 and Ricciardo 151.

MotoGP 2016: Grand Prix of Czech Republic

Cal Crutchlow became Great Britain’s first premier class winner since Barry Sheene 35 years ago as the LCR Honda rider clinched his maiden MotoGP triumph at Brno in the Czech Republic. On a wet track, Crutchlow 15^th in the early stages, gambled with hard tyres front and rear and it proved a masterstroke as the 30 year old began to scythe his way through the field.

Rossi, back in 12^th place until he was able to take advantage of his hard rear, finished 7.2 seconds behind Crutchlow at the end as the nine-time world champion moved ahead of team-mate Jorge Lorenzo in the championship standings. Lorenzo, who was back on the rostrum in the previous round in Austria, was one of the few riders who came into pit lane to change bikes.

Title leader Marc Marquez finished on the rostrum in third on the Repsol Honda with another resilient performance to keep any damage to his championship advantage to minimum, with Rossi only closing the deficit by four points. Behind the top three, French rider Loris Baz also stormed through at the end to nick fourth place on the Avintia Ducati ahead of team-mate Hector Barbera.

 Northern Ireland’s Eugene Laverty rode an excellent race to finish sixth on the Aspar Ducati ahead of Danilo Petrucci while Austrian GP winner Andrea Iannone somehow limped over the line in eighth. Marc Marquez is still at first place with 197 points, followed by Valentino Rossi with 144 points, followed by Jorge Lorenzo with 138 points.

MotoGP 2016: Grand Prix of Austria

Andrea Lannone won a stunning Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, scoring his first ever MotoGP victory after seeing off the challenge of teammate Andrea Dovizioso. It was Ducati first MotoGP win since Casey Stoner at Phillip Island in 2010, their 1-2 since 2007 at the same venue.

The top six bikes fought a stunning duel in early stages, with Dovizioso grabbing the lead from teammate Lannone just after one-third instance. Lorenzo headed early-leader Rossi for the duration in third, with Honda’s Marc Marquez and Suzuki Maverick Vinales in touch over the opening stages but falling off the leading pace in the second half.

Lannone passed Dovizioso for the lead with eight laps remaining. In the closing stages, the Ducatis pulled away to make it personal duel between them in the sprint to the finish line. Lannone kept his nerve out front to score a superb maiden victory at the top level, heading Dovizioso, Lorenzo, Rossi, Marquez and Vinales.

Lannone, who will move to Suzuki in 2017, is the first Italian to win for Ducati since Loris Capirossi at Motegi in 2007. It also consigned Dovizioso losing streak, which extends to Donington Park in 2009. Marc Marquez of Honda is still at top with 181 points followed by Jorge Lorenzo of Yamaha with 138 points. Valentino Rossi of Yamaha is at third place with 124 points. 

Real Madrid won UEFA Super Cup 2016

The 2016 UEFA Super Cup was the 41^st edition of the UEFA Super Cup, an annual Football match organized by UEFA and contested by the reigning champions of the two main European Club competitions, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. The match featured Real Madrid, the winners of the 2015-16 UEFA Champions League and Sevilla, the winners of the 2015-16 UEFA Europa League.

It was played at the Lerkendal Stadion in Norway. Real Madrid won the match 3-2 after extra time. In the 21^st minute Marco Asensio scored the opening goal for Real Madrid with a strike from the 25 yards out which flew into the top left corner of the net. Franco got the equalizer in the 41^st minute when he scored with a low left foot shot from just inside the penalty area.

Sevilla were awarded a penalty in the 72^nd minute when Sergio Ramos was adjudged to have fouled Vitolo by flicking back his leg inside the penalty area. Yevhen scored from the resulting penalty with a low shot to his left sending the goalkeeper the wrong way. In the 93^rd minute Sergio Ramos scored with a free header from two yards out after a cross from Lucas.

In the 119^th minute Dani Carvajal got into the penalty box after a long run down the right and scored when he lifted the ball with the outside of his right foot over the goalkeeper. This was the third time Sevilla lost in UEFA Super Cup final. In 2014 they lost by Real Madrid and in 2015 by Barcelona. This was the third time Real Madrid has won UEFA Super Cup. 

Caribbean Premier League 2016

A rematch from first Caribbean Premier League playoff qualifier between the regular season’s top teams quickly turned into an uncontested romp for Jamaica Tallawahs, who rampaged past Guyana Amazon Warriors by nine wickets to claim their second CPL title at Warner Park. For Warriors, it was a flat effort that left them runner-up for the third time in four CPL seasons, twice to Tallawahs.

Warriors were the regular season table toppers and beat Tallawahs in two of their prior three meetings, including four wickets in opening playoff match. In Final, they stumbled badly after being sent in by Chris Gayle at the toss and were bowled out for a franchise record low total of 93 in just 16.1 overs. Warriors never won a game while batting first in 2016, and lost all three games in which they batted first, with two of those losses coming against Tallawahs.

Warriors were under pressure early when Nic Maddinson became the first of three batsmen dismissed first ball, edging Andre Russell behind in first over. A bigger blow came at the start of the third over when Chris Lynn the tournament leading scorer carved Shakib Al Hasan straight to Jonathan Foo at backward point for 7. Kesrick Williams also won a hat-trick in 16^th over.

Russell was named player of the Tournament. Russell struck the fastest century in Caribbean T20 history, off just 42 balls and also broke a three game Tallawahs losing streak lifting them into the Final.

Pro Kabaddi League 2016

Pardeep Narwal produced a terrific performance as Patna Pirates beat Jaipur Pink Panthers 37-29 in the final of season 4 in the Pro Kabaddi League. Patna, who were the champions of Season 3, dominated the game right from the first whistle.

The Patna unit made history as they became the only team to lift the trophy twice in the tournament history of four editions. The win concludes another thrilling season of the Pro Kabaddi. It was the season of many firsts as for the first time women’s team locked horns in the Women’s Pro Kabaddi League.

In Women’s Pro Kabaddi League, Storm Queens create history as they win the inaugural season of Women Kabaddi defeating Fire Birds 24-23. Storm Queens topped the points table with 13 points from 4 matches while Fire Birds ended at third place with 8 points winning just one match.

For third place, Puneri Paltan beat Telugu Titans 40-35 in this year’s Pro Kabaddi League. Patna with strong display from their defenders scored 11 points in the last five minutes to make it to their second successive final. Manjeet became the fourth man to score 400 points in Pro Kabaddi League. He got two back to back tackle points as Pune trailed by 2 points in the 20^th minute. Telugu Titan’s Rahul Chaudhari was the first player to achieve this feat.

Lewis Hamilton wins German Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton extended his championship lead to 19 points heading into the summer break with dominant victory in Germany, as team mate Nico Rosberg was beaten into fourth place by the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen.

He may have lost out on pole position, but from the moment the lights went out at the start Hamilton was in complete command at Hockenheim. As polesitter Nico Rosberg was slow away, Hamilton went straight into the lead as the German also fell behind the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, the Dutchman going round the outside of his Team mate in Turn 1 to claim second.

Under Pressure, Rosberg clung to fourth place, just fending off the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. It was soon clear that this was Hamilton race to lose, but his pit stops went perfectly and he never lost the head. Hamilton now has 217 points to Rosberg 198 with Ricciardo keeping third place with 133 from Raikkonen on 122, Vettel on 120 and Verstappen on 115.

In the constructor stakes, Mercedes increase their lead with 415 points as Red Bull overtakes Ferrari 256 to 242. Williams have 96, Force India 80, Toro Rosso 45 and McLaren 42.

2016 Premier Futsal

Premier Futsal is a multi-national Futsal league conceptualized by Indian Entrepreneurs under the entity Premier Futsal Management Pvt. Ltd. Futsal, a 5 side shorter variant of Football with two halves of 20 minutes each, is governed by Futsal Association of India (FAI) with accreditation from the international governing body, Asociacion Mundial de Futsal (AMF).

Each playing team consists of three International Futsal players, one International marquee football player and one Indian Futsal player. Every squad is allowed a maximum of twelve players. Premier Futsal, in association with FAI, conducted a talent hunt programme across eight cities called Launchpad to scout and select Indian players. The programme combed through 2500 participants per city to shortlist five regional players for each team.

Mumbai 5s won the inaugural Premier Futsal by defeating Kochi 5s in the penalty shootout. Indian cricket team batsman Virat Kohli has joined the Premier Futsal football league as its brand Ambassador. Apart from Virat Kohli, Premier Futsal attracted a lot of fans when they signed the best Futsal player of the World, popularly known as Falcao.

Angelott Caro from Mumbai scored most 8 goals in opening season and had also won Man of the Match award in Final against Kochi. He also scored one hat-trick in Semi-final 1 against Kolkata for Mumbai. He also won Golden Arm Band award. Player of the tournament was awarded to Chaguinha from Brazil. Indian player of the tournament was awarded to Jonathan Piers.

Tour de France 2016

Chris Froome of Team Sky secured a third Tour de France title after crossing the finishing line in Paris alongside the Team Sky teammates who have helped propel him to victory. The British Rider, who previously won the punishing cycling race in 2013 and 2015, came to dominate the 2016 Tour, finishing more than four minutes ahead of Romain Bardet of AG2R La Mondiale in second place and Team Movistar Nairo Quintana in third.

Although final stage victory went to Andre Greipel of Lotto Soudal, it was Froome whose cumulative time of 89 hours, six minutes and 48 seconds over 21 grueling stages ensured he would be the last man atop the podium on the Champs Elysee. Froome overall win means that a British man and Team Sky rider have now won four out of the last five tours; a remarkable turn of events given Bradley Wiggins in 2012 victory was the first by a Briton since the event began in 1903.

Peter Sagan took home the green Jersey for best sprinter, Rafal Majka won the polka dot mountains jersey while the white jersey reserved for best young rider went to Adam Yates. Froome, a climbing specialist, took hold of the Yellow Jersey after attacking the final descent between Pau and Bagneres-de-Luchon on stage eight and refused to give it up over the ensuing weeks.

He again claimed victory at the stage 18 Mountain Time trial from Sallanches to Megeve. However, it was his unerring consistency in the stages between that extended his lead and kept the likes of Bardet and Quintana at bay.

Lewis Hamilton wins Hungary Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton heads the driver standings for the first time this year after a controlled drive to victory in Sunday Budapest race. Hamilton has a six point advantage over Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg, who finished second at the Hungaroring, as Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo joined them on the podium.

Hamilton got the jump on polesitter Rosberg at the start and from there only lost P1 during pit stops. Red Bull were able to push the Silver Arrows in the early stages, but their challenge faded and Ricciardo came home 25 seconds off the lead, with Ferrari Sebastian Vettel right on this tail.

In the second Red Bull Ferrari battle, Max Verstappen held on to win a tense and lengthy scrap for fifth with Kimi Raikkonen, while Fernando Alonso took a worthy if distant seventh for McLaren. His team mate Jenson Button was the race sole retirement. Toro Rosso Carlos Sainz, William’s Valtteri Bottas and Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg completed the top ten to take the remaining points.

The result gives Hamilton 192 points to Rosberg 186, as Ricciardo moves to third on 115 just ahead of Raikkonen on 114, Vettel is fifth with 110, as Verstappen close up with 110. In constructor stakes, Mercedes have 378 points; Ferrari 224 and Red Bull are closing still with 223. Button was the only retirement in Hungary.

Lewis Hamilton wins Austrian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton won Grand Prix in Spielberg after passing Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg for the lead on the very first lap. The pair made contact in the move, leaving Rosberg to trail home fourth, as Red Bull Max Verstappen and Ferrari Kimi Raikkonen completed the podium.

Behind Hamilton, Verstappen drove another superb race to take second 5.7s behind and only three tenths of a second ahead of a charging Raikkonen. The Finn’s partner Sebastian Vettel had looked comfortable in front after early leader Hamilton had stopped to switch his ultrasoft Pirelli tyres for softs, but the Ferrari suffered a violent right rear soft puncture on the 27^th lap and crashed into the pit wall. Pirelli attributed the failure to debris on the track.

Hamilton has led the start as McLaren’s Jenson Button kept fast starting Raikkonen at bay until the eighth lap. Rosberg was the first pit stopper, on lap 10, but Hamilton made his ultrasofts last until the 21^st lap. A delay with his left rear tyre enabled Rosberg, who had started sixth, to get ahead, however which set up their epic fight. Hamilton stop dropped him to fourth as Raikkonen led for a lap before his own stop, and that put Vettel ahead from Rosberg and Hamilton, as Raikkonen dropped behind the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.

With Rosberg hobbled, Hamilton sped on to his 46^th career victory, as Verstappen just kept Raikkonen at bay and the second Mercedes limped home for fourth. He still holds the championship lead on 153 points, but Hamilton is now only 11 points behind on 142. Vettel and Raikkonen each have 96 with Ricciardo on 88 and Verstappen on 72. 

Copa America 2016: Chile Retain title in Final

Chile upset favorites Argentina with a penalty shootout victory in the Copa America Final at MetLife stadium to retain title in the world’s oldest continental soccer competition. Chile earned themselves bragging rights as South America’s dominant team as they beat heavyweights Argentina 4-2 on penalties for a second straight year.

Lionel Messi missed from the spot in the shootout, cutting a dejected figure after the result was sealed and Argentina trophy drought had been extended to 23 years. The two sides were deadlocked 0-0 after 90 minutes and also after another half an hour of extra time in a match where both teams were reduced to 10 men in the first half.

Chilean substitute Francisco Silva placed his penalty low and to the right of Sergio Ramos to score the decider after Messi and Lucas Biglia missed for Argentina and Artura Vidal missed for Chile. The win was the second Copa America in a row for Chile, who won their first Copa title at home last year in exactly the same fashion, beating Argentina on penalties after the team had drawn 0-0 after extra time.

The Centenary Copa America was played in the United States for the first time this year to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the inaugural Copa America in 1916. The tournament was expanded to 16 teams, 10 from South America and six from the CONCACAF region of North and central America and the Caribbean.

MotoGP 2016: Grand Prix of Netherlands

Australian Jack Miller became the first satellite rider to win a MotoGP race in 10 years as the Aussie sealed a sensational victory in the rain affected Dutch TT at Assen. The race was restarted over 12 laps after being stopped initially on lap 15 due to adverse weather conditions, with heavy rain lashing the circuit.

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez sealed second place to extend his lead at the top of the championship after title rival Valentino Rossi slid out of the lead, while Jorge Lorenzo struggled to the 10^th place. Marc VDS Honda rider Miller becomes the first satellite winner of a MotoGP since Toni Elias clinched victory in Portugal in 2006.

Britain Scott Redding reeled in and passed Pol Espargaro on the penultimate lap to snatch a brilliant third place on the Pramac Ducati, putting two satellite machines onto the podium. A host of riders were caught out by the conditions, including Dani Pedrosa, Cal Crutchlow, Andrea Dovizioso, Bradley Smith, Aleix Espargaro and Alvaro Bautista. Marquez now leads the championship by 24 points from Lorenzo after eight rounds, with Rossi 42 points behind the Honda Rider in third.

Dovizioso, who had been in contention for victory in the original race, saw his hopes ended by a crash on lap two at turn 12, with Monster Tech 3 Yamaha rider Smith Sliding out at turn 15. Smith re-joined the race and eventually finished 13^th and last. There were only 13 finishers in a dramatic 250^th MotoGP race at Assen, where the race was held for the first time.

Nico Rosberg wins Europe Grand Prix

Mercedes Nico Rosberg dominated 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe, beating Ferrari Sebastian Vettel and Force India Sergio Perez to victory at the new Baku City Circuit. With Lewis Hamilton finishing fifth, Rosberg extended his championship lead over his team mate to 24 points.

Starting 10^th on the grid, Hamilton rose as high as fourth before his charge was halted by ERS problem on his F1 W07. After several laps down on power, the world champion eventually found the right settings on his steering wheel to resolve the issue, but by then it was too late to improve his position.

Ferrari Kimi Raikkonen took fourth, while Valtteri Bottas was the lead Williams in sixth, ahead of the two stopping Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. Force India Nico Hulkenberg and Williams Felipe Massa completed the top ten. Rosberg was a superb redemptive victory, his fifth of the season, and the German never put a wheel wrong on a day when Mercedes crushed Ferrari.

Rosberg lead in the world championship jumps up from nine points after Canada to 24, with 141 Hamilton 117, and Vettel is closing on the reigning champion with 96. Raikkonen reclaims fourth from Ricciardo, with 81 to 78, as Verstappen overtakes Bottas, 54 to 52 and Perez passes Massa 39 to 38. In the constructor stakes, Mercedes have 258 to Ferrari 177, Red Bulls 140, Williams 90 and Force India 59.

Lewis Hamilton wins Canada Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton dedicating his win to Muhammad Ali was certainly a heartfelt tribute after he took his fifth victory at the Canadian Grand Prix. But there was greater resonance for the season as a whole as his performance here has brought to the Formula One World Championship all the hallmarks of the Champ climbing into the ring and positively his opponent step up to the fight.

A superb run to a win at Montreal in tense but ultimately perfectly judged race by both the driver and his team, makes it two victories on the bounce and having been 43 points in arrears two races ago, Hamilton now trails his team-mate Rosberg by only nine, a 34 point swing. It has almost reduced the opening races to mere sparring and now as the pair touch gloves almost at parity, their clash at a highly contested first corner in Canada is only likely to increase the needle.

Vettel early lead was ultimately not enough to secure the win when his team opted for a two stop strategy, gambling that Hamilton one stop would leave him vulnerable at the end. It was not to be the case, the circuit had rubbered in over the weekend and the world champion kept just enough between himself and Vettel, while maintaining his grip, an example of the race craft for which he deserves greater recognition.

Williams’s commitment to a design philosophy of maximizing their car for high speed circuits paid off with their first podium place this season as Valtteri Bottas took third but it remains Mercedes who have the complete package. Ferrari step forward will be welcomed by all who want a proper battle at the front but while their strategy precluded a climatic finish, Hamilton found the perfect impetus to focus everyone attention on the fight for the title.

MotoGP 2016: Grand Prix of Catalunya

The Doctor added a 114^th victory to his career win tally with an emphatic triumph in the Grand Prix of Catalunya, despite falling as low as ninth on the opening lap. Rossi fought off Marc Marquez in their first proper bar to bar tussle since Sepang last year, this time, not only did they make it to the chequered flag unscathed, but the fierce rivals even shook hands afterwards sharing genuine smiles.

Dani Pedrosa finished just a few seconds in arrears to round out the podium, all donning matching black shirts carrying a tribute to fallen Moto2 rider Luis Salom, whose death in a practice crash on Friday cast a pall over the meeting. Jack Miller claimed the best finish of his MotoGP career so far with a smart and speedy ride from the back row of the grid, fighting his way into 10^th on the last lap.

But for reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo, the day was a disaster. Lorenzo rocketed into the lead from the start and looked pissed to turn in another of his trademark lights to flag demonstrations. But the No. 99 Yamaha failed to creep more than a few bike lengths ahead of the pack, a charging Rossi dispensing with his teammate before the end of the seventh lap. From there Lorenzo sank like a stone, appearing to be struggling for grip from his Michelin front tyre.

Andrea Lannone added to his misery by crashing them both out of the race on the Lap 17. Marquez kept within a second of Rossi once they hit the lead and began to close in as the halfway point neared. Marquez now leads the standings once again, 10 Markers ahead of Lorenzo while Rossi sits a further 12 adrift in third.

French Open 2016

Serbia Novak Djokovic defeated Britain’s Andy Murray in the final of the French Open at Roland Garros to win his 13^th Grand Slam. With this victory, Djokovic won his maiden Roland Garros crown and also completed his career Grand Slam dream.

Coming from a set down, the Serb won back to back three sets to oust Murray from the title hunt. He won 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, and 6-4. The world number one etched his name in the history books by becoming the first man since 1969 to hold all four grand slams concurrently. After a rather sluggish start, Djokovic came back with all guns blazing, only to destroy Murray hopes of becoming the first player from Britain to win the French Open since 1935.

A lot was stake at Murray, who has not only gunning for glory but also looking to shut down his critics. On the contrary, for Djokovic, the French Open was the only silverware missing from his trophy cabinet and the weather gods made it even more difficult for him to his hands on it. Djokovic battled the weather and an adamant opponent, to make his way to the summit. Earlier, 22 year old sensation Garbine Muguruza had stunned Serena Williams to win the crown in straight sets 7-5, 6-4 in women’s singles.

Men’s doubles title is won by F. Lopez and M. Lopez, who stunned Bryan brothers in finals by 4-6, 7-6, and 3-6. Women doubles title is won by C. Garcia and K. Mladenovic by 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. Mixed double is won by M. Hingis and L. Paes who beat S. Mirza and I. Dodig in finals by 4-6, 6-4, and 10-8. Next Grand Slam event will be Wimbledon which will start from 27 June 2016 in Wimbledon.

Sunrisers Hyderabad won IPL 2016

In their first IPL Final, Sunrisers Hyderabad showed their intent early by opting to bat against Royal Challengers Bangalore at a venue where tall scores have been chased down nonchalantly. It was their bowling line up, the best in the tournament that delivered the maiden IPL title with an eight run win over the hosts. Ben Cutting lent the finishing touches with an unbeaten 15 ball 39 to help them post 208 for 7.

RCB had breached the 200 mark thrice previously at home this season and there was no reason why they could not do so again, except the pressure of chasing in a final. Gayle alone contributed 76, with four fours and eight sixes. Sunrisers attack was under pressure early on, but they clinically applied the brakes after Gayle wicket. Shane Watson rare off day with the bowl was costly for RCB. He fed the batsmen an assortment of hittable deliveries.

Gayle, Kohli, and de Villiers fell in the space of 20 deliveries as RCB slipped to 148 for 3. They needed 61 off 37 and they needed Watson to make up for his lapses with the ball. There were promising signs when he swatted Henriques for six over long-on, but his dismissal in the 17^th over immediately after KL Rahul wicket, left the hosts in a position they could not recover from.

Orange Cap for most runs was given to Virat Kohli for his 973 runs in the tournament. Purple Cap for most wickets was given to B Kumar for his 23 wickets in the tournament. Virat Kohli also won Man of the Tournament award. Sunrisers Hyderabad won their maiden IPL title.

Lewis Hamilton wins Monaco Grand Prix

The Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco started behind the safety car in wet conditions, but was run mainly in glorious sunshine with Mercedes Lewis Hamilton narrowly defeating Red Bull Daniel Ricciardo after an epic battle around the streets of Monte Carlo.

As the early rain eased, pole sitter Ricciardo pitted first for intermediate tyres, while Hamilton chose to stay out until conditions improved enough for slick rubber. Ricciardo had enough time in hand to make a further stop and regain his lead, but when he arrived at his garage, a miscommunication meant Red Bull had no tyres ready for him and the Australian was stationary for a very costly 13.6s. He rejoined just behind the world champion, a position on which he was never able to improve.

Sergio Perez took his sixth career podium with third place, after an inspired decision from Force India to switch him early to the hardest of the dry tyres. That allowed Mexican to finish just ahead of Ferrari Sebastian Vettel. Fernando Alonso secured McLaren best result of 2016 to date with a distant fifth place, while a very cautious Mercedes Nico Rosberg lost sixth place on the final straight to Force India Nico Hulkenberg with his championship lead over Hamilton reduced by 19 points as a result.

Toro Rosso, Carlos Sainz, McLaren Jenson Button and Williams Felipe Massa completed the top ten. Max Verstappen went from Spain hero to Monaco Zero with his third crash of the weekend, putting his Red Bull into the wall at Massenet on lap 35. Next race will held in Canada on 12^th June 2016.

Real Madrid won UEFA Champions League 2016

Real Madrid handed Atletico Madrid another cruel Champions League Final defeat when Cristiano Ronaldo spot kick saw them beat their neighbors on penalties to win Europe top club trophy for a record 11^th time.

The match ended 1-1 after extra time as Atletico, giving their usual never say die performance, conceded an early goal, missed a penalty, clung on by the skin of their teeth and then found the strength to equalize at the San Siro. But it was all in vain as Juanfran struck their fourth penalty against the post, allowing a previously subdued Ronaldo to stride up and coolly blast home the decisive penalty for a 5-3 shootout win his third European cup success.

Real former playmaker Zinedine Zidane was left to celebrate winning Europe elite club competition five months after starting his first coaching job and become the seventh man to claim the trophy both as a player and a manager. But it was another demoralizing end for Diego Simeone Atletico who was within a minute of winning the 1974 European Cup Final and 2014 Champions League finals but conceded equalizers and eventually lost them both.

The latter was also against Real Madrid when Sergio Ramos scored in stoppage time to set his side up for a 4-1 extra-time win. This time, Ramos gave Real a 15^th minute lead but after Antoine missed a penalty for Atletico at the start of the second half, the Mattress makers hit back with a superbly taken equalizer by substitute Carrasco. Cristiano Ronaldo has finished as the UEFA Champions League top marksman for the fourth season running, notching 16 goals and the Portuguese star is closing in on a century in Europe premier club competition.

Barcelona won Copa Del Rey 2016

Down a man with top goal scorer Luis Suarez on the sidelines with an apparent hamstring injury, Lionel Messi led Barcelona to a 2-0 extra time victory in an eventful Copa Del Rey final that featured three red cards, two Messi assists and one bizarre game stoppage for the cramping match referee.

When the final whistle blew, Messi stood out as the best player in the park. Argentine defender Javier Mascherano took down Sevilla striker Kevin Gamerio in the 34^th minute to receive the fastest red card in the history of the Spanish Cup Final. However, Messi and Iniesta offered special magical performances. Messi played a perfectly timed pass for Neymar in stoppage time of regulation, and Banega put in a fateful, last ditch tackle to stop the Brazilian from getting in a goal unmarked.

Barcelona and Sevilla were both down to 10 men with 30 minutes of added time to come. Considering Gerard Pique clean clearances in the back, Sergio Busquets tireless tackling in the middle and Messi and Iniesta magical inspiration in the attack, Barcelona being back level up put the Catalans in complete control from that point forward.

With the win, Messi and Barcelona earned the club 28^th Copa Del Rey crown to go with its 24^th La Liga title. The double salvaged a season that had started strong, peaked with a 39 match unbeaten run and nearly collapsed over a three week period that featured four defeats in five games.

MotoGP 2016: Grand Prix of Italy

Jorge Lorenzo won a ferocious last lap duel with Marc Marquez to clinch victory at Mugello, where Valentino Rossi face ended in bitter disappointment with an engine failure. Italian hero Rossi had been shadowing his Movistar Yamaha team-mate Lorenzo in second place when his race came to an unceremonious end on lap nine, when he was forced to park up his smoking factory M1.

It was the second engine blow up to hit Yamaha on Sunday after Lorenzo bike suffered a similar fate during morning warm-up. As Lorenzo and Marquez engaged in a game of cat and mouse at the front, Andrea Lannone who was down in 10^th place following the opening lap after blowing his front row start was on the move and came through to take third from his Ducati team-mate Andrea Dovizioso.

Dani Pedrosa also came on strong in the second part of the race and became embroiled in a battle with Lannone, although the Italian rider prevailed to seal the final place on the podium. Lorenzo and Marquez traded passes on a nail biting final lap and it looked as though the Honda rider had managed to make the decisive move to lead out of the final corner onto the main straight, but Lorenzo managed to draft past on the blast to the line to win in dramatic style.

Dovizioso finished fifth on the second of the factory Ducati GP16 machines, with Maverick Vinales sixth on the Ecstar Suzuki. Spaniard Vinales also blew his start and had to fight his way through from 11^th place on the GSX-RR. It was Rossi second DNF of the season after he crashed out in Texas and he is now 37 points behind Lorenzo after the first six rounds.

UEFA Europa League 2016

Sevilla continued their reign as kings of the UEFA Europa League as a rousing second half fight back proved too much for Liverpool at Basel and secured them an unprecedented third straight title in the competition and a record extending fifth overall.

Sevilla were in their third successive final whereas Liverpool had not appeared in a European showpiece for nine years, yet there was little sign of nerves from the English newcomers. Emre Can forced the first save of the evening from David before ten minutes had been played, then Daniel Carrico acrobatically cleared a Daniel Sturridge header off the line. Roared on by a fair portion of crowd, Liverpool kept coming, with Soria quickly off his line to block another Sturridge effort.

Captain Marvel and Sevilla hero, Coke is not a natural goal scorer. His 169 games for Sevilla before tonight brought a grand total of 13 goals. A right back by trade, he has been used in midfield this term and twice he turned up in the right place at the right time. Disappointed to be a substitute last season, here he scored two and lifted the trophy. Eight of the last 13 teams to lift this trophy have been from the Liga and this triumph was tenth in all.

Spain surpasses Italy as the leading nation in the competition history. It is a similar story in the European Cup, where Real Madrid and Atletico will face in ten days, time to become the fifth Spanish winner in eight seasons. 

Max Verstappen wins Spanish Grand Prix

Formula 1 Gran Premio de Espana Pirelli 2016 served up a battle royal between Red Bull and Ferrari, with Max Verstappen becoming the youngest F1 winner in history as he took an amazing victory from Kimi Raikkonen in his very first race with his new team.

It came after Mercedes Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton had dramatically collided into retirement on lap 1 in an incident which the stewards are investigating. Verstappen, aged just 18, held off relentless pressure from Raikkonen in the closing laps, while behind them Ferrari Sebastian Vettel did the same from the Sister Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo, until the Australian right rear tyre deflated just a lap from home.

Ricciardo came home fourth nonetheless, followed by William Valtteri Bottas, Toro Rosso Carlos Sainz and Force India Sergio Perez. Williams Felipe Massa, McLaren Jenson Button and Toro Rosso Daniil Kvyat completed the top ten. The Mercedes aside, there were just three other retirements. Nico Hulkenberg pulled off with flames licking from the rear of his Force India on lap 22, Fernando Alonso home race ended with power loss on his McLaren on lap 47, and Romain Grosjean brought his Haas into the Garage on lap 58.

MotoGP 2016: Grand Prix of France

Jorge Lorenzo ran away with the French GP, taking a flag to flag victory as former championship leader Marc Marquez fell. Tension hung in the air ahead of the 28 lap monster Energy Grand Prix de France as riders in the MotoGP World Championship sat patiently on the grid. Jorge Lorenzo had pole ahead of championship leader Marc Marquez and potential podium challenger Andrea Lannone.

Lorenzo made a perfect start as Marquez wheelied off the line, the Yamaha rider leading through the first chicane with Andrea Dovizioso behind him. Marquez was soon up to fourth as he charged past Pol Espargaro, Valentino Rossi attempted to follow him through but found himself swamped by the likes of Aleix Espargaro and Bradley Smith.

As they crossed the finish line for the first time Lorenzo lead stood at half a second with Dovizioso and lannone behind. It was not the start Rossi had wanted, able to make up just a single place from seventh on the grid as the second lap began. Dovizioso, who had seemingly banished his recent bad luck, remained strong in second.

Dani Pedrosa was unable to close the gap to Vinales despite his best efforts and settled for fourth. Pol Espargaro was once again the fastest independent team rider as he ended Tech 3’s home round in a credible fifth ahead of his brother. Aleix Espargaro, Danilo Petrucci, Hector Barbera, Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bardl completed the top ten. Of the 21 riders on the grid, 13 finished the race.

Nico Rosberg wins Russia Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg dominated Sunday 2016 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix after a Sochi race in which his main rivals struck trouble. Team mate Lewis Hamilton fought his way up from 10^th on the grid to secure a Mercedes one-two, as Ferrari Kimi Raikkonen completed the podium.

It was Rosberg fourth win of the season and his seventh in succession, and gives him a 43 point lead in the driver standings. Hamilton, meanwhile, believed he had the pace to win, but yet again saw his challenge compromised as falling water pressure obliged him to back off after he had reduced a 12.9s deficit to 7.5s between laps 23 and 36.

Where the World Champion at least finished second this time, however, it was another pure disaster for 2016 other unlucky man, Sebastian Vettel. He was hit from behind by Chinese nemesis Daniil Kvyat in Turn 2 on the opening lap as he pushed the Ferrari inside Daniel Ricciardo sister Red Bull. Then as Vettel appeared to slow slightly with a resulting rear puncture he was again hit from behind by Kvyat and sent spinning hard into the wall in Turn 3. The Russian was given a 10s stop-go-penalty and three penalty points, but Vettel was done.

Valtteri Bottas was strong initially despite losing second place on the opening lap to Raikkonen, the Williams driver got that back after a safety car intervention because of Vettel accident and a resultant Turn 2 clash further back between Haas Esteban, the Force India of Nico Hulkenberg, Marcus Ericsson Sauber and Rio Haryanto’s Manor, as racing resumed on the fourth lap.

Rosberg now has a lead of 43 points over Hamilton and joins Alberto Ascari, Michael Schumacher and Vettel as the only men ever to win seven Grand Prix in a row. As Raikkonen rises to third with 36 points, Vettel himself lies fourth on 33, one ahead of Massa.

MotoGP 2016: Grand Prix of Spain

All Weekend the leading three were in a league of their own. Rossi, Lorenzo, and Marquez had filled the top three spots of almost every practice session and lined up next to each other on the front row of the grid. The three biggest names in MotoGP were alongside each other once more and everything in practice had indicated that there was almost nothing to choose between them.

As is typical of the Spanish GP, the grid was packed with mechanics, guests and officials but the riders did their best to block it out and run through their race plans. With all three on the same hard front and medium rear tyres, managing tyre life could very well decide the race but those concerns would came later. Race can’t be won in the first corner, but they can certainly be lost.

Across the line they went as the second lap began as the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP pair stretched their lead. Marquez attacked Pedrosa into Turn 6, running wide as his line was blocked. Through Turn 9 Lorenzo launched a similar attack on Rossi, the Italian holding off his teammate as the Hondas clawed back the gap with Marquez now in third.

After a terrible start to the race, lannone set about making up for lost time and quickly got past Pol Espargaro and ran away with seventh place. This would be one of the last battles of the race as the field stretched out, only a handful of riders within a second of each other. For the 113^th time in his career and the 87^th time in the premier class, Valentino Rossi pulled a wheelie across the line to celebrate victory. Behind him Jorge Lorenzo took his 100^th premier class podium finish and Marquez was able to keep the lead of the championship, his lead reduced slightly to 17 points.

Nico Rosberg wins China Grand Prix 2016

Nico Rosberg left the drama and chaos of the Chinese GP in his wake to claim a commanding sixth win in a row and open up a big lead at the top of the driver championship. Lewis Hamilton finished seventh after starting from the back of the grid, but his chances of a stronger result were compromised by a broken front wing on an accident filled opening lap.

Rosberg now leads his Mercedes team-mate by 36 points in the World Championship after three races. Sebastian Vettel finished second for Ferrari but a whopping 38 seconds behind Rosberg after being involved in the chaotic opening lap most controversial moment when he crashed into his team-mate Raikkonen. Vettel blamed the fast starting Daniil Kvyat for triggering the incident, with the pair later meeting on track as the Ferrari made his way back through the field after his own front wing change.

Vettel overtook the Red Bull, but Kvyat still claimed Red Bull first podium of the year in the third. Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo finished fourth for the third consecutive race was left to rue what might have been after a puncture scuppered his podium hopes when leading from Rosberg in the early stages. Raikkonen dropped to the back of the field after his tangle with Vettel but fought back to fifth, ahead of Massa and a frustrated Hamilton.

However, that was as good as the race would get for the Woking team, as both the Spaniard and team-mate Jenson Button steadily dropped down the top 10 order and eventually out of the points. Toro Rosso pair Max Verstappen who finished right on Hamilton tail and Carlos Sainz along with the second Williams of Valtteri Bottas, rounded out the points finisher instead.

MotoGP 2016: Grand Prix of the Americas

All eyes were on Marc Marquez as the MotoGP World Championship lined up at the head the grid for the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas. The Spaniard went into the race with a perfect record on America Soil, winning every MotoGP race he started in the United States. While Marquez was quietly confident, there were a number of riders who were looking to return to the front once more.

Amongst them was Jorge Lorenzo, the 2015 MotoGP World Champion having suffered an uncharacteristic crash during Warm Up. Andrea Lannone was another ready to make an impact; having qualified fourth he started seventh after his penalty from the Argentina GP. All of the factory Yamaha and Ducati riders opted for medium tyres front and rear while pole man Marquez chose the soft front with medium rear.

Roaring off the line, Lorenzo grabbed the lead into Turn 1 but ran wide on exit, allowing Marquez to move ahead. The field all make it through the opening corners safe, Lorenzo in the second with Valentino Rossi hot on his tail. Andrea Dovizioso also made a good start and used the power of the Ducati Slide into second down the back straight. The third lap began with Rossi crashing out of the race at Turn 2, losing the front mid corner.

All the while Marquez and Dovizioso ran away at the front, Lorenzo defending his third place position. For the first time in 25 races, Rossi failed to finish the top five. Lap after lap, Marquez extended his lead and after only five laps his fourth straight win in Texas looked certain. But the remaining two spots on the podium were wide open, Lorenzo getting past Dovizioso with Dani Pedrosa waiting patiently behind. Round 4 of MotoGP World Championship takes place on the 24^th April at the Gran Premio Red Bull De Espana.

MotoGP 2016: Argentina Grand Prix

Argentina delivered a bizarre race befitting an equally bemusing lead up, Marc Marquez taking his first MotoGP win of 2016 simply by staying out of trouble. The Honda rider seized the lead early and held off a feisty Valentino Rossi ahead of compulsory pit stops at the halfway point of the shortened 20 lap race, both measures due to tyre issues suffered by Michelin during practice.

Marquez was peerless after the stops, Rossi unable to match his early pace and allowing his chief rival to race to a comfortable 7.6 second victory. There should have been a pair of Ducatis between them but, in a total disaster for the Italian team, Andrea Lannone took out teammate Andrea Dovizioso at the final corner as he tried to nab second place. The pair went tumbling into the gravel, allowing Rossi through to second and a surprised Dani Pedrosa into third.

Jorge Lorenzo, the Yamaha Man got the holeshot off the start but immediately began to slip down the order as he struggled with Michelin emergency spec rear tyre. His day ended early with a crash on the sixth lap. A promising race for Jack Miller also ended with his machine tumbling through the gravel. The Australian made a lighting start to pass the fading Lorenzo for sixth on the third lap, only to endure his fourth crash of the weekend on the next tour.

The upshot of it all is that Marquez now leads the championship on a machine that locked in all sorts of trouble in pre-season testing, with Rossi eight points in arrears, Pedrosa 14 points back and Jorge Lorenzo 16 behind. The next race is the Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin in one week’s time.

Nico Rosberg won Bahrain Grand Prix 2016

Mercedes Nico Rosberg made it five wins on the trot with a dominant victory in 2016 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. Rosberg took the flag 10 seconds clear of Ferrari Kimi Raikkonen after an incident filled Sakhir Race. Rosberg team mate Lewis Hamilton dropped to ninth on the opening lap after Turn 1 contact with William Valtteri Bottas but in a damaged car fought his way back to secure a lonely final podium place.

The second Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel failed to start after a suspected engine failure on the formation lap. As Hamilton and Kimi made poor starts, he sped into a lead that was never seriously contested, thus increasing his championship lead. Kimi and Rosberg switched back to supersofts in their second stops, as did Hamilton, but it was clear the race lay between Kimi and Rosberg. They shadowed each other yet again in their final stops, back to softs, but in the end the Mercedes driver was 10.2s ahead.

Rosberg thus leads the world Championship with 50 points to his team mate 33, with fourth place Daniel Ricciardo, now third overall for Red Bull, on 24 after another fast and fighting race. Romain Grosjean and Haas again proved stars. As a result, he is ahead of Vettel in the championship, and equal with Kimi on 18 points. In 10^th place Stoffel Vandoorne fulfilled all his promise on a day when team mate Jenson Button McLaren let him down, to score the final point on his debut for the Working team after a swift and intelligent performance.

Felipe Nasr brought the second Sauber home 14^th as Force India had a horrible race which yielded only 16^th and 17^th places for Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg, the latter making four stops and the former suffering debris damage early on. Rio Haryanto was the final finisher in the second manor, as Toro Rosso Carlos Sainz, Haas Esteban Gutierrez, Button and Renault Jolyon Palmer joined Vettel on the side lines.

West Indies won T20 World Cup 2016

A Brilliant knock from Carlos Brathwaite and Marlon Samuels gave West Indies their second World T20 Champion title in Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Carlos hit four sixes in last over in four balls to win the title. This year Under 19 World Cup Trophy, Women T20 World Cup Trophy and Men T20 World Cup Trophy are lifted by West Indies Team.

So far, in World Cup West Indies lost only one match to Afghanistan in Super 10 round. They beat England twice including Final match, South Africa, Sri Lanka and India in Semi-Final. England was in game till 19^th over and set a target of 19 runs in last over. Ben stokes went for the final over and Carlos Brathwaite smashes four sixes in four balls to clinch the title and created history.

Virat Kohli was the top scorer in the World Cup with 273 runs in five matches in knockout rounds. Marlon Samuels was awarded Man of the Match award for his brilliant knock in Final. Samuels walked to the crease in the second over of the chase, when England had surprised West Indies by using Joe Root with the new ball, and he duly claimed Johnson Charles and Chris Gayle in his first over.

Virat Kohli won the Man of the tournament award in 2016 World T20 Final. He scored 273 runs at an average of 137. This was the sixth edition of the tournament. Next T20 World Cup will be hosted by Australia in 2020. 

West Indies Women won Maiden WT20 title

Two sides that are known to play aggressive faced off in what promised to be a thrilling finale. Australia threw the early punches, West Indies then counter punched in the chase as the might of their explosive batting line-up resurfaced their maiden entry into the Women World T20 final ending in a blaze of glory at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

West Indies were run ragged in the first half as half-centuries from Elyse Villani and Meg Lanning helped Australia post an imposing 148 for 5. Enter Hayley Mathews and Stafanie Taylor and a daunting chase was clinically brought into the realms of possibility courtesy an opening stand of 120 in 15.4 overs. Once within striking distance, Taylor and Dottin brought all their experience to the fore by seeing off the highest successful chase in Women T20 history with three balls to spare.

Something about the last overs of their bowling stint, off which they conceded just one run, fired West Indies. Despite having the momentum with them, it was going to be a mountain to climb. For the first three overs of their chase, Australia had a lid on the runs, having conceded just eight. Then they relaxed, only to see Mathews unfurl boundary after boundary to leave Australia ducking for cover.

Halfway through the chase, Lanning called her team into a huddle in a bid to regroup. But that was to no avail. The wicket of Mathews, who miscued a pull off Kristen Beams to midwicket with West Indies 29 off 26 balls, came as relief, more than joy. That allowed Dottin, who had an off day with ball, a shot at redemption, which she gleefully accepted as West Indies celebrated a historic triumph in style.