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India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan stunned French Open 2017 semi-finalist Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-2 at the Antalya Open in Turkey. In a match that lasted just a minute under an hour, Ramanathan managed to clinch 10 aces to Thiem’s four. Ramanathan is ranked 222 in the ATP rankings while Thiem is no. 8. Ramanathan was dominant in the first set and sailed to a 6-3 win. He wasted three break points in the second set before breaking the world no. 8 in the fifth game. “I worked really hard for this,” he said after the match, “Thank you to the crowd for coming out and cheering. I like the grass. Courts are fast. I took my chances and it worked out. I’m having a great time here and thanks to all the organisers.” Ramanathan will now face 79-ranked Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in the quarter final. It is his best result since reaching the quarter final of the Chennai Open last year. Ramanathan had entered the tournament through the qualifiers, as opposed to Thiem who was the top seed. Ramanathan had ea

Manchester United are "prepared to offer up to £40m" to sign 29-year-old Roma and Belgium midfielder Radja Nainggolan. (Gazzetta via Daily Mail) Lyon's president has confirmed that Arsenal target Alexandre Lacazette still wants to leave the club, but insisted the 26-year-old France forward will not be sold until a suitable replacement is found. (Independent) Chelsea have switched their focus to Southampton and Netherlands defender Virgil van Dijk, 25, after Juventus closed the door on a move for 30-year-old Italy centre-back Leonardo Bonucci. (Standard) Burnley have made a £3m bid for Stoke and Republic of Ireland forward Jon Walters, 33, who is thought to be frustrated by his lack of playing time. (Daily Mail) Lazio are close to agreeing a deal for Sunderland's 26-year-old Italy forward Fabio Borini. (Sunderland Echo) Liverpool winger Ryan Kent is wanted by Birmingham City with Harry Redknapp keen to acquire the 20-year-old on a season-long loan dea

The 25th of March this year marked 25 years since the completion of the 1992 World Cup. Nearly three months later, the tournament’s victor, Pakistan, stunned the international cricketing community by winning the Champions Trophy. The same day, a 15-year-old Pakistani became the victim of celebratory gunfire. Unpredictable cricketing excellence on the field, predictable violence on the streets — these two factors have dominated the Weltanschauung of the Pakistani nation state. And nearly 70 years since its independence, its cricketing prowess continues to inspire appreciation and awe in the minds of an average cricket fan. Peter Oborne’s Wounded Tiger is an excellent primer to the cricketing history of India’s conjoined twin to the west. Pakistan, whose creation was premised on the purported need for a separate homeland for British India’s Muslims, was without a foundational document — a Constitution — for more than a decade. However, this ran parallel to its progress on the

Sydney: India shuttler Kidambi Srikanth defeated Olympic champion Chen Long in a dominating fashion to win the Australia Open Super Series men's singles title on Sunday. Srikanth won in straight games 22-20, 21-16 to win his career's fourth Super Series title. "Srikanth has made the nation proud - Modi" This is world no 11 Srikanth's second straight title victory in a week after he won the Indonesian Open Super Series Premier last Sunday. Srikanth had reached the final of the Singapore Open in April and Indonesia Open before this tournament and has thus become only the fifth player in the world and the first Indian male shuttler to reach three consecutive Super Series finals. The opening game was an evenly contested affair with the two opponents exchanging the lead. At the start, the rallies were a bit long but both resorted to an attacking game from thereon. However, aided by his deceptive shots and searing smashes, Srikanth took 11-9 lead at the break