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In the world of football, Bayern Munich paid tribute to their club legend Franz Beckenbauer after he passed away last Sunday at the age of 78 years old. Indian tennis ace Sumit Nagal opened up on the probability of clashing against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open 2024. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty scripted history by advancing to the final of Malaysia Open 2024 finals.
Read below to learn details about these top stories and other happenings in the sporting world in the last 24 hours.
Football
Bayern Munich pay tribute to Germany’s great Franz Beckenbauer on emotional night
During their 3-0 win in the Bundesliga against Hoffenheim at the Allianz Arena, Bayern Munich players paid tribute to Germany’s great Franz Beckenbauer, wearing shirts with “danke Franz” which means “Thank you Franz” written across the front. This was the first match for Bayern Munich after their former player and manager Franz Beckenbauer passed away at the age of 78 last Sunday, wherein Jamal Musiala scored a goal each on either side of half-time before the captain of England Harry Kane got the third goal for the club on the night.
Erling Haaland likely to miss out until the end of January: Pep Guardiola
The Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is likely to miss out on action until the end of January, the manager Pep Guardiola stated during a press conference before they travel to play Newcastle United at St James’ Park. The 23-year-old hasn’t turned up for Manchester City after suffering a foot injury in early December, which led to Pep Guardiola giving the latest information about his fitness to the reporters by saying, “It's the bone. It needs time. With every injury, you can do whatever you want but it's a question of time.”
Qatar defeat Lebanon by 3-0 to open AFC Asian Cup 2023
The AFC Asian Cup 2023 began with a group A clash wherein the hosts Qatar defeated Lebanon by 3-0 at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail. Akram Akif, who opened the scoring in the tournament at the end of the first half, also put the finishing touches to the game with his second on the night during the second half of added time, while Almoez Ali got one of his own for Qatar in the 56th minute.
Newcastle United to let Bruno Guimaraes leave for less than his £100m release clause: Reports
Newcastle United are reportedly willing to let their Brazilian midfielder leave for either Barcelona or Real Madrid for less than his £100m release clause to allow him to fulfill his dream of playing in Spain, as per the report from Football Transfers. Notably, if clubs like Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain, and Chelsea came calling for the 26-year-old, in their particular case, they have to meet the release clause of the player in full.
Some major results in football are as under:
International Friendlies
Sweden 2-1 Estonia
AFC Asian Cup 2023
Qatar 3-0 Lebanon
Premier League 2023-24
Burnley 1-1 Luton Town
La Liga 2023-24
Sevilla 2-3 Alaves
Bundesliga 2023-24
Bayern Munich 3-0 Hoffenheim
Ligue 1 2023-24
Marseille 1-1 Strasbourg
Eredivisie 2023-24
RKC Waalwijk 1-2 Heracles Almelo
Tennis
Sumit Nagal opens up on probability of meeting Novak Djokovic at AO24
Indian tennis ace Sumit Nagal opened up on the probability of clashing against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open 2024. Nagal said, "If I had drawn Djoko…I don’t know if I would be happy about it (chuckles). But to play Sasha Bublik, it’s tough to play him here. They are great players, big servers, and like to play good tennis. I am looking forward to play Sasha (Bublik). We grew up in juniors together. Knowing him for a while, I know he is gonna be quick tennis without rhythm but these are the matches that I need to get through."
Carlos Alcaraz defends decision to skip warm-up games ahead of Australian Open 2024
World number 2 tennis player Carlos Alcaraz defended his decision to skip warm-up games ahead of the Australian Open 2024. Alcaraz said in a pre-tournament press conference, "Well, we end the season so, so late. I prefer to have a holiday, have my days to recover my body, my mind as well. Obviously, I prefer to do a really good pre-season. I think we discussed with my team, as well, that we need almost four, five weeks of pre-season to prepare well this season, for the first Grand Slam of the year. We have no time if I wanted to play a tournament before the Australian Open. At the end we preferred to come here to Australian Open, straight to a Grand Slam.”
I don't see Novak Djokovic out there playing his matches laughing: Andy Murray
Andy Murray discussed his approach to handling frustrating situations when he is not able to give his best. He said that during tense situations, he tries to redirect his focus towards the aspects of the game he can improve. Murray said, "No, I won't be out there giggling on the court. That won't be happening (smiling). Yeah, it's more about how you're dealing with frustration and disappointment and everything when you're playing. I don't see Novak out there when he's playing his matches laughing and joking around. I never saw that with Roger and Rafa. It's not about that.”
Stuart Broad takes cheeky dig at Novak Djokovic after Steve Smith’s service return in charity match
Former England pacer Stuart Broad made a cheeky remark on Australian batter Steve Smith returning Novak Djokovic's serve at the charity match on January 11. Djokovic and Smith locked horns in the pre-Australian Open 2024 charity match, where Djokovic made a routine serve to Smith, which the latter returned seamlessly. This left the Serb and spectators at Melbourne Park stunned. Broad took a dig at the World Number 1 tennis player and shared the viral video on his social media. Broad captioned it, "Djokovic finding out what it's been like to bowl to Steve Smith for the last 10 years.”
Badminton
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty sail through to Malaysia Open 2024 finals
India’s dominating badminton duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty made it to the final of Malaysia Open 2024 finals. Sat-Chi, better known as ‘Brothers of Destruction’ registered a 21-18, 22-20 win over Korea's Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae in the men's doubles semifinals of the Malaysia Open Super 1000 tournament on Saturday, January 13. This marked them as the first Indians in any discipline to reach the final of the Malaysia Open 2024 in the Open Era since 1983.
