Anand finishes joint third in London Classic

London: Viswanathan Anand played out a draw with longtime rival Vladimir Kramnik of Russia to end the London Chess Classic with a shared third result after the end of the ninth and final round

Updated At : 07:18 AM Dec 21, 2016 IST

London

Viswanathan Anand played out a draw with long-time rival Vladimir Kramnik of Russia to end the London Chess Classic with a shared third result after the end of the ninth and final round. The highlights of Anand's campaign were the innovative ideas he displayed, while the lone low point was the defeat against Hikaru Nakamura in the third round. Wesley So of the United States expectedly won the tournament with an easy draw with white pieces against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France in the final round.

Basel

Federer confirms return at Hopman Cup

Swiss tennis icon Roger Federer confirmed on Tuesday his return at the Hopman Cup in January, six months after his defeat in the Wimbledon semifinals. After the Wimbledon, the winner of 17 Grand Slam titles stayed out of competitions to recover from a left knee injury. The 35-year-old Swiss confirmed through his Twitter account that he is "healthy and ready" to return. The 29th edition of the Hopman Cup will take place in Perth, Australia, from January 1 to 7.

Johannesburg

ICC reserves judgment on Faf’s ‘mintgate’ appeal

The appeal hearing of South African skipper Faf du Plessis against the International Cricket Council's (ICC) verdict of ball-tampering case has concluded in Dubai without a verdict being released. The meeting was chaired by Michael Beloff in Dubai, with legal counsel of both parties attending the hearing in person and Du Plessis joining in via telephone. It still remains unclear as to when the ICC will release their final decision regarding his appeal.

Dubai

India finish the year as top-ranked Test team

India have ended 2016 as the top-ranked Test team on the ICC rankings after registering a 4-0 victory over England in the five-match series on Tuesday. The series win has helped India gain five points. They have now moved to 120 points in the Test team rankings, 15 points ahead of second-placed Australia. In contrast, England, who had started the series tied with Australia on 105 points, have slipped from the second to the fifth position.

Mumbai

Sania Mirza eyes career Slam next year

Tennis star Sania Mirza says she enjoyed incredible results in 2016 and it would be amazing if she could complete a Career Slam next year. Sania has three Grand Slam titles each in women's and mixed doubles formats. "It was unbelievable year for me, to finish at No. 1 again, to win 8 tournaments, to win a Grand Slam, to be in the final of another. I can't ask for a better year, so it's been an incredible year and I am so happy to be No.1," Sania said. — Agencies