The big story: Yet another billiards title for Advani

World Billiards champion Pankaj Advani on Tuesday won his seventh national title after beating Rupesh Shah 5-1 in the final of the National Billiards and Snooker Championship at Mumbai’s PJ Hindu Gymkhana, PTI reported.

Advani won (150 (83) - 135, 150 (150) - 54 (54), 151 (109) - 122 (113), 104 - 151 (144), 151 (74, 67) - 112.

Last year, Advani had won his 11th World Billiards Championship title by beating Peter Gilchrist of Singapore in the 150-Up format.

Other top stories

Tennis

  • Andy Murray was left out of Great Britain’s initial four-man team for next week’s Davis Cup World Group first-round meeting with Canada. Murray has been extended a chance to rest after his shock exit from the Australian Open.
  • Four-time Australian Open champion Roger Federer set up an all-Swiss showdown with fourth seed and 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka in the semi-finals of the Australian Open after beating Germany’s Mischa Zverev 6-1, 7-5, 6-2 on Tuesday.
  • Fourth seed Stan Wawrinka beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-3 to make the last-four stage at the Australian Open on Tuesday.
  • Venus Williams beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets to enter the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Tuesday.
  • Coco Vandeweghe defeated seventh seed Garbiñe Muguruza 6-4, 6-0 to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
  • World No. 2 Sania Mirza and her Croatian partner Ivan Dodig on Tuesday knocked out China’s Saisai Zheng and Austrian Alexander Peya in the mixed doubles to enter the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.  
  • India’s Rohan Bopanna and his Canadian partner Gabriela Dabrowski defeated Lukasz Kubot and Chan Yung-jan 6-4, 5-7, 10-3 to enter the quarter-finals of the mixed doubles at the Australian Open on Tuesday.  

Cricket

  • Attorney General of India Mukul Rohatgi on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to refrain from naming new administrators for the Board of Control for Cricket in India for another two weeks as the central government was “thinking” of implementing a sports code.
  • The Supreme Court asked the Centre and the BCCI to suggest names for the appointment of board administrators in a sealed cover by January 27 and deferred the hearing till January 30.
  • Rest of India beat Gujarat by six wickets to lift the Irani Cup on Tuesday. Chasing a target of 379, captain Cheteshwar Pujara and Wriddhiman Saha staged a match-winning partnership of 316 runs for the fifth wicket to take Rest of India home.
  • Wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha will regain his place in the Indian Test team, ahead of Parthiv Patel, chairman of selectors MSK Prasad clarified on Tuesday.
  • Mithali Raj-led Indian women’s cricket team have been drawn with Sri Lanka, Ireland, Zimbabwe and Thailand in Group A of the ICC World Cup qualifiers scheduled to be held in Colombo from February 7 to 21, PTI reported.
  • The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Tuesday refused to provide S Sreesanth a non-objection certificate to play in the Scotland Cricket League, Hindustan Times reported.
  • Mitchell Johnson produced the most economical figures in Big Bash League history – 4-2-3-3 – as Perth Scorchers beat Melbourne Stars by seven wickets in a semi-final clash on Tuesday.
  • A court refused to grant bail to Bangladeshi cricketer Arafat Sunny on Tuesday after he was charged with posting “intimate” photos of his girlfriend on social media.
  • The anti-doping court, which is inspecting whether West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell was guilty after allegedly failing to file his whereabouts three times between January and July 2015, will deliver its verdict on January 31. If found guilty, Russell can be banned for two years.  

Football

  • Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets has been sidelined after spraining his right ankle during Sunday’s 4-0 win at Eibar. However, the club did not set a time-frame for his return.
  • Hull City midfielder Ryan Mason is conscious and has spoken about the clash of heads with Chelsea defender Gary Cahill in which he fractured his skull, the club said in a statement.
  • Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was charged for verbal abuse and pushing fourth official Anthony Taylor during Sunday’s game against Burnley, said the Football Association in a statement.
  • The All India Football Federation president Praful Patel on Tuesday took a dig at Goan clubs for not having the required “bandwidth” to continue in revamped top tier league in the country, PTI reported.
  • All India Football Federation might be renamed as Football India, president Praful Patel said on Tuesday, PTI reported.
  • Mohun Bagan lost their first points in the I-league this season after being held to a goalless draw by DSK Shivajians at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune on Tuesday.
  • The All India Football Federation on Tuesday launched the country’s first-ever professional women’s league, the Indian Women’s League, which will be held at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi from January 28 till February 14, PTI reported.

Hockey

  • Dabang Mumbai scored a stunning come-from-behind 4-3 victory over Uttar Pradesh Wizards in the Hockey India League on Tuesday.

Shooting

  • Rio Olympians Manavjit Singh Sandhu and Ayonika Paul were dropped from India’s team for the year’s first ISSF World Cup to be held in the capital from February 24.

Formula One

  • Bernie Ecclestone has been removed after 40 years from his position of running Formula One as US giant Liberty Media completed its $8 billion takeover of the sport. Ecclestone has been appointed chairman emeritus and will act as an adviser to the board.