Henin achieves Gulf double

Doha: Belgium’s Justine Henin defeated Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-2 to win the Qatar Open and complete a Gulf double on Saturday. Henin, who had beaten Kuznetsova in the semi-final before she won the title in Dubai last week, continued her mastery over the Russian, extending her head-to-head lead to 14-1. Henin took home $222,000 while Kuznetsova pocketed $117,000.

Despite her win, Henin will remain No.2 in the WTA rankings, but she has closed in on Russian Maria Sharapova. Henin was broken in the sixth game by Kuznetsova but broke back immediately and then again two games later before taking the set after saving three break points on her own serve. An immediate break gave the Belgian a quick advantage in the second set and she never relinquished her grip.

Hackett’s problem

Melbourne: Australian distance champion Grant Hackett said a late change of training base has affected his chances at the world championships starting in Melbourne later this month. The 26-year-old, the most decorated swimmer in world championship history, swapped his Gold Coast training camp for Melbourne and ended a 21-year relationship with coach Dennis Cotterell in favour of new mentor Ian Pope last month.

But Hackett, a double Olympic 1500m freestyle champion, said the switch may adversely affect his efforts during the March 17-April 1 FINA championships.

South Asia title for India

New Delhi: K. C. Ramu’s brilliant run helped India clinch the South Asia title at the ‘greatest race on earth' for the third year in a row.

Ramu finished 15th with a timing of 2::25.11 seconds in the final leg of the event at Hong Kong as India finished sixth among 30 nations in the Nation Challenge Category this year.

The greatest race on earth consists of four marathons run in different countries and their combined timings are considered for deciding the final places. India was trailing Sri Lanka by more than three minutes after the third race in Mumbai, but turned the tables in Hong Kong, a press release said.

Australian eves champions

Chennai: World champions Australia asserted their supremacy by clinching the quadrangular women’s cricket tournament with a six-wicket win over New Zealand in the final here on Monday. After restricting New Zealand to a modest 177 for nine, the Aussies raced to 181 for four in 38.2 overs to reconfirm their champions’ tag. Hosts India settled for the wooden spoon after going down to England by six wickets in another match. After dismissing India for 219 in 49.2 overs, England overhauled the target in 46.2 overs.

Offer for Teddy

Melbourne: Australian A-League side Sydney FC have offered a contract to former Manchester United and England striker Teddy Sheringham, local media reported on Monday. Sheringham, who will be 41 next month, is out of favour with Premier League club West Ham United and has been offered a one-season contract with the option of a second year, according to a Sydney daily.

Cricket: The Prince of Kolkata from 5.30 pm on ESPN n Cricket Classic from 9 pm on Zee Sports
Soccer: Champions league, Chelsea vs Porto, live on TEN Sports from 12.30 am (Wednesday)