Sports News Roundup: Pens win as Evgeni Malkin scores twice in season debut; Peterhansel a Dakar stage winner again, Benavides bows out and more

The stage victory was a first on this year's event for 'Mr Dakar' Peterhansel, a 14-times winner on two wheels and four and now driving an electric hybrid Audi, who dropped out of contention for the title in Saudi Arabia last week. NBA roundup: Suns stop Raptors' winning streak Devin Booker hit the go-ahead jump shot with 1:02 to play and the visiting Phoenix Suns went on to end the Toronto Raptors' six-game winning streak Tuesday night with a 99-95 victory.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 12-01-2022 22:31 IST | Created: 12-01-2022 22:29 IST
Sports News Roundup: Pens win as Evgeni Malkin scores twice in season debut; Peterhansel a Dakar stage winner again, Benavides bows out and more
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Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

NHL roundup: Pens win as Evgeni Malkin scores twice in season debut

Evgeni Malkin produced two goals and an assist in his season debut and Jeff Carter added two scores as the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins earned a 4-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. Kasperi Kapanen had two assists and Tristan Jarry made 25 saves for the Penguins, who earned the victory one game after their 10-game winning streak ended with a 3-2 road defeat to the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

Tennis-Win over Basilashvili gives Murray confidence ahead of Australian Open

Former world number one Andy Murray said Wednesday's hard-fought victory over second seed Nikoloz Basilashvili at the Sydney Tennis Classic will boost his morale ahead of next week's Australian Open. Murray, who has slipped to 135th in the world rankings after long injury lay-offs due to hip surgery, fought back from a set down to beat higher-ranked Basilashvili 6-7(4) 7-6(3) 6-3 in a physical encounter that lasted over three hours.

Rallying-Peterhansel a Dakar stage winner again, Benavides bows out

Reigning Dakar Rally champions suffered contrasting fortunes on Wednesday with French veteran Stephane Peterhansel winning the 10th stage in the car category while Argentine motorcycle rider Kevin Benavides suffered technical problems and retired. The stage victory was a first on this year's event for 'Mr Dakar' Peterhansel, a 14-times winner on two wheels and four and now driving an electric hybrid Audi, who dropped out of contention for the title in Saudi Arabia last week.

NBA roundup: Suns stop Raptors' winning streak

Devin Booker hit the go-ahead jump shot with 1:02 to play and the visiting Phoenix Suns went on to end the Toronto Raptors' six-game winning streak Tuesday night with a 99-95 victory. Booker's 19-footer gave Phoenix a one-point lead and Chris Paul followed with a 16-footer with 32.5 seconds left. OG Anunoby's layup cut Toronto's deficit to one with 14.1 seconds to go. Booker restored the three-point lead with two free throws with 6.5 seconds left.

Doping-U.S. charges therapist with giving performance enhancing drugs to athletes for Tokyo Olympics

U.S. prosecutors on Wednesday charged a Texas therapist with distributing performance-enhancing drugs to athletes participating in the Olympic Games held in Tokyo last summer. The charges against Eric Lira, unsealed by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, marked the first U.S. criminal accusations of doping related to the Tokyo games, which were initially scheduled for 2020 but delayed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tennis-Gauff beats Kostyuk, five Americans in Adelaide quarters

Coco Gauff battled to a 6-3 5-7 6-3 win over unseeded Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk at the Adelaide International 2 WTA tournament on Wednesday to join four other Americans in the quarter-finals. Madison Keys, Alison Riske, Madison Brengle and Lauren Davis also won their respective matches in the round of 16 earlier in the day to book their spots in the quarter-finals which will take place on Thursday.

Djokovic sorry for COVID errors, Australian Open visa still in doubt

World tennis No. 1 and vaccine sceptic Novak Djokovic blamed human error on Wednesday for a mistake in his Australian immigration paperwork and apologised for breaking isolation for a photoshoot when he had COVID-19 last month. The 34-year-old Serbian superstar is chasing a record-breaking 21st men's Grand Slam title at the Australian Open beginning on Monday, but he could be deported by a government unhappy with his medical exemption from inoculation against the coronavirus.

Soccer-USWNT to kick off 2022 with training camp in Austin

The U.S. women's national team will have 10 members of the squad that won bronze at last year's Tokyo Olympics for their first training camp of 2022 next week in Austin, Texas. With no internationals scheduled during the Jan. 19-28 camp, USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski will use the opportunity to have more intense sessions to kick off a year in which they hope to qualify for the 2023 Women's World Cup and 2024 Paris Olympics.

Soccer-Mali beat Tunisia in tale of two penalties and poor timekeeping

Mali completed a 1-0 victory over Tunisia in a controversial Group F game at the Africa Cup of Nations that was ended prematurely by referee Janny Sikazwe, who later tried to play the final four minutes only for the north Africans to refuse. Zambian Sikazwe, who officiated at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, initially blew for the final whistle on 85 minutes as he got his timekeeping all wrong.

Tennis-Djokovic facing hostility, cold start at Melbourne Park

Novak Djokovic is likely to face hostility both on and off court if he is allowed to play at the Australian Open but a former member of the Serbian's team thinks the world number one is well-equipped to deal with it. While Australia's immigration minister continues to consider whether to cancel Djokovic's visa on Wednesday, the 20-times Grand Slam champion has been pressing ahead with his preparations for his title defence.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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