Sports Digest

Other sports news in brief

Top awards for Nevin and Taylor

BOXING:John Joe Nevin and Katie Taylor were presented with the top awards at the IABA Annual Awards ceremony at the Louis Fitzgerald Hotel in Dublin last night. Taylor was celebrating on the double as she was presented with the best boxer award and the International Achievement Award along with the entire Irish EU squad, reports Bernard O'Neill.

Beijing Olympian Nevin, from the Cavan BC, claimed a historic sixth medal for Ireland (bronze) at the 2009 World Senior Championships in Milan in 2009. And Taylor, the World, European and EU champion, claimed her fourth European title on the trot in the Ukraine without conceding a point.

Young guns Joe Ward, the World Junior champion, and Jason Quigley, the reigning European Youth Champion, were also honoured. Sixteen-year-old Ward won light-middleweight gold at the AIBA World Junior Championships in Armenia last year and is considered one of the hottest prospects in international boxing.

Back to the old days for Belgian pair

WOMEN'S TENNIS:Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters have found themselves back in the old days after the pair, who grew up playing junior tennis together, set up a tantalising all-Belgian final at the Brisbane International final yesterday. Henin, playing her first tournament since her shock retirement in 2008, crushed Serbia's Ana Ivanovic 6-3 6-2 in a little over an hour in their semi-final.

Then Clijsters, who won last year’s US Open after making her own fairytale comeback, demolished Germany’s Andrea Petkovic 6-4 6-2 in an ominous sign of her intentions for this month’s Australian Open.

“I don’think anyone around the world expected to see this again, Clijsters said of meeting Henin in the final. I look forward to it. Back to the old days.”

Three in a row for Lindsey Vonn

SKIING:Lindsey Vonn, despite skiing with an injured hand, continued her clean sweep of World Cup downhills this season when she won her third in succession yesterday. There had been doubts about the American world champion's form after she hurt her hand in a crash in Lienz two weeks ago but she set the record straight with a winning time of one minute 38.84 seconds.

“I really needed a race like this,” said the American, who has won five back-to-back super-Gs in the past, but never three downhills.

Second place went to Sweden’s Anja Paerson, who finished 0.35 seconds off the pace for her first podium of the season. The 2004 and 2005 World Cup queen was just 0.04 seconds faster than Maria Riesch, whose third spot was not enough for the German to keep the overall World Cup lead.

Riesch, winner of a downhill and a super-G in Haus six years ago, is now 35 points behind Vonn overall.

Vickery may miss Six Nations

RUGBY:Prop Phil Vickery may miss Englands Six Nations campaign after his club Wasps said yesterday he would not be in training for another eight weeks.

The 33-year-old former England captain and 2003 World Cup winner is in rehabilitation following neck surgery which ruled him out of the November internationals. Martin Johnsons England begin their Six Nations campaign against Wales on February 6th at Twickenham.

Openers steamroll Bangladesh

CRICKET:Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene struck centuries as Sri Lanka romped to a nine-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the tri-series one-day tournament in Dhaka yesterday.

Tharanga was unbeaten on 118 off 126 balls, smacking 18 fours for his eighth ODI century, while Jayawardene made 108 off 117 balls to help Sri Lanka race past Bangladeshs modest 249 for nine with more than seven overs to spare. Former skipper Jayawardene was first to reach his hundred with a boundary through cover point and was finally caught by wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim off spinner Naeem Islam.

Jayawardene, who joined the squad after Tillakaratne Dilshan suffered a groin injury, clubbed 13 fours for his 12th one-day century.

Tharanga and Jayawardene shared 215 in the opening stand.

Federer suffers another Davydenko defeat

MEN'S TENNIS:Nikolay Davydenko proved his victory over Roger Federer last year was no fluke by beating the world number one 6-4 6-4 yesterday to reach the Qatar Open final.

The Russian third seed, who beat the Swiss for the first time in the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour Finals in November, repeated the feat to progress to todays final where he will face world number two Rafael Nadal.

“I’d beaten him once, so I knew I could beat him again. Then I thought, why not this time? I concentrated more on baseline and serves,” Davydenko, who has lost 12 times to Federer, said.

Unlike Federer, Spains Nadal stuck to the script and defeated Serbian fifth seed Viktor Troicki 6-1 6-3. “It’s very important to reach the final. That shows my preparations for the title defence in Australia are right on track,” said Nadal.

“After the first two games, my confidence grew, and my serve and volley were better.”