Heartaches and delights: The world of sports in 2018

Updated 19 Dec, 2018

From tennis and hockey to mixed martial arts (MMA), various international tournaments and championships made headlines for the fabulous performances of the performers while other times for some shocking incidents.

Hockey:

Pakistan continued its rusty show as Belgium emerged as the new powerhouse of the game in 2018.

2018 Men's Hockey World Cup

The world of men’s hockey saw a new champion after Belgium won the 14th edition of the tournament, for the first time after defeating the Netherlands 3–2 in the final on a penalty shoot-out after a 0–0 draw.

Women’s Hockey World Cup

The 14th edition of the International Women’s Hockey World Cup was held in the historic city of London from July 21 to August 5, and was secured by the Netherlands for the record eighth time.

Hockey Champions Trophy

The 37th and the last edition of the Hockey Champions Trophy was held from 23 June to 1 July 2018 in Breda, Netherlands. The final was won by Australia, who claimed their 15th title by defeating India in the final after penalties.

Tennis:

The world of men’s tennis was dominated by old guns Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, whereas, newer faces emerged in the Women’s tennis as dominance of Serena Williams took a back seat.

Australian Open

The first grand slam of 2018 was won by Swiss superman Roger Federer. The tennis veteran defeated Croatian Marin Cilic in the final. Whereas, Caroline Wozniacki won her maiden Grand Slam title at the 2018 Australian Open beating Simona Halep in the final.

French Open

The 2018 French Open was claimed by the King of clay Rafael Nadal, who grabbed his record 11th French Open title beating Austrian Dominic Thiem in the final. Meanwhile, Simona Halaep won the Women’s Singles beating Sloane Stephens in the final.

Djokovic claims Wimbledon, US Open as Serena falters

Serbian superstar Novak Djokovic grabbed the Wimbledon and US Open titles, whereas Germany’s Angelique Kerber and relatively unknown Naomi Osaka from Japan claimed the Wimbledon and US Open titles, respectively beating Serena Williams in the finals of both Grand Slams.

 MMA:

The world of UFC turned ugly, as a UFC Lightweight Championship Khabib Nurmagomedov tapped out Conor McGregor in the biggest MMA bout of the year.

However, the fight that was fuming with controversies and physical attacks from the beginning took a more dramatic turn as just seconds after the fight, a brawl occurred between the Nurmagomedov and McGregor men.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2018
 

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