Osman Samiuddin
A look back on some of the very best in sporting action over the past seven days.
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1. Best pass: Cesc Fabregas
This is a big season for Chelsea. Sure, every season is always a big season for everyone. They have started well, as have the two players upon whom they will rely heavily. Diego Costa is a headline-grabber but last weekend his winner against Watford existed only because Cesc Fabregas did. Picking up the ball just outside his own penalty area Fabregas curled a geometry defying pass that bisected the defence and allowed Costa to storm through. If they had an award for Assist of the Season it has been won already.
2. Sourest grapes: Lyndsey Sharp
Caster Semenya’s eligibility to run in the women’s 800 metres is never going to be straightforward but the bottom line is that she is allowed to compete. So the reactions of those who lost to her in the Olympic final seem plenty churlish. Lead among them was Great Britain’s Lyndsey Sharp, who finished sixth and complained that Semenya’s hyperandrogenism confers her an unfair advantage. Think about this: an athlete from one of the best-resourced sporting countries complaining about the unfair advantages of one from one of the poorest. Hardly in the Olympic spirit.
3. Best tantrum: Nick Kyrgios
How long has it been since Nick Kyrgios was in the headlines? Long enough, judging by his actions at the Cincinnati Masters. After losing the first set to his opponent with a double fault, Kyrgios went to his chair and then, as calmly as possible, smashed the racket he was using into the ground. Then he did another, and then a third. And fired himself up enough to win the second set, though he lost eventually. Go on, try not watching him at the US Open next week.
4. Best stat: Team GB
They had one of their most successful Olympics in the modern era when they ended their participation at Rio 2016 with 27 gold medals and 67 overall. That put them in second place behind the USA but also, remarkably, ahead of powerhouse China. The reason (or at least a big part of it)? A Guardian report revealed that, on average, each medal has cost the government and sports authorities £5.5 million (Dh26.7m). Overall, spending on Olympic sport has increased 16 per cent since Beijing. Money may not buy you happiness, but sporting success can.
5. Best Cinderella: Pakistan
No home Tests in seven years. A fickle board. Few chances against top-class opponents. An ageing captain. Stand up Pakistan, who somehow against all kinds of obstacles ended up this week as the world’s No 1 Test side.
