By Sanjib Kumar Das Published: August 21, 2008, 23:42
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WHO'S HOT
Valentino Rossi: The Italian stormed to victory in the Czech Republic Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion led the race unchallenged and won his second consecutive MotoGP title after defending champion Casey Stoner of Australia crashed out of the race in Brno.
Michael Phelps: The US swimmer stamped his authority on the Beijing Games with a record haul of eight gold medals. Debate will still continue whether he is the best sportsperson to have ever walked on planet earth, but there’s no doubt on one count: the Beijing Olympics have turned out to be the ‘Phelps Games’!
Rafael Nadal: What a way to celebrate the world No 1 ranking! The Spaniard topped the ATP charts just a day after clinching the gold medal in the men’s singles at the Beijing Olympics, beating Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez. With the US Open just round the corner, this twin delight should do Nadal’s confidence a world of good.
WHO'S NOT
Roger Federer: Double blow for the Swiss Master. He missed out on a singles gold medal at the Beijing Olympics and also lost his world No 1 ranking. From an unbeatable sporting icon not too long ago, Federer has been reduced to a very much beatable figure in recent months.
Virender Sehwag: The Indian opener has been ruled out of the ongoing ODI series against Sri Lanka due to an ankle injury. Sehwag missed the opening one-dayer last Monday, after failing to recover from injury. With the team down in the dumps, this blow couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Shoaib Akhtar: It seems there’s no end to the Pakistan speedster’s agony. The latest to hit him is a Pakistan Cricket Board diktat, saying he will have to cough up a fine of Rs 7 million (Dhs345,541) or miss out on next month’s Champions Trophy.
