Get exposure to millions of potential customers!

After Ronaldo, Messi nets hat-trick; clocks 400 goals!

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi continued their extraordinary double act, both scoring hat-tricks as Real Madrid and Barcelona maintained their battle for supremacy at the top of La Liga over the weekend. Lionel Messi scored yet another hat-trick and surpassed 400club goals as Barcelona came from behind to win the Catalan derby 5-1 against Espanyol in La Liga. The Argentine, who holds the La Liga and Champions League scoring records, produced a familiar devastating performance to take his record to 402 goals for Barca in all competitions, including 28 in friendlies. Messi produced his tour de force a day after Cristiano Ronaldo, his rival for title of world's best player, scored a La Liga record 23rd hat-trick in league leaders Real Madrid's 3-0 victory over Celta Vigo at the Bernabeu. European champions Real extended their club record winning streak to 18 matches in all competitions, staying two points clear of Barca while champions Atletico Madrid are a further two behind after their 2-0 victory at Elche.

Sindhu defends Macau Open title!

Two-time World Championship bronze medallist P V Sindhu lifted her first title of the season by successfully defending the USD 120,000 Macau Grand Prix Gold trophy after seeing off Kim Hyo Min of Korea in the women's singles finals, here Sunday. 

World No. 11 Sindhu prevailed over 91st-ranked, Kim 21-12 21-17 in the summit clash that lasted 45 minutes at the Tap Seac Multi-sport Pavilion here. 

The bronze-medallist at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Sindhu faced tough competition from Kim, who had come into the finals after beating seventh seed Chinese Yu Sun but the experienced Indian held her nerves to stave off the challenge from the Korean. 

Kim started off on an aggressive note and found the gaps easily to lead 3-0. Sindhu slowly started to decode her rival's game and not only clawed back at 6-6 with deceptive net play but led 7-6. 

Kim wriggled her way out of difficult situation with the help of her back hand returns but she faced resistance from the experienced Sindhu, who used her smashes to notch up winners and entered the interval 11-8 up.

Sindhu dominated the long rallies after the break and caught Kim at the forecourt twice. She also earned points with her soft taps to rush to 19-9 when Kim failed to return a net shot.

The Korean earned a couple of winners with her cross court returns but Sindhu soon reached the game point after making Kim run to four corners of the court. The Indian then clinched the opening game in 20 minutes with a sharp return which Kim couldn't negotiate.

Sindhu storms into Macau Open final!

Leading woman shuttler P.V. Sindhu entered the women's singles final of the $120,000 Macau Open Grand Prix Gold, registering a comprehensive win over Thailand's Busanan Ongbumrungpan here Saturday. 


Defending champion Sindhu had a facile 21-14, 21-15 win over the World No.23 in 42 minutes at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion here. With this win, the Indian World No.11 also extended a 5-0 lead in career meetings.

Busanan tried her best but she failed against the two-time World Championships bronze medalist Indian, who played aggressively. 

Phillip Hughes: The showstopper is no more!

The Baggy Green Cap 408 is now history. It belonged to someone who was humble, kind and generous. He was an artist whose inimitable bold brush strokes made Australian cricketing canvas look bright and dazzling.

But, on Thursday the artist walked into a silent land where no one can go with him hand in hand.

The cricketing world has come to a standstill; cricketers are left in a state of shock and fans across the globe are mourning the death of Australian cricketer Phil Hughes.  

Hughes was felled by a bouncer at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday and after a 48-hour battle, the talented southpaw who had the world at his feet breathed his last.

The phrase, "for the love of the game” is referred to the passion that athletes have for the sport they play. Far away from the playing arena, the usual impression created in one's mind is that of sportspersons spending most of their time honing their skills, often sacrificing life's simple joys.

No matter whom they represent - club or nation, every athlete plays the sport to win. But, despite such dedication, the very saying "for the love of the game" isn't uttered to refer to athletes who have lost their lives while playing the sport they love.

Sadly, encountering death while playing a sport is an unfortunate fate. And when Hughes collapsed on Tuesday afternoon, the world had only hoped he cover-drives death away and springs back to life. However, with just three days shy of his 26th birthday, the world was left devastated as both a nation and the game lost a dear son. 

His friend, Alan Jones said that Hughes had wished to score his 26th first-class century to coincide with his 26th birthday. Alas it was not to be...

Australia is heartbroken. The showstopper is no more.

Rarely has cricket united hearts. But on the saddest day, players across nations shared the pain, cried in sorrow as a pall of gloom descended on the cricketing world.

It wasn't the first ever bouncer bowled in the history of the game. The likes of Mike Gatting (Nose broken), Andy Lloyd (Hit in the temple), Rick McCosker (Broken jaw), Nari Contractor (Skull fracture), Ahmed Shehzad (Skull fracture) had serious injuries but recovered after undergoing surgeries.

Even Hughes was expected to come back. Everyone thought it was a matter of time. But little did the world knew that Hughes was running out of time.

The blow to head is not new and can happen to any cricketer. A pull and a miss. Timing was the key. But Hughes was just a fraction late and that meant it was too late. When the clock stopped at the SCG, the scorecard showed Hughes was unbeaten on 63 and Hughes will forever remain so.
                                                                                               
The news came as a bolt from the blue as twitter was flooded with condolence messages. And while the entire world is still weeping, another young man is in a complete state of distress.

In 1975, England's Peter Lever almost killed New Zealand's Ewen Chatfield. After Chatfield was brought back to life, Lever said, "I felt sick and ashamed at what I had done, and all I could think when I got back to the pavilion was that I wanted to retire."

If Lever could feel that, imagine what Abbott must be feeling now. We can't, none of us can. He must have been broken, inconsolable.

Just a month ago, both Hughes and Abbott made their T20 debut together in Dubai against Pakistan. They shared the same dressing room, shared high-fives. Each one plied their own trade. Hughes with the bat and Abbott with the ball.

After six weeks, both Hughes and Abbott were back to the same business. Although, this time they were pitted against each other, they were out in the middle doing what they both love to. Playing cricket.

But catastrophically, a single delivery shook the world, with Hughes leaving the world with a task to fulfill. To take care of Abbott. He did no wrong. He is not guilty. He is not at fault. Neither of them were. 

 Cricket lovers are left mourning the loss of Hughes, Abbott is left with a double blow to deal with - to come in terms with the loss of his dear friend and to survive from the nightmarish replays of that one single delivery which will  haunt him for the rest of his life.

From Michael Clarke to Ricky Ponting, the whole of the Australian side stood beside Hughes bedside with a prayer on the lips. The players were hoping for a miracle.

They all joined hands, stood by each other, kept vigil on their dear Hughesy but alas this time the little champion couldn't hang around, the battle was lost.

Soon flags flew at half-mast at cricket grounds in Australia, a day's play between Pakistan and New Zealand was suspended, well wishers left bouquets, players bowed heads in prayer and tears welled the eyes of Australian players who filed out of the hospital after bidding farewell to their beloved team-mate.

The journey of a young man who became the youngest to score a century in each innings of a Test has ended. It's time for his family to gather strength and spend the rest of their lives with fond memories as the pallbearers will soon carry the coffin of 25-year-old Phillip Joel Hughes.

Cricket, sometimes, is cruel. 

Messi sets Champions League goals record!

  Barcelona forward Lionel Messi set a Champions League scoring record of 74 goals when he netted a hat-trick in Tuesday's 4-0 Group F win at APOEL Nicosia.  The Barca and Argentina captain surpassed the record of 71 he jointly held with former Real Madrid and Schalke 04 striker Raul when he put his side 2-0 ahead shortly before halftime. Luis Suarez too netted his first goal in the Barcelona jersey on Messi's big night. The 27-year-old added two more goals in the second half to complete his 31st career treble, his fifth in Europe's elite club competition and the first in which he has scored all three with his less-favoured right foot. ​'I am pleased to have achieved such a nice record in such a nice and important competition but the really important thing is the three points,' Messi said in a television interview. ​His achievement is the latest milestone in a stellar career and comes three days after he broke the six decades-old La Liga scoring record with a hat-trick in Barca's 5-1 home win over Sevilla. Messi overhauled former Athletic Bilbao striker Telmo Zarra’s tally of 251 goals, set in 1955, and has 253 in 289 league games for the Catalan club he joined as a 13-year-old. Messi's 74 Champions League goals came in 91 appearances, while Raul needed 142 for Real and Schalke 04 for his 71. Real forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who ended Messi’s four-year run as World Player of the Year in 2013 with his second award, has scored 70 Champions League goals in 107 matches. Barca had already qualified for the Champions League last 16 along with group leaders Paris St Germain, who won 3-1 at home to Ajax Amsterdam. Barca need to beat the Ligue 1 side when they meet at the Nou Camp on Dec. 10 to secure top spot. 'We will try to keep going in the same way and meet the objectives we set ourselves at the start of the season,' Messi said.

'The PSG match is going to be tough. They have some very good players and they are a team who are growing and improving all the time. 'But we are playing at home so we'll try to play a great match and finish first in the group.'

Explore the online earning options...