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Sports Shorts: Efficient Medvedev beats Fucsovics to win Sofia title

Last updated on: February 10, 2019 23:06 IST

Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday

Russia's Daniil Medvedev faces Hungarian Marton Fucsovics in the final

IMAGE: Russia's Daniil Medvedev faces Hungarian Marton Fucsovics in the final. Photograph: R Senthil Kumar/PTI

Big-hitting Russian Daniil Medvedev brushed aside Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday to win the Sofia Open title.

Third seed Medvedev, who turns 23 on Monday, was at his devastating best as he gave the hapless Hungarian a brutal lesson to claim his fourth career title.

Attacking the lines with machine-like precision, Medvedev was in complete control and broke the unseeded Hungarian, who won his maiden title in Geneva last year, four times.

The world number 16 converted his first championship point after breaking Fucsovics's serve to love.

Medvedev had beaten former world number six Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-4 to enter the final.

Tsonga beats Herbert in all-French final in Montpellier

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat fellow Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 6-2 to win the Open Sud de France in Montpellier and claim his first ATP title since 2017 on Sunday.

Herbert, the seventh seed, was looking to snatch his maiden singles title but Tsonga, whose 2018 season was hampered by injuries, only dropped four points on his serve.

The 33-year-old, in Montpellier courtesy of a wild card, had not won a trophy since he prevailed in Antwerp in October 2017.

Herbert, who won the Australian Open doubles title with Nicolas Mahut last month, had no solutions in a one-sided second set as Tsonga improved his head-to-head record with his compatriot to 3-0.

Unstoppable Advani clinches 9th National Snooker title

Ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani on Sunday claimed yet another Senior National Snooker title with a thumping win over young Laxman Rawat in a one-sided final here.

Advani annexed the national title, this time in snooker, taking his total tally of Indian championships to a whopping 32 golds.

After winning 11 Indian titles as a junior, Advani, as a senior, has won nine billiards, three six-red snooker and now nine snooker gold medals.

From a statistical point of view, Advani now has 21 world titles and 21 national titles as a men's player, in both snooker and billiards.

Advani took his younger opponent Rawat to the cleaners with a 6-0 win in the final.

In the women's final, Varshaa Sanjeev gave Bengaluru another reason to rejoice as she joined Advani in winning the snooker national title by defeating Arantxa Sanchis of Maharashtra 4-2.

Sanjeev accounted for the top women cueists in this tournament as she knocked out Amee Kamani in the quarter-finals and Vidya Pillai in the semis.

India 'A' beat France 'A' 3-2 in women's hockey match

The India 'A' women's hockey team came back from a goal down to beat France 'A' 3-2 in the second match of the series in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.

In the first-ever international match played at the Veer Bahadur Singh Sports College ground, Mariana Kujur (19th minute), Lalremsiami (30th) and Mumtaz Khan (34th) scored to eke out the win for the hosts after Mickaela Lahlah had given France 'A' lead in the 14th minute.

The visitors showed some resilience in the last quarter and found a second goal through Guusje Van Bolhuis (58th), but the home team held on to register the series-levelling win.

After the defeat in the first match, India 'A' team made a solid comeback to beat the visitors, but it was not the start that the hosts would have expected as the French team took the lead in the 14th minute through Lahlah, who finished off a brilliant team move to give her side the lead.

Constant pressure on the Indian defense towards the end of the first quarter resulted in the first goal but the Indians were quick to equalise in the second quarter as they utilised a penalty corner in the 19th minute through Kujur's well-executed drag-flick.

Young striker Lalremsiami then registered her name on the score-sheet as she scored a field goal at the end of the second quarter to give her team the lead.

India's continuous pressure on the French defense resulted in their third goal just four minutes into the third quarter.

Playing in her home state, it was Mumtaz, who produced a calm finish to extend India's lead to 3-1.

Trailing by two goals, the visitors constantly tried to make inroads into the Indian striking circle, but could only find only one goal late in the last quarter through Guusje Van Bolhuis, who scored off a penalty corner.

India 'A' will play their third match against France 'A' on Tuesday at the Padma Shri Mohammad Shahid Synthetic Hockey Stadium in Lucknow.

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