Badminton Olympics 2012 Day 6

Day 6 Review: Lin through as China guarantees medals

Olympic and world champion Lin Dan held off a remarkable fightback by Japan's Sho Sasaki to move into the semi-finals of the men's Singles competition on a day that saw China guarantee more medals.

 Lin Dan of China returns a shot against Sho Sasaki of Japan in their men's singles Badminton quarter-final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Wembley Arena

 

Swimming Olympics 2012

Phelps led from start to finish in the 200m Individual Medley and held off fast-finishing USA team-mate Ryan Lochte down the final freestyle leg to win in 1:54.27, just 0.04 outside his own Olympic record.

It means Phelps is the first man to win the event at three consecutive Games, and it came just 48 hours after he won his 18th and 19th medals to become the most decorated Olympian in history, overtaking Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina, who won 18.
 
Phelps, who will retire after the Games, said: 'To be able to win the gold medal and be the first to three-peat is something very special and something I am very happy about.'
Phelps could also win the 100m Butterfly title for the third time in succession after later returning to the pool to win his semi-final in 50.86 and advance to the final as fastest qualifier.


 Michael Phelps with his gold medal after winning the men's 200m Individual Medley final on Day 6 of London 2012.

Table Tennis Olympics 2012

Zhang Jike of China celebrates victory after the men's singles Table Tennis gold medal match against Wang Hao of China on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at ExCeL
 
The 22-year-old Zhang came out on top, romping to a 4-1 (18-16, 11-5, 11-5, 10-12, 13-11) success and, in the process, becoming the youngest player to achieve the feat.
As a result, China is now halfway to its target of winning every table tennis gold on offer, with the team events to start tomorrow.

 

Basketball Player Rashard Lewis

Rashard Lewis has decided to join the Miami Heat, becoming yet another shooting option for the NBA champions.
Agent Tony Dutt said the free agent forward and the Heat agreed to terms on Tuesday, and Lewis is expected to sign his contract Wednesday in Miami.
Lewis’s decision comes just four days after the Celtics’ Ray Allen agreed to accept an offer from Miami.
Lewis will make the veteran minimum this season, worth about $1.3 million. He’s picking up another $13.7 million because the final year of his most recent contract — a $118 million, six-year pact — was bought out earlier this offseason by New Orleans, who acquired the 6-foot-10-inch forward in a trade with Washington and then waived him.
Allen and Lewis are both likely to be introduced by the Heat on Wednesday. Teams may start signing their free agents when the league’s moratorium officially ends at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.

Soccer Star Hope Solo

The star goalkeeper for the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team recently tested positive for a banned substance -- the diuretic canrenone -- from an out-of competition urine sample she provided June 15.

Instead of barring Solo from the Olympic Games, however, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) issued a public warning, a reduced sanction that seems to support Solo's claim that she made "an honest mistake."

"I took a medication prescribed by my personal doctor for pre-menstrual purposes that I did not know contained a diuretic," the "Dancing With the Stars" semifinalist said in a press statement today.

"Once informed of this fact, I immediately cooperated with USADA and shared with them everything they needed to properly conclude that I made an honest mistake, and that the medication did not enhance my performance in any way.

"As someone who believes in clean sport, I am glad to have worked with USADA to resolve this matter and I look forward to representing my country at the 2012 Olympic Games in London."

Roger Federer wins seventh Wimbledon title

Roger Federer, unmoved by the tide of hysteria that was closing in around him, sang his song like only he can on a bitter-cold London evening to claim his 17th Grand Slam title with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 win.

The win gave Federer his seventh Wimbledon crown and the world No. 1 ranking, which will take him past Pete Sampras' record of 286 weeks at the game's top.

Wimbledon 2012

In one of the finest Wimbledon finals of recent years, Andy Murray began by playing like he had never played before. He ended by crying even more than he had in Melbourne two years ago, the last time Roger Federer dashed his grand slam dream. 

 

 

Ray Allen NBA Basketball Player

Allen told the Miami Heat on Friday night that he intends to accept their contract offer and leave Boston after five seasons, even though the Celtics could pay him about twice as much as the reigning NBA champions will be able to next season. Miami could offer Allen only the mini mid-level, worth about $3 million a year.

Serena Williams Tennis WTA

Serena Williams is back and looks almost as good as ever. The 30-year-old American won her fifth Wimbledon title yesterday on Center Court, beating Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 to claim her 14th major championship.

Tennis Princess Sharapova in Wimbledon final

Maria Sharapova's serve let her down again, and this time there wasn't much she could do about it.

The three-time Grand Slam champion had experience on her side Saturday in the Wimbledon final. Petra Kvitova was just plain better, beating the fifth-seeded Russian 6-3, 6-4.

"She was hitting really powerful and hitting winners from all over the court. She made a defensive shot into an offensive one," Sharapova said. "And, yeah, just kind of laid on a lot of those shots. I think she was just more aggressive than I was, hit deeper and harder, and got the advantage in the points."

Instead of using her serve to set up easy winners, Sharapova seemed more concerned with just landing them. And she was probably right to think that.

Sharapova finished the match with six double-faults, including three in a row over two games at one point in the first set. That, however, was fewer than the 13 she misfired in her semifinal victory over German wild-card entry Sabine Lisicki.

"I think there were a lot of things that I could have done better besides the serve," Sharapova said. "It's also about the serve and the first ball, the return and the first ball, and she was just doing that a lot better than I was."

Sharapova did give herself a chance in the second set, however. After going down an early break, she broke to get to 2-2.

Sasha Vujacic, the New Jersey Nets guard who also happens to be Sharapova's fiance, then stood up in the players' box and screamed, pumping his fists while his gray T-shirt showed signs of sweat.

But despite another break to 3-3, Vujacic's vocal support didn't work.

Sharapova said she will take a couple of days off after heading home for the first time in weeks, but her long-term plans are still centered on tennis.

And just reaching the final at the All England Club seven years after winning it when she was 17 is a move in the right direction.

"It's a big step because my game is improving, and it's a big step because it gives me a tremendous amount of confidence going forward," Sharapova said. "We still have many tournaments in this year and the next and the following. You know, I just want to be a better player and I want to keep working."

Has Tiger Woods Truly Regained His Form?

After last week's horrendous finish at the Masters, the golfing world has all been pondering whether or not Tiger Woods has truly regained his old form.

The answer seemed to be yes, when he won at the Arnold Palmer Invitational a few weeks ago, and claimed his first official victory in over 30 months.

However, when Woods teed it up at the Masters just two weeks after his defining win, Woods baffled all who was watching.

He should have been riding on the momentum after his win; he should have been playing great golf; and he should have been in contention to capture the green jacket.

Unfortunately, that was not the case, and after a decent even-par round on the first round, Woods fell even further as the week progressed. His frustration was clear on Friday's round when he approached the par-3 16th. Woods hit his nine iron into the green side bunker, dropped his club, then kicked it out of pure frustration.

Woods would go on to shoot rounds of 75, 72 and 74 to finish the Masters at five-over-par.

Considering that he's finished in the top five the last two years, no one would have guessed that Woods' performance was going to be that poor.

The Tiger Woods of old would have used his momentum after his victory to push him into contention at the Masters.

He wouldn't be kicking his club in frustration. Instead, the Tiger of old would have been twirling his club and staring down his shots after every swing.

Of course, this is the Tiger Woods of new and though the Tiger of new has shown progress, he has not shown consistency. He was able to capture a victory at Bay Hill, but he was unable to continue the trend the following week.

In fact, his performance at the Masters wasn't even close to what he put together at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Woods was under par for all four rounds that week, but Woods never even shot a round under par at the Masters.

Only time will tell if Woods is back to his old form, but something tells me that he will never be quite like he used to be.