Category:

Other Sports

Dive into a world of diverse sports with our comprehensive coverage. From basketball and soccer to tennis, golf, and beyond, we’ve got the latest scores, thrilling highlights, and in-depth analyses. Explore the achievements of your favorite athletes, the drama of intense competitions, and the heartwarming stories that make sports so captivating. Stay connected to the excitement of various sports, all in one place. Whether you’re a fan of the pitch, court, or fairway, our content brings you closer to the action.

Other Sports

2023-24 FIH Pro Hockey League, Hockeyroos strike 3-0 this time v India from Wednesday thanks to a Kaitlin Nobbs masterclass ahead of their next match v the Netherlands tonight

by Sports Benches

From a 3-0 loss at a start to now back-to-back 3-0 wins, the Hockeyroos were on fire two days ago v India ahead of a huge showdown later tonight v the No.1 ranked Netherlands side. It might have been a quiet first quarter but they too have opened the scoring account with two goals ahead of half-time thanks to Grace Stewart & Tatum Stewart. Although things were quiet again in the 3rd quarter while they hold a 2-0 advantage before Kaitlin Nobbs completed her attacking masterclass that sealed the Hockeyroos’ 2nd win this week towards the end 3-0.

As said, hats off to Kaitlin Nobbs who has been a huge menace for the Indian defenders with her excellent attacking performance of two assists to the Stewart’s followed by that 1 v 1 counter-attacking finish herself off the left side pitch. She always made sure that the communication is there with her numbers before all systems can go to finish it off the work for her either way. Meanwhile, Grace Stewart has scored once again where she’s been an excellent threat upfront with credit from the service being given in the final third. So much pace and physicality alongside a great height on offer every time she appears up close off the net as she can do anything & everything that is right in front of her.

And considerations to India there with the loss at home, having won possession earlier on with some opportunities here & there. But unfortunately, the executions was vague while the defense was wide open & vulnerable that made it so easy for the Hockeyroos to get the job done at their own territory. They lost two goals in the lead up towards half time before it was too late after India struggled to find the net all along with the loss 3-0.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Other Sports

2023-24 FIH Pro League, Hockeyroos turn from 0-3 to 3-0 clean sweep with the win v the USA

by Sports Benches

Good to see the Hockeyroos women’s team turn around yesterday from a 3-0 loss the other day v China to a 3-0 win v the USA. It was a brilliant team effort all around where they scored the first two goals by Tatum Stewart & Stephanie Akers has in the lead up towards half-time before they added one more goal thanks to a brilliant tap-in finish right into the net from Grace Stewart to make it 3-0. So what a relief that is as they are 4th in the standings right now ahead of their next match v India at midnight tomorrow morning. For the Americans, it’s been a tough start for them having been beaten so hard by the Netherlands 7-0 followed by another loss against the Hockeyroos. They will haven’t scored any goals yet ahead of another tough series of challenges going forward with China at the same time tomorrow as well as India on Friday.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Other Sports

2024 FIH Hockey5 World Cup Review where the Netherlands swoops both the men’s and women’s tournaments with all-in-one gold

by Sports Benches

New year, new tournament with a fast twist of Field Hockey called the FIH Hockey5 World Cup being rolled out for the first time nearly two weeks ago in Muscat, Oman. The pitch size has also been reduced from its normal layout where you only can have five players each on the field including four substitutes on the bench; So does the time as well that will last up to 30 minutes with two 15-minute halves & a short two-minute break in between. Yes, our Aussie Men’s & Women’s teams may have performed below expectations as hoped for when it comes to a shot in the medal Playoff rounds other than the consolation win v Zambia in the Women’s tournament. However, they did okay with some mixed results in the classification round before both Aussie teams wrapped up their respective campaigns on a high following their 11th playoff wins v New Zealand (men) & Fiji (women). Meanwhile, both men’s and women’s winners belongs to the Netherlands who were outstanding all along to take home their respective gold medals for Hockey5’s first ever World Cup tournament. In the women, the Netherlands defeated India very comfortably before it even ended towards full-time 7-2. Then few days later for the men’s, although they were equalised by Malaysia at 1-1 after opening the account first earlier on; but they didn’t stop attacking though having stretched their winning lead before the men stood up tall like their country’s female team in the gold medal final 5-2. What a week it has been where one country has won it all by the team in Orange named the Netherlands.

Now it’s back to regular match hockey with the FIH Pro League in full swing again after the Christmas and New Year’s period where the Hockeyroos (women) lost to China 3-0 yesterday to start their new season campaign while the Men Kookaburra’s first game of the year will come this Sunday 11 pm AEDT v Spain as all of this month’s series of matches are held in India.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Other Sports

Looking back at the Women’s 10km Open Water Swimming Final 2024 World Championship Race with Sharon Van Rouwendaal as the winner via a photo finish, Moesha Johnson 4th & Maddy Gough in 18th

by Sports Benches

The swimming pool leg may be only a week away on what is going to be another Swimming World Championships edition in Doha, Qatar with just six months out from the Summer Olympics in Paris, France as there has been a number of postponements in the last few years including Australia’s outstanding campaign half a year ago during the last World Champs in Fukuoka, Japan, due to COVID. But yesterday we saw such a thrilling end to the women’s 10km Open Water Swimming race Final where a few frontrunners were vying side-by-side for that one and only gold medal including two of our Aussies such as Moesha Johnson and Maddy Gough. The gold has ultimately went to Sharon Van Rouwendaal though from the Netherlands who defeated Spaniard Maria De Valdes by just 0.001 of a sec at the finish line, but Johnson swam really well & was oh so close too despite falling just outside the medal spots to Angelica Andre from Portugal by just 0.002 & 0.004 off Van Rouwendaal in 4th. Now Gough just couldn’t hold on a bit longer down as she would’ve liked that would give us the best chance down in 18th but great seeing her working together and backing up her team-mate Johnson out of a 70-odd field which wasn’t easy. Well done to both as it’s the men’s turn later today from 5.30pm AEDT before the race distance will be halved by 5km going into Tuesday for the Men’s and Wednesday for the Women’s respectively. Let’s hope we can see an odd Aussie medal there or even a gold one better by Chelsea Gubecka in the 5km race after she finished silver at the previous WC.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Other Sports

Today’s Tennis Match, Jannik Sinner goes from 2-0 down to now becoming the Australian Open winner on his first grand slam final match v Daniil Medvedev at RLA

by Sports Benches

How good was that men’s singles final to wrap up a long 15 days of the 2024 Australian Open at Melbourne Park when we thought Daniil Medvedev (Russia) was just one set away in his 3rd attempt here after a great start with the 2-0 lead v Jannik Sinner (Italy). However, Sinner won back to deny him not just a straight sets attempt but he also brought himself up into a 5th set decider at 2-2 all before the Italian quickly nailed down the seasoned grand slam finalist that secured him his first grand slam trophy towards the end in his first grand slam final. The final score lasted nearly four hours at 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 & 6-3.

Commiserations to Medvedev with the loss yet again who had a brilliant early form to get himself ahead of the match & he thought this would be breakthrough at last to take home his 2nd grand slam trophy since the 2021 US Open as Novak Djokovic cannot defend his title after his unexpected semis loss the other day v Sinner. Despite some close executions to try and shut down Sinner in his tracks whilst leading, he unfortunately lost his way that led to the 4th and 5th sets being activated including the top spot before Medvedev eventually ran out of huff and puff where he had to settle 2nd best in the end to a young and energetic elite challenger right there in Sinner. He will be 28 soon next month but the Russian will need to move on now and improve his other grand slam records at the Roland Garros and Wimbledon later this year which isn’t the same and hopefully that would help him come back & go one better for the fourth possible finals attempt next time in 2025.

Meanwhile, Sinner is having the best form of his life after he came off a semi-final breakthrough at Wimbledon last year while he played a key role with Italy’s Davis Cup win a few months later as the team trophy wouldn’t have happened without his outstanding tennis IQ and physicality that would’ve gone to Serbia or Australia. Now he might have struggled earlier on despite a great start but his long-form game began to click in the third set at 0-2 and he too has got the set or two back from Medvedev, who was never close to Championship Point himself at all, before he overtook the Russian for the lead the first time & Sinner has unleashed so fast he too didn’t hesitate so much to pull off such an unbelievable comeback from behind to now standing on top of Melbourne Park with the Norman Brookes Memorial Cup. It’s his moment tonight and he too deserves that breakthrough as what’s next for him now? He will look to win more grand slams from here by leading the line in Tennis’s next generation of grand slam superstars ahead of Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz just like the 2020s Roger Federer v Rafa Nadal.

The 2024 Australian Open Tennis tournament is now over where we had an awesome 15 days rather than 14 days as well as long spell showdowns, some upset moments that changed the course of the draw and a few first time finalists that includes one first time winner now in the men’s draw named Jannik Sinner. And shout out to some of the Aussies who did so well on home soil such as Alex De Minaur (men’s singles 4th round), Storm Hunter (women’s singles 3rd round) and Matt Ebden (men’s doubles title win last night with Rohan Bopanna). There is plenty of Tennis to look forward throughout the year with the next grand slam of 2024 coming up at the Roland Garros in Paris, France that will begin on Sunday 26th May-9th June.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Other Sports

AO Open Tennis, Aryna Sabalenka goes back-to-back with the Championship win this time in straight sets against China’s Qinwen Zheng

by Sports Benches

The 2024 Australian Open Women’s singles final is now done and dusted with one more match to go for tonight’s men’s singles final before the 15-day competition is over between Jannik Sinner v Daniil Medvedev as Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka is your champion once again after she got the job done without having to drop a set against Qinwen Zheng with the win at Rod Laver Arena. Sabalenka had an amazing performance all around & commiserations to Zheng who gained a little here & there as of late but then the standard was just too much for her to catch up in the end. The final score was 3-6 & 2-6 being done in almost 90 minutes of play. This is Sabalenka’s 2nd straight Australian Open trophy & although she will still be World No.2 behind Iga Swiatek, the search is now on to win the other majors after falling short at the 2023 US Open to Coco Gauff (USA).

First of all, Zheng finally got the ball rolling from behind where she did her best to hold back Sabalenka following a poor start of the match. If she did give herself some time with the early headstart, then she would be in a fair shot to try and bring home another Australian Open trophy for China since Li Na last did that just 10 years ago. But she still could not exploit all of Sabalenka’s weaknesses where Zheng fell way behind as the game does on despite denying her a few Championship points when Zheng unfortunately did not have the chance to bridge her best 2nd half form & finish things off her way in defeat. She had a great last few months of Tennis as Zheng is age 22 with loads of potential to fulfill at World No.7 in the singles rankings.

Meanwhile, it’s been another amazing win from the Belarusian who is now a 2 x Australian Open women’s singles champion this time without having to lose a set and also without too much fuss v Zheng unlike Elina Rybakina last year. She was so quick to get off the mark which was huge so she can take her time to bridge the other half form while Zheng showed a bit of fightback here & there, but Sabalenka didn’t need to throw her game away and that is exactly she has done to bring home another grand slam major with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup to her silverware cabinet. As said, the game is on for Sabalenka to win both another grand slam title or two or even three where she always fell short other than some usual good performances from the 1st round to the knockout stages as well as being the World No.1 singles player again off Swiatek.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Other Sports

AO Tennis 2024, Men’s semi-final review with Novak Djokovic eliminated by surprise from Jannik Sinner while Daniil Medvedev is hopeful for a 3rd time breakthrough after an epic five set comeback v Alexander Zverev

by Sports Benches

Yesterday’s Australian Open men’s singles semi-final day was huge where one of the best and legendary grand slam champs was out of the main event by surprise by a rising star, while a seasoned finalist will hopefully get his hands on another grand slam title v a first time challenger for Norman Brookes Challenge Cup come tomorrow night at Rod Laver Arena. But for now, the women’s final will be decided tonight between Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) v Qinwen Zheng (China).

Jannik Sinner stunned Novak Djokovic from the beginning where he was too good with an easy 2-1 lead. Although the Serbian might have got one back at the tiebreak, but then it proved to be such a tall order to crawl back when Sinner at last has dethroned the veteran in the end with the win. Novak has been an top player as always but yesterday wasn’t his day when he wasn’t equipped to handle Sinner mightily on-court that cost him big time before he was finally caught up as he won’t be able to defend his crown and will have to wait until 2025 to get it back. On the other hand, Sinner has been simply outstanding where he will now be on course to hopefully win his first grand slam title at age 22. He was so quick to get off the mark before he took his time to expose the long-form skillsets of Djokovic, having been denied a straight sets route but eventually got away towards the finish line at last in the fourth set. He made it to the Wimbledon semi-final last year as well as winning the Davis Cup for Italy, what’s next? The Australian Open Final. Let’s see if he can go all the way tomorrow night.

Meanwhile, 2 x AO semi finalist Alexander Zverev also fired off really well with a 2-0 lead v Daniil Medvedev. However, Medvedev turned himself around in the toughest of the challenges where he won back-to-back tiebreaker sets before he completed an incredible turnaround at the 5th & final set decider for the win after 4 hours & 18 minutes. Zverev thought he had it at one stage but lost his way against a resurgent Medvedev during the second half there. He’s had an amazing summer here that began with the United Cup win including a mighty doubles effort straight after playing singles for the best of his country (Team Germany) before he continues to shine up in the main draw up until this point & unfortunately he just could not pull off v such a opponent who has been to handful of finals more than him. And last but not least, it’s 3 x AO finalist Danill Medvedev from Russia where might had struggled earlier on despite a great start. But he never gave up as the game goes on where Medvedev turned out to be the better player than Zverev when it comes with the long-form game from two escaping tiebreakers to an unbelievable finish for the win. It’s been a long time coming since he first won the 2021 US Open where he defeated Djokovic in straight sets as he won’t be facing him this time like it was two years ago here that went past 1am but he will instead v first-time finalist in Jannik Sinner in the hope of finally winning one as the next AO champ at RLA.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Other Sports

2024 AO Tennis, women’s singles semi-final night review being done in straight sets with Sabalanka v Zheng now set for tomorrow night’s main event match at Rod Laver Arena

by Sports Benches

Time flies so fast but the Australian Open women’s semi finals night was all done as tomorrow’s last two challengers line-up is now set for the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Trophy at Rod Laver Arena. Coco Gauff fell short both ways earlier on but defending champion Aryna Sabalanka didn’t lose her game at all by booking herself in another Final by in straight sets (6-7 with 2-7 tiebreak & 4-6). Then it was a battle for the first timers and same thing happened to Dayana Yastremska with the early pace form as that 2nd semi match was dominated by China’s Quinwen Zheng also in straight sets (4-6 & 4-6). Now the men’s semi-finals will roll out throughout today with Novak Djokovic v Jannik Sinner in the afternoon followed by Daniil Medvedev v Alexander Zverev at night.

Looks like Gauff has almost got it after a poor start she closed herself in towards the opening set. But not so fast when she just could not hold stop a patient Sabalenka in her tracks before Gauff was unable to bring a 3rd set decider also after falling short again in the 2nd set. She will get better with experience as this is her 2nd grand slam knockout finals match & the first outside USA. Sabalanka on the other hand will get another chance to hopefully take home the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Trophy for the second time tomorrow night on what has been a tremendous win last night the opponent she lost at the US Open Final a few months ago. She was outstanding all along where Sabalanka fired off comfortably before she eventually found her opponent’s weaknesses while Gauff caught up as the game goes on & then tricks her during each and every stage, which is exactly she wants to do to set the benchmark for AO title win No.2 v Zheng.

Speaking of Zheng, the 21-year-old Chinese player will now be playing in first grand slam final as Li Na has last done so here back in 2014 with the big win v Lucie Safarova. She simply found a way to get the ball rolling to win the other half form that Yastremska couldn’t do after a slow start before Zheng didn’t hesitate to lose her game where she found the finish line first for the win. And Yastremska’s time is now over after a great fairytale run from the bottom up prior to this at Melbourne Park, having got a strong build up base to get off the mark including an improved 2nd set performance. But unfortunately, she wasn’t quite close as she hoped for when it comes to the execution, which is a key area she has struggled v Zheng. Let’s hope she can continue to inspire more with a consistent last 16/8 run from here.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Other Sports

2024 AO Open Tennis, 2nd half of Quarter-Final matches review with back-to-back long sets as well as first time moments in the women’s singles ahead of the semis tonight

by Sports Benches

It was a huge day of Tennis yesterday on what has been a great end to the 2nd half of the Austtalian Open Quarter-Final matches at Rod Laver Arena with back-to-back long spells for the men while there’s some first time breakthrough moments ahead of tonight’s semi-finals in the women’s singles draw followed by a day of the men’s portion on Australia Day Friday.

First of all, Hubert Hurkacz never gave up without a fight including some incredible fight backs to stay in this match. However, Daniil Medvedev has found the great escape just exactly a minute before the four hour mark. The Pole had a great record over the last two years here but this was his 2nd finals match since the 2021 Wimbledon semi-final as he looks to kick on from here in the next grand slam showings as a regular last 16-8 contender. Plus, Alexander Zverev has eliminated 2nd seed Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz by surprise where he got the job done following an unreal 1st half performance with the 3-1 set win. Didn’t see that coming when the 2 x grand slam champion was the favourite to win this one but not only he fired off poorly but was so far behind for the majority despite some good shots in the latter stages. It remains to be seen if Zverev can find a way to beat Medvedev & have the best shot of being in the Final again since the 2020 US Open where he lost to Austrian Dominic Thiem.

Meanwhile in the women, the rising star 19-year-old Linda Noskova’s time was over at the hands of Dayana Yastremska in straight sets. The Czech got a great start to kick things off including the restart but struggled to bridge the other half unfortunately where Yastremska got the upper hand. From Qualifier to now Top 4, she is now one step away from Saturday’s final where beating Zhang & then maybe taking home the trophy would be a fairytale ending from the bottom up to reaching the highest levels in this draw like Emma Raducanu did in the 2021 US Open. And 12th seed Qinwen Zheng from China has overcame a tight 1st set loss on what been a great comeback win v Anna Kalinskaya. Kalinskaya wasn’t bad on her first grand slam knockout match after some highlight wins v Sloane Stephens & 26th seed Italian Jasmine Paolini beforehand with a close 1st set lead. But unfortunately she could not stay ahead & hang in there a bit longer whilst leading up front when Zheng closed in from behind to see her eliminated from the last 8. Zheng is coming off the back end of last year as a first time finalist at the US Open where he could face Aryna Sabalenka again but this time for the final if she can get the job done tonight.

Tonight’s matches Coco Gauff v Aryna Sabalanka again having last met at the US Open Final a few months ago before Yastremska takes on Zhang where one of them will advance on centre stage this Saturday. For Friday, it will be Novak Djokovic v Jannik Sinner followed by Medvedev & Zverev as all three have yet to win a AO trophy here except Novak.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Other Sports

AO Tennis 2024, Day 1 of the Quarter-Finals review with Djokovic & Sinner both unstoppable over Fritz & Rublev while Sabalenka was too good for Krejcikova

by Sports Benches

The rest of last night during the opening day Australian Open Quarter-Finals other than the three hour, three set women’s match was massive that began with a four set showdown followed by back-to-back straight sets successions as we head into the other half last 8 matches later today & tonight at Rod Laver Arena. Taylor Fritz went so close before he won the 2nd set on what has been a great 1st half effort but Novak Djokovic still holds the court all along to book his place in the semi-final while Jannik Sinner got around Andrey Rublev in the closest of matches & he too has done in straight sets going into Friday as Djokovic’s next opponent. Plus, it’s going to be Coco Gauff v Aryna Sabalenka again this time in the semi after Sabalenka was too good for Barbora Krejcikova.

For Fritz, he had amazing display that pushed Djokovic to the limit earlier on where he was oh so close in the first set followed by a 2nd set win at last to share the lead at 1-1. But just couldn’t kick on when it comes to the 2nd half form unfortunately and that’s where Djokovic eventually caught him out in the end as he had another great finals run here. As for Djokovic, he had some early setbacks against an early finals challenger despite having the early lead. He was able to respond really well like an seasoned champion though for the majority that got him over the line first and the Djoker is ready to take on a challenger who is tipped to win a grand slam trophy sooner rather than later in Italian Jannik Sinner.

Meanwhile, Rublev’s time is over as always where he has still yet to play past the Quarter-Finals after he broke the hearts of Alex De Minaur the other day in the fourth round. He wasn’t bad at the start where he had some great challenges to keep it up with his opponent. But just didn’t have the execution needed to stop Sinner in his tracks unfortunately despite being so close earlier on. On the other hand, Sinner is having the form of his life right now ahead of his 2nd grand slam semi-final after Wimbledon last year this Friday. He had a wonderful start while he never gave up and was being patient the whole way through to win all three sets to become Djokovic’s next opponent, which should be a cracker to watch. A young rising star v an experienced grand slam champ is something Sinner won’t want to hide & show he can live up to his potential at 22 after a great 2nd half of 2023 that includes the Davis Cup title win for Italy.

And looking back at the 2nd Quarter-Final women’s singles game, that was one was so quick in contrast to what we saw between Coco Gauff & Marta Kostyuk earlier in the afternoon. Krejcikova knows how to get the ball rolling but wasn’t consistent unfortunately where she just could not keep it up with Sabalenka for the overall lead. She hasn’t been bad in her last few AO appearances but needs to kick on from here, having had a great 2021 season with her French Open title as well as another Quarter-Final in the US Open before there not much else since then. Sabalenka on the other hand has been so dominant to meet all ends of the court including the other half bridge in particular that blew Krejcikova away. But she has a tough match-up ahead tomorrow night against someone who defeated her in the US Open Final a few months ago named Coco Gauff. She has gone through a series of easy challenges so far up until this next match, but she is the reigning champion here & have been a regular finals competitor throughout last year as Sabalenka won’t take Gauff lightly in order to try & take another grand slam title, which is the same Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail