Sported 7: Del Poto, Mcllroy, Salah hit the headlines

From Friday to Sunday, there were so many sporting activities and so many important footnotes. Sported 7 brings you the seven that caught our attention and which should catch yours also.

Rory Mcllroy wins his first tournament in more than 500 days

One time golf’s world No.1, Rory McIlroy, picked up his first victory since September 2016 as he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Coincidentally, McIlroy’s last tournament triumph came on September 25, 2016, the day Arnold Palmer died.

The 28-year-old carded an eight-under-par 64 to finish on 18 under, three ahead of Bryson DeChambeau at Bay Hill. Afterward, he told Sky Sports he had played ‘perfect golf’. This was the perfect preparation for the Masters that tees off on April 5.

Nigerian clubs again miss out on CAF Champions League

Both Plateau United and MFM FC got knocked out of the CAF Champions League last weekend. Plateau narrowly lost out 4-3 to Etoile du Sahel while MC Alger pounded MFM 8-2 on aggregate. The last time a Nigerian team won the CAF Champions League was in 2004 by Enyimba.

Del Potro beats Federer to Indian Wells title

Juan Martin Del Potro became the first Argentine to win the Indian Wells and the first man to defeat Roger Federer in 2018 after saving three match winners and win in three sets 6-4, 6-7 and 7-6. Afterward, the lanky Argentine said, “When you play Roger Federer, everything has to be perfect”. This was a perfect day for the player, whose career has been blighted by injuries.

Icardi, Ronaldo, and Salah in four-goal salvo

Mauro Icardi returned to goalscoring form in blistering fashion, netting four times away to Sampdoria after his last goal on January 5. In the EPL, Mohamed Salah continued his great form by scoring four times against Watford; and in La Liga, Cristiano Ronaldo scored four against Girona in a nine-goal thriller.

Osaka wins first WTA title

Naomi Osaka showed glimpses of her talent at the 2018 Australian Open tournament when she went as far as the fourth round defeating Elena Vesnina, Ashleigh Barty, before losing to Simona Halep. On Sunday she outgunned 20th seed Daria Kasatkina in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. On her way to the final, Osaka beat Agnieszka Radwańska, Karolína Pliskova, Sharapova, and Simona Halep – all in straight sets to advance to the biggest win of her young career. At the Miami Masters, she will face Venus Williams in the first round – what a way to celebrate your first WTA title.

Munyai erases Van Niekerk 200m record

Little known Clarence Munyai scored one of the high points of the weekend when the 20-year-old tore up Wayde van Niekerk’s 200m record set in Jamaica last year. Munyai stopped the clock at 19.69 -0.15 off the national South Africa record set by the world and Olympic 400m champion Van Niekerk. He narrowly missed the African record of 19.68 set in 1996 by Namibia’s Frank Fredericks. Munyai afterward revealed his surprise at having run so fast. “I never thought I would run that quick at the age of 20, so I’m really happy.” Well, we were also surprised!

King James claims another record

LeBron James is a basketball phenomenon and last week became the first player in the NBA to win 60 Player of the Week awards. The Cleveland Cavaliers leading man also has a career-high tying 42 double-doubles (fifth in the NBA) and a career-high 15 triple-doubles this season.