Tiger Woods: The No.1 golfer fumbles with his drive,finds a fire hydrant and a tree. Cocktail waitresses to porn stars allege having an affair with Tiger,who also admits transgressionsand announces an indefinite break from the sport. Roger Federer: The year begins with Rafael Nadal beating Federer at the Australian Open in January,Mount Pete suddenly seems insurmountable. But redemption is swift: he completes a career Slam with a first at Roland Garros and goes past Sampras at Wimbledon. Lahore attack: The belief that a national cricket team in the subcontinent cannot be targeted lies in tatters,alongside half-a-dozen perished policemen and a few injured cricketers,after terrorists sprayed the Sri Lankan team bus with bullets in Lahore. The two teams go on to meet in the world T20 final,with Pakistan emerging victorious. Usain Bolt: 9.58 and 19.19. The worlds fastest man further shaves an incredible 0.11s from both his 100m and 200m marks at the Berlin worlds. 5Caster Semenya: The South African teenager comes under intense media scrutiny after IAAF announces a gender verification test on the 800m world championship gold medallist. FIFA World Cup: The biggest sporting spectacle on the planet comes to Africa for the first time,kicking off in Johannesburg on June 11 with 32 teams fighting for the 18-carat gold trophy and sporting immortality. Schumachers return: But for a neck injury,this would have been the story of 2009. But finally Michael Schumacher is set to return,not in the Ferrari cockpit,but the Mercedes F1 team. Asian Games: After the Beijing Olympics,the big-ticket multi-disciplinary action returns to China with the Asian Games in Guangzhou from November 12 to 27. For India ,it will be a reality check,coming as it will right after the Commonwealth Games . Tour de Lance: Having finished third with Team Astana in his comeback season in 2009,seven-time tour champion Lance Armstrong rides with a new team RadioShack. Commonwealth Games: After construction delays,operational bottlenecks and security fears,a nervy 12 days await India as Delhi hosts the Commonwealth Games a test of the countrys organisational ability and sporting competitiveness,as well as a chance to showcase its rising stature in world economy. No England,Australia pullout Australia will compete at next years Commonwealth Games in India even if England withdraws over security concerns,Australians Commonwealth Games chief Perry Crosswhite said. Crosswhite said he had no reason to question security arrangements for the New Delhi games,despite a London newspaper report citing a senior British government source as saying said there was virtually no chance England will compete in October. England officials insisted later that thay had received no security warnings to indicate the team must withdraw. That is definitely not the case. Our current and strong intention is to field a team for the games in Delhi next year, England general team manager Ann Hogbin said in a statement. India to start vs Afghanistan The Indian football team will open their campaign in the South Asian Games with a match against Afghanistan on January 29 at M A Aziz Stadium in Chittagong. Four-time champions India have been clubbed in Group B along with holders Pakistan,last edition runners-up Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. The football competition in the SAF Games is usually for under-23 teams but India has decided to send its under-19 team under coach Sukhwinder Singh. In the womens competition which is part of the SAF Games for the first time,India play Sri Lanka in their opening round-robin match on January 29. Ashbeer joins Khalin in lead Ashbeer Saini turned in one-over 73 to join overnight leader Khalin Joshi at the top after the second round of the Lalit Suri All-India Junior Golf Championship in Pune. Ashbeer and Khalin,who carded 74,share the lead with a 36-hole total of one-over 143. Raghav Bhandari shot the best round of the day,a two-under 69,to move into third place,just one behind the leaders at two-over 144. Chikkarangappa improved on his first round performance by six shots,but despite his 71 he is still five shots back in fifth place. Was tested every 2-3 weeks Yanina Wickmayer says she isnt a drugs cheat and blames Belgian doping authorities for the breach of anti-doping regulations which caused her to be banned for a year. A Belgian court and the International Tennis Federation have since suspended the bans imposed on Wickmayer and compatriot Xavier Malisse in November for breaches of the World Anti-Doping Agencys whereabouts rule. Wickmayer said she was regularly drug tested during the period she reportedly failed to inform her national anti-doping agency of her whereabouts. DRS only to aid umpire: Lorgat New Delhi: The ICC says the Decision Review System (DRS) is here to stay as it has not just reduced umpiring errors but has also improved players on-field behaviour. The fundamental of the review system has been to try and improve the correct decisions that are being made by the umpires and this is an aid for the umpires,it does not replace the umpires, Lorgat said. DRS has been criticised by West Indies captain Chris Gayle and former umpire Dickie Bird. The critics of the system have argued that DRS adds to the pressure on the umpires. Nayar back for quarterfinals Mumbai: Fit-again all-rounder Abhishek Nayar was included as the replacement for Rohit Sharma in the Mumbai squad for their four-day Ranji Trophy semi final clash against Delhi starting on Sunday at the Brabourne Stadium. This was the lone change in the defending champions line-up that got past Haryana in the quarterfinals. Sharma is unavailable for the semifinal tie,having been included in the Indian one-day team for the upcoming tri-series in Bangladesh,which starts on January 5,2010. Flair not important: Gambhir New Delhi: India opener Gautam Gambhir believes that contributing to the teams cause is more important than talent,flair or playing for the crowds Its not about flair but about scoring runs,big runs. Its not about being supremely talented or being super-natural. Its how much you can contribute. People dont want to see you scoring 20-odd quick runs. They want you to score a hundred so that you can win the game for your country, said Gambhir. No changes to Aus squad Melbourne: Leading the series 1-0,Australia named an unchanged 12-member squad for the second Test against Pakistan,beginning in Sydney from Sunday. New South Wales spinner Steven Smith,who was called to join the 12-man squad in Melbourne as cover for Nathan Hauritz,has been left out. Squad: Ricky Ponting (c),Michael Clarke (v-c),Simon Katich,Shane Watson,Mike Hussey,Marcus North,Brad Haddin,Mitchell Johnson,Nathan Hauritz,Peter Siddle,Doug Bollinger and Clint McKay. SL pick new-look team Colombo: Sri Lanka have freshened up their ODI side for next months tri-series with Bangladesh and India. Several senior players,including Sanath Jayasuriya,Lasith Malinga,Chamara Kapugedera and Ajantha Mendis,were left-out as selectors looked to the future. Mahela Jayawardene,Muttiah Muralitharan, Angelo Mathews and Dilhara Fernando were not available due to injury. SQUAD: Kumar Sangakkara (capt),Tillakaratne Dilshan,Upul Tharanga,Thilan Samaraweera,Thilina Kandamby,Chamara Silva,Lahiru Thirimanne,Thissara Perera,Muthumudalige Pushpakumara,Malinga Bandara,Suraj Randiv,Thilan Thushara,Suranga Lakmal,Nuwan Kulasekara,Chanaka Welagedera.
