Page 10 - Sports

Extraordinary milestone: PM Modi praises on Ashwin's 500 Test wickets feat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Friday for the "extraordinary milestone" of taking 500 Test wickets. Ashwin became the second Indian bowler after Anil Kumble to take 500 Test wickets during the third Test against England in Rajkot on Friday. The prime minister said on X, "Congratulations to Ravichandran Ashwin on the extraordinary milestone of taking 500 Test wickets! His journey and accomplishments are testament to his skill and perseverance. My best wishes to him as he scales further peaks." Ashwin also became only the third off-spinner to achieve the feat and continues to be the second highest wicket-taker for India behind Kumble, who ended his career with 619 scalps.

Fine wine: Elite athletes defy age with science, nutrition, mental strength

Athletes are taking elaborate measure. Biohacking, which is a combination of ice bath, sleep therapy, and strict diet and supplements, is a popular method

Nike to cut about 2% of total workforce to lower costs as demand weakens

Nike had in December outlined a $2 billion savings plan over the next three years, which included tightening the supply of some products and reducing management layers

Saurav Ghosal in quarterfinal at Squash on Fire Open in Washington

India's top-ranked player Saurav Ghosal advanced to the quarterfinals with a hard-fought 3-1 win over USA's Spencer Lovejoy in the Squash on Fire Open tournament in Washington. The 37-year-old rallied from a game down to defeat local favourite Lovejoy 4-11, 11-8, 11-4, 13-11 on Thursday. The Indian world No 26, who is the sixth seed and received a first-round bye at the USD 51,500 PSA World Tour Bronze event, will meet French world No. 11 and top seed Victor Crouin in the quarterfinals. Reigning national champion Velavan Senthilkumar, who made it to his maiden PSA World Tour Silver quarterfinal in Pittsburgh last week, lost to Egyptian second seed Youssef Soliman 11-6, 11-8, 11-2. The left-hander from Tamil Nadu had put it past Briton Mark Broekman 11-4, 11-4, 11-2 in 22 minutes in his opening round.

Assam's world-class sports venues to spice up Khelo India Varsity Games

The Nehru Stadium, situated in the heart of the city, has been a witness to a number of mouth-watering contests in both cricket and football over the years

Hamilton's team switch: Ferrari gambles on new red storm for 2025 F1 season

Hamilton is hungry for a podium finish. His move from Mercedes to Ferrari could be a recipe for success or a disaster in the making

UWW lifts suspension on WFI, asks not to discriminate against protestors

Wrestling's world governing body on Tuesday lifted the provisional suspension on India but directed the national federation to provide written guarantees that there would be no discriminatory action against the protesting trio of Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik. The suspension was imposed by United World Wrestling (UWW) on August 23 last year after the national federation failed to hold elections in time. "The UWW Bureau met on February 9 to review the suspension among other topics and considering all the elements and information, it decided to lift the suspension," the world body said in a statement. "The WFI has to immediately provide UWW with written guarantees that all wrestlers will be considered for participation without any discrimination in all WFI events, in particular trials for the Olympic Games and any other major national and international events. "This non-discrimination includes the three athletes who protested against alleged wrongdoings by the former

Zee's IL T20 gets 46% women viewers, 2nd most watched franchise tournament

With a reach of 161 million views, a staggering 46 per cent of which being women viewers, Zee Entertainment has announced that the DP World ILT20 league continues to be the world's second most watched franchise-based cricket competition. The tournament garnered an impressive reach of 161 million for its first 18 matches, 56 per cent of the audience being under the age of 30, according to data released by BARC INDIA 2+, TV+OOH, and LIVE+PPL. The company has reported an uptick of 12 per cent among 15+ urban audiences in India compared to the inaugural edition. The time spent on the league, which started on January 19 has surged by an impressive 33 per cent among viewers aged 15 and above in urban India. "This substantial increase in viewing duration emphasizes the league's ability to captivate and retain the attention of its audience, contributing to a more immersive and rewarding viewer experience," said league's media rights holder ZEE in a statement. The tournament with six teams

ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros join to launch sports streaming service

The service will be one-third owned by each company. Pricing and a name for the service have yet to be determined. They expect to launch the new service by fall 2024, according to a statement Tuesday.

UP Budget: Rs 195 cr for sports, 50 international trainers to be hired

With a view to provide world-class training to athletes at residential sports hostels, the Uttar Pradesh government on Monday proposed in the next fiscal's budget hiring of 50 international trainers. The state budget has proposed Rs 195 crore for the development of sports infrastructure in various districts, which is 67 per cent more than the current year. The state government said that 50 international players will be enlisted for training of sportsmen at an honorarium of Rs 1.5 lakh per month, state's finance minister Suresh Kumar Khanna said. He said Rs 50 crore is proposed for the construction of sports infrastructure with private participation in the state and Rs 50 crore for to reward the victorious players in national and international competitions. He said Rs 12 crore is proposed for the setting up of a sports science and injury centre.

Sports Ministry suspends Paralympic Committee of India over election delay

The Ministry further said that the election to form a new committee should have been conducted before the "expiry of the term of the previous Executive Committee."

Bopanna: Long-playing record

Compared to other Indian doubles specialists, Bopanna isn't a front-runner, but he may be the last Indian tennis champion for some time to come

Best thing about Budget is Rs 45 cr boost for sports ministry: Gagan Narang

The ministry's flagship programme, Khelo India, was allotted Rs 900 crore, an increase of Rs 20 crore from the previous budget

Sports ministry's Budget allocation up by Rs 45 crore at Rs 3,442 crore

The Sports Ministry was on Thursday allocated Rs 3,442.32 crore, a hike of Rs 45.36 crore as compared to last year, in the interim Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. In the previous budget, the Sports Ministry had got a revised allocation of Rs 3,396.96 crore. The Olympic Games in Paris, to be held from July 26 to August 11, will be the country's main focus during the 2024-25 financial year. The ministry's flagship programme, Khelo India, was allotted Rs 900 crore, an increase of Rs 20 crore from the previous budget. The Sports Authority of India (SAI), which organises national camps, provides infrastructure and equipment to athletes, appoints coaches among others, saw Rs 26.83 crore increase in its budgetary allocation from the previous year's revised expenditure of Rs 795.77 crore. The National Sports Federations (NSFs) will receive Rs 15 crore more this time, as compared to the 2023-24 revised budget of Rs 325 crore. The National Anti-Doping Agency

PGA Tour strikes $3 billion deal with Fenway-led investment group

The deal was unanimously approved by the PGA Tour board, which includes six players - Tiger Woods, Patrick Cantlay, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth, Webb Simpson and Peter Malnati

Chess player Divya Deshmukh recalls facing sexism at international event

Divya Deshmukh, 18, detailed her unpleasant experience in Wijk Aan Zee, Netherlands and spoke about how women players are taken for granted by the spectators

Around 700 wrestlers to compete in senior nationals in Pune: WFI President

Around 700 grapplers, representing all affiliated state units except Punjab and Odisha, will participate in the Senior National Championship in Pune from Monday, the suspended Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) said on Saturday. The national body was suspended by the Sports Ministry on December 24, just three days after it held its election for violating its own constitution after it announced to host the 2023 age group nationals in Gonda, UP in last week of December. The Sports Ministry had said that the Nationals organised by WFI will not recognised. However, WFI remains defiant. "The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) is organising its 2023 Senior National Wrestling Championship in Free Style, Greco Roman & Women Wrestling. The Championship is being organised by the Maharashtra Rajya Kushtigiri Sangh at Pune from 29th to 31st January 2024," said WFI president Sanjay Singh in a statement. "Around 700 Wrestlers across the country are participating in this mega event. All ...

Tennis star Bopanna, squash player Chinappa shortlisted for Padma Shri

Padma Shri is fourth highest civilian honour after Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan which is conferred to achievers for their distinguished service in any field

Australian Open 2024: Defending champ Sabalenka beats Gauff to reach final

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka avenged a US Open final loss to Coco Gauff and became the first woman since Serena Williams to reach back-to-back finals at the Australian Open on Thursday. Sabalenka attacked Gauff's serve throughout a 7-6 (2), 6-4 semi-final win. She will meet Zheng Qinwen or Dayana Yastremska in Saturday's championship decider. Zheng and No. 93-ranked Yastremska were playing their first-ever Grand Slam semi-final. Sabalenka is on a 13-match roll at Melbourne Park, where she made her Grand Slam breakthrough last year. Williams reached consecutive finals here in 2015, '16 and '17. Gauff went into the semifinals unbeaten in 2024 after winning a title in Auckland, New Zealand. The 19-year-old American was on a 12-match winning streak in majors and attempting to be the first player since Naomi Osaka in 2020-21 to win the US Open and Australian Open titles back to back. She'd worked out how to beat Sabalenka in New York last September to win her first major title b

'This is not true': Pugilist Mary Kom rubbishes reports of retirement

Mary Kom retirement: The boxer said that even if she cannot participate in the Olympics anymore, she will still carry on with the sport