India's Akhil Rabindra claimed the pole position for FOX Factory 120 with a timing of 106.679mph in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, Atlanta.
The 23-year-old racer bagged the top spot at Aston Martin's Driver's Academy earlier this year.
"My car was wonderful. We got a really good setup and I think the weather has been changing to our favour. That plays a lot with the tires and setup. I have a great team behind me that nailed the setup and a teammate in Tom Long who brings a wealth of experience," Akhil said.

Akhil Rabindra grabs pole

PTI Automatic

Cricket South Africa (CSA) is set to investigate the team selection of Cape Cobras after it fielded two black African players instead of the required three against the Warriors, thus failing to meet the board's transformation target in the ongoing domestic series.
The CSA expects all domestic sides in South Africa to field a minimum of six players of colour -- including three black Africans -- every time they take to the field as part of their commitment to facilitate transformation.
However, the Cobras were left one short after they included two black African players -- Thando Ntini and Tladi Bokako -- during the four-day first-class match in Cape Town on Monday.
Akhona Mnyaka had earlier been named in the squad, but he was not picked. The Cobras, however, fielded seven players of colour in the side.
The Cobras later provided a written explanation for their team composition to CSA.
"CSA has noted the submission by Western Cape Cricket (Cape Cobras) in lieu of a request for a ...

CSA to probe Cobras for its failure to meet transformation target against Warriors

North Korea has pulled out of a December international women's football tournament in the South, Seoul's football authorities said Tuesday, weeks after Pyongyang hosted a surreal World Cup qualifier in a near-empty stadium.
Pyongyang's nuclear talks with Washington are at a deadlock and it has been at loggerheads with Seoul since the collapse of the Hanoi summit between leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in February.
The North has repeatedly excoriated Seoul, saying it has "nothing to talk (about) any more" with Seoul.
Now the South has announced the North's withdrawal from the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Football Championship due to be held in the South's port city of Busan in December.
The North is a power in the women's game, ranked ninth in the world, and has won the tournament -- previously known as the EAFF Women's East Asian Cup -- the last three times it has been held.
"We have been notified by the EAFF that the North will not come to the South to ..

N. Korea pulls out of football tournament in South: Seoul

Indian women's football team star Bala Devi has hailed the recent changes in the national set-up and said they have helped the players in innumerable ways.
The team is currently undergoing a camp for the forthcoming back-to- back international friendlies against Vietnam on November 3 and 6.
"Since making my debut in 2005, I have been playing in the national team for more than a decade now. But there has been a string of recent changes, and all for good," Bala Devi said.
"We have seen some considerable changes in the dietary regime, training sessions, and most importantly video analysis off late.
"Laying out a proper diet plan, carbohydrate balance, protein intake, are aspects which are being taken being care of nowadays, and all of that helps players recover faster."
She also highlighted the change in the fitness regime in the camp.
"Compared to earlier days, we spend more time in the gym nowadays. We stress on core exercises. These processes significantly reduce the chances of ...

Bala Devi hails changes in national set-up

Uncertainty loomed over Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan's availability for the upcoming tour of India after the country's Cricket Board chief Nazmul Hassan questioned his attitude amid reports that he is set to be banned for not reporting a corrupt approach two years ago.
The star all-rounder could reportedly be banned for 18 months by the ICC, compounding the Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) problems ahead of the tour of India. The assignment, comprising three T20 Internationals and two Tests, starts November 3.
According to one of the country's leading Bengali dailies 'Samakal', "It was on insistence of ICC that Shakib has been kept away from practice by the BCB. That's the reason he neither featured in the practice games nor did he join the meeting late on Monday evening with the president to discuss pink ball Test."
Two years ago, Shakib reportedly received an offer from a bookie before an international match, which he did not report to the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security ...

Under-fire Shakib doubtful for India tour, BCB chief questions attitude

Tokyo city officials are in a public feud with the International Olympic Committee over IOC plans  made without consulting the city or local organizers  to move next year's Tokyo Olympic marathons 800 kilometers (500 miles) north to Sapporo to avoid the capital's summer heat.
The abrupt decision to shift the marathons and race walks was announced almost two weeks ago by the IOC.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike is angry about it. Her allies say no change is needed and have raised questions about who will pay if the move goes through, and have not ruled out a lawsuit to recover damages.
Taro Shirato and Hiroshi Yamada, members of Koike's political party in the metropolitan legislature, told a news conference Tuesday that moving the marathon would cost at least $34 billion yen, about $310 million.
The IOC said it's making the change, thinking first of athletes' safety from Tokyo's blistering summer heat.
Koike's allies offered a different take. Koike is one of Japan's most influential ...

Tokyo officials feud with IOC over Olympic marathon switch

Veer Dev Gulia secured his place in the bronze medal contest in 79kg at the UWW U-23 World Championships while Naveen (70kg) reached the repechage round here.
Gulia was in top form as he defeated Hungary's Botond Lukacs 3-1. With a strong 7-2 win over China's Ligan Chai, he made it to the quarter-finals, where he was highly impressive in his 12-1 demolition of Mongolia's Batzul Damjin on Monday night.
In the semi-finals, the 22-year-old's brilliant run came to an end at the hands of Azerbaijan's Abubakr Abakarov, who emerged an 8-1 winner. Gulia will now aim for the bronze on Tuesday and his opponent is yet to be decided.
In 70kg, Naveen lost his qualifying bout to Russia's 16th seed Chermen Valiev 0-11. But with the Russian making it to the final, Naveen got another chance to fight for a medal as he reached repechage against Mongolia's Temuulen Enkhtuya with the match being scheduled at 3pm IST today.
On the first day of the championships, three Indians had made it to the ...

Veer Dev Gulia seeks bronze, Naveen reaches repechage at U-23 Worlds

: Chennaiyin FC takes on ATK in a  clash of former champions in an ISL game at the Marina Arena  here on Wednesday, eyeing its first win of season-6.
However, the task is easier said than done as the Kolkata  team is coming off a 5-0 thrashing of Hyderabad FC at home on  Friday last.
Chennaiyin FC, to its credit bounced back from 0-3  hammering at the hands of FC Goa in the opener, to pick up its  first point courtesy a goalless draw against Mumbai City FC on  Diwali day (October 27).
Though CFC kept a clean sheet, head coach John Gregory  would be concerned with the fact that the defence appeared  shaky at times.
Also, he would be hoping that the forward line gets  cracking and finds the net.
It was a night of missed opportunities as CFC and Mumbai  City muffed chances with the former getting a lion's share of  attempts.
Brazil's attacking midifelder Rafael Crivellaro and  Anirudh Thapa created several chances against Mumbai City and  the coach will expect him and Maltese striker ...

Chennaiyin FC eyes first win of season as it takes on ATK

India's leading squash player Joshna Chinappa crashed out in the pre-quarterfinals of the CIB PSA Women's World Championship after a straight game defeat to top seed Nour El Sherbini here.
Joshna, ranked 12th in the world, went down 5-11 3-11 6-11 in the round of 16 match on Monday night.
The three-time world champion El Sherbini produced a dominant performance to comfortably take the opening two games. Chinappa put up more of a fight in the third but the Egyptian sealed the match.
It was Joshna's second consecutive loss to the Egyptian. She had gone down 1-3 at the JP Morgan China Squash Open in 2017.
"Joshna has been on form from the start of this season. I'm really happy that I managed to win 3-0. I think I felt sharper tonight," El Sherbini was quoted as saying by psaworldtour.com.

Joshna crashes out of World Championship

Bangladesh's top player Shakib Al Hasan is being kept away from practice ahead of the team's high-profile India tour on ICC's instructions, local media reported while claiming that the all-rounder is set to be banned for not reporting a corrupt approach.
The star all-rounder, who is also the country's Test and T20 skipper, reportedly could be be banned for 18 months by the International Cricket Council, compounding the Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) problems ahead of the tour of India. The rubber, comprising three T20 Internationals and two Tests, starts November 3.
According to one of the country's leading bengali daily 'Samakal', "It was on insistence of ICC that Shakib has been kept away from practice by the BCB. That's the reason he neither featured in the practice games nor did he join the meeting late on Monday evening with the president to discuss pink ball Test."
The ICC has refrained from making any comment at this stage.
Two years ago, the daily wrote, Shakib received an ..

'Shakib kept away from practice on ICC insistence, faces ban for not reporting corrupt approach'

Four-time Asian medallist Shiva Thapa (63kg) secured himself a medal at the Olympic Test event for boxing by winning his quarterfinal bout on Tuesday while six other Indians made the last-four stage without even stepping inside the ring here.
Thapa overpowered local favourite Yuki Hirakawa in a 5-0 verdict to fight his way into the medal rounds. The seasoned boxer from Assam claimed his third national title earlier this month.
He will be up against another Japanese, Daisuke Narimatsu, in the semifinals on Wednesday. Narimatsu got a bye in the opening round.
However, for his six other compatriots, including former junior world champion Nikhat Zareen (51kg), a medal was guaranteed without a fight as they either got byes or were helped by the small size of their respective draws.
Apart from Zareen, Asian silver-medallist Sumit Sangwan (91kg), Ashish (69kg), Vanhlimpuia (75kg), Simranjeet Kaur (60kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg) have made the semifinals.
Sangwan, who was crowned national ...

Shiva Thapa, six others enter semifinals of Olympic Test event for boxing

Australian selectors on Tuesday flagged a number of batting spots still up for grabs in the upcoming Test series against Pakistan, with an A side promising a run-off among a number of contenders.
Wicketkeeper Alex Carey will lead Australia A in a three-day match against Pakistan ahead of a Test series, pushing his case for Test selection.
Joe Burns, who was controversially left out of the Ashes squad, will join Marcus Harris at the top of the order, with Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Nic Maddinson and rising star Will Pucovski rounding out the top six.
"We will closely monitor performances in this match as well as the coming rounds of the Sheffield Shield before deciding upon our squad for the two-Test series against Pakistan," national selector Trevor Hohns said.
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting recently declared Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and, despite his poor Ashes form, David Warner the only sure starters for the upcoming Test series against Pakistan.
Carey, who is vice .

Test spots up for grabs with Carey to captain Australia A

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Monday its compliance arm will review allegations that Russia manipulated key data at the centre of its state-sponsored doping scandal by the end of November.
In a statement, WADA said it had received responses from Russian authorities to a series of "detailed and technical questions" by the agency's Intelligence and Investigations Department.
Russia handed over thousands of files and samples from its Moscow anti-doping laboratory in January, a key condition for its reinstatement by WADA in 2018.
However, last month it emerged that some of the files had been manipulated, raising the prospect of a fresh suspension of Russian athletes.
Last week, Russia's anti-doping chief, Yuri Ganus, said he expected the country to be banned from next year's Tokyo Olympics and the next Winter Olympics, blaming unnamed Russian officials for doctoring the data handed over to WADA.
WADA said on Monday that Russia's responses to its queries would be reported to .

WADA compliance arm to rule on Russia doping data next month

Vlatko Andonovski was named as the new head coach of the United States' women's soccer team, taking over from two-time World Cup winner Jill Ellis who formally stepped down earlier this month.
Andonovksi, 43, moves into the job after spending several years coaching in the National Women's Soccer League. He was head coach at Reign FC -- Megan Rapinoe's current team -- for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
He won two championships during earlier stints with FC Kansas City, where he coached between 2013 and 2017, twice winning coach of the year honours.
"We are thrilled to welcome Vlatko to the U.S. Soccer family," United States Soccer Federation (USSF) president Carlos Cordeiro said.
"As one of the most accomplished coaches in the NWSL history, he's proven he can help world-class players reach their peak, inspire his teams and win championships.
"He is widely respected by players and leaders across our soccer community, and he has the work ethic and winning mentality to guide the greatest ...

Andonovski to take over as US women's coach

Roger Federer withdrew from the Paris Masters on Monday in order to "pace" himself for the next year, while Marin Cilic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga reached the second round.
World number three Federer claimed his 10th Basel title on Sunday but decided to skip the final Masters event of the season at Bercy Arena.
"I am extremely disappointed to have to pull out of the Paris Masters," he said in a statement.
"I have to pace myself since I want to play as long as possible on the ATP Tour.
"I am sorry for my French fans who I will see next year at Roland Garros."
Tournament director Guy Forget said he was "disappointed" with Federer's late decision to withdraw.
The 38-year-old Federer had warned on Sunday after beating Alex de Minaur at the Swiss Indoors that he may skip the trip to the French capital.
"My fitness is fine, I'm happy with how I feel," he said.
"I just don't know if I should play next week. I'll figure it out with the team."
The 20-time Grand Slam champion returned to the Paris .

Federer withdraws from Paris Masters as Cilic, Tsonga progress

Pakistan's tainted opening batsman Sharjeel Khan is set to be part of the players draft for the fifth edition of PSL.
Sharjeel, who completed a five-year ban for breaching the Pakistan Cricket Board's Anti-Corruption code in August, has been given clearance by the board to resume playing club cricket.
"Sharjeel recently appeared in a written test conducted by the PCB's Anti-Corruption unit and passed it successfully. He has now been told to travel to Bahawalpur, Sheikhupura and Karachi where he will give lectures to members of the junior teams taking part in the domestic youth events.
"In all probability Sharjeel should be cleared to also feature in the players draft for the PSL," one source in the board said.
The official said since he completed his ban, Sharjeel has ticked all the boxes required under the anti-corruption rehabilitation laws to be eligible to play cricket again.
The left-hander, 29, had played a Test, 25 ODIs and 15 T20 internationals before he was banned from all ...

Tainted Sharjeel set to be part of PSL players draft

Novak Djokovic said on Monday that he "sincerely hopes" Andy Murray can continue his comeback from hip surgery and return to the upper echelons of tennis next year.
Briton Murray contemplated retirement earlier this season before undergoing a career-saving hip resurfacing operation.
But the three-time Grand Slam champion claimed his first ATP title since March 2017 earlier this month with victory over Stan Wawrinka in Antwerp.
"I sincerely hope so. I hope that he can be in contention for the top spots because tennis would profit from that and benefit," said world number one Djokovic ahead of his bid for a record-extending fifth Paris Masters title this week.
"We know how big of a legacy he left behind and he is still creating for himself.
"Knowing what he has been through in the last three years, it was really nice to see him win a title after a long time. And only he knows the adversities that he had to face -- physically, but also mentally."
The 32-year-old Murray, who became world .

Djokovic 'sincerely hopes' Murray can return to top in 2020

The first meeting of the season between the two Hero Indian Super League heavyweights finished all square after FC Goa and Bengaluru FC shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw here on Monday.
In what was a fiercely contested game in midfield, the teams struggled to carve out clear-cut chances but the visitors, who produced the better output in the final third, found the breakthrough through Udanta Singh in the 62nd minute.
However, in dramatic fashion, Goa's Ferran Corominas won a penalty in injury time and converted it himself to salvage a point for his team at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
The result sees FC Goa join Mumbai City FC and NorthEast United FC at the top of the table with four points from two games while Bengaluru have now played out a second consecutive draw.
The goalkeepers were called into action within the first ten minutes of an intriguing game.
Corominas played a good ball forward to Manvir Singh who released Seiminlen Doungel in behind the Bengaluru defence with a clever .

High drama as Goa, Bengaluru share spoils

Even without his loyal and dependable race engineer, Peter Bonnington, Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team on Sunday demonstrated a flair for conjuring victories out of unpromising situations and a strength in depth unmatched by their rivals.
In claiming his 10th win of the season and the 83rd of his career, to move within eight of Michael Schumacher's record 91 victories, Hamilton overcame both his own doubts about his chances at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and those of his team.
Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff had described the high-altitude challenge as representing the team's worst of the season before the race -- but left Mexico City with a broad grin of near-amazement.
Without 'Bono' nearby to talk him through testing moments in an unpredictable contest, this had looked a more than tricky assignment for the defending five-time champion. The unflappable engineer was back in Britain for a medical procedure that will see him also miss this week's United States Grand Prix where 

Even without 'Bono', Mercedes have depth to win with Hamilton

Wimbledon champion Simona Halep saved a match point in the second set and then powered to a rousing comeback victory over Canadian sensation Bianca Andreescu at the WTA Finals on Monday.
The No.5 seed prevailed with a gruelling 3-6,7-6 (8/6), 6-3 win in two hours and 34 minutes at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre.
Andreescu, who at 19 is the youngest player in the draw, had a match point in the 12th game of the second set but was unable to convert and fell away after that.
Halep moved on top of Purple Group alongside defending champion Elina Svitolina who earlier beat No.2 seed Karolina Pliskova 7-6 (14/12), 6-4 in one hour and 53 minutes.
"I love playing under pressure," Halep said after the match.
"I'm happy that I could fight with a girl who is 10 years younger than me."
There has been much attention on Andreescu since she beat Serena Williams in the US Open final and she started confidently in her first appearance at the season-ending showpiece.
In a matchup of the past two Grand ...

Halep mounts raging comeback for win over Andreescu

Arsenal would probably have preferred an easier League Cup opponent than Premier League leaders Liverpool as they bid to regroup following captain Granit Xhaka's tantrum and a poor run of form.
However, that is the task that faces the Gunners on Wednesday heading to Anfield for their fourth round clash.
Unai Emery's players have won just twice in their last eight Premier League games as opposed to Jurgen Klopp's Champions League holders who have dropped just two points thus far this term.
Theirs is one of three all Premier League matches on Wednesday -- the rest of the games are on Tuesday -- with Chelsea hosting Manchester United and Aston Villa at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Liverpool's last domestic honour dates back to lifting this trophy in 2012 but despite a desire to end that run Klopp is likely to field a very different line-up to the one that beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the Premier League at the weekend.
Mohamed Salah is one of the Liverpool stars who will be rested ...

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