Page 5 - Sports News

Barcelona complete deadline-day transfer for Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus

Gabriel Jesus completed a transfer deadline day move from Arsenal to Barcelona on Tuesday on a three-year contract. The 29-year-old Brazil striker was part of Arsenal's Premier League title-winning squad last season after lifting four league crowns with Manchester City. He joins Spanish champion Barcelona following the departure of Robert Lewandowski at the end of last season. Jesus joined Arsenal in 2022 after six trophy-laden seasons at City. Despite enduring an injury-disrupted time at the Emirates Stadium, he was part of the squad that ended the London club's 22-year wait to be crowned English champion. Jesus is the latest arrival in a busy transfer window for Barcelona, following deals for Anthony Gordon, Rodri, Joao Cancelo, Karim Adeyemi and Dominik Livakovic.

FC Bengaluru United reappoint Mohanraj as head coach ahead of new campaign

FC Bengaluru United on Tuesday reappointed Nallappan Mohanraj as their head coach ahead of the 2026-27 domestic season. The reappointment comes on the back of Mohanraj leading FCBU to qualification to the Indian Football League. His first assignment this season will be the BDFA Super Division League, following which he will guide the team in its maiden Indian Football League campaign. This is Mohanraj's third stint as head coach of FCBU. "I'm very pleased to continue with FC Bengaluru United and to be part of this next chapter. Qualifying for the IFL was a special achievement, but the work does not stop there. "I'm looking forward to building on what we have achieved and continuing to develop the team and the players," said Mohanraj, a former India, Mohun Bagan, ATK and Chennaiyin FC player.

Iran women's kabaddi team turns to India as war disrupts Asiad preparations

The Sonepat camp offered Iran something it needs most with the Asian Games approaching: regular competition against different opponents

Stefanos Tsitsipas says Kyrgios' cocaine ban was widely expected by many

Stefanos Tsitsipas was not surprised that Nick Kyrgios was suspended from tennis for drugs. "Pretty much expected, to be honest," Tsitsipas said. "I am surprised it came so late, though." Kyrgios was banned earlier this month after he revealed he tested positive for cocaine in June when he was in Spain to play at an event. The Australian could be suspended for four years, though a lighter punishment is expected. Tsitsipas was asked about Kyrgios on Monday after upsetting No. 10-seeded Arthur Fils in the first round of the U.S. Open. "I mean, to be entirely honest with you, I knew about this before the announcement. Myself, I knew about it," Tsitsipas said. "So what can I tell you? I will just tell you the truth. I knew about all of this before any announcement was made, and when I saw it on social media, I was, like, Here we go.' I kind of expected it, to be honest." Tsitsipas and Kyrgios played a fiery match at Wimbledon in 2022, when Kyrgios reached his only Grand Slam final. .

Alcaraz victorious on US Open return; Sabalenka also wins her opening match

Carlos Alcaraz returned to the U.S. Open and looked healthy enough for a run at a repeat. Alcaraz beat Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Monday, showing no problems with the right wrist injury that had sidelined the 23-year-old Spaniard since April. Following fellow two-time U.S. Open champion Aryna Sabalenka onto Arthur Ashe Stadium, the No. 2-seeded Alcaraz appeared more comfortable as the match went on and delivered the all-around game that has made him a fan favorite in New York. He held his hand to his ear to encourage louder cheers and pumped his fist after a pretty volley winner in the final game of the match. "I'm just really happy that I was able to compete again," Alcaraz said. "I think the level of tennis is going to be better for sure. I'm just really happy with the level that I played my first match." If the seven-time Grand Slam champion stays healthy, he may quickly become a huge favorite with top-ranked Jannik Sinner sidelined by a knee injury and No. 4 Novak Djokovi

USA's Folarin Balogun set for Premier League move with Everton: Report

United States striker Folarin Balogun is set to head to Premier League team Everton on a transfer from Monaco, British media reported on Monday. The transfer fee offered by Everton is reported to be in the range of 40 million pounds ($54 million) on a four-year deal, the British Press Association said. It said personal terms had yet to be worked out before the deal could be completed prior to Tuesday's transfer deadline. The 25-year-old Balogun, who had two years remaining on a contract at Monaco, gained attention this summer scoring three goals for the United States as it reached the knockout stage of the World Cup. He was the top scorer for the U.S. team. He also made headlines after drawing a red card and a one-game suspension in a 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in a round-of-32 match. The one-game suspension was deferred by FIFA after U.S. President Donald Trump intervened, allowing Balogun to play in the round of 16. Balogun eventually played in the 4-1 loss to Belgiu

World Cup to Copa America: How Messi performed for Argentina on big stage

Messi featured in six World Cups and seven Copa Americas before bringing the curtain down on his international career with Argentina

Messi's Argentina legacy: Records and milestones that are tough to match

In his 21-year-long career with the Argentina national team, Messi went on to break multiple records that would be hard to match or break for generations to come

End of an era: Messi announces retirement from international football

Messi retires as Argentina's most-capped player and its all-time leading goalscorer, with 207 appearances and 125 goals

Indian paddler Ankur bags maiden WTT title and doubles gold in Czechia

Indian paddler Ankur Bhattacharjee produced a memorable performance to win his maiden WTT men's singles title, while also securing the doubles gold with Akash Pal at the WTT Feeder Olomouc tournament in Czechia. The World No. 78 overcame third-seed Slovenian Deni Kozul 3-1 (9-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-6) in the singles final to cap a remarkable campaign. He had joined forces with Akash earlier to defeat Hungary's Csaba Andras Szantosi and Poland's Alan Kulczycki Zalewski 3-1 (11-8, 4-11, 13-11, 11-9) in the men's doubles final. The singles final began with a setback for Ankur as Kozul edged the opening game 11-9. The Indian, however, quickly found his rhythm, tightening his placement and controlling the rallies to win the next three games and seal the title. In the men's doubles, Ankur and Akash overcame an early setback. The two took the opening game 11-8, but Szantosi and Zalewski levelled with an 11-4 second game. The Indians regained the advantage in a closely fought third game, win

Djokovic crashes out in US Open first round, 25th Grand Slam wait continues

The defeat marked Djokovic's earliest exit from a Grand Slam since the 2006 Australian Open

Hockey WC 2026: Germany beat Spain in the final to lift 4th World Cup title

The result comes just less than 24 hours after Argentina's women's team secured the FIH Women's Hockey World Cup title, beating Netherlands by 3-1 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw

Ricky Ponting invests in Century Cricket as firm starts New York expansion

Former Australia captain joins as major investor, global ambassador and advisor as Century Cricket prepares its first flagship centre at Bryant Park in Manhattan

China Masters: Lakshya Sen headlines India challenge, women's trio in focus

Lakshya Sen will look to bounce back from the disappointment of his early exit at the World Championships but a tough opener awaits him when he spearheads the Indian challenge at the USD 1,250,000 China Masters Super 750, beginning here on Tuesday. Sen, who became the first Indian male shuttler to reach an Olympic semifinal in Paris two years ago before finishing fourth, will face France's newly-crowned world champion Alex Lanier in his opening match. The Indian has enjoyed some notable results this season, including a runner-up finish at the All England Championships, and will be keen to regain consistency against a strong field after a shock second-round loss to world number 92 Garret Tan at the Worlds. Former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, meanwhile, faces Chinese Taipei's Chi Yu-jen after reaching the US Open Super 300 final in June, where he finished runner-up. His campaign on the Tour after that has been patchy. It was interrupted by an injury-forced retirement due to injury a

UEFA vs Infantino: How the battle for FIFA's future is escalating

According to media reports, UEFA has launched legal proceedings in the US and Switzerland over Infantino's handling of a controversial proposal to bring private-equity investment into FIFA

Six games, one defeat: How India produced a historic Women's Hockey WC run

India did not need a string of unlikely upsets to finish fifth. They simply became extremely difficult to beat

Wrestling to athletics: Doping cases cloud India's Asian Games preparations

Athlete Abhishek Pal has been the latest addition to India's growing list of doping cases ahead of the Asian Games 2026

A career interrupted: Neeraj Chopra's battle with injuries continues

The injury means Neeraj Chopra will be unable to defend his two-time Asian Games gold medal in the javelin throw event at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya

Dream11 pulls from fantasy games to build global sports engagement platform

Dream11 on Thursday said it has moved away from pure-play fantasy sports to building a global sports engagement platform. Dream11 was India's biggest fantasy game company before the government imposed a blanket ban on the category a year ago. "Dream11 today completes its pivot away from pure-play fantasy sports to becoming a global sports engagement platform. It has discontinued all prizes to focus only on sports content, live streaming, stats, scores, commentary, community, experiences, and social contests," the company said in a statement. The statement said Dream11 will be transitioning to an AI-first platform, building a highly personalised experience for users based only on their favourite sports, leagues, teams and players. The platform will also be multi-sport, addressing a global gap and positioning itself as a single destination for sports fans worldwide, the statement said.

Why is Indian Hockey struggling to produce next generation of senior stars?

The number of players making their senior international debut after India's Junior World Cup campaigns has declined since the stellar 2016 edition