Page 18 - Sports

China's online retailer JD.com versus Elliott in battle for UK's Currys

Currys on Saturday rejected Elliott's possible cash offer of 62 pence per share, a 700 million pounds ($883 million) proposal it said significantly undervalued the company

Manika Batra stars in India's win over Hungary at World Championships

Manika Batra won both her singles matches as the Indian women's team edged out Hungary 3-2 for its first win of the World Table Tennis Championships here on Sunday. However, the Indian men's team suffered a 1-3 loss to Poland in its second group game. It was a fine comeback from Manika who had lost both her singles against China on Friday when India stood on the cusp of a mega upset before falling short 2-3. Manika, who is India's top-ranked player at 36, had to dig deep against Dora Madaras in the opening singles before pulling off an 8-11, 11-5, 12-10, 8-11, 11-4 win on Sunday. Georgina Pota then levelled the tie with a 11-3, 11-7, 9-11, 9-11, 11-8 result over Sreeja Akula in the second singles. Sreeja had stunned world number 2 Wang Yidi in the tournament opener. Ayhika Mukherkjee, the conqueror of world number one Sun Yinghsa on Friday, put India 2-1 up with a 7-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-8 win over Bernadett Balint. The contest was stretched into the decider when Madaras got past Sr

IND vs ENG 3rd Test: Jaiswal smashes Anderson and records on his way to 200

Jaiswal also became the first Indian to hit 20 or more sixes in a Test series and 10 or more in a Test innings, betaing on his way Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agrawal for the respective records

Jaiswal asuperstar in making, England deserve credit for inspiring: Duckett

England's Ben Duckett on Saturday called India's Yashasvi Jaiswal a "superstar in the making" but said his side deserves credit for inspiring players in the opposition camp to bat aggressively in Test cricket. Jaiswal dished out his own version of England's much talked-about 'Bazball' approach of run-making in Test cricket, cracking nine fours and five sixes in his 133-ball 104 before retiring hurt due to back spasms. The Indian opener shifted gears all of a sudden in the final session. Having reached 35 off 73 balls, he peppered the field with powerful strokes to bring up his second century of the series and third overall in his career. "When you see players from the opposition playing like that, it almost feels like we should take some credit that they're playing differently than how other people play Test cricket," Duckett told the media during a press conference here. "We saw it a bit in the summer and it's quite exciting to see other players and other teams are also playing th

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