Author: robin24

Frances Tiafoe in action© AFP Frances Tiafoe smashed his racket as he lost to qualifier Marton Fucsovics in the first round of the Japan Open on Wednesday, while Denis Shapovalov also suffered an upset loss. The eighth-seeded Tiafoe struggled with his first serve in a 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 loss to Fucsovics and smashed his racket against the court surface just after the Hungarian sealed victory with a forehand winner. Tiafoe has slipped to 29th in the rankings. It was the fourth consecutive loss for the American after a third-round loss to Jan-Lennard Struff at the U.S. Open and…

NEW DELHI: Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s fan base is growing at an astonishing pace. Wherever the teenage sensation plays, crowds gather in anticipation of his batting fireworks — and the youngster rarely disappoints. He also makes sure to acknowledge the love he receives. A perfect example came during Bihar’s recent Ranji Trophy clash against Arunachal Pradesh at the Moin-ul-Haq Stadium in Patna.After Bihar’s innings-and-165-run victory, hundreds of fans waited eagerly near the stands, hoping to catch a glimpse of their hometown hero. The 14-year-old prodigy walked towards the boundary ropes after the match, smiling and waving at the supporters who greeted him…

File image of Berke Ozer© AFP Turkey: Goalkeeper Berke Ozer left Turkey’s training camp “without permission” after missing out on selection for the team which beat Bulgaria, the Turkish football federation said Sunday. The Lille player returned to his club after not being named in the squad for the World Cup qualifier in Sofia, won 6-1 by Turkey. “Berke Ozer left our training centre after returning to Istanbul, citing his non-selection for yesterday’s Bulgaria v Turkey match, without the permission of our staff,” the federation said in a statement.”While we are striving to qualify for the World Cup, such…

Some Formula 1 races live in the memory because of thrilling action, some for controversy, some even for being so dull they forced a rule change. And then there’s Oscar Piastri’s first F1 win, the benchmark for sheer awkwardness. Piastri is happy to be back in Hungary this week, but his breakthrough victory there last year remains a lesson for McLaren as it tries to manage his title fight with teammate Lando Norris. It’s all the more important now. Piastri has developed into a genuine title contender over the last year and leads Norris by 16 points following…

Carlos Alcaraz in action© AFP World number one Carlos Alcaraz shrugged off an ankle injury to beat Argentina’s Sebastian Baez 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday in a gritty start to his Japan Open campaign. US Open champion Alcaraz crumpled to the ground chasing a shot in the fifth game of the opening set in Tokyo and sat on the court grimacing for several minutes. The Spaniard had his left ankle heavily strapped during a medical timeout before gingerly returning. He soon began to move comfortably and broke world number 41 Baez to take a 5-4 lead. The match was…

India’s Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli (PTI Photo/Arun Sharma) Australian batter Travis Head has praised Indian cricket stars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma ahead of the first ODI in Perth on Sunday. He acknowledged them as two of the best white-ball players, with Kohli being considered the greatest and Rohit following closely behind.The upcoming cricket series between India and Australia includes three ODIs and five T20Is. The ODI matches are scheduled for Sunday, October 23, and October 25, followed by T20Is from October 29 to November 8. The 2027 World Cup will take place in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.Massive…

File image of Zinedine Zidane.© AFP Zinedine Zidane confirmed Sunday he would one day like to coach the France national team, but did not say if he was hoping to take over from outgoing boss Didier Deschamps. Zidane, who scored twice in France’s 1998 World Cup final win over Brazil, led Real Madrid to three Champions League titles in his only previous senior head coaching role. “I’m sure I’ll get back into coaching,” Zidane said at an event organised by Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I’m not saying it’s going to happen now, what I want…

Lewis Hamilton called himself “absolutely useless” and suggested Ferrari should change drivers after he qualified 12th for the Hungarian Grand Prix and teammate Charles Leclerc took pole position. It was a new low in a difficult first season with Ferrari for seven-time Formula 1 champion Hamilton, who qualified outside the top 10 for the second race in a row. “I’m useless, absolutely useless,” Hamilton told British broadcaster Sky Sports. “The team have no problem. You’ve seen the car’s on pole. So they probably need to change driver.” Hamilton had said “every time, every time” over the radio after…

Men’s tennis is going through a duopoly at the moment, with World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and World No. 2 Jannik Sinner winning each of the last eight Grand Slam singles titles. Their dominance has paved the way to a new high-profile rivalry in tennis, with the two facing off in the last three Grand Slam finals. Amidst this, tennis legend Roger Federer had pointed out that tournament directors often change the speed of the tennis courts in order to ensure that Alcaraz or Sinner are near-impossible to beat, virtually guaranteeing that the two reach the summit clash.…

ILT20 tickets for the fourth season have gone on sale. The International League T20 (ILT20) Season 4 is set to kick off on December 2, 2025, featuring six teams competing in 34 matches across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. The tournament, concluding on January 4, will offer affordable tickets starting at AED 10 for children and AED 20 for adults, along with exciting fan experiences and daily raffle draws.The competition schedule includes regular matches at 6:30 PM local time, with some double-headers on Sundays starting at 2:00 PM. The tournament format includes a Qualifier 1, an Eliminator, Qualifier 2, and…