THE legendary Sunil Gavaskar donated Rs 59 lakh, while Test regular Cheteshwar Pujara also made an unspecified contribution to the-CARES fund, joining the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic which has claimed over 100 lives in India. Pujara joined skipper Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, and Kedar Jadhav, who are among the current set of cricketers to make significant contributions. Among former players, Sachin Tendulkar is among the most notable contributors...

Little Shomira Bidaye wanted to tonk the cricket ball all over the park. But as life would have it, she landed in dunking the ball into the 12-foot or so high basket. Cricket’s loss was basketball’s gain. It was because of time constraints to the parents and not love for the game, that made Shomira Bidaye an acclaimed basketball player. Had her parents Dr Shivani Bidaye and Dr Shashank Bidaye not insisted Shomira to play basketball for “just a year”, today she might have been playing cricket for Vidarbha...

FORMER India star batsman Yuvraj Singh on Sunday pledged to donate Rs 50 lakh to the PM-CARES Fund to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Modi spoke to 49 sports personalities that included the likes of BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli, cricket great Sachin Tendulkar, badminton world champion PV Sindhu and chess legend Viswanathan Anand as he urged them to keep spreading awareness as the world fights the coronavirus pandemic...

SACHIN Tendulkar on Friday said managing the period after April 14 would be crucial to how India fares in its battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, a belief which was shared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a video conference with sportspersons. Tendulkar was among the 40-odd elite sportspersons with whom the had a one hour video call to discuss the prevailing situation which has claimed more than 50 lives in India with 2000 plus positive cases...

ELECTRIFYING Eels and Kool Kingfishers emerged champions in the sixth edition of the Raisoni Premier League cricket tournament. Boys champs Electrifying Eels, whi defeated Phytho Tuskers by two wickets in the final, won a huge cash prize of Rs 1,25,000. The runners-up team took home Rs 50,000 while the best girls squad won a purse of Rs 15,000. A host of individual prizes including the best batsman, best bowler and man of the series was also handed to deserving players...

INDIAN javelin thrower Shivpal Singh has qualified for his maiden Olympic Games in Tokyo this year by breaching the qualification mark at an event. Shivpal became the second Indian javelin thrower after star athlete Neeraj Chopra to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. The 24-year-old Shivpal crossed the qualifying standard of 85m by hurling the spear to a distance of 85.47m in his fifth attempt to win gold in the ACNW Meeting at the McArthur Stadium late on Tuesday. “Shivpal Singh qualifies for #Olympics ..

ALL-ROUND Australia put on display a clinical performance to beat India by 85 runs and win their fifth T20 World Cup title in front of a packed home crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the final on Sunday. After electing to bat first, Alyssa Healy (75) and Beth Mooney (78) slammed aggressive half centuries as the reigning champions posted 184/4 in 20 overs. Chasing a stiff 185 for victory, India were never in the chase and were skittled out for just 99 in 19.1 overs...

INDIAN tennis legend Leander Paes, who played his last ATP event on home soil at Bengaluru Open, was felicitated by former Olympians and sports persons at the KSLTA Stadium on Sunday. Paes, who is playing his final year of professional tennis, and his Australian partner Ebden had lost to Indian pair of Purav Raja and Ramkumar Ramanathan in the men’s doubles final on Saturday...

BRITAIN’S Kyle Edmund found a second gear in the last game of the match to book his spot in Sunday’s final of the New York Open where he will face Italy’s Andreas Seppi. The eighth seeded Edmund roared to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic in the semi-finals of the ATP Tour tournament. “This is great to be back in a final, playing the matches you want to be playing,” Edmund said. “I obviously want to go all the way, but I’m enjoying my tennis. I’ve kept improving and learning with each ..

AUSTRALIA’S dashing all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is set to miss the beginning of the IPL after an elbow injury on Tuesday ruled him out of the upcoming ODIs and T20 Internationals in South Africa. The tour of South Africa starts on February 21. Maxwell will undergo surgery on his left elbow and will be replaced by D’Arcy Short in both squads. Cricket Australia said he might require at least six to eight weeks to attain full match fitness, which means he is likely to miss the beginning of the IPL too, ..

KOBE Bryant used a ferocious competitiveness and uncanny shooting touch to become an NBA icon, leaving behind a legacy that has influenced the newest generation of league talent and fans worldwide. From his 81-point game, the second-best scoring performance in NBA history, to five NBA titles in 20 years of dazzling performances with the Los Angeles Lakers, Bryant delivered a relentless attitude that attracted a global following before his death Sunday at age 41 in a helicopter crash. Bryant joined ..

MAHENDRA Singh Dhoni was on Thursday dropped from the BCCI’s list of centrally contracted players, raising fresh doubts on the future of the former India captain who has not played since the World Cup semifinal loss to New Zealand last year. The BCCI announced the central contracts for the period of October 2019 to September 2020. The 38-year-old Dhoni was in the A category, which fetches a player Rs 5 crore as annual retainership, until last year. Skipper Virat Kohli, his white-ball deputy Rohit ..

HE hasn’t lost a bout in close to five years and Vijender Singh is determined to keep the record with a world title to boot as he enters the new decade donning multiple hats, including the one of an active politician “with strong opinions”. The 34-year-old trailblazing boxer, who delivered India’s first Olympic and men’s world championship medals in boxing back in 2008 and 2009, has logged an enviable 12-0 record in the professional circuit, which he entered in 2015...

THE question of compromise between the two factions in the All India Chess Federation (AICF) does not arise and the issue will be settled in an electoral showdown, said a senior official, the leader of one of the factions. The AICF is split into two factions one under its President PR Venketrama Raja and the other under its Secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan. “There is no question of compromise. Let the issue get settled by elections. The elections should be held under the supervision of a retired Supreme ..

INDIA captain Virat Kohli said the best aspect of the series-clinching win over West Indies in the third and final T20 International here was that his team finally managed to post a big score while batting first. While India have been good at chasing for a while now, they have been making a conscious effort to amass big totals batting first ahead of the T20 World Cup next year. Kohli led from the front smashing an unbeaten 70 off 29 balls as India beat West Indies by 67 runs in the third T20. For ..

EMERGING Australian batsman Marnus Labuschagne on Thursday posted his third successive Test century to frustrate a resilient New Zealand attack on the opening day of the first Test in Perth. After Australia won a potentially pivotal toss in scorching heat and elected to bat in the first ever day-night Test in Perth, the home team was 248 for four at stumps after facing some challenging bowling from the disciplined Kiwi bowlers. Having toiled without much success in 40C heat, the Kiwis fought back ..

FORMER world number one Tiger Woods said he had turned down offers to play in the Saudi International golf tournament, but defended the right of players to participate in the event. Speaking on the eve of the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, Woods said he had rejected approaches to play in Saudi Arabia despite appearance fees reportedly in the region of $3 million (2.7 million euros). “I just don’t want to go over there,” Woods told ESPN. “It’s a long way.” Golfers participating in the Saudi Internatio..

NUR-SULTANA RUTHLESS India raced to a 2-0 lead in their Davis Cup tie for the loss of just two games as Ramkumar Ramanathan and Sumit Nagal toyed with their teen rivals from Pakistan, here on Friday. In a mismatch of epic proportion, Ramkumar double-bageled 17-year-old Muhammed Shoaib in just 42 minutes in the opening singles.The only time Shoaib made it look like a match was in the sixth game of the second set when he stretched Ramkumar to two deuce points. Sumit Nagal reacts after winning a ..

BARCELONA footballer Gerard Pique has insisted the inaugural Davis Cup Finals in Madrid have been an “absolute success”, although he did admit some changes would have to be made in future. The controversial week-long finals were launched by Pique’s investment company Kosmos, replacing the old World Group which saw teams play each other in longer ties spread across the year. “The competition is an absolute success,” Pique told broadcasters Movistar on Saturday...

DOMINIC Thiem beat defending champion Alexander Zverev to join Roger Federer’s conqueror Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final of the ATP Finals in London. The Austrian fifth seed saw off the big-serving German 7-5, 6-3 on Saturday after Greece’s Tsitsipas, making his debut at the tournament, had earlier beaten Federer 6-3, 6-4. Thiem is playing in his fourth ATP Finals but during his first three trips to the season finale, he won only three matches and never advanced out of the group stage at the O2 Arena. ..

FILIPINO-AMERICAN Grandmaster Wesley So on Sunday hailed Viswanathan Anand as his inspiration, saying that he had no clue how the Indian chess legend was still going strong and was among the best in the world. “He is an inspiration. I don’t think I could play at this level 20 years from now. It’s incredible what he is doing,” Wesley said on the sidelines of the Tata Steel Chess India event where the recently-crowned World Fischer Random Chess champion met budding chess players. Wesley, one of the ..

TOP Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth advanced to the men’s singles second round without playing a shot after his opponent Kento Momota’s pull-out while Sourabh Verma entered the main draw of the Hong Kong Open after clinching straight-game wins in his two qualifying clashes on Tuesday. Srikanth was to play against Momota in the first round on Wednesday but the Japanese world number one pulled out of the tournament on Tuesday. The reasons for his withdrawal were not known. A few days back, the 24-year-old ..

NOVAK Djokovic produced a magnificent performance to thrash seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-1, 6-2 on Friday and set up a Paris Masters semi-final against Grigor Dimitrov. The 32-year-old, battling Rafael Nadal for the year-end world number one spot, dispatched Greek star Tsitsipas in only 58 minutes...

LEWIS Hamilton is set to clinch his sixth drivers’ world championship at one of his favourite venues this weekend when he leads Mercedes into what promises to be a close scrap with Ferrari at the United States Grand Prix. Just days after his unexpected, but perfectly-conceived, strategic victory in Mexico, the 34-year-old Briton is in the luxurious position of knowing that only a wildly-extraordinary result at the Circuit of the Americas can frustrate him again. His only title rival, Mercedes team-mate ..

FORMER India captain Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday took charge as the BCCI President, easily the most high-profile name to head the world’s richest cricket board that has been mired in administrative turmoil for the past three years. The 47-year-old Ganguly was officially entrusted with the task of heading Indian cricket for the next nine months at the BCCI’s General Body meeting here, ending a controversial 33-month reign of the Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA). Ganguly’s appointmen..

HOLDERS Tamil Nadu girls beat Maharashtra 86-59 to top the pool A at the 79th junior national basketball championship at Patna. Maharashtra girls started well with captain Abha Lad finding the hoop at regular intervals. She was ably supported by Siya Deodhar who controlled the game beautifully. She repeatedly penetrated the rivals defence to make her team-mates free for easy shots. TN, who were down 17-27 in the first quarter regained their composure in the second to reduce the lead at the half time. ..

SWISS tennis legend Roger Federer said Thursday he will play the French Open in Paris next year. “I will play the French Open. I probably won’t play much before that because I need some time away from it (tennis) and I need some time with the family,” the 38-year-old told CNN. The 20-time Grand Slam champion returned to Roland Garros this year after a three-year absence, falling to Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals. Federer confirmed he will compete at next year’s Tokyo Olympics after Wimbledon and ..

Supports demand for trial match against Mary Kom INDIA’S only individual Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra on Thursday backed Nikhat Zareen’s demand for a trial bout against celebrated boxer MC Mary Kom before India’s squad for next year’s Olympic Qualifiers is decided. Former junior world champion boxer Zareen, who was refused a trial by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) for the World Championships, has written to Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, demanding a “fair chance” to make it to ..

SIX-TIME champion MC Mary Kom (51kg) on Thursday surpassed herself as the most successful boxer in the Women’s World Championship history by securing an unprecedented eighth medal before debutants Manju Rani (48kg) and Jamuna Boro (54kg) also joined her in the semi-finals here. The third-seeded Mary Kom defeated a spirited rival in Colombia’s Valencia Victoria, fetching a unanimous 5-0 verdict to make the last-four stage...

FORMULA One boss Jean Todt said Thursday he remains hopeful that “one day” he will be able to attend a Grand Prix race with stricken former world champion Michael Schumacher. Schumacher, 50, has not been seen in public since suffering catastrophic head injuries in a high-speed skiing accident in December 2013. “There is no news other than the fact that Michael is fighting every day to improve the situation,” Todt told Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica. “I’ve been telling the truth, I watch Grand ..

ANDY Murray expressed disappointment about crowds at the China Open tennis, where some of the best players in the world have competed in front of swathes of empty seats. Poor attendances have been in the sporting headlines because of sparse turn-out at the World Athletics Championships in Doha. And at the ongoing China Open in Beijing, the biggest matches have played out to rows of unoccupied seats at the cavernous Diamond Court, the main arena. “I think as the tournament goes on you tend to get better ..

A CREDITABLE eighth-place finish in the World Athletics Championships under her belt, India’s top javelin thrower Annu Rani has called for giving equal opportunities to women in sport as they can also perform and bring laurels to the country. Annu became the first Indian woman javelin thrower to qualify for the final round of the World Championships but in the end finished eighth here on Tuesday. She broke her own national record in the qualification round on Monday with a throw of 62.43m but failed ..

THE issue of workload for national cricket team’s captain has once again surfaced with former cricketer Yuvraj Singh suggesting splitting of captainship load between Virat Kohli and prolific batsman Rohit Sharma. Similar discussion had ensued when Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the captain . The issue was settled with Dhoni himself choosing to relinquishing the captainship of the Test team and opting to shoulder the responsibility of leading the team in the limited overs format games. Subsequently he opted ..

  DOHA :   DEANNA Price of the United States won the gold medal in the women’s hammer at the World Championships in Doha, completing a superb victory after a career ravaged by injury. The 26-year-old from Missouri took gold with her third throw of the night, launching a 77.54-metre effort onto the field at the Khalifa Stadium. Poland’s Joanna Fiodorow took silver with a throw of 76.35m while China’s Wang Zheng claimed bronze with a best throw of 74.76m.   Price ..

   MADRID :  BARCELONA threw on their stars of the present and the future but neither Lionel Messi nor Ansu Fati could save them from a dismal 2-0 defeat away at Granada. Messi was still not deemed fit enough to start at Los Carmenes while Fati, the 16-year-old who has lit up La Liga in recent weeks, also began the game on the bench on Saturday. But while both came on at half-time with Barca trailing to Ramon Azeez’s opener, it was Granada that scored again, Alvaro Vadillo ..