Orlando, June 26 (IANS) Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed Claudio Echeverri will be out for at least a fortnight after injuring his ankle in the 6-0 group stage win over Al Ain at the FIFA Club World Cup.
The young Argentine forward scored a superb free-kick against the UAE side, but seems unlikely to feature in the remainder of the Club World Cup.”He has some problems with his ankle. It will be two or three weeks out, unfortunately. I feel so sorry for him, for all of us. We’re going to play new players in the next game too, yeah. And in the second half too, I make the selection tomorrow, the line-up, thinking of the second half.”With these conditions we’re not ready to play in the rhythm we’re playing for 90 minutes. Hopefully we can make more substitutions but it’s fine,” Guardiola said in a press conference ahead of their last group game.Manchester City will go head-to-head with Juventus, looking to top Group G. Both teams have both already booked their place in the Round of 16 and their Orlando showdown will decide who tops the group, with Guardiola’s side needing a win if they are to reach the summit and secure a meeting with the Group H runners-up at the same venue on Monday.Guardiola was also asked if Rodri was ready to make his first start since injuring his ACL against Arsenal last season. “Rodri, yeah he can play, of course not for 90 minutes but the last 30 or 35 minutes. He’s been making a step forward in the last three or four days. He didn’t have some problems and niggles, you sometimes have. We’re happy we could add minutes to him,” he said.–IANSbc/

New Delhi, June 26 (IANS) Former Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy has expressed his displeasure over making Cameron Green bat at number three in the Test team line-up, adding that someone like Nathan McSweeney should be there while the all-rounder can be accommodated elsewhere.
In the first innings of the first Test against the West Indies in Bridgetown, Barbados, Australia were bowled out for 180, with Green making just three runs. Green had previously made just seven runs at an average of 2.33 at number three during Australia’s defeat to South Africa in the World Test Championship Final held earlier this month at Lord’s.“I do find it a little bemusing that Pat Cummins is saying that Cameron Green is a long-term No. 3. Previously about four months ago, they said Nathan McSweeney is a No. 3 moving forward for as long as you like and possible captain.“Hopefully nothing’s changed and he’s just forgotten about ‘Sweens’. He should be our number 3 and Cam Green can enjoy some other place in the order,” said Healy on SEN Radio.At Barbados, Green gave a catch to first slip after poking at a delivery from Shamar Joseph. Healy also addressed the technical issue which is hurting Green at the moment. “Cam Green, he’s swishing a little bit too hard at the ball across the line of touch, and getting caught in slips.“Zak Crawley, the tall man and England opener made a change within a game (to combat that). He was doing that in the first innings (like Green). But in the second innings, it was obvious he was trying to play straight with the full face of the bat.“He went on to make 65 in one of the most historic run chases (chasing 371 at Headingley against India). So, Cam Green has just got to get his full face coming straight at the ball,” added Healy.Thankfully for Australia, Travis Head rescued the innings with a knock of 59 to help the visitors reach 180. In reply, the West Indies reached 57/4 at stumps and trail Australia by 123 runs.–IANSnr/bc

Guwahati, June 26 (IANS) Badminton Asia Women’s Team gold medallist Tanvi Sharma, Junior World No. 1 men’s doubles pair Bhargava Ram Arigela & Viswa Tej Gibburu will spearhead a power-packed 19-member Indian squad for the Badminton Asian Junior Championships 2025, Team & Individual, set to be held in Solo, Indonesia from July 18 to 27.
The team event is scheduled from July 18 to 22 and individual events from July 23 to 27.Tanvi, currently ranked World No. 2 in the BWF Junior rankings, who will anchor India’s women’s singles challenge. Rounak Chouhan, ranked World No. 12 in boys’ singles, adds depth to the men’s side.Vennala Kalagotla will feature in both singles and doubles, while the headline act in men’s doubles, Bhargava and Viswa Tej, will aim to extend their dominance as the top-ranked junior pair globally.India has so far secured nine medals at the U‑19 Asian Junior Championships, with stars like PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen clinching gold in past editions. The current batch will look to carry that legacy forward and mount a serious title challenge in Solo.The team event will adopt a relay format, with the first side to reach 110 points declared the winner. It will begin with a group stage, followed by knockout rounds, with the top two teams from each group advancing.The championships are also viewed as a key stepping stone toward the BWF Junior World Championships, which will be held at the state-of-the-art National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati later this year.To prepare, the full squad will report to a national preparatory camp at NCE Guwahati, from July 4 to 15. The camp will focus on refining match readiness, sharpening game plans, and fostering synergy across categories. With top juniors gathered under one roof, the camp is expected to provide the foundation for a strong continental showing.Speaking on the occasion, Badminton Association of India (BAI) general secretary Sanjay Mishra, said, “India’s junior circuit is producing world‑class talent, and this camp is where raw potential will be sharpened into medal‑winning form. With top junior shuttlers like Tanvi (Sharma), Rounak (Chouhan), Bhargava (Ram) & Viswa Tej (Gobburu), Vennala (Kalagotla), Rujula (Ramu) and all the others, our goal is not just medals in Asia, but preparedness for the Junior Worlds and beyond.”India’s 19-Member Squad:Men’s Singles: Ansh Negi, Hmar Lalthazuala, Rounak Chouhan, Pranauv Ram NagalingamWomen’s Singles: Rujula Ramu, Tanvi Sharma, Tanvi Reddy Andluri, Vennala KalagotlaMen’s Doubles: Bhavya Chhabra/Param Choudhary, Bhargav Ram Arigela/Viswa Tej GobburuWomen’s Doubles: Vennala Kalagotla/Reshika Uthayasooriyan, Gayatri Rawat/Mansa RawatMixed Doubles: Vishnu Kedhar Kode/Keerthy Manchala, C Lalramsanga/Taarini Suri–IANSbc/

Ahmedabad, June 26 (IANS) Olympic star Sreeja Akula caught up with 15-year-old table tennis sensation Divyanshi Bhowmick on the sidelines of the recently-concluded Dream UTT Juniors. The fireside chat was a showcase of the bond between two generations of Indian table tennis players.
Divyanshi, who won gold at the Dream Sports Championship Table Tennis in March, spoke about playing in the Dream UTT Juniors, “Getting to see the top players up close, training with them, and having you play right in front of me – it was incredible” she shared.The young star, currently ranked third in the U-15 category, has already made waves by challenging senior players – a testament to the rising standards of Indian table tennis.When asked by Divyanshi about her toughest experiences on the table, Sreeja revealed, “I’ve had several challenging matches that taught me different lessons. In the Commonwealth Games, I was almost on the verge of losing my quarter-finals against Mo Zhang. I kept reminding myself to focus on each point, not the scoreline. Then, in the Paris Olympics against Sun Yingsha, I had a 10-5 lead in the first two games, but the situation was completely different.”“My biggest lesson from the Olympics was never becoming passive when leading – I was just trying to keep the ball on the table instead of playing aggressively. “My advice to young athletes would be to believe in yourself, trust the process and your team, and keep pushing hard,” Sreeja added.Her words carried the weight of experience, having competed at the highest level and playing a key role in taking the Jaipur Patriots to the semifinals in the ongoing Ultimate Table Tennis. “Don’t get too focused on the final outcome, but concentrate on the process and try to improve each day,” she added.In a heartwarming twist, the Stanley’s Chennai Lions’ young TT player revealed how the pandemic sparked her table tennis journey, “We got a table for our house during lockdown and I’d spend the whole day practicing with my dad and sister. As I kept playing, I fell in love with the sport, and then I started winning.”Both athletes spoke highly about the Dream Sports Foundation’s impact on their careers. Sreeja, who has been supported since 2021, reflected: “The support came at exactly the right moment when I was seeking sponsorship… It wasn’t just financial help – they connected me with a dietician, mental trainer, and gave me exposure through international tournaments.”When discussing her goals, Divyanshi’s determination stood out, “My long-term goal is winning an Olympic medal for India and breaking into the world’s top 10. We’re putting in the work every single day.” Sreeja’s response was filled with encouragement, “With your style of play, you’ll definitely make it happen.”Sreeja’s daily routine reflects the dedication required at the highest level. “Being disciplined on and off the court is crucial for me because you have to spend at least 2 hours a day maintaining your fitness. It’s also very important for preventing injuries,” she explained.The conversation’s lighter moments revealed personal touches that made both athletes relatable. Divyanshi’s sporting heroes? “Manika Batra… and you,” she told Sreeja with a smile. Sreeja’s role model? Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar.Divyanshi also added during the rapid fire that one athlete she dreams of meeting was China’s world champion and Olympic gold medalist, Chen Meng. For Sreeja, the Indian Olympian shared that her coach Somnath Ghosh brought the most energy to practice sessions.Divyanshi is now preparing for her upcoming Asian Championships with aspirations of representing India at the Olympics. Meanwhile, Sreeja continues to inspire the next generation.–IANSbc/

New Delhi, June 26 (IANS) Cricket Australia (CA) said on Thursday that public tickets allocation for the India-Australia ODI match in Sydney and T20I game in Canberra in November have been sold out four months before their commencement.
Apart from record-breaking sales of the Ashes, CA added that they have noticed huge interest from the Indian diaspora towards buying tickets when the side plays a white-ball series in Australia in October-November.Such has been the effect that 90,000 tickets for eight matches – with T20Is in Melbourne and Brisbane being hugely popular – have already been sold out just two weeks after ticket sales window was opened.”Exhausting our public ticket allocation for the SCG ODI and Manuka Oval T20I four months prior to the series is a testament to the tremendous interest for the upcoming season amongst cricket fans.”We are thrilled to see continued strong engagement amongst Indian diaspora off the back of a record-breaking Border Gavaskar series last summer. The forecast strong turnout of Australian and Indian fans means we’ll again have a fantastic atmosphere at each match.”There is extreme interest in what promises to be our biggest ever summer of cricket, so we encourage fans to buy early to avoid missing out on the action,” said Joel Morrison, Executive General Manager Events & Operations, Cricket Australia, in a statement.CA further said that more than 16 per cent of the tickets sold so far have been purchased by Indian fan clubs. Bharat Army has been one of the most active fan clubs, purchasing over 2,400 tickets. Fans based in India have also shown significant enthusiasm, buying more than 1,400 tickets.Additionally, Amit Goyal from Brissy Baniyas, an Aggarwal community in Australia, has acquired 880 tickets for the Gabba T20I, becoming the highest individual buyer for a single match, while Indian Community of Gold Coast and Pakka Local have purchased over 500 tickets for the Gold Coast and MCG T20Is, respectively.Men’s ODI Series v IndiaOctober 19: Perth Stadium, Perth,October 23: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide,October 25: Sydney Cricket Ground, SydneyMen’s T20I Series v IndiaOctober 29: Manuka Oval, Canberra,October 31: Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne,November 2: Bellerive Oval, Hobart,November 6: Gold Coast Stadium, Gold CoastNovember 8: The Gabba, Brisbane–IANSnr/bc

Mumbai, June 26 (IANS) With qualification on the line for Bengaluru Bravehearts, Philip Wokorach, Arpan Chhetri and Liam Poulton lead the way to seal the third spot in the race to the semi-finals. Player of the match, Liam Poulton, scored a few crucial tries to shut down Kalinga completely as they showed glimmers of taking the game away from Bengaluru in the first half.
Bengaluru Bravehearts finally won with a margin of 8 points, with the final score reading 34-26.”Being in the semi-finals is the first step to winning this tournament. We did a really great job in the league. We have consistently been in the top three going into the semi-finals and have got some very good performances and game time. Now is the time to work even harder and hopefully move from the semi-finals into the finals.” said Bengaluru Bravehearts head coach Francisco Hernandez.The Kalinga Black Tigers led 14-0 in the first half but the Bravehearts started to mount a comeback with Philip Wokorach and Arpan Chhetri’s tries. It was a comeback that Bengaluru has become known for in this tournament where the team consistently finds a different gear to score consecutive tries whenever they have trailed. This win puts the Bengaluru Bravehearts 2nd on the points table just nudging above the Chennai Bulls owing to the score difference with both the teams at 21 points a piece after 9 games.“It’s great that we have made the semi-finals now, it’s why we are here. The whole team wants to win the competition and making the semi-finals is the first step towards that. We still have another game against Mumbai Dreamers and we look forward to taking the perfect momentum into the semi-finals and hopefully into the finals.” Said Scott Curry, co-captain, Bengaluru Bravehearts.Notably, Philip Wokorach is currently trailing by a single try on the stats table of most tries in the league with a total of 9 tries in 9 matches. Another Braveheart leading the stats table is Akuila Rokolisoa, sharing top spot for total conversions (14) and most points for a team (53).The Bengaluru Bravehearts will take on the Mumbai Dreamers on the 27th of June in the last match of the league stages after which the final standings will decide who they take on in the semi-finals.–IANSbc/

New Delhi, June 26 (IANS) India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav said he is on the road to recovery after undergoing a hernia surgery in his lower right abdomen in Munich, Germany. After playing in IPL 2025 and Mumbai T20 League, Suryakumar had been in Europe with his wife Devisha, before flying to Munich for the hernia operation.
“Life Update: Underwent surgery for a sports hernia in the lower right abdomen. Grateful to share that after a smooth surgery, I’m already on the road to recovery. Can’t wait to be back,” wrote Suryakumar on his Instagram account.This is the second time Suryakumar underwent a sports hernia surgery – he was operated on for a similar hernia issue in his groin in Munich on January 17, 2024. This came shortly after he had undergone surgery for an ankle injury he suffered during India’s tour of South Africa in December 2023.Suryakumar last played for India in the five-match T20I series against England which the hosts’ won by 4-1 margin earlier this year. The 34-year-old right-handed batter then amassed 717 runs from 16 innings for the Mumbai Indians to finish as the second leading run-scorer in IPL 2025.Though Mumbai Indians’ didn’t win IPL 2025, Suryakumar was adjudged as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the season for making the highest number of runs by a non-opening batter in an edition of the IPL. After a few weeks, Suryakumar will commence his recover and rehab programme at the BCCI Centre for Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.It remains to be seen if Suryakumar will recover and gain match fitness in time for India playing three T20Is against Bangladesh, set to happen in late August. The Indian team is also slated to play three ODIs in Bangladesh in the same month, a format where Suryakumar hasn’t played after the 2023 ODI World Cup Final against Australia in Ahmedabad.–IANSnr/bc

London, June 26 (IANS) India’s Mixed Disability Team held its nerve and sealed a thrilling…

Bridgetown, June 26 (IANS) West Indies fast bowler Jayden Seales termed his five-wicket haul against Australia on the opening day of the first Test in Barbados as his best effort yet in Test cricket.
Seales and fellow pacer Shamar Joseph ripped through the Australian batting order to dismiss the tourists for just 180, before the Aussies fought back to have the hosts reeling at 57/4 at stumps on Day 1 at Kensington Oval.It was the third time in his short international career that Seales has registered a five-wicket haul and the 23-year-old said it was his favourite one yet because he didn’t feel like he was in full control of what he wanted to do.”This is probably my best five-wicket haul because it wasn’t my best day and I didn’t feel at my best any time throughout the day. There were times I felt good, but throughout spells I didn’t feel like I was in full control of what I wanted to do or was executing or nailing my lengths and lines as consistently as I wanted, so this one is probably my most special one,” Seales was quoted by ICC.It was Joseph who did the early damage for the West Indies as he dismissed Sam Konstas and Cameron Green during a opening spell to help reduce Australia to 22/3 and it took a 89-run partnership from Travis Head and Usman Khawaja to wrest the momentum back from the West Indies quicks.”I think that’s what opened the game right up for us. Blowing away the top-order is the most important thing in this cricket, and that made it a lot easier for us in the middle and in the back end of the innings, so he did a fantastic job for us today,” Seales said of Joseph’s early spell.–IANSbc/

Seattle, June 26 (IANS) Second-half goals by Francesco Esposito and Alessandro Bastoni gave FC Internazionale Milano a 2-0 victory against 10-man CA River Plate at Lumen Field on Thursday, sealing top spot in Group E and a place in the last 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025.
With Monterrey scoring three first-half goals to take control in their win against Urawa Red Diamonds, Inter and River were left to battle for Group E’s remaining spot in the Round of 16.Inter created their first real chance in the 26th minute when Esposito was played into space in the box but had his shot blocked by Lucas Martinez Quarta. They had another good look at goal in the 32nd minute, but Lautaro Martinez pulled his strike wide of the far post.River continued their stout defending to keep the match scoreless at the break. Just before half-time, Inter’s Federico Dimarco fired a dangerous cross at the near post, but center-back Paulo Diaz made a lunging clearance to prevent Esposito from getting a toe on the ball, FIFA reports.River threatened the Inter goal in the 49th minute after Miguel Borja was fouled by Acerbi just outside the penalty area. Franco Mastantuono whipped in a free-kick and then an equally dangerous cross to force emergency clearances.Inter followed by turning up the pressure. The Italian side produced a stream of chances, the best coming in the 52nd minute when Diaz blocked Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s shot and in the 55th minute when goalkeeper Franco Armani denied Martinez’s close-range attempt.River was reduced to 10 men in the 65th minute. Mkhitaryan ran onto Denzel Dumfries’s long ball to break away but was taken down by Quarta, who was sent off for the denial of a goalscoring opportunity.The Inter breakthrough came seven minutes later. Substitute Petar Sucic played in Esposito, who had plenty of time in the box to blast his shot inside the right post.Alessandro Bastoni made it 2-0 Inter with a stunning strike three minutes into stoppage time as the Italians made sure of finishing first and booking that Charlotte showdown with Fluminense.Inter will now face Group F runners-up Fluminense FC in Charlotte on June 30.Elsewhere, with three goals in nine minutes, CF Monterrey saw off Urawa Red Diamonds to secure passage to the knockout stage. CF Monterrey pippedCA River PLate to second in Group E and will take on Borussia Dortmund in Atlanta on July 1.In another match, Fluminense FC have qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup knockout phase after battling out a tense goalless draw with Mamelodi Sundowns FC in Miami.The Brazilian side needed a point to book their place in the last 16 and they successfully shut out Sundowns, who required victory to extend their stay in the USA. Fluminense have advanced as Group F runners-up.–IANSbc/