Chengdu (China), Aug 7 (IANS) India’s compound archery mixed team of Madhura Dhamangaonkar and veteran Abhishek Verma topped the qualification to be seeded first at the World Games here on Thursday.Madhura, who was the winner of the World Cup stage in Shanghai earlier this year, was leading the women’s field for much of the afternoon but fell away in the last couple of ends to be placed third in the women’s individual section, while Abhishek was placed fifth in the men’s individual.However, Madh…

Bulawayo, Aug 7 (IANS) Veteran batter Brendan Taylor said it was incredibly difficult for him to stay away from Zimbabwe’s national team after he made a successful comeback to international cricket after four years on Thursday. Taylor returned to Zimbabwe’s XI in the second test against New Zealand after serving a three-and-a-half-year ban for breaching the ICC’s anti-corruption code.”How good is it that three years ago, I couldn’t get out of bed and now I am here doing what I love, and that’s r…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) Hosts India have been drawn with Islamic Republic of Iran, Palestine, Chinese Taipei and Lebanon in Group D of the AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026 Qualifiers, following the draw conducted at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday.Ahmedabad’s The Arena will host Group D of the Qualifiers from November 22 to 30, 2025.India will begin the Qualifiers with a clash against Palestine on November 22 before taking on Chinese Taipei on November 26, Lebanon on Nove…

Dundee (Scotland), Aug 7 (IANS) Scotland will take part in the ICC U19 Men’s World Cup after defeating the Netherlands by 20 runs in the final Europe Qualifier. Chasing 238 for a World Cup spot, the Netherlands were well-placed at 108/3 despite losing two early wickets to Finlay Jones (4/41), who was the main architect of the Scotland win.Off-spinner Manu Saraswat (3/43) arrested the runflow of the visitors and Ollie Jones removed the crucial wicket of Tom De Leede (67), who was threatening to r…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) With stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma stepping away from Tests, expectations were understandably cautious around how a young Indian side led by Shubman Gill would handle the challenge of a five-match series in England. Only eight members of the squad had previously played Tests in England. Adding to the uncertainty was India’s pre-decided plan to field Jasprit Bumrah in just three of the five Tests – a move that raised questions about the bowling unit’s ability …

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) On a cloudy Monday morning, The Oval resembled a colosseum. Spectators held their breath, waiting to see which way the final game of Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series would tilt – in favour of India or England? When Mohammed Siraj charged in to bowl the first ball of the 86th over, just six runs stood between India and a famous win. On his 1,113th delivery of the series, he unleashed his fifth-fastest ball of the tour — a 143 kmph yorker that evaded Gus Atkinson’s at…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) Defending champions Saint Lucia Kings have named veteran Namibian international David Wiese as the captain for the upcoming season of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), starting August 14. The allrounder joined the franchise in 2022 and returned once again last season, where he played a key role in helping Kings win the trophy. Coming down the lower-middle order to bat, Wiese scored crucial 121 runs in 11 games at an explosive strike rate of 168.05 and an average of 40…

New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) Former AIFF general secretary Shaji Prabhakaran believes the ongoing deadlock over the scheduling of the 2025–26 Indian Super League (ISL) season is likely to be resolved following Thursday’s scheduled meeting between the national federation and ISL club CEOs. Amid the uncertainty over the future of India’s top-flight football tournament, many ISL clubs have suspended their first-team operations for an indefinite time.”We can expect the end of this impasse as the powe…

London, Aug 7 (IANS) Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admitted that his side were guilty of naive defending, which ultimately cost them in a 3-2 friendly defeat to Villarreal – their second consecutive pre-season loss. After opening their pre-season campaign with wins over AC Milan and Newcastle United, Arsenal suffered a setback against Tottenham Hotspur and followed it up with another defeat on Wednesday, going 2-0 down within the first 33 minutes at the Emirates Stadium against the Spanish side.”…

Burnley, Aug 7 (IANS) French midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu reflected on his move from Chelsea to Burnley for an undisclosed fee and said joining the Clarets is the perfect decision for him at this stage of his career. The talented 21-year-old has signed a five-year contract at Turf Moor after Burnley beat off stiff competition from around the Premier League and Europe for his signature. In putting pen to paper, Ugochukwu becomes the seventh addition to Scott Parker’s squad this summer.“It’s …