Parapat (Indonesia), Aug 9 (IANS) Hot favourite Gaurav Gill came out blazing at the Sumatera Utara Rally of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), winning the opening two stages in commanding fashion to establish a lead of nearly 30 seconds before cruel luck struck in Special Stage 3 with a mechanical failure that forced him to retire for the day, near here, on Saturday.Bopaiah K.M. kept Indian hopes alive in the premier RC2 class. Making a comeback after six years, the Kodagu driver ro…

Kokrajhar, Aug 9 (IANS) Local side Bodoland FC stunned ISL club Punjab FC in front of their home fans through a second-half strike by Colombian striker Robinson Blandon Rendon to go on top of Group D of the 134th Durand Cup, which was played here at the SAI Stadium. With this loss, last year’s quarterfinalists, Punjab FC, were eliminated from the tournament after ending the group stage campaign with four points from two matches, while Bodoland FC have six points from two matches.Bodoland FC He…

Madrid, Aug 9 (IANS) With La Liga due to kick off the 2025-26 season in less than a week, last year’s top four teams are all at slightly different points in their respective preparations. Domestic and European competitions hardly gave any respite ahead of next summer’s FIFA World Cup finals.Reigning La Liga and Copa del Rey champion FC Barcelona have made two signings in striker Marcus Rashford and goalkeeper Joan Garcia, but have so far not been able to register either that pair or Gerard Marti…

Kolkata, Aug 9 (IANS) Mohun Bagan Super Giant overcame Diamond Harbour FC 5-1 in dominant fashion in the Group B decider to storm into the quarterfinals of the 134th Durand Cup, which was played at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Saturday.Anirudh Thapa gave the Mariners the lead, but Luka Majcen equalised after five minutes. However, Mohun Bagan took control after that, with Jamie Maclaren, Liston Colaco, Sahal Abdul Samad, and Jason Cummings scoring and ensuring that they qualifi…

Kohima, Aug 9 (IANS) The five Tribes Committee on Review of Reservation Policy (CoRRP), which has been agitating in Nagaland for the past several months demanding a review of the state’s job reservation policy, on Saturday announced that it would boycott all state government functions, including the forthcoming Independence Day celebrations in the state. The CoRRP, comprising five backward Naga tribes, earlier on August 7 rejected the state cabinet decision to constitute a 7-member Job Reservati…

Bhopal, Aug 9 (IANS) In a major stride towards self-reliant infrastructure development, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will lay the foundation of a state-of-the-art railway coach manufacturing unit in Madhya Pradesh’s Raisen district on Sunday. The facility, to be set up with an estimated investment of Rs 1,800 crore by Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), will produce coaches for Vande Bharat, Amrit Bharat, and metro trains, marking a significant milestone for Madhya Pradesh and the country’s …

Imphal/Agartala, Aug 9 (IANS) BJP’s ally Tipra Motha Party (TMP) supremo Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma on Saturday urged all indigenous people of the Northeast to remain united to resolve their demands, ethnic crisis and issues. Debbarma, who is on a visit to Manipur’s capital Imphal to attend an event organised in connection with the World Indigenous Day, said that the government of India has done a lot, but they need to do more. “The national parties should not do politics with the emoti…

Chengdu (China), Aug 9 (IANS) Alexey Glukhov and Anastasia Glazunova of Moldova claimed the standard dance gold medal at The World Games 2025 here on Saturday. The pair finished with 196.58 points to top the final at the Chengbei Gymnasium in Chengdu, the capital city of southwest China’s Sichuan Province.Rares Cojoc and Andreea Matei of Romania took silver with 193.00, while Poland’s Dariusz Mycka and Madara Freiberga earned bronze with 188.04.Making their first World Games appearance, Glukhov,…

New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS) Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson credited India head coach Gautam Gambhir for backing him to succeed in T20Is, and revealed him saying that he would only be dropped from the team if he registered 21 ducks.With Gambhir taking charge as India’s head coach after the T20 World Cup win and Suryakumar Yadav appointed as the captain, Samson was given the opportunity to open the batting and has formed a formidable opening pair with left-handed batter Abhishek Sharma.“So, sudd…

New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS) SpaceX has safely brought back four astronauts from the U.S., Japan, and Russia back on Earth, said NASA on Saturday. NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov returned to Earth after spending about 148 days on the International Space Station (ISS).The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying the four-person crew splashed down off the coast of San Diego, California, at …