Kolkata, Aug 8 (IANS) Saturday’s double-header on matchday 17 of the 134th Durand Cup could have a major say in the knockouts race with all the four teams slated for action fighting to take control of their groups and can potentially make it to the next round.In Kolkata, a mouth-watering Group B clash for group supremacy sees current B toppers Diamond Harbour FC take on the ISL champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan at 7:00 PM IST.Earlier at 4:00 PM IST in …

Birmingham, Aug 8 (IANS) Aston Villa have announced the signing of striker Evann Guessand from OGC Nice for a reported fee of 26 million pound plus 4.3 million in add-ons, rounding the fee to 30 million.Guessand came through the ranks at the French club and enjoyed a 2024/25 campaign where he scored 12 goals, helping Nice finish fourth in Ligue 1.The 24-year-old cited the Villa boss as a major factor in his decision to join the club, and is confident Emery will bring the best out of him and help…

Chennai, Aug 8 (IANS) Hockey Punjab was crowned as the champions of the 15th Hockey India Sub Junior Men National Championship 2025 as they won the final of Division ‘A’ defeating Hockey Jharkhand 4-3 on Friday. The match between Hockey Jharkhand and Hockey Punjab was a closely contested final, with both teams fighting till the final whistle. Hockey Jharkhand started the second quarter strongly, scoring two back-to-back goals through Ashish Tani Purti (21′) and Anish Dungdung (24′). However,…

Leicester, Aug 8 (IANS) English Premier League side Leicester City have confirmed that an agreement has been reached with Turkish Super Lig side Besiktas for the permanent transfer of long-serving midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi, subject to international clearance.The Nigerian midfielder joins Besiktas on a three-year contract with an option to extend by one more year. The Turkish side confirmed that both clubs reached an agreement over a sum of eight million Euros.Wilfred joined Leicester from Belgia…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) India’s top jockey Suraj Narredu, a four-time winner of the Indian Derby, the country’s most prestigious horse race, is all set to once again take his skills to foreign shores when he captains Team Asia in the Shergar Cup in Dubai.The Narredu clan has been bringing laurels to the country in the horse racing realm since the 1980s. Inspired by his father Satish’s journey and uplifted by his uncle Malesh’s performance at Ascot sixteen years ago, Suraj Narredu, who has wo…

Memphis (USA), Aug 8 (IANS) Akshay Bhatia was on fire at TPC Southwind, carding a career-best 8-under 62 to take the outright lead after the opening round of the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first leg of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs.The 23-year-old Bhatia, already a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, delivered a stellar performance marked by seven birdies and an eagle against one bogey. He made the turn at 4-under, then picked up another birdie on the 11th before briefly slipping w…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) Less than a year after a much talked about reunion with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), veteran off-spinner Ravichandran is likely to enter the mini auction ahead of the 2026 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after parting ways with the five-time championship winning side.Sources tracking the development have confirmed to IANS on Friday that Ashwin is indeed moving on from CSK, a franchise who he represented from 2008-2015 and became a two-time IPL winner. “It’…

Hyderabad, Aug 8 (IANS) The makers of director Srikanth Odela’s eagerly awaited action thriller, ‘The Paradise’, on Friday evening delighted fans of actor Nani by releasing a second poster of the actor, who plays a character called Jadel in the film. Taking to his X timeline to share the second poster of Nani from the film, director Srikanth Odela wrote, “My JADAL. @NameisNani Anna. His ATTITUDE. The world may be against him, and the world may end. He shall face it all ALONE. He will rise li…

Chennai, Aug 8 (IANS) Actress Disco Shanthi Srihari, a popular actress of the Tamil film industry in the eighties and nineties, has now made a comeback to Tamil cinema after a period of almost 28 years with director Innasi Pandiyan’s supernatural thriller film, ‘Bullet’, featuring actors Raghava Lawrence and his brother Elviin in the lead. Shanthi, who has not acted in films since 1997, appears to have played the role of a soothsayer in this film, the teaser of which was released on Friday by ac…

Beijing, Aug 8 (IANS) China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday defended the country’s economic, trade and energy cooperation with nations around the world, including Russia, terming it “legitimate and legal.” Speaking to reporters during a regular media briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun reaffirmed Beijing’s stand to take energy security measures based on national interests.When asked about US President Donald Trump’s statement that he might impose secondary tariffs …