PCB Appoints Yasir Arafat as High Performance Coach
Pakistan appointed former allrounder Yasir Arafat its national cricket team high performance coach, in another staffing shake-up for the embattled side after a tumultuous year.
Arafat will take the helm from Simon Helmot.
Arafat played three Tests, 11 ODIs and 13 T20Is for Pakistan and was a Twenty20 cricketer in England, where he served as bowling coach for Sussex and Surrey.
Sony Sports Ropes in Kartik Aaryan as Brand Ambassador for Football
Sony Sports Network (SSN) kicked off a new era of football enthusiasm in India by appointing Bollywood heartthrob Kartik Aaryan as its official brand ambassador for the beautiful game. This strategic partnership aims to bring football closer to a wider Indian audience and ignite passion for the sport across generations.
Aaryan, known for his electrifying performances on screen, is an admitted football fanatic. His love for the sport, rooted in his youth and fuelled by unwavering support for Real Madrid, resonates deeply with millions of Indian football enthusiasts.
Coca-Cola Renews its Partnership with ICC for another Eight Years
International Cricket Council (ICC) and Coca-Cola extended their partnership for the next eight years. The new deal would run till 2031, when India and Bangladesh would jointly host the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.
The renewed deal is among the longest-ever associations between ICC and a single brand. With the latest deal, the Coca-Cola and ICC partnership will span a total timeline of 13 years, from 2019 to 2031. The Atlanta-based beverage major entered into a four-year partnership with the ICC in 2019.
The agreement includes partnership for all men's and women's events, which include the ICC Cricket World Cups, ICC T20 World Cups, and ICC Champions Trophies through the end of 2031.
Dec 26, 2023
Anmol Kharb Wins Women's Singles Title at National Badminton Championships in Guwahati
Anmol Kharb won the women's singles title at the National Badminton Championships 2023 in Guwahati. The teenager lost the first game of the final to Tanvi Sharma but fought back to level the score.
The men's singles title clash unseeded Chirag Sen secured the national title after defeating fourth-seed Tharun M.
In the mixed doubles summit clash, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto defeated the sixth-seeded duo of Nitin Kumar-Navdha Manglam 21-13, 21-8 to claim their maiden national title.
Priya Devi Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra lifted the women's doubles title with a win over Ritika Thaker-Simran Singh. The men's doubles final was an edge-of-the-seat thriller where K Pruthvi Roy-Suraj Goala caused an upset by defeating Krishna Prasad Garaga-Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala.
Kiyana, Harsh Win Gold in Asian Youth Chess Championships
Two Indian youngsters, Kiyana Parihar (U-8 Girls) and Harsh Suresh (U-16 open) won gold medals in the 25th Asian Youth Chess Championships (Classical), held at Al Ain Convention Centre in UAE.
Three Indians, AS Sharvaanica (U-8 Girls), Aarit Kapil (U-8 Open) and G Tejaswini (U-18 Girls), won silver medals in their respective classical championships, while Aadya Ranganath won a bronze in the U-10 girls category.
Dec 25, 2023
Indian Sports Ministry Suspends Newly Elected Wrestling Federation of India Body Headed by Sanjay...
The Ministry of Sports, India suspended the newly elected Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) body headed by Chief Sanjay Singh. The suspension came after WFI failed to follow the provisions of the constitution of WFI while announcing a hasty plan to host the wrestling nationals.
The WFI had announced the plans to hold the nationals for U-15 and U-20 age group before the end of ongoing year, that is, in the next seven days.
The ministry, in its statement said the announcement was made in 'haste' as it didn't give the wrestlers sufficient notice. The ministry also found the decision to hold nationals on such short notice in breach of the WFI constitution.
The ministry also observed that the newly elected body "appears to be in complete control of former office bearers in complete disregard to the Sports Code."
India Records Maiden Women's Test Victory against Australia
India registered their first victory against Australia in a women's Test match following their comprehensive eight-wicket win in the one-off contest at Wankhede Stadium.
A significant first-innings lead of 187 had put India in the box seat and they needed only 75 runs to clinch the contest after bowling out Australia for 261 in the touring side's second innings.
England Ropes in Kieron Pollard in Coaching Staff for 2024 T20 World Cup
Veteran West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard was appointed England's assistant coach for next year's T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA, scheduled from June 4 to 30. Having retired from the international circuit in April 2022, Pollard will be part of England's backroom staff to provide expertise on the local conditions.
Pollard represented West Indies in more than 100 T20Is since his debut in 2007. He was part of their maiden T20 World Cup-winning campaign in 2012 in Sri Lanka. Having missed out on playing the 2016 edition in India, which they won for the second time, Pollard captained his national team in the 2021 edition in the UAE.
Dec 24, 2023
India Beat France to Record Lone Win in Five-nation Hockey
Captain Harmanpreet Singh and Jugraj Singh struck a brace each as the Indian men's hockey team beat France 5-4 in its fourth and final match to notch up its lone win in the 5 Nations Tournament Valencia 2023. India had lost 0-1 to Spain, 2-7 to Belgium and 2-3 to Germany.
Former Proteas Captain Dean Elgar to Retire after IND-SA Test in Cape Town
Former South Africa Test captain Dean Elgar will retire after the two-match Test series against India. South Africa vs India 2nd Test, starting January 3, is going to be his last Test match.
Elgar said that the Cape Town Test is going to be his last as he termed the New Lands' stadis his favourite. Elgar had made his Test debut in Cape Town and he is hoping to score the last at the same venue.
Dec 23, 2023
Football: Manchester City Wins Maiden FIFA Club World Cup
Manchester City won the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time to end 2023 with five trophies after a 4-0 win over Fluminense in Jeddah.
The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 2000 as the FIFA Club World Championship. It was not held from 2001 to 2004 due to a combination of factors.
In 2005, the Intercontinental Cup was merged with the FIFA Club World Championship, and in 2006, the tournament was renamed as the FIFA Club World Cup.
WFI Writes to UWW for Lifting Suspension
The newly-elected body of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) requested the world governing body UWW to lift the ban imposed on it and also announced that it will host the senior National Championships from January 28 in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar.
The United World Wrestling (UWW) had suspended WFI in August 2023 for not holding timely elections that were delayed due to various court cases.