Three months after former world champion Nozomi Okuhara hammered PV Sindhu in straight games at the Singapore Open semi-finals, the Indian returned the favour by coming out on top in Jakarta.
Fifth seeded Sindhu beat the Japanese third seed 21-14, 21-7 in 44 minutes to move into the semifinals of the $1.25 million Indonesia Open.
This was the Hyderabadi's eight victory in 15 meetings, and first this year in two face-offs, over the world No 2 Okuhara.
The only Indian left in the BWF World Tour Super 1000 tournament, world No 5 Sindhu was challenged stroke for stroke at the start by Okuhara.
However, from 6-6 Sindhu took off, never losing the lead to close the game in about 25 minutes.
The four-time World Championship medallist was even more comprehensive in the second game, leading from the start till the mid-game break at 11-6.
Sindhu lost the next point but won the next 10 successive points to smash the confidence of her opponent and pocket the second game and contest quickly.
The Rio Olympics silver medallist will next face upcoming Chinese sensation and third seed Chen Yufei, who has a 3-4 record against the Indian.
Stokes Nominated for New Zealander of the Year Award
After ripping the heart out of New Zealand's bleary-eyed cricket fans with a Man-of-the-Match performance in the World Cup final, England all-rounder Ben Stokes has now been nominated for the New Zealander of the Year award.
The 28-year-old Stokes was born in New Zealand but grew up in England when his father Gerard moved there to take a rugby league coaching job.
Stokes remained in England when his parents returned home and carved out a successful cricketing career, scoring 84 not out in the final that helped his side to their maiden 50-over World Cup title at Lord's.
Nominations for the award only opened on July 1 and close on September 15. A shortlist is confirmed in December with the winner named next February.
The award is typically given to prominent members of the community with comedian Mike King, who has become a mental health and suicide prevention advocate, the most recent to receive the award.
The last sportsman to win it was former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw in 2016 after he led the side to their second successive Rugby World Cup title towards the end of 2015.
SL to Sack Coaches over Cup Failure
Sri Lanka's sports minister has ordered the sacking of the national cricket coach after a lacklustre World Cup campaign that saw just three wins from nine games.
Chandika Hathurusingha and his assistants would be fired after Sri Lanka's upcoming oneday series against Bangladesh.
Tendulkar, Donald Inducted into ICC Hall of Fame
Sachin Tendulkar was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame along with South Africa fast bowling great Allan Donald and Australia's twice World Cupwinning woman player Cathryn Fitzpatrick.
Tendulkar is the sixth Indian to receive the honour, after Sunil Gavaskar, Bishan Singh Bedi, Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid.
Donald took 330 Test and 272 ODI wickets before retiring in 2003.
Fitzpatrick is the second highest wicket-taker of all time with 180 ODI scalps and 60 Test wickets. She also coached the Australia women's team to three World Cups.
India Top Standings after Aishwarya's record
Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar shot down the men's rifle 3 positions junior world record on way to gold, helping India top the medals tally in the Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany. India finished with 10 gold, nine silver and five bronze.
The youngster aggregated 1171 in qualification where a shooter fires 40 shots each in the kneeling, prone and standing positions.
His score was enough for a fourth place in a field of 72 where the top eight made it to the medal round.
In the finals, Aishwarya began strongly and finished with a resounding victory.
He also ensured India topped the medals tally, something a Chinese 1-2 in the event could have jeopardised. China finished second with eight gold and 24 medals in all.
Jul 19, 2019
Zimbabwe Cricket Suspended
The International Cricket Council (ICC) decided to suspend Zimbabwe cricket with immediate effect.
This decision which was taken at the ICC Annual Conference in London was approved following a failure to fulfil their obligation of providing free and democratic elections, with no government interference in administration.
This suspension resulted in funding from the ICC being suspended with participation in ICC events including the upcoming Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier under threat.
Sachin Tendulkar Inducted into ICC Hall of Fame
Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was inducted into the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Hall of fame at a ceremony in London.
South African pacer Allan Donald and former Australian cricketer Cathryn Fitzpatrick were inducted as well.
The 46-year-old became the sixth Indian to be included in the elite group, after Sunil Gavaskar, Bishan Bedi, Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid.
Indonesia Open
Top Indian shuttler P. V. Sindhu fought hard to progress to the women's singles quarterfinals but it was curtains for Kidambi Srikanth in the men's singles event of the Indonesia Open
Sindhu, seeded fifth defeated unseeded Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark in a second-round encounter.
Eight seeded Srikanth was stunned by NG Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong in a 39-minute second round contest.
Sindhu would next face the winner of the match between Malaysia's Soniia Cheh and-third seeded Japanese Nozomi Okuhara in the last-eight round of the BWF World Tour Super 1000 tournament.
Jul 18, 2019
Qatar in India's Qualifying Group
India have been drawn alongside Oman, South Asian rivals Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Asian champions Qatar in the preliminary joint qualification Round 2 of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.
While Qatar will play the 2022 World Cup as hosts, they will have the chance of booking their place for the 2023 Asian Cup in China by topping this group.
In case they win their 2nd round group, Qatar will be given the choice of playing the third round, subject to FIFA approval.
Held in Kuala Lumpur, the draw saw 40 teams being divided across eight groups of five each. The eight group winners from this round as well as four of the best second place finishers will progress to the third round of World Cup qualifying and also seal berths in the 2023 Asian Cup main rounds.
The rest of the teams will fight it out for the remaining 12 spots for the Asian Cup.
India have played only one competitive fixture against Qatar in the past, losing 6-0 in a World Cup qualifier in 1996.
They have played Oman on more occasions, however, including twice in the World Cup qualifiers in 2015. India lost both those games — 2-1 at home and 3-0 away.
North Korea and South Korea are drawn together in Group H. The two teams had been drawn together in two stages of the 2010 World Cup qualifying as well.
At the time, North Korea's home games against their southern rivals were shifted to Shanghai after the country refused to play the national anthem and fly the national flag of South Korea.
Inzamam Steps Down as Pak Selector
Inzamam-ul-Haq announced his decision to step down as Pakistan's chief selector when his contract expires on July 31, 2019.
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam, who was appointed to the role in April 2016, oversaw a period which included Pakistan's victory in the Champions Trophy two years ago.
Inzamam's final assignment was to select the Pakistan squad for the World Cup, where the Sarfaraz Ahmed-led team finished fifth in the group stage and failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
During Inzamam's tenure, players such as Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Abbas, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi and Usman Shinwari made their international debut.
Anish Wins 25m Rapid Fire Gold
Anish Bhanwala won his second ISSF Junior World Cup gold in the men's 25m rapid fire pistol, consolidating India's position at the top of the standings in Suhl, Germany.
Anish shot a solid 584 in qualification to top the charts. In the final, Anish led from the front and never shot below three hits out of five in each of the 10 series of shots.
Agneya Kaushik combined with Rajkanwar Singh Sandhu and Udhayveer Sidhu to win the team bronze with a total of 1709. India won two more medals on the day in the 10m air rifle mixed team junior.
The pair of Shreya Agrawal and Yash Vardhan won silver. Mehuli Ghosh and Hriday Hazarika won the bronze.
India now has eight gold, eight silver and four bronze from the tournament for a total of 20 medals.
Hima Das Clinches Fourth Gold
Indian sprinter Hima Das clinched her fourth gold in a fortnight as she won the 200m race with a creditable timing in the Tabor Athletics Meet in Czech Republic.
Hima won the race in 23.25 seconds, which had a mediocre field with most of the competitors representing clubs of Czech Republic. Compatriot VK Vismaya was second with a season's best of 23.43. Hima has a 200m personal best of 23.10 seconds.
This was 19-year-old Hima's fourth gold since July 2, 2019 when she ran her first competitive race in Europe. She has been improving since her first race.
Jul 17, 2019
Australia Targets T20 World Cup in 2020
Australia is banking big on women and men T20 cricket world cups in 2020 to achieve the mark of half million tourists in a year, a target which it had set for 2022.
With a record 3,64,600 visitors in 2018-19, Tourism Australia is in talks with airports in Australia and Indian airlines to increase the capacity between two countries.
According to the data provided by Tourism Australia, visitors from Delhi and Maharashtra contribute heavily to the tourist inflow and with 7.5 lakh Indians living there, the Australian government is hopeful to achieve 5 lakh tourist by the end of 2020.
Since last five years, the island nation has seen double digit growth in Indian visitors every year with majority of them visiting Canberra and South Australia.
Jul 16, 2019
India to ISSF World Cup 2020
The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) confirmed the dates, March 15 to 26, for the World Cup in rifle, pistol and shot gun to be hosted at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, New Delhi in 2020.
This will be preceded by the Shotgun World Cup in Nicosia, Cyprus, from March 4 to 13, 2020.
The World Cup in rifle, pistol and shotgun, a test event for the Olympics, will be staged in Tokyo from April 15 to 27, 2020.
It will be followed by the World Cup in rifle and pistol in Munich, Germany, from June 2 to 9, 2019, and the combined World Cup for all three events in Baku, Azerbaijan, from June 22 to July 3, 2019.
BCCI to Invite Fresh Applications for Support Staff
The BCCI would soon invite fresh applications for the Indian cricket team's support staff, including the head coach, and incumbent Ravi Shastri would need to reapply once his contract expires after August 2019 tour of the West Indies.
The support staff comprising Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun, batting coach Sanjay Bangar and fielding coach R. Sridhar were given a 45-day extension following the World Cup, covering the West Indies tour from August 3 to September 3, 2019.
All of them can reapply but the team is set to have a new trainer and physio after the departure of Shankar Basu and Patrick Farhart respectively following India's semifinal exit in the World Cup.
ICC World Cup XI
Tournament top-scorer Rohit Sharma and pacer Jasprit Bumrah were the only Indians named in the ICC's World Cup XI, captained by New Zealand's admirable skipper Kane Williamson and dominated by champions England.
Player of the Tournament Williamson leads a team that includes six players from the dramatic final (2019) at the Lord's.
Newly-crowned world champions England are the most represented with four players in the XI while runners-up New Zealand have two in the team, named by a panel selected by the ICC to honour all those who performed well in the tournament.
The other representatives come from the losing semi-finalists India and Australia, who have two each, while Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan rounds out the team.