Nihal Sarin playing for American Gambits (GCL Photo) BENGALURU: The Chess Olympiad is already on Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin’s mind, but not quite yet. With India preparing to defend its Open title in Samarkand, Uzbekistan later this month, Nihal is excited about representing the country at the Olympiad. For now, though, the 22-year-old is keeping…
France’s Kylian Mbappe (10) walks off the pitch during the World Cup third-place playoff soccer match between France and England in Miami Gardens, Fla., Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) Kylian Mbappé has made it clear he has no intention of playing down his chances of winning the Ballon d’Or.The Real Madrid striker believes…
America’s Levon Aronian and Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi BENGALURU: For most of the 20th century, the Chess Olympiad was one of the few arenas where the Cold War actually played out on a board. The Soviet Union treated the biennial team event as a matter of state prestige, fielding lineups stacked with world champions and winning…
Ab de Villiers and Babar Azam (Agency Image) Pakistan’s recent struggles have sparked plenty of criticism of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), but former South Africa captain AB de Villiers believes the players themselves must also take responsibility for the team’s alarming performances.The Babar Azam-led Pakistan side endured a miserable start to its England tour,…
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty (Image credit: BAI) NEW DELHI: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have built a reputation for doing things the hard way. They fall behind, regroup, and more often than not, find a way back.On Sunday in Shenzhen, that familiar script delivered one of their most important victories of the season. The…
Roger Federer receives his Hall of Fame ring at the U.S. Open. (AP Photo) Roger Federer’s career was built on numbers that seem almost impossible to comprehend.Twenty Grand Slam titles. One hundred and three tour-level trophies. Three hundred and ten weeks as the world No. 1, including 237 consecutive weeks at the top. Five successive…
Pakistan’s Babar Azam celebrates after taking a catch to dismiss England’s Ben Duckett during the second Test at the Lord’s against England. (AP) NEW DELHI: The ghost of match-fixing has returned to haunt the Pakistan cricket team and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) during the ongoing three-match Test series against England. After losing the second…
Ishan Kishan (Image credit: BCCI Domestic) Ishan Kishan produced a superb batting performance in difficult humid conditions as East Zone posted a huge 708 against South Zone on the second day of the Duleep Trophy final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Monday. Kishan scored a massive 270, once again showing the selectors…
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli (BCCI Photo) New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner is expecting a tough challenge when India’s ODI specialists Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma return to New Zealand later this year. Kohli and Rohit now play only ODI cricket and will be back in action when India tour New Zealand for five ODIs,…
Fatima Sana (Image credit: ACC) Pakistan captain Fatima Sana has been fined 10 per cent of her match fee and given one demerit point for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the Women’s Asia Cup match against India.Pakistan lost the Group A match by seven wickets at the Dubai International Stadium on Saturday.The International…