Category: Sports

Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick, leading Paris Saint-Germain to a 3-0 victory over Reims in Ligue 1 on November 11 and propelling his team to the top of the French professional league football championship.

Mbappe opened the scoring in the third minute and added two more goals in the second half, securing PSG’s win. This victory moved the reigning champions to the summit, one point ahead of Nice, who drew with Montpellier on November 10. Mbappe is Ligue 1’s leading scorer with 13 goals in 11 appearances this season; he has also scored twice in European competition.

In Saturday’s match, PSG’s goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma made outstanding saves, denying Reims any chance of a comeback. The Italian player made seven saves to keep the opponents at bay.

Reims was denied an equaliser when Junya Ito’s fine goal was disallowed for offside. Later in the game, Ito was once again stopped by Donnarumma, who also made a superb reaction save from Amir Richardson before halftime and stopped a Marshall Munetsi header in the 56th minute.

The Ligue 1 team Nice is still unbeaten this season after its stalemate on November 10 in Montpellier, and it has still not been behind in a single game this season.

Australia’s cricket captain, Meg Lanning, has decided to retire from international cricket after an illustrious career that saw her secure seven World Cup titles in 241 matches. The 31-year-old athlete, who participated in six tests, 103 one-day internationals, and 132 Twenty20 internationals, will continue her cricket journey in the domestic scene, focusing on both Australia and possibly India.

Lanning expressed the difficulty of the decision in a statement on November 9 made at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The cricketer, who was born in Singapore when her father worked as a banker there, became emotional when thanking her parents, Wayne and Sue, during the farewell press conference.

During her international career, Lanning made 8,352 runs, including 17 centuries and 38 half-centuries, since her debut in 2010. In her second one-day international (ODI), she became the youngest Australian to score an international century at the age of 18, a record she still holds.

Appointed as captain in 2014 at the age of 21, Lanning led Australia in 182 matches, the most by any woman cricketer. She leaves behind one of Australia’s most successful international teams. In her final international match, Lanning led Australia to victory in the 2023 T20 World Cup against South Africa in February.

Virat Kohli celebrated his 35th birthday with a record-equalling 49th one-day international (ODI) century to help India beat South Africa by 243 runs at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on November 5.

Kohli scored 101 not out off 121 balls — to move level in the all-time ODI ton table with India batting legend Sachin Tendulkar — as he powered Team India to 326-5 in 50 overs. The batter added 134 runs off 158 balls for the third wicket with Shreyas Iyer who scored 77 off 87.

Facing the best bowling attack in the tournament so far, South Africa crashed to 83 all out in just 27.1 overs — its second-lowest total in ODIs.

Both India and South Africa have already qualified for the semifinals, being the top two sides in the points’ table.

India is the only undefeated side in the tournament with eight consecutive wins, and sits atop the table with 16 points. South Africa has 12 points with six wins in eight games.

In Sunday’s match, Ravindra Jadeja picked up his ODI best 5-33 in nine overs; Mohammed Shami returned figure of 2-18 in four overs, and Kuldeep Yadav took 2-7 in 5.1 overs.

The Indian women’s hockey team defeated Japan 4-0 to win the Asian Champions Trophy in the final at Ranchi, Jharkhand, India on November 5.

India’s Sangita Kumari (17th min), Neha Goyal (46th), Lalremsiami (57th) and Vandana Katariya (60th) scored the four goals, as the national team claimed the continental crown for the second time. India won its maiden Asian Champions Trophy title in 2016 in Singapore, while Japan has bagged the crown twice, in 2013 and 2021.

The recent win is India’s first title since December 2022 after the team lifted the FIH Nations Cup in Valencia to qualify for the Pro League.

The Indian men’s team won the continental tournament at Chennai in August.

Skipper Savita Punia was brilliant in goal as she saved three successive penalty corner (PC) opportunities. She also saved a penalty stroke in the final quarter. India scored their second goal via a PC variation as Deepika passed to Deep Grace Ekka, who struck the ball and Neha, in front of the goal, scored. The team scored their third goal when Lalremsiami scored via a PC. Vandana rounded it off in the final minute.

China beat South Korea 2-1 in the third place playoff.

The top seven cricket teams at the end of the league stage of the ongoing Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 in India will qualify for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, besides hosts Pakistan, to compete in the eight-team event.

The 2025 ICC Champions Trophy is one of the eight men’s global tournaments that are scheduled to be held in 2024-31. In November 2021, the ICC unveiled several global events for both men and women in the 2023-24 cycle, including the 2025 and 2029 editions of the ICC Champions Trophy.

The selection process for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy also means that other Full Member nations such as West Indies, Zimbabwe, and Ireland will not even have the opportunity to qualify for the championship, since the teams failed to qualify for the ongoing 2023 ODI World Cup.

For the 2027 men’s ODI World Cup, which will be a 14-team tournament co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, two Full Member hosts – South Africa and Zimbabwe – and eight highest-ranked teams as of March 31, 2027, and four remaining teams through global qualifier tournaments will qualify.

The 2013 and 2017 editions of the Champions Trophy witnessed the top eight teams in the ODI rankings qualify for the event.

Singapore defeated Papua New Guinea 59-56 in the netball final of the Mirxes Nations Cup at the OCBC Arena on October 28, ending a 16-year title drought. This was Singapore’s third title and first since the 2007 championship. The team also won the inaugural competition in 2006.

The last time Singapore won the title was in 2007, after defeating Trinidad and Tobago 56-32. It is the first country to win the Cup three times, surpassing Sri Lanka and Cook Islands, both of whom are placed higher in the netball world rankings.

Singapore had lost to Papua New Guinea 52-50 in the tournament opener. In the final match, its goal-shooter Amandeep Kaur Chahal converted 44 of 50 goal attempts. The young player was one of four players in the starting line-up aged 24 and under; the other three players are aged 27.

In the opening 15 minutes of the final match, the Papuans ended the quarter with an 18-16 lead. However, the hosts were calm and changed the momentum of the match during a four-minute spell in the second period.

The Singaporeans scored seven points in succession and went into half-time with a 35-26 advantage. After three quarters, the team widened the gap to 48-37. The visitor retaliated, outscoring Singapore 19-11 in the final quarter, but the hosts held on to prevail.

South Africa won the 2023 Rugby World Cup final beating New Zealand by 12-11 in an enthralling match at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris, on October 28.

The seven-week, 20-team, 48-game rugby extravaganza ended with South Africa winning a record-breaking fourth Rugby World Cup (RWC). With Saturday’s win, it became only the second team to retain the title. It has never been beaten in a RWC final, and continues to be the only team that has beaten the All Blacks at that stage, now for the second time.

Handre Pollard scored all of South Africa’s points to retain their RWC title in Paris. The team won by a point in each of the quarter-final, semi-final, and final matches. Pollard only joined the team on September 18, after he missed out initial selection. He was awarded a place in the team due to Malcolm Marx’s injury.

New Zealand missed out on being the first to four by the slimmest of margins in the final. All Blacks captain Sam Cane had to watch most of it from the sidelines after he was sent off in the game.

Teenage armless archer Sheetal Devi achieved a historic feat by becoming the first Indian woman to secure two gold medals in a single edition of the Asian Para Games. Indian para-athletes on October 28 created history with a record-breaking 111 medals at Hangzhou Asian Para Games.

Indian para athletes have now achieved most medals for the country in any major international multi-sport event. They won 29 gold, 31 silver, and 51 bronze medals, placing fifth in the medal count.

India surpassed 2018’s best Asian Para Games tally of 72 medals, earning 39 more medals, and athletics accounting for 55 of India’s total of 111 medals. “We have made history, our para athletes have made the country proud,” Paralympic Committee of India President Deepa Malik said.

Sheetal Devi, a 16-year-old from Jammu and Kashmir was born with phocomelia syndrome, a rare congenital disorder, which kept her limbs underdeveloped. She holds her bow with her foot. Discovered at a military camp in a remote part of Kishtwar and adopted by the Indian Army in her childhood, the teenager became the first armless woman to win a Para World Archery Championships medal in July.

The para athletes did better than their able-bodied counterparts who had won a record haul of 107 medals in the Hangzhou Asian Games held from September 23 to October 8.

Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) has announced its support for Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2034 World Cup, ending the possibility of Indonesia’s own proposal to co-host the event with Australia. 

PSSI Chief Erick Thohir had recently said the country was in talks with Australia for a possible joint 2034 World Cup bid, despite the Asian confederation having declared its support for Saudi Arabia’s candidacy. Thohir, who also serves as a government minister and was formerly the owner of Serie A club Inter Milan, said the country would now look to host the event after 2034. The country, however, continues to prepare for its bid to host the FIFA World Cup after 2034, and other FIFA competitions, he added.

Indonesia’s joint bid proposal with Australia could also have involved games in New Zealand, Malaysia, and Singapore. Australian officials had mentioned the possibility of a joint bid for the 2034 World Cup with Jakarta in June.

Global football body FIFA has invited bids from the Asia and Oceania regions for the rotating World Cup hosting rights, with October 31 as deadline, after naming Morocco, Spain and Portugal as joint hosts for 2030. Saudi Arabia’s bid is the latest step in a campaign to turn the Kingdom into a global sports powerhouse.

In an extraordinary display of skill and resilience, 37-year-old Gael Monfils etched his name in the record books by becoming the oldest player to clinch a title at the prestigious Stockholm Open. The Frenchman’s remarkable triumph not only showcased his exceptional talent but also defied the conventions of age in professional tennis.

Monfils, a seasoned player with a career spanning two decades, delivered a series of stunning performances throughout the tournament, demonstrating a perfect blend of experience and vitality. His journey to the title was marked by relentless determination and strategic gameplay, attributes that have defined his illustrious career.

The final match saw Monfils unleashing his signature athleticism and powerful strokes, leaving the audience and his opponent spellbound. His victory was a testament to his unwavering spirit and his ability to compete at the highest level, despite the challenges posed by younger adversaries.

This historic win at the Stockholm Open has added another feather to Monfils’ cap, highlighting his sustained excellence in the world of tennis. His journey defies the age norms in the sport, proving that with passion, dedication, and the right mindset, age is just a number. Monfils’ success story serves as an inspiration to aspiring tennis players worldwide, showcasing that perseverance and hard work can lead to remarkable achievements, irrespective of age.