Category: Sports

Indian U15 wrestlers clinched 14 medals in the first two days of the Asian U15 Wrestling Championships in Sriracha, Thailand. The women’s team won ten medals, while the men’s Greco-Roman team secured four.

On the first day, Indian Greco-Roman wrestlers won three silver and one bronze medal. Anup Kumar (38 kg), Yash Kamanna (41 kg), and Dhanraj Jamnik (48 kg) bagged silvers, and Pranshit Ahlawat (85 kg) took bronze. Dhanraj narrowly lost the best final of the day against Iran’s Amir Hossein Kazemi (7-8). The Indian Greco-Roman team finished fourth in the team rankings with 137 points, behind Iran (170), Uzbekistan (169), and Kazakhstan (154).

Indian women wrestlers continued their dominance, winning all ten possible medals: four gold, five silver, and one bronze.

Ruveen (62 kg) and Garima (66 kg) won gold by defeating Japanese opponents, while Rohini Devba (33 kg) and Ayushka Gadekar (58 kg) also clinched gold. Vinakshi Fnu (36 kg), Kasturi Kadam (39 kg), Rutuja Gurav (46 kg), Kanishka Fnu (50 kg), and Moni (54 kg) secured silver medals. Megha (42 kg) won bronze.

The Indian women’s team topped the rankings with 215 points, surpassing Japan’s 210 points.

In a big milestone for Indian cricket, Shafali Verma and Harmanpreet Kaur have risen significantly in the ICC T20 rankings following their outstanding performances against South Africa. As of Tuesday, Verma, the aggressive Indian opener, has risen to 15th in the rankings. She presently shares the position with Amelia Kerr of New Zealand and Danni Wyatt of England.

Meanwhile, captain Harmanpreet Kaur has risen three spots to 12th place, gaining 613 rating points.

Despite these gains, Smriti Mandhana remains India’s top hitter, ranking fifth. Deepti Sharma remains the third-best bowler in the rankings. Pooja Vastrakar has jumped six places to 23rd, while Shreyanka Patil has risen nine spots to 60th. Radha Yadav has also made significant progress, moving up eight ranks to 15th.

On the international front, England’s Sarah Glenn has set a new career-high rating of 768 points, cementing her place as the world’s second-best T20I bowler. This rise comes after her remarkable performance in England’s ongoing domestic T20I series against New Zealand, where she has taken eight wickets in the first four games. Sophie Ecclestone is still ahead of Glenn, having taken eight wickets in the same series.

Spain’s teen sensation, Lamine Yamal, won the European Championship and was named the tournament’s best young player on his 17th birthday. He mainly garnered these accolades when he was sixteen years old, and he capped off his performance on Sunday by setting up Nico Williams for Spain’s first goal in their 2-1 final win over England.

Yamal said, “This is the best birthday gift I could have asked for. It’s a dream come true.” According to Yamal, it’s like a dream come true. Mikel Oyarzabal scored the game-winning goal for Spain in the 86th minute after Cole Palmer had levelled the score for England. By dribbling inside Luke Shaw and making a pinpoint pass, Yamal set up Williams to score. The English custodian, Jordan Pickford, had to make two stops due to save attempts by Yamal.

In the European Championship final, Yamal made history by appearing, scoring, and playing at the youngest age ever. He went through La Masia Academy and is now playing for Barcelona, just like his hero, Lionel Messi.

Yamal ended the competition with four assists and one goal, becoming the youngest goalscorer in the Spanish league.

Hsieh Su-Wei and Jan Zielinski closed the championships with a straight-sets victory over Santiago Gonzalez and Giuliana Olmos, winning the Wimbledon mixed doubles title 6-4, 6-2. In their inaugural competition as a squad, the seventh-seeded players only lost one set over five matches en route to the victory.

“Playing in a Wimbledon final in only my third attempt is an unbelievable feeling,” Zielinski exclaimed. Being on the court is an honour, and I’ve dreamt about this day for a long time.”

Hsieh and Zielinski won in 76 minutes without facing a break point and converted three out of fifteen attempts. Hsieh expressed gratitude to Jan for returning him to the magnificent court. “Having my sister, coach, friends, and family here at Wimbledon’s Centre Court is an incredible experience.”

Hsieh and Zielinski won the Australian Open title this year as a team. They made it back to the winner’s circle at Wimbledon after making it to the semi-finals at Roland Garros. Hsieh now has nine major titles, including seven women’s doubles and two mixed doubles with Zielinski. The Polish star Zielinski also celebrated his second major title in mixed doubles with Hsieh.

Lionel Messi pumped his arms as he held the Copa America trophy, celebrating Argentina’s record 16th title after a 1-0 victory over Colombia on Sunday night. Even though Messi injured his leg in the 64th minute, his leadership was vital, as Lautaro Martínez scored the game-winning goal in the 112th minute.

Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni proclaimed Leo to be the best player of all time. Although he had covered his face in anger earlier, Messi continued to be an uplifting presence as he watched from the bench. Once Colombia’s 28-game unbeaten record was broken, Martínez rushed over to embrace his 37-year-old captain.

Argentina won the 2021 Copa America and the 2022 World Cup in a row, so this was their third big trophy in a row.

After the play was postponed due to crowd unrest, Martínez finally came on in the 97th minute and sealed the victory with a goal scored off a ball from Giovani Lo Celso. Due to oppressive humidity, Colombian coach Néstor Lorenzo saw his players experience severe cramps. In what may have been his final Copa America performance, Messi demonstrated his unwavering commitment despite his injuries by lifting his arms in triumph as Argentina won the title.

Mikel Oyarzabal’s late goal secured Spain’s 2-1 victory against England in the UEFA EURO 2024 final, giving La Roja a record-breaking fourth title.

The first half was cautious, with few clear opportunities. Two minutes after the start, Nico Williams scored from Lamine Yamal’s spectacular run and assist, giving Spain the lead. Despite England’s efforts to equalise through Cole Palmer, Oyarzabal’s late strike from Marc Cucurella’s cross secured Spain’s victory.

Nico Williams was selected Player of the Match due to his dangerous offensive performance and crucial opening goal. Yamal, aged 17 years and one day, became the youngest player to compete in a Euro or World Cup final. With the help of crucial saves and a goal-line clearance by Dani Olmo, Spain’s defence, under the command of Unai Simón, held firm against England’s late surge.

Spain’s coach, Luis de la Fuente, hailed the team’s solidarity and resilience. Spain set records by winning all seven games and scoring 15 goals during the event. England, despite their extraordinary tenacity, fell just short but showed promise for the future, with Gareth Southgate naming Spain as the best team in the competition.

Shubman Gill created history in his debut T20I series as captain, leading India to a 4-1 victory over Zimbabwe. Gill, the 14th Indian captain, became the first to win four T20Is in a series abroad. The feat was accomplished with a 42-run win in the sixth Twenty20 International at Harare Sports Club.

Gill, who was named captain in the absence of senior players, scored 170 runs in five matches. Despite a surprise 13-run setback in the series opener, India recovered to win the series. Gill is now the sixth-most successful Indian T20I skipper, trailing Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Suryakumar Yadav.

Zimbabwe won the toss and chose to field in the final match. Yashasvi Jaiswal got India off to a solid start with two sixes, but he fell quickly, as did Abhishek Sharma and Gill. Sanju Samson’s 58 from 45 balls, along with Riyan Parag, helped India achieve 168. Samson also became the seventh Indian to score more than 300 sixes in T20s.

Zimbabwe’s chase failed, finishing at 125 in 18.3 overs. Mukesh Kumar grabbed four wickets for 22 runs, while Shivam Dube contributed with both the ball and the bat, hitting 26 runs off 12 balls. Dube won the Player of the Match award for his overall effort.

Carlos Alcaraz cemented his reputation as a budding tennis star with a dominating straight-sets victory over Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon men’s singles final. The 21-year-old Spaniard won his second Wimbledon title in a row, defeating Serbia’s 24-time Grand Slam champion 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) at the All England Club in South London.

Alcaraz dominated the almost two-and-a-half-hour match, although he was tested in the third set tiebreak after missing three championship points.

Djokovic, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, recognised Alcaraz’s dominance, stating that he had never seen the young player serve so brilliantly and admitting he was half a stride behind the entire match. Djokovic grabbed a brief lead in the third set, but he battled to keep up with Alcaraz’s unrelenting pace and quickness.

The final began with Djokovic serving, but Alcaraz took the first game after a 15-minute fight, which Djokovic acknowledged set the tone for the contest. Alcaraz’s quickness and talent rendered the 37-year-old Serbian unable to answer effectively, and the match ended in just over an hour and 16 minutes, with Alcaraz leading 2-0.

This year’s straight-sets victory contrasted significantly with the previous year’s five-set final, in which Djokovic believed he had an equal chance of winning.

Lewis Hamilton won the British Grand Prix in 2024 and finished first in the Power Rankings with a score of 9.4. Max Verstappen finished in third place, behind Nico Hulkenberg in second. Verstappen also narrowed the distance between him and Norris in the driver standings, extending his lead marginally.

Although McLaren and Norris still need to improve to win a championship, Hamilton and Verstappen proved to be decisive in the shifting conditions at Silverstone. After Hamilton, Hulkenberg was the most impressive driver. He qualified and finished sixth in the rain, assisting Haas in closing the gap with RB in the constructors’ standings. Andreas Seidl of Sauber will be overjoyed that Hulkenberg will be joining his squad for the 2019 season.

After a two-season absence, Hamilton’s performance was outstanding, as he won his ninth Grand Prix at Silverstone and his 104th overall. In his last season with Mercedes before switching to Ferrari, the seven-time world champion put up an intense and skillful performance to hold off Norris and Verstappen.

Haas’s best qualifying effort of the year was Hulkenberg’s outstanding P6 finish, demonstrating his capacity to regain ground and get valuable points. Haas is now only four points behind sixth-place RB in the constructors’ championship, demonstrating Hulkenberg’s important role.

On Wednesday, Colombia defeated Uruguay 1-0 in the Copa America semi-finals, advancing to a final against defending champion Argentina. Jefferson Lerma’s goal gave Colombia the advantage even though they were down to 10 men for the second half. However, the game ended in chaos as players and supporters battled.

Uruguayan players confronted Colombian fans at the semi-final in Charlotte, North Carolina, as security forces struggled to keep the peace. As most of the more than 70,000 spectators supported Colombia, Lerma scored the winning goal after Darwin Nunez of Uruguay squandered three excellent chances.

In the seventeenth minute, Nunez, a striker for Liverpool, squandered a fantastic opportunity, and Lerma took advantage by heading the ball past custodian Sergio Rochet. James Rodriguez broke Lionel Messi’s record for assists in a single Copa America edition.

In the second half, Uruguay controlled, and Luis Suarez came close to scoring but struck the post. In the 88th minute, Colombia had a great chance to win, but they failed to capitalise, and they went on to win, stretching their winning streak to 28 games and making it to their first final since 2001.

Uruguay plays Canada in the third-place playoff on Saturday, while Colombia plays Argentina in Florida on Sunday.