Category: Sports

Australia’s Travis Head has replaced India’s Suryakumar Yadav as the top batter in the latest ICC T20 rankings. Prior to December 2023, Suryakumar was the highest-ranked player; however, Head’s outstanding performance during the T20 World Cup shot him to the top. Despite Australia’s elimination, Head amassed 255 runs, including 76 against India, to move two points clear of second-place finisher Suryakumar (842 points).

The other three in the top five are Pakistan’s Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, and England’s Phil Salt. Additionally, Afghan player Rahmanullah Gurbaz jumped five spots to eighth.

Spinner Kuldeep Yadav rose 20 places to 11th place, while Indian speed bowler Jasprit Bumrah shot up 44 spots to 24th place. Axar Patel remained the top-ranked bowler in India, moving up to eighth. Rashid Khan of Afghanistan is still the best bowler, with Josh Hazlewood of Australia coming in second and Adil Rashid of England coming in fourth.

In the all-rounders’ rankings, Wanindu Hasaranga of Sri Lanka recaptured the top spot, knocking Marcus Stoinis down to fourth. Hardik Pandya of India moved up to third. Roston Chase of the West Indies made a huge leap, rising 17 spots to 12th.

India unveiled their 16-person Olympic team for Paris, including five first-timers. The team’s vice-captain is Hardik Singh, while Harmanpreet Singh will serve as captain. Harmanpreet is going to his third Olympics.

The team, which includes captains Manpreet Singh and PR Sreejesh from Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, strikes a balance between youth and experience. Krishan Bahadur Pathak joins Sreejesh, the lone custodian, on the alternate list. Jarmanpreet Singh, Sanjay, Raj Kumar Pal, Abhishek, and Sukhjeet Singh are among the debutants.

Chief Coach Craig Fulton gave his thoughts on the tough selection procedure and conveyed his faith in the players’ abilities and commitment. He emphasised the team’s dynamic and adaptable mix of youthful skill and experience. Fulton has concentrated on assembling a cohesive group that can adjust to different playing styles and circumstances.

The team wants to play with passion, talent, and resolve as they travel to Paris. They want to reach the top of the podium and compete against the greatest teams in the world. India is paired with Belgium, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, and Ireland in Pool B. They need to place in the top four in their pool to move on to the quarterfinals.

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur moved up to ninth, while vice-captain Smriti Mandhana fell to fourth, in the ICC Women’s ODI batting rankings. Mandhana scored 343 runs in a three-match series against South Africa to maintain her ranking in the top ten with 738 rating points. Meanwhile, 648 points were earned by Harmanpreet.

Laura Wolvaardt, the captain of South Africa, shot up to second place, 16 points behind England’s No. 1 Nat Sciver-Brunt. Despite South Africa losing the series 0-3, Wolvaardt made waves with her stunning 135 not out in the second game and his 65 in the last over.

On the ODI batters list, Wolvaardt’s colleague Marizanne Kapp rose to seventh place, while Jemimah Rodrigues of India surged to 29th place following a great performance against South Africa.

Spinner Nonkululek Mlaba of South Africa moved up to joint 22nd in the ODI bowling rankings after taking four wickets in the series against India. After taking seven wickets against the West Indies, Kavisha Dilhari of Sri Lanka rose to 34th place, while Udeshika Prabodhani rose to 22nd.

Deepti Sharma of India held steady at number four with 671 rating points.

Tommy Paul beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-1, 7-6(8) in the cinch Championships final at Queen’s Club to win his third ATP Tour title and his first on grass. Throughout the 88-minute match, the fifth seed showed a strong sense of intensity and aggressiveness. They overcame a 1/4 disadvantage in the tiebreak and saved a set point at 6/7.

With this triumph, Paul will move up to No. 12 in the PIF ATP Rankings, surpassing Taylor Fritz as the top-ranked American. He has won 27 matches at the tour level thus far this season, and he has played well all week, dropping just one set. His victories at the Queen’s Club add to his Stockholm and Dallas wins from 2021 and 2023, and it is his first ATP 500-level victory.

Paul jumped out to a 3-0 lead and won the opening set in thirty-two minutes in their first-ever Lexus ATP Head2Head match. Even though he was unable to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set, Musetti’s mishandled backhand on his second match point gave him the victory. Paul acknowledged Musetti’s growth beyond clay courts while applauding his performance on grass.

Noah Lyles qualified for the Paris Olympics by winning the 100-meter final in the US Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon, in 9.83 seconds. On June 23, he finished ahead of Tokyo silver medalists Fred Kerley (9.88) and Kenny Bednarek (9.87), having pushed ahead at the halfway point.

In preparation for the Olympics, Kerley declared, “We’re ready to go put on a show.” The Olympic gold medalist Bednarek stated, “I just stayed calm, collected, and executed my race.”

After taking the lead at first, Christian Coleman dropped to fourth in 9.93 seconds. With his sights set on four gold medals in Paris, Lyles took stock of his development and said, “Three years ago, I got second to last.” I came and won it this year.

Lyles is motivated by disappointments from past competitions and Tokyo: “I wouldn’t have had that desire if I hadn’t finished third in Tokyo.” Next up for him is the 200-metre event, where heats begin on June 27.

Kendall Ellis won the women’s 400-metre race at Hayward Field on the third day of competition in 49.46 seconds. She was partnered on Team USA by Aaliyah Butler (49.71) and Alexis Holmes (49.78).

Kevin Csoboth scored a thrilling goal in the 100th minute of Hungary’s 1-0 victory over Scotland in a pivotal Group A encounter of UEFA Euro 2024. This stands as the latest goal in regulation time in Euro history. Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, and Scotland are in Group A. Switzerland would probably follow Germany into the Round of 16, so Scotland’s match against Hungary was crucial to clinching third place.

Scotland would not have advanced as one of the top third-ranked teams, even with a draw giving them third place and insufficient points. Hungary required a victory to remain competitive. Throughout the game, Hungary managed five on-target shots out of 14 efforts, while Scotland managed just one shot on goal out of four tries. Up to the very end, there was no score in the match.

The second-half stoppage time, which was increased to 12 minutes, marked a turning moment. After a Scottish corner, Hungary’s Kevin Csoboth scored on a counterattack in the 100th minute to eliminate Scotland and preserve their hopes. At 99 minutes and 32 seconds, Csoboth scored his first goal for his country since making his debut the previous year. This also created a new record for the latest regulation goal in the history of the European Championship.

On Saturday, the Indian compound women’s archery team—Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Aditi Swami, and Parneet Kaur—won a World Cup match against Estonia, securing a hat trick of gold medals. In a dominating final, the top-seeded team defeated Lisell Jaatma, Meeri-Marita Paas, and Maris Tetsmann of Estonia 232-229 to keep their winning record intact this season. They are the 2024 World Cup series winners, having previously won gold in Yecheon and Shanghai.

Rising Indian archer Priyansh finished in second place in the men’s final following a close match with world-ranked Mike Schloesser, just missing out on gold. Priyansh lost 149-148 in the first set after giving up a point in the opening set after having shot perfectly to advance to the final. Priyansh finished second in Shanghai and now has two World Cup silvers this season.

Avenging his earlier loss to the Danish archer in Yecheon, Priyansh defeated World No. 2 Mathias Fullerton by one point earlier in the semifinals after hitting all 15 of his arrows in the perfect-10 ring.

In the recurve finals on Sunday, India will try to win more medals. Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara will compete in their semifinals, while Dhiraj and Bhajan’s mixed team will play Mexico for bronze.

According to Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance, the Women’s Super League (WSL) clubs achieved a record-breaking £48 million ($61 million) in the 2022–23 season.

It represents a 50% increase in revenue from the prior year, more than doubling the £20 million recorded in the 2020–21 season and coming after England’s victory at Euro 2022.

Due in part to England’s World Cup runner-up finish in 2023, the combined attendance for the WSL and Championship in the 2023–24 season exceeded one million. With an average attendance that was approximately 200% higher than the previous season, WSL clubs also saw an increase in matchday earnings to £7 million.

According to Deloitte’s Jenny Haskel, “WSL clubs are home to world-class players whose success on the international stage has drawn new fans to the domestic game.” She claimed that key initiatives, such as developing a devoted fan base and commercial partnerships, were responsible for significant revenue growth.

The Emirates Stadium will play host to eleven home games for Arsenal’s ladies in the upcoming season. According to Deloitte, WSL clubs may expect to earn £52 million in the 2023–24 season, with a potential increase to £68 million in the following campaign.

27-year-old Donia Abu Talib, a taekwondo competitor from Saudi Arabia, became the first Saudi woman to ever qualify for the Olympics. Her goal is to bring home the first gold medal from Saudi Arabia at the Olympics in Paris. Due to the lack of possibilities for female athletes in her hometown of Jeddah, she honed her skills at a male club. This experience, she says, made her strong and resilient.

Since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman took office, Saudi Arabia has made strides in empowering women, particularly in the realm of sports. After getting official backing and competing to great success as a result of these reforms, Abu Talib won the Arab Taekwondo Championship in 2020 and the Asian and world championships in 2022, earning her bronze medals. The Asian Taekwondo Championships, where she took first place this year, gave her the confidence boost she needed to compete at the Olympics.

Abu Talib trained with the renowned Russian coach Kurban Bogdaev after officials took notice of her development. Her career has the support of the Saudi Taekwondo Federation, which acknowledges the importance of her accomplishments.

Saudi Arabia’s changing attitude towards women’s sports is reflected in Abu Talib’s unwavering will as she prepares for her historic Olympic debut.