Category: Sports

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed three major USA cities, Dallas, Miami and New York, as the venues for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. The country is set to host the T20 World Cup for the first time, with Grand Prairie in Dallas, Broward County in Florida and Nassau County in New York chosen as the venues for the grand event.

USA and West Indies were selected as co-hosts for the global tournament in November 2021. The venues were chosen following an extensive evaluation of several options.

Modular stadium technology will be used to increase facilities for the success of the upcoming cricket cup, with 20 teams competing for the trophy. The stadiums will be increased in size to expand seating and media and premium hospitality areas. The technology has been used at previous ICC events and routinely used in other major sports around the world.

Several other potential venues have been identified for pre-event matches and training. These include George Mason University in Washington, which is the home for Major League Cricket (MLC) team Washington Freedom.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for an International Cricket Stadium in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi on September 23. The new stadium, to be built near the Ring Road in Rajatalab area, is likely to be ready by December 2025.

The UP government has allocated ₹121 crore for land acquisition, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will invest ₹330 crores in the stadium’s construction.

This stadium in Varanasi marks Uttar Pradesh’s third international cricket facility after Kanpur and Lucknow. The stadium will have a capacity of 30,000 spectators.

The thematic architecture of this stadium draws inspiration from Lord Shiva, with designs developed for crescent-shaped roof covers, trident-shaped floodlights, ghat steps-based seating, and Bilvipatra-shaped metallic sheets on the facade. The stadium’s design is meant to capture the spirit of Kashi, with the spectator area resembling the steps of Varanasi’s ghats. They plan to finish building the stadium by December 2025.

During the event, cricket legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Ravi Shastri, Dilip Vengsarkar and Sunil Gavaskar were also in attendance. Prime Minister Modi personally presented an Indian team jersey to Tendulkar.

The Indian rowing contingent ended its campaign at the 2023 Asian Games on 25 September with five medals – three bronze and two silver. With five medals, the contingent matched India’s best-ever tally of medals in rowing in any Asian Games.

The first medal, a silver, came in men’s lightweight double sculls on the Day 1 of the campaign, September 24. The pair of Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh secured a silver medal with their timing of 6:21.18. The second medal, a bronze, came in men’s coxless pair, with Babu Lal Yadav and Lekh Ram clocking a timing of 6:50.41. The third and final rowing medal of Day 1 was a silver medal in men’s coxed eight. The team of Naresh Kulwaniya, Neetish Kumar, Charanjeet Singh, Jaswinder Singh, Bheem Singh, Punit Kumar, Ashish and Dhananjay Pande registered a time of 5:43.01, missing out on gold by only 2.84 seconds.

On Day 2, 25 September, two medals were added to the rowing tally. In men’s coxless four, the quartet of Jaswinder Singh, Bheem Singh, Punit Kumar and Ashish secured the bronze medal with a time of 6:10.81, finishing only 0.77s behind silver medallists China. The men’s quadruple sculls team of Satnam Singh, Parminder Singh, Jakar Khan and Sukhmeet Singh, finished third, clocking 6:08.61.

This happens to be India’s joint-best medal haul in rowing at any Asian Games, matching the tally of five medals of 2010 Guangzhou.

India beat Australia by 99 runs (DLS Method) in the second one-day international (ODI) at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on September 24. With the win, Team India claimed the series 2-0 with one match remaining. India will now go into the World Cup 2023 as the No.1 ranked team in ODIs.

Being put in to bat first, India built a huge score of 399 for the loss of five wickets, with Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer put on 200 runs for the second wicket. KL Rahul scored 52 runs, while Ishan Kishan scored 31 runs. Suryakumar Yadav stayed not out on 72 runs off 37 balls. Australian player, Cameron Green took two wickets, but ended up giving 103 runs, including four sixes in a row by Suryakumar.

In the 10th over, rain stopped play as the team was set a revised target of 317 in 33 overs. R Ashwin dismissed David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne and Josh Inglis. Sean Abbott and Josh Hazlewood put on 77 runs for the ninth wicket. Abbott scored 54 runs off 36 balls with four fours and five sixes.

India had achieved a historic feat after the win in the first one-day international match against Australia in Mohali on September 22, by becoming the number one-ranked team in all three formats of the game – T20I, ODI, and Test cricket. This achievement placed India in an elite group alongside South Africa, making them only the second team in history to hold the top position in all formats simultaneously.

The 62nd edition of the Subroto Cup International Football Tournament began on September 19, 2023, with matches hosted in Bengaluru, Delhi, and Gurugram. India’s oldest national inter-school football competition will go on till October 23, 2023.

For many years, the Subroto Cup has been a showcase of young football talent in India. It will feature three distinct age categories, each with their own set of teams and venues.

The Under-17 junior boys and girls competitions will take place in the Delhi-NCR region. The venues include the Ambedkar Stadium, Tejas Football Ground (Delhi), Subroto Football Ground (Delhi), and the GD Goenka School (Gurugram).

Bengaluru will play host to the Under-14 Sub-Junior Boys Competition, with matches scheduled at the ASC Centre, the Air Force School in Jalahalli, and the Air Force School in Yehalanka.

The 62nd Subroto Cup will see participation from 109 teams hailing from 27 states and Union Territories in India. Adding an international flavour to the event, teams from Bangladesh and Nepal will also take part. With over 180 matches scheduled to be played across the three categories, football enthusiasts can expect a thrilling and action-packed tournament.

Held annually since 1960, the Subroto Cup inter-school football tournament is named after the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Air Force, Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee. The championship was introduced to promote and encourage the game of football at the grassroots level in the country. Top of Form

Singapore Formula 1 (F1) aims to halve its energy emissions from the annual event by 2028 through reducing energy, increasing the use of renewable-energy resources, and utilising Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) for unavoidable emissions.

In a statement on September 8, Singapore Grand Prix (GP) said it will use hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO) in half of the event’s power generators by 2025, and 100% by 2028. The feasibility trial to substitute diesel with renewable fuels such as HVO starts this year, it added. Singapore GP expects the initiative to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 52% when fully implemented.

The company intends to continue utilising RECs to offset remaining unavoidable emissions after its move to purchase RECs to cover 85% of its electricity consumption in the Circuit Park in 2022.

Its upcoming F1 race from September 15 to 17 will feature roll-out container toilets with enhanced water efficiency. It is estimated to save about 129,600 litres of water over the three-day race weekend.

Used cooking oil will also be collected during this year’s event. This initiative recycled 8,105 kg of cooking oil into biodiesel over the last five editions of the race and reduced 4,000 kg of CO2 in 2022 alone. It will continue to promote sustainable practices, such as utilising public transportation, and put up convenient water points to encourage people to bring their own reusable bottles. All of its external vendors and contracts will also be required to pledge towards its environmental, social and governance commitments by 2025.

The Indian men’s team finished with a bronze medal at the Asian Table Tennis Championships 2023 following a semi-final defeat to Chinese Taipei in Pyeongchang, the Republic of Korea, on September 6. The team comprising Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran lost 0-3 in their final four match.

Commonwealth Games champion Sharath Kamal opened the proceedings for the Indian men’s team and lost 0-3 to Chuang Chih-Yuan, a former doubles world champion. In the second match, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran lost to Lin Yun-Ju 0-3. In the third match of the tie, India’s Harmeet Desai lost 1-3 to Kao Cheng-Jui. The team, seeded third in the tournament, had defeated Singapore 3-0 to seal a spot in the final four and ensured a medal on September 4.

On September 5, the Indian women’s team of Manika Batra, Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee lost 0-3 to Thailand to finish sixth. The Indian trio had registered a 3-2 win over Singapore in a 5-8 position play-off tie earlier on the same day. Their medal prospects ended after a 0-3 defeat to Japan in the quarter-finals on September 4.

In the mixed doubles, the Indian pair of Manika Batra and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran lost 2-3 to Thailand’s Phakpoom Sanguansin and Orawan Paranang in the round of 32 on September 5. Another Indian pair of Harmeet Desai and Sreeja Akula lost 0-3 to the top-seeded Tomokazu Harimoto and Hina Hayata of Japan in round of 32.

Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen made history on September 3 with a tenth consecutive win in the season with a victory in the Italian Grand Prix. Driving for Red Bull Racing, the world champion broke a record of nine wins in a row set 10 years ago by Sebastian Vettel with a win at the F1 Grand Prix in Brazil on November 24, 2013.

Verstappen, 25, who matched Vettel’s record by winning his home race in the Netherlands, is on course to win his third world championship this year. After Verstappen and Vettel, three Formula 1 drivers have won seven races in a row: Alberto Ascari, Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg.

On September 3, Verstappen started the race in second behind Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, who scored pole position at his team’s home race and delighted the tifosi by fending off early attempts by Verstappen to attack his lead on the track. Verstappen eventually overtook him on lap 15.

Verstappen has won 12 of the 14 races this season, while his Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio Perez has won the two others. No team has ever won every race in a Formula 1 season. Perez finished second Sunday, while Sainz held off Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc to take third place. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time champion whose consecutive win streak is five, sought to downplay Verstappen’s achievement before the race.

Delhi’s Raghav Chugh, a former No. 1 ranked Indian golf amateur and now entering his third year at Rice University, in Texas was named Golf Coaches Association of America All-America Scholar. This season, Chugh earned First Team All-Conference USA honours after leading the team with a 72.25 stroke average. His best tournament finish was a second place at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational.

To be eligible for Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar status, an individual must be in their second, third or fourth year of university, with a stroke-average under 76.0 and a cumulative career grade-point average of minimum 3.2.

Chugh has won athletic honours at 2023 First Team All-Conference USA, 2023 Conference USA Golfer of the Week (3x), 2022 Conference USA Freshman of the Year, 2022 Conference USA All-Freshman Team, and 2022 Conference USA Golfer of the Week (1x).

The golfer’s academic honours include 2023 Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll and 2022 Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

Chugh is the second Indian player this year to earn All-America Scholar honours. Delhi’s Shubham Jaglan earned 2022-23 GCAA All-America Scholar honours as part of the University of South Florida Men’s Golf team.

Mohun Bagan Super Giant defeated East Bengal FC 1-0 to clinch the Durand Cup finals win at Kolkata’s Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan on September 3. Mohun Bagan SG emerged as the winner for the first time in 23 years.

Mohun Bagan were one-man down after Anirudh Thapa was sent off in the 62nd minute, but the team still scored the decisive goal through a brilliant solo effort from Dimitri Petratos in the 71st minute. The Australian player skilfully weaved past the East Bengal defence, before unleashing a powerful strike from 25 yards out.

This was Mohun Bagan’s 17th Durand Cup title. The team last won the title in 2000 when they beat Mahindra United via a golden goal. Mohun Bagan thus avenged their 2004 Durand Cup final defeat to East Bengal when they had lost 1-2. In this phase, Mohun Bagan had lost three Durand Cup finals, the last being against Gokulam Kerala (1-2) in 2019.

From East Bengal’s perspective, a national-level title continued to elude them for more than 11 years now. Their last title at senior-level remains the Federation Cup in 2012. Both sides came close to scoring but none could make use of their chances to see a goal-less first 45 minutes.