The 66-year-old Singaporean wheelchair-racer, William Tan on February 6 became the first person to complete seven marathons across seven continents in seven days in a wheelchair. The Paralympian and neuroscientist raced alongside 48 participants in the 2023 World Marathon Challenge, which had circuits in Antarctica, South Africa, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Brazil and the United States from January 31 to February 6. Tan completed the last two marathons in Fortaleza, Brazil, and Miami in his everyday wheelchair. It took him five hours to complete each race instead of the usu
The French leg of the Olympic torch relay for the Paris 2024 Summer Games will start from the port city of Marseille, said the organisers on February 3. The flame will be lit in Olympia, Greece — in tribute to the ancient Olympic Games — and travel across the Mediterranean Sea on the Belem, a majestic three-masted sailing ship. It will arrive in France at the famous Old Port of Marseille, the starting point for the Olympic Torch Relay. From Marseille, the torch will begin its journey through the host country to the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony, which is scheduled to take place on 26 Jul
India defeated New Zealand by 168 runs in the third T20I at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to record its biggest-ever victory by runs in T20I cricket history. This is also the biggest victory margin in T20Is involving two full-member teams. With the win on February 1, India clinched the three-match series 2-1. India’s previous biggest win in T20I cricket came on June 29, 2018, when it defeated Ireland by 143 runs. With his first T20I century, Indian opener Shubman Gill on Wednesday became the youngest cricketer in history to smash a hundred in all three formats of international c
India beat England in the first-ever ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup final on Sunday in Potchefstroom, South Africa with an all-round show. Shefali Verma led Indian women’s team chased a target of 69. India won the match with seven wickets in hand and six overs to spare. The team won the toss and decided to put England in to bat. Opening bowlers Titas Sadhu and Archana Devi ripped through the England top order, confining them to 22/4 after six overs; key batter Grace Scrivens was one of those to fall. Sadhu bowled her four overs straight through, going for just six runs and picking up t
World number five Novak Djokovic defeated world number four Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) to win Australian Open 2023 men’s singles title. Djokovic became the first man to win 10 Australian Open singles titles. He also equalled Rafael Nadal’s record tally of 22 Grand Slam titles. The Serb will become world number one men’s tennis player on Monday when the rankings will be updated. In the women's singles title, world number five Aryna Sabalenka defeated Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to win the Australian Open 2023. It's the 24-year-old Belarusian tennis player’s maiden G
The unseeded tennis Indian pair of Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna reached the Australian Open Mixed Doubles final after beating third seed American-British pair Desirae Krawczyk and Neal Skupski 7-6(5) 6-7(5) 10-6 in the semifinal in Melbourne on Wednesday. The final will take place on Saturday, January 28. The semifinal match lasted one hour and 52 minutes. After splitting a set each, the Indian duo accomplished a strong lead in the super tie-breaker. Mirza found a stunning backhand winner to earn three match points and won the contest with a drive volley that Krawczyk could not return.
Fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka reached her maiden Women’s Singles quarter-final at the Australian Open, defeating Olympic champion Belinda Bencic 7-5, 6-2 in the fourth round on Monday. Sabalenka now faces unseeded Donna Vekic. The Belarusian fifth seed won 7-5, 6-2 in 1hr 27min on Rod Laver Arena to set up a last-eight clash against Donna Vekic. Sabalenka reached the US Open semifinals in both 2022 and 2021 seasons and the final four of Wimbledon 2021, but had never been beyond the fourth round at Melbourne Park before. Aryna Sabalenka said she was reaping the benefits of a more positive mi
Netherlands went past Australia’s record of most goals scored by a team in a single FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup match on Thursday. In its final Pool C match, three-time winner Netherlands beat Chile 14-0 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, to go past Australia’s 12-0 win over South Africa during the 2010 edition of the World Cup. In the Thursday match, Netherlands scored its 13th goal in the 48th minute. The team eventually won the match 14-0. Janssen Jip, with four goals, and skipper Thierry Brinkman, with three goals, scored hat-tricks. Koen Bijen scored two goals, and De
Akane Yamaguchi of Japan and Viktor Axelsen of Denmark won the Malaysia Open Super 1000 women’s and men’s singles titles, respectively, in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. World no. 1 Yamaguchi defeated World no. 4 An Se Young to clinch the Super Series Premier title. The reigning world champion, who won the season-ending World Tour Finals in December, beat Young in a thriller that lasted for an hour and nine minutes by 12-21, 21-19 and 21-11. She won her maiden Super Series Premier title at the China Open in 2017. In the men’s singles final, Axelsen, the reigning Olympic and world champio
Ethiopian athletes Hayle Lemi and Anchalem Haymanot won the Mumbai Marathon on Sunday. The duo also set new course records to take home $45,000 winners’ prize and a bonus of $15,000 each. Tata Mumbai Marathon returned after a break of two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with 55, 212 participants across seven categories of races. Hayle Lemi, the 2016 Boston Marathon winner, won at 02:07:32, beating the record of defending champion and compatriot Derara Hurisa of 2:08:09 set in 2020. In her first full marathon, Anchalem Haymanot broke the women’s mark of 2:24:33 set in 2013 by clo