Rwanda's Salima Mukansanga's name will be etched in the history books of world football as the first-ever woman referee to officiate at the 2022 FIFA World Cup that will begin on November 21 in Qatar. Mukansanga along with Japan's Yamashita Yoshimi and France's Stephanie Frappart form the female trio referee selected for the first time for a men's FIFA World Cup. Mukansanga was born on July 25, 1988, and hails from the Rusizi district in the Western Region of Rwanda.From early on, she wished to officiate in football matches but faced rejection by the Rwandan Football Federation (RFF) to jo
On Tuesday, the Indian men’s football team qualified for the Asian Cup Finals after the Philippines was defeated by Palestine in a group B match in Ulaanbaatar. As a result, the Palestinians qualified directly for the 24-team finals by winning their group, while the Philippines, who finished second, were eliminated despite finishing second. Six groups of four teams each were formed from the 24 teams in the third qualification round. With six points, India (two behind Hong Kong on goal difference) has qualified ahead of their final group D match. India has qualified for the Asian Cup in t
Danish badminton genius Viktor Axelsen pulled off a stunning victory defeating Taiwan's Chou Tien-Chen in straight sets to secure the men's singles title at the Indonesia Masters on Sunday, June 12. The world No. 1 beat Chou 21-10, 21-12 in a 41-minute match held at Jakarta’s Istora Senayan sporting arena. Axelsen defeated home favorite Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in the semi-finals to enter the finals. The 28-year-old Axelsen told reporters that he loved playing in Istora and had always dreamt of winning a tournament at this legendary venue, and to have done that was something special to h
16-year-old Gurunaidu Sanapathi has won a gold medal with a total effort of 230kg (104kg+126kg) in the boy's 55kg event to become India’s first weightlifter to win a gold at the IWF Youth World Championships in Leon, Mexico on Sunday. While Sanapathi, the bronze medallist at the 2020 Asian Youth Weightlifting Championship, was crowned the world youth champion, Saudi Arabia’s Ali Majeed 229kg (105kg+124kg) claimed the second position, and Yerassyl Umrov of Kazakhstan 224kg (100kg+124kg) stood third. Besides Sanapathi, fellow citizen Soumya S. Dalvi secured the bronze in her event on
On Sunday, Floyd Mayweather Jr., inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, was reduced to tears during a banquet on the eve of his big day. As he accepted the award, his voice was tinged with emotion. He credited his mother, father, and sister for his successful career. In his acceptance speech, he said, "I've done a lot in my career, but this is by far the best." "I want to thank the International Boxing Hall of Fame for giving me this. This right here is going to my dad because he deserves it. Bernard Hopkins said it best, ‘You’ve got to earn it’, and my dad earned this
The 20-year-old Avani Lekhara won her second gold medal at the ongoing Chateauroux 2022 World Shooting Para Sport World Cup in France. She had already won the R2 Women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 gold medal with a world record effort on day one of the games, ensuring Inai a quota for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Lekhara shot 458.3 in the R8 Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Position SH1 finals by managing to hold off the challenge posed by more experienced Paralympic stars Veronica Vadovicova (456.6) from Slovakia and Anna Normann (441.9) from Sweden. Veronica won silver and Anna took bronze.
Ethiopia knocked out six-time African champions, Egypt, with a 2-0 win in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying. The fast Ethiopian forwards made it difficult for a slow Egyptian defence in the first half, and goals from skipper Shemeles Bekele and Dawa Hotessa gave them a two-goal half-time advantage. Despite having more assets, the Pharaohs managed only three shots, out of which only one was on target, which all came in the second half. A major drawback for the Egyptian team was the absence of the injured captain and the prolific Liverpool scorer, Mohamed Salah, because of
Team Kenya has topped the medal standings for a second consecutive time at the Africa Senior Athletics Championships in Mauritius on Sunday. The Kenyans won 23 medals, out of which 10 were gold, to finish ahead of South Africa, who finished with 36 medals overall, falling short of Kenya by one gold medal. Javelin star Julius Yego secured a historic fourth straight title in a row after defeating old rival Ihab Addelrahman of Egypt. Yego, the 2015 World Champion, said the victory had given him the confidence to perform at the upcoming global championships in America. The last two years ha
On Saturday, the son of a tailor, Adil Altaf, created history by winning the first cycling gold medal for Jammu and Kashmir in the Khelo India Yo Games. Adil was awarded a silver in a 28km individual time trial a day before the finals, prompting even Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir Manoj Sinha to congratulate him. While making his way through the crowded by-lanes of Lal Bazar in Central Kasmir while helping his father with deliveries, Adil decided to cycle as a professional. For the first time, he participated in a race organized at his school when he was just 15. His father wor
On Tuesday, India announced its first national air sports policy to promote sporting activities like aerobatics, paragliding, and skydiving. The policy will cover aerobatics, aeromodelling, model rocketry, amateur and experimental aircraft, drones, ballooning, gliding, powered gliding, powered hang gliding, skydiving, parachuting, base jumping, wingsuit flying, paragliding, and para-motoring. The government announced earlier it would make India one of the top air sports nations by 2030. The Indian Air Sports Federation will serve as the governing body for such sports. It will provide