Category: SPORTS

Roger Federer never seriously contemplated retirement while he was away from the tennis tour for more than a year. He did have a hard time dealing with the need for a repeat operation on his bad right knee, though. “I was down. Obviously I couldn’t believe I had to do a second one,” Federer said Sunday ahead of his appearance at the Qatar Open. “This is definitely a moment where you maybe question a little bit more.” The 39-year-old Federer’s first match since the 2020 Australian Open will come Wednesday…

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The Indian men’s boxing team’s final campaign at the 35th Boxam International Tournament in Castellon, Spain was derailed by a positive COVID-19 case in the side, resulting in three withdrawals from the summit clashes. Olympic-bound Ashish Kumar (75kg) tested positive for the virus and as a result of being his roommates, Mohammed Hussamuddin (57kg) and Sumit Sangwan (81kg) were forced to withdraw from the finals on Sunday night. All three of them ended with silver medals which could have been gold but for the unforeseen circumstances. “What started as a…

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Washington Sundar showed composure beyond his years but missed out on a maiden Test hundred by 4 runs in India’s commendable first innings score of 365 against England on day three of the fourth and final Test here on Saturday. The 21-year-old left-hander’s 96 off 174 balls was as important as Rishabh Pant’s second day hundred but a sudden tail-end collapse saw him stranded at the non-striker’s end. India lost their last three wickets in a space of five balls with Ben Stokes (27.4-6-89-4) cleaning the tail without much fuss.…

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Ben Stokes displayed the indefatigable side of his batsmanship in his 24th Test half-century but India did well enough to get breakthroughs at the right moments to leave England reeling at 144 for 5 at tea on the opening day of the fourth and final match on Thursday. The track offered both turn and bounce but not as consistently, letting England middle-order, led by Stokes, to give a far better account of itself. A bit more discretion would have put England in a better position but they would take this…

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Stop the noise, tighten up that defence and get on with the game — a combative Indian skipper Virat Kohli said on Wednesday ahead of the fourth and final Test against England as he navigated persistent queries on the spin-friendly tracks in the country. India annihilated England inside two days in the Pink-ball Test at Motera, days after the visitors crumbled on another spin-assisting pitch in Chennai in the second Test. England managed 112 and 81 in the Ahmedabad Test after scoring 134 and 164 in Chennai as Ravichandran Ashwin…

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National football coach Igor Stimac on Tuesday named 10 new players in his 35-member list of probables for India’s back-to-back international friendlies against Oman and the UAE to be played in Dubai on March 25 and 29 respectively. The final list of 28 players will be announced after the Indian Super League final on March 13. The players will then assemble for a preparatory camp in Dubai from March 15. “We have kept 35 players in the list as a cushion in case any player picks up an injury during…

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India vs England: Ravichandran Ashwin on Saturday said that talks regarding the pitch is getting out of hand and enquired if there was any instance when the pitch had gained this much attention during India’s overseas tour. India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Saturday said that talks regarding the pitch is getting out of hand and he once again reiterated that one should be talking about the quality of play rather than the 22 yards. India defeated England by 10 wickets within two days in the pink-ball Test. The match saw…

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India vs England: Ravichandran Ashwin on Thursday became the fastest Indian bowler to pick 400 Test wickets in terms of matches. Ashwin reached the milestone in his 77th Test. India off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin became the fastest Indian bowler to 400 Test wickets on Thursday. Ashwin, playing his 77th Test, was on 397 wickets at the end of England’s first innings of the ongoing third Test and dismissed England batsmen Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope and Jofra Archer in the second innings to get to the milestone. Ashwin is only behind…

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A rank turner is being anticipated at Motera but India captain Virat Kohli expects pacers to have as big a role as spinners in the day-night third Test against England, a side riddled with “many weaknesses” according to him. Both teams have won a game each in the four-match series and ahead of third Test here starting Wednesday, the talk has been incessantly focussed on the nature of the virgin track at the refurbished stadium. Asked if the ball is unlikely to swing much in the third Test, Kohli said…

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 It didn’t take long for Novak Djokovic to make his intentions clear: All that matters to him from here on out is catching Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the Grand Slam standings. Forget about winning other, run-of-the-mill tournaments or playing enough to retain the No. 1 ranking. There is one, primary goal for the 33-year-old from Serbia. He wants to keep adding to his 18 major championships he reached that number with No. 9 at the Australian Open on Sunday until he no longer trails Federer and Nadal, who…

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