Sports

R Praggnanandhaa, D Gukesh, and Divya Deshmukh (PTI/ANI Photos) India’s dominance in world chess has found another major endorsement, with reigning world champion D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and women’s World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh leading a strong Indian contingent in the shortlist for the inaugural FIDE Excellence Awards.The International Chess Federation (FIDE) on Friday unveiled…

Lamine Yamal’s separate training session raises World Cup final fears as Spain issue update/ Image: X Spain have moved to ease concerns surrounding Lamine Yamal’s fitness ahead of Sunday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup final against Argentina after the teenage star trained separately from the main squad during the team’s first session in New Jersey.Images of…

Rishad Hossain (Pic credit: X) Bangladesh produced a commanding all-round performance to defeat Zimbabwe by 34 runs in the second T20I, levelling the three-match series 1-1 and setting up a winner-takes-all decider on Sunday.After being comprehensively outplayed in the opening match, the visitors responded in emphatic fashion with a much-improved display in all three departments….

KOLKATA: Hockey India’s Ethics Committee has initiated a fact-finding inquiry into complaints filed against former India women’s hockey captain and Executive Board member Asunta Lakra.The development comes a day after it emerged that the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports had asked Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to constitute a neutral, fair and transparent committee to…

L-R: Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez; Spain players; and King Felipe VI (AP Photos) Spain will have their highest political and royal representatives cheering from the stands when they take on Argentina in the FIFA World Cup final on Sunday, with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and King Felipe VI both expected to attend the showpiece clash…

The Statue of Liberty stands during sunset as smoke from wildfires blankets the sky on Thursday. (AP Photo) The build-up to Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and Spain has been overshadowed by an unexpected opponent — thick wildfire haze drifting south from Canada, prompting air quality alerts across New York and New Jersey…

Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal (Image credit: Joan Monfort) Some stories are too unbelievable to be written. Yet, football has produced one. Nineteen years after Lionel Messi first met Lamine Yamal during a charity photoshoot in Barcelona, the two will stand on opposite sides in the FIFA World Cup final. Argentina and Spain will battle…

L-R: Lionel Messi; US President Donald Trump and Argentina President Javier Milei (AP Photos) Argentine President Javier Milei will not be in the stands for Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final against Spain despite invitations to join US President Donald Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino in New Jersey. Instead, Milei says he will remain at…

Referee Slavko Vincic of Slovenia (AP Photo) FIFA has appointed Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic to officiate Sunday’s FIFA World Cup 2026 final between defending champions Argentina and Spain, handing one of football’s most prestigious assignments to an official whose career once survived a bizarre off-field controversy after he was caught up in a police raid…

NEW DELHI: Pakistan star all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz has been suspended for three months after failing a dope test during the T20 World Cup earlier this year. The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the decision on Friday, saying the positive test was linked to a “substance of abuse” that was not related to improving sporting performance.However,…