Sports

G. Sathiyan and Akash Pal beat Jules Rolland and Leo De Nodrest of France 11-9, 11-4, 11-9 to win their maiden Tour men’s doubles title at the WTT Contender Lagos on Saturday.

This was Sathiyan’s second WTT men’s doubles crown after the one with Harmeet Desai in Tunis in 2021.

“Fantastic. We both were unseeded. Still, to beat the French pair by a 3-0 margin was great. We combined well. Akash has a powerful game, and I could place the ball well. We complemented each other,” Sathiyan told The Hindu.

Sreeja Akula’s confidence would have been sky high going into the women’s singles final. She had beaten the likes of top seed Hina Hayata (first round), seventh seed Jieni Shao (quarters) and fourth-seeded Prithika Pavade in the semifinals.

However, Japanese second seed Honoka Hashimoto beat Sreeja 11-7, 11-3, 11-4, 9-11, 13-11 in the summit clash to clinch the crown.

Other results: Women’s semifinals: Sreeja bt Prithika Pavade (Fra) 11-7, 11-4, 11-13, 6-11, 11-9; Mixed doubles final: Jules Rolland & Pavade (Fra) bt Akash Pal & Poymantee Baisya 12-10, 11-6, 6-11, 11-7.=

Sahil Jadhav won the compound men’s individual gold, while Parneet Kaur picked up the women’s individual silver to help India finish second with five medals, including two gold, two silver and a bronze, in archery at the World University Games in Essen, Germany, on Saturday.

Sahil edged out compatriot Kushal Dalal 148-148 (30-29, 30-29, 30-30, 29-30, 29-30, shoot-off: 10*-10; shot closer to the centre) in an all-Indian semifinal match before stunning World Cup Stage team gold winning British archer Ajay Scott 149-148 (30-30, 30-29, 30-30, 30-30, 29-29) in a keenly-contested final.

Sahil, who claimed a team silver with Kushal, held his nerve to shoot perfect scores for four consecutive ends and managed to thwart Scott’s challenge in a high-pressure duel.

Kushal was beaten 150-148 (30-29, 30-30, 30-30, 30-30, 30-29) by a flawless Polish archer, Przemyslaw Konecki, in the bronze medal match.

Parneet, who had secured a mixed team gold and a women’s team bronze, defeated Korean Kim Sooyeon 145-144 (30-29, 28-27, 30-28, 28-30, 29-30) in the semifinals, but lost 146-147 (30-29, 30-29, 28-30, 29-30, 29-29) to another Korean, Moon Yeeyun, in a closely-fought summit clash and settled for the silver.

The men’s Asia Cup will be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from September 9 to 28, Asian Cricket Council chairman Mohsin Naqvi announced on Saturday (July 26, 2025).

As per the draft itinerary in possession of PTI, the marquee group match between India and Pakistan will be held at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday (September 14).

The arch-rivals are clubbed in the same group and are expected to square off again in a Super Four game on next Sunday (September 21). India will start its campaign against UAE on September 10 and are likely to play all its matches in Dubai.

India, Pakistan, UAE and Oman are clubbed in group A, while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Hong Kong are in group B. The ACC will allow 17-member squads for the 19-match tournament and matches will be played in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Earlier, Mr. Naqvi, who is also the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took to ‘X’ to make a formal announcement.

“I am delighted to confirm the dates of the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2025 in UAE. The prestigious tournament will take place from September 9th to 28th. We look to a spectacular display of cricket. Details schedule will be out soon,” Mr. Naqvi posted.

The venue of the event was decided at an ACC meeting on July 24. All 25 member nations attended the meeting.

BCCI is the host of the tournament but it is being held in the UAE as India and Pakistan have mutually agreed to compete only at neutral venues till 2027 due to the prevailing cross-border tension between them.

As per ACC’s deal with the broadcasters, India and Pakistan will be clubbed in the same group and also get another shot at each other in the Super Four stage with a possibility of a third meeting if both teams reach the final.

This edition of the Asia Cup will be held in T20 format as is the convention with the next ICC global meet being T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

India’s Asia Cup Group League itinerary

Sep 10: India vs UAE

Sep 14: India vs Pakistan

Sep 19: India vs Oman.

Super Four Schedule

Sep 20: B1 vs B2

Sep 21: A1 vs A2 (likely India vs Pakistan) S

ep 23: A2 svs B1

Sep 24: A1vs B2

Sep 25: A2 vs B2

Sep 26: A1 vs B1

Sep 28: Final.

Coming through the preliminaries, India’s C. A. Bhavani Devi overcame Chu Wing Kiu of Hong Kong, 15-12 in the second-round (main draw) women’s individual sabre bout of the World fencing championships held in Tbilisi, Georgia on Saturday.

The 31-year-old Indian will next take on Anastassiya Gulik of Kazakhstan. However, Shreya Gupta lost to Yuina Kaneko of Japan 15-9 in the women’s sabre second round (round of 64).

The second Women’s Kabaddi World Cup, which was scheduled to take place in Hyderabad from August 3 to 10 at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, has been indefinitely postponed.

This is the second time the event has been rescheduled, after it was originally slated to be held in Bihar in June.

The Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI), in a letter to the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF), which The Hindu has seen, stated that the decision was made due to the “non-timely submissions of team contingent administrative details,” which caused an issue in “obtaining clearances from the concerned Ministries.” AKFI also said that it will not accept any changes to the existing list of participating countries, stating that it would “derail the administrative process for timely clearances.”

Argentina, Bangladesh, Chinese Taipei, Germany, Netherlands, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Nepal, Thailand, Uganda, Zanzibar, Poland and India are the 14 countries taking part in the event.

According to various sources, the tournament will now take place in Hyderabad following the conclusion of the Pro Kabaddi League, which gets underway in Vizag on August 29.

Skipper Shubman Gill made an unbeaten fifty and resisted England bowlers in the company of KL Rahul to take India to 86 for two at tea on Day 4 of the fourth Test here on Saturday (July 26, 2025).

India were tottering at 1 for two at lunch, but Gill (52) and Rahul (30) added 85 runs for the third wicket in the post-lunch session to keep India afloat.

India’s Sai Sudharsan returns to the pavilion after his dismissal during the fourth day of the fourth Test match between India and England, at the Old Trafford cricket ground, in Manchester, England, Saturday, July 26, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
PTI

The visitors are still trailing by 225 runs at the break.

Earlier, England piled 669 runs in their first innings, riding on hundreds by Joe Root and captain Ben Stokes, to take a huge 311 runs lead.

Brief scores:

India 1st innings: 358 all out & II Innings: 86/2 in 28 overs (Gill batting 52, KL Rahul batting 30; Woakes 0/2) vs England: 669 all out in 157.1 overs (Joe Root 150, Ben Stokes 141, Ben Duckett 94, Zak Crawley 84; Ravindra Jadeja 4/143).

Former England cricketer Jonathan Trott observed that India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah benefits massively when there is support at the other end but feels the ongoing fourth Test in Manchester is now ‘slightly beyond’ the visitors.

Down 1-2 in the five-match series, India trail England by 186 runs in at the end of Day 3 in the fourth Test.

India endured arguably their worst day on the field on Day 3 of the Manchester Test as Joe Root’s record-breaking 150 put the hosts in complete command.

Despite having Bumrah available for what could be his last Test of the series as it was pre-decided that the right-arm pacer would play three of the five Tests on England tour, the Indian bowlers struggled to break through.

“Bumrah’s areas were pretty good, and his economy reflects that — he was just a bit unlucky. But the bigger issue is pressure from both ends,” JioHotstar expert Trott said.

“Bumrah benefits massively when there’s support at the other end, and that wasn’t the case today (Friday). When you’re slightly under par as a bowling unit — like India were — control from both ends becomes crucial,” he added.

While Trott had some sympathy for the young India captain Shubman Gill on his first assignment as leader, he said the fourth Test is beyond India’s control as they have fallen behind by a big margin.

“Shubman Gill is on his first trip to England as a batter and has also been thrown into the deep end as captain — carrying immense responsibility,” he said.

“He fought well across the first three Tests, but this game feels slightly beyond India, considering the challenges and resources. India’s bowling was hampered by Akash Deep’s unavailability — he picked up 10 wickets in the last Test but missed out due to injury.

“Anshul Kamboj came in, but struggled to rise to the demands of Test cricket. One area India could’ve improved is their bowling combination — seamers bowled nearly 82 overs for just three wickets, while spin got four wickets in just 52 overs. That’s something they’ll need to reassess,” he added.

Trott said Root has found a balance in the aggressive Bazball approach and conventional style of batting is working well for the England great.

“Joe Root’s method is just so solid, you don’t see him shift gears dramatically. When Bazball first came in, he experimented a bit — ramping seamers, playing reverse scoops — but he’s set that aside now,” he said.

“He’s found a balanced approach, maybe carried over a few elements from that expansive phase, but overall, he sticks to what works best for him.”

Meanwhile, former batter Sanjay Manjrekar hoped India will not get bogged down under pressure and come out fighting.

“;India won’t be thinking of a draw. They’ll be hoping for the sun to be out so they can pile on runs and put pressure back on England. The surface is showing signs of uneven bounce, so it could get tricky,” he said.

Tim David scored the fastest century for Australia in a Twenty20 international which lifted the tourists to a series-clinching six-wicket win over West Indies in the third game of a five-match series on Friday (July 25, 2025).

David and Mitchell Owen’s unbroken 128-run stand guided Australia to 215-4 off 16.1 overs to seal the victory and an unassailable 3-0 series lead.

Making the most of the small dimensions at Warner Park in St. Kitts, David brought up his first international century from the final ball of the match with his sixth boundary. His blistering 102 not out, with 11 sixes, came from just 37 balls and bettered the mark of 43 balls set by current team-mate Josh Inglis against Scotland last year.

It was also the third fastest century among ICC member nations, with only India’s Rohit Sharma and South Africa’s David Miller bettering the mark with 35 balls, both in 2017.

“I didn’t think I would have the opportunity to score 100 for Australia, so I’m so grateful for that opportunity and and pretty stoked,” David said.

David’s fireworks overshadowed a brilliant unbeaten century by West Indies captain Shai Hope (102 off 57 balls) which featured eight boundaries and six sixes to lead West Indies to 214-4 off its 20 overs.

Hope combined with opening partner Brandon King to put on 125 runs in 11.4 overs as the hosts made a rapid-fire start after losing the toss and being asked to bat first.

King made a spritely 62 off 36 balls before holing out to Sean Abbott off Mitchell Owen.

The skipper raised his deserved ton in the 19th over with a single off his 55th ball to join Chris Gayle as the only West Indies male player with centuries in all formats.

Brief cameos from Shimron Hetmyer (9), Rovman Powell (9), Sherfane Rutherford (12) supported Hope’s solo assault on Australia’s bowlers and lifted the hosts past 200.

David’s blasts Australia out of trouble Australia’s chase started haphazardly with Glenn Maxwell — opening again with skipper Mitch Marsh — run out for 20 going for a tight single.

Inglis (15) was next to go failing to get enough distance on his strike into the stiff breeze and was caught at deep square leg off Romario Shepherd (2-39), who was in the team for the retired Andre Russell.

Marsh (22) was caught behind off Jason Holder two overs later and when Cameron Green (11) fell the same way to be Shepherd’s second wicket the tourists were at 87-4 and rocking.

Enter Tim David who brought his destructive power game to smash the West Indies bowlers to all corners of the small ground, and indeed often outside of Warner Park, as the target was whittled down in rapid time.

David raised his fifty off 16 balls, also an Australian record, and he only slowed down slightly in the next fifty as he teased the West Indies bowlers into his wide hitting arc.

The Australian should have been stopped at 90 but King dropped a simple catch at deep mid-wicket off Shepherd to cruel any late chance the hosts may have had.

David was well-complemented by his fellow Tasmanian Owen (36 off 16) — who continued his bright start to his international career — as the pair’s 128-run stand off 48 balls sealed the win.

“I honestly don’t think we had enough runs on the board on a pitch like that, you need to understand the dimensions of the ground,” Hope said. It’s very difficult to defend a score of 200 at St. Kitts with that surface..”

Australia had a three-wicket win to open the series on Sunday (July 19, 2025), while Inglis and Green led Australia to an eight-wicket victory in Wednesday’s (July 23, 2025) second match, spoiling Russell’s last game for West Indies.

Australia’s win streak in the Caribbean now stands at six-matches following the 3-0 test series sweep.

The fourth match will be played at the same ground on Saturday (July 26, 2025).