Sports

The 81st edition of the senior squash national championships will be held at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here from August 23 to 28, Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) secretary-general Cyrus Poncha said at a media interaction on Thursday. Abhay Singh and Anahat Singh are the reigning men’s and women’s champions respectively, having triumphed in Mumbai last year.

With an eye on boosting squash’s status ahead of its debut in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, SRFI also launched the HCL India Squash Tour 2025-26 on Thursday. The Professional Squash Association (PSA) Challenger Tour series, which has been expanded to six cities this year, aims to offer important ranking points to Indian players along with enhanced prize money.

Jaipur (August 4-8), Mumbai (September 8-12), Bengaluru (September 26-31), Chennai (December 1-5), Ahmedabad (January 27-31) and New Delhi (February 3-7) will be hosting the series.

Former captain Sourav Ganguly said he would have liked to see left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav in India’s playing XI in at least three Test matches of the ongoing series in England.

“I wish Kuldeep had played in Manchester, Lord’s and even in Birmingham. Without quality spin, you will find it hard to get teams out on day five of a Test. On a pitch which had a bit of rough and there was a bit of turn, there wasn’t a quality spinner,” Ganguly, who used match-winning spinners well during his captaincy days, told reporters at Bisk Farm’s 25 years celebrations here on Thursday.

“In the past, great sides have had great spinners – whether it’s (Shane) Warne, (Muttiah) Murali(tharan), (Gramme) Swann, (Monty) Panesar, (Anil) Kumble, Harbhajan (Singh) or (R.) Ashwin. Kuldeep is someone whom India will have to look at playing in the future.”

While backing young pacer Anshul Kamboj to play a few more Tests, Ganguly said, “I was surprised not to see Mukesh Kumar in the national squad, especially with the red ball. His numbers in domestic cricket are phenomenal and these conditions would have been ideal for him to bowl.”

Drawing comparison with his playing days, when India used to have a star-studded batting line-up, Ganguly appreciated Indian batters’ performance in England. “We toured England in 2002 and 2007. From the opening to No. 6, everyone scored well. After a long time, I saw an Indian batting line-up in which everyone, right from the top order, middle order, lower middle order, has scored hundreds.”

Ganguly had some good words for captain Shubman Gill. “Shubman has been outstanding. If you give responsibility, you will get people who can deliver. Young Shubman, first hundred outside India (sub-continent), is batting superbly,” said Ganguly.

India lost the doubles and mixed doubles matches as it went down 3-4 to Mexico in the last league match of the IC Rod Laver Junior Challenge tennis tournament in Barcelona.

While host Spain emerged the champion, India was placed fifth ahead of South Africa in the six-team competition. Maaya Rajeshwaran’s injury proved decisive in depleting the defending champion.

India’s Araadhya Kshitij won the best sportsmanship award.

The results: League: Mexico bt India 4-3 (Carlo Arena lost to Samarth Sahita 4-6, 2-6; Valentino Arjona lost to Araadhya Kshitij 1-6, 4-6; Hanne Estrada bt Saanvi Misra 6-1, 6-1; Abril Cardenas lost to Rishitha Basireddy 6-7(4), 3-6; Carlo & Valentino bt Samarth & Araadhya 6-4, 6-4; Hanne & Abril bt Saanvi & Rishitha 6-4, 6-1; Valentino & Abril bt Araadhya & Rishitha 10-8).

The captain of the Indian women’s football team Sweety Devi interacted with the trainees at the launch of the Zinc Football Girls Academy at the Zawar Mines here on Thursday.

Sweety told the 20 girls, chosen in the under-15 age group for the academy — the first of its kind in the country, the pride she and the national team had felt by beating Thailand “in their ground, in front of their people” to qualify for the AFC Cup.

“Our dream is to play in the World Cup. It will be tough teams to play in Australia to qualify, but we have time to prepare till March,” said Sweety.

She was particularly impressed with the F-Cube technology used for training at the academy, with a digital wall, on which the trainees were bombarding their shots, offering varied data and scientific analysis for speedy development of players.

“We are working hard to make life easy for you in future. We didn’t have such technology, but we train with such intensity and are so tired that we don’t remember that we have a mobile phone.

“We have no distraction. It is amazing that you have such technology to train at the grassroots level. We need such training centres in different parts of the country, and for girls,” said Sweety.

The president of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), Kalyan Chaubey lauded Hindustan Zinc for the initiative and expressed confidence that in five years time many girls from the academy would represent the country.

Kishore Kumar, the chief operating officer of Hindustan Zinc, said that the success of developing around 200 boys at the centre since 2017 had prompted the team to focus on women empowerment and inclusivity.

The objective of the academy was nicely expressed in the slogan, “Desh ka sapna, Goal apna”.

Priya Agarwal Hebbar , chairperson Hindustan Zinc, sought guidance from AIFF, and assured that the organisation was willing to do everything to develop the 20 girls who have the passion and determination to excel in the game, and emerge as strong personalities.

Maharani Nivritti Kumari Mewar appreciated the efforts and said that sports like football taught so much, and played such a significant part in the lives of youngsters, especially in ensuring good mental health.

“Football means team work, and it teaches you to be selfless in achieving the collective goal. For the girls, it will be a great way to be physically strong,” said Nivritti Kumari.

In due course, the academy aspires to accommodate 60 girls, and the work on developing the residential infrastructure was already in progress.

Kishore Kumar assured that there was no dearth of resources and the organisation was willing to “scale up” the efforts to strengthen the grassroots of Indian football.

Evaldo, El Greco, Regina Memorabilis and Touch Of Mystic pleased when the horses were exercised here on Thursday (July 31) morning.

Inner sand:

600m: Timeless Vision (Nirmal) 38. Moved freely. Tyrannus (Mosin) 40. Easy.

800m: Mriga (Ajinkya), Conjurer (Zameer) 55, 600/40. They ended level. Mila (app), Higher Love (T.S. Jodha) 57, 600/42. They were easy. Victorious Omen (Bhawani) 53, 600/39. Moved freely. Fontana (Ajinkya) 57, 600/42. Easy. Ardakan (Pranil) 54, 600/41. Moved fluently. Samson (C. Umesh) 53, 600/40. Moved freely. Western Star (C. Umesh) 52, 600/39. Slightly urged. Arlington Heights (Mosin), Crystal Clear (Shelar) 52, 600/39. They were urged and ended level. Riptide (Hamir), Lara (Mosin) 52, 600/38. Both moved neck and neck freely. Giacomo (N. Bhosale) 53, 600/39. Pressed. Gold Bar (Nirmal), Machiavellian (A. Prakash) 51, 600/38. Former was superior.

1000m: Pyrite (Mosin) 1-8, 800/53, 600/40. Worked well. Touch Of Mystic (N. Bhosale), Irish Gold (Mosin) 1-5, 800/51, 600/38. Former who finished one length ahead was impressive.

1200m: Market King (Mosin) 1-20, 1000/1-6, 800/52, 600/39. Moved well. El Greco (Ajinkya) 1-21, 1000/1-6, 800/51, 600/39. Pleased.

1400m: Regina Memorabilis (Hamir) 1-37, 1200/1-21, 1000/1-6, 800/52, 600/39. Responded well.

Gate practice — inner sand:

1000m: Evaldo (A. Gaikwad), Mr. Brainwash (late Star Prosperity) (Shubham) 1-5, 800/49, 600/37. Former strode out well and finished a distance ahead. Sky Full Of Stars (rb) 1-12, 600/46. Pressed. Surrealist (Kirtish) 1-13, 800/57, 600/42. Easy.

England’s stand-in captain Ollie Pope won the toss for the fifth Test against India at the Oval in London on July 31, 2025, opting to bowl first.

Pope is standing in for the injured Ben Stokes in the final match of the Test series against India, which currently stands at 2-1 in favour of the hosts.

On a cloudy day, India has made four changes to the team that drew the fourth Test in Manchester. Dhruv Jurel is in for the injured Rishabh Pant, Karun Nair comes in for Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna replaces the rested Jasprit Bumrah and pace bowler Akash Deep is in for Anshul Kamboj.

England has rested pace spearhead Jofra Archer.

India have now lost 15 tosses in a row but skipper Shubman Gill said he does not mind losing the toss as long as they win the match.

“It is a bit overcast, but the wicket looks good. Post good runs in the first innings and let’s see then what happens from there,” Gill said. “Our bowlers are very much ready for this contest and it looks like a good wicket for the bowlers. So, hopefully, everyone will chip in.”

England lead the series 2-1 after winning the first and third tests at Headingley and Lord’s, respectively, while India won the second test at Edgbaston. The fourth test at Old Trafford ended in a draw.

Teams

India: Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, and Mohammed Siraj.

England: Ollie Pope (c), Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell, Jamie Smith(w), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, and Josh Tongue.

Ferrari announced a multi-year contract extension with Formula One team boss Fred Vasseur on Thursday (July 31, 2025), ending immediate speculation about the Frenchman’s future at the helm.

Vasseur, 57, has been in the post since the beginning of 2023 and was key to persuading seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton to join from Mercedes this season.

His tenure was questioned earlier in the year with reports suggesting Ferrari had sounded out Christian Horner, the Briton who was sacked by Red Bull this month and has yet to comment on what he will do next.

“Today we want to recognize what has been built and commit to what still needs to be achieved,” said Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna in a statement released ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

“It reflects our trust in Fred’s leadership, a trust rooted in shared ambition, mutual expectations and clear responsibility.”

Adrift of McLaren

Ferrari are second in the championship after 13 of the season’s 24 races but a massive 268 points adrift of dominant champions McLaren.

Hamilton, the most successful driver in the history of the sport with 105 wins, has yet to stand on the podium for his new employers although he did win a Saturday sprint in Shanghai in March.

Ferrari highlighted Vasseur’s ability to lead under pressure, as well as bring change to the team.

“I’m grateful for the trust Ferrari continues to place in me. This renewal is not just a confirmation — it’s a challenge to keep progressing, to stay focused, and to deliver,” said Vasseur in the statement.

“Over the past 30 months, we’ve laid strong foundations, and now we must build on them with consistency and determination. We know what’s expected, and we’re all fully committed to meeting those expectations and taking the next step forward together.”

Hamilton defends Vasseur

Hamilton made a passionate defence of Vasseur in Canada last month amid speculation the Ferrari team boss could be replaced.

“I love working with Fred. Fred’s the main reason I’m in this team and I got the opportunity to be here, which I’m forever grateful for. And we’re in this together,” said the 40-year-old.

“Things aren’t perfect but for me, I’m here to work with the team but also with Fred. I want Fred here. I do believe Fred is the person to take us to the top.”

Ferrari last won a championship in 2008, the year Hamilton took his first drivers’ crown with McLaren. The last driver to be champion with Ferrari was Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.

Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg believes that the aggressive tone of the ongoing Test series between India and England will be a huge selling point for the match-day tickets of the upcoming Ashes.

The Ashes 2025-26 between Australia and England will begin in November, and Greenberg is hoping to go past the 837,879 gross fans footfall during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

“It’s great, isn’t it? It’s great cricket (India vs England series for Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy) to watch as a fan,” Greenberg told Sydney Morning Herald.

The BGT was the highest attended Test campaign in Australian history outside of the Ashes and the record stands at 946,750, which was set during the 1936-37 Ashes when Sir Donald Bradman was in his pomp.

“Everyone will have their opinion when our English friends arrive I’m sure, and we’re looking forward to that very much. I love the way they’re playing their cricket and I can’t wait to see them test themselves on our shores,” he added.

The ongoing series between India and England have seen several flashpoints between the players from either side, and head coach Gautam Gambhir’s tip with the Oval curator Lee Fortis too has added to the drama.

Greenberg said the pre-sale Ashes tickets have already doubled those of the Border-Gavaskar series.

“It’s great cricket to watch leading into them coming here on this Ashes trip. It will sell more tickets for us. We like to think that’s talkability,” he said.

The opening day tickets for the five Ashes Tests across Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney are now sold out, as per CA’s estimate.

Meanwhile, ticket allocations for first, second and third days at the Gabba, Adelaide Oval and SCG have also been exhausted.