SPORTS

Mumbai, July 27 (IANS) When Babar Azam was offered the role of Pakistan's Test captain, he accepted it only on the condition that he would get all-format leadership, a news report said on Monday.Babar, who was dethroned because of poor batting a couple of years back, accepted Test captaincy after the incumbent Shan Masood had some poor results in red-ball cricket, said a report in Telecom Asia Sport on Monday. "Two selectors met Babar before the announcement of the Test captain on July 5 as they had no option other than Babar for red-ball captaincy and Babar accepted the role on condition of getting the captaincy in the other two formats as well," sources told www.telecomasia.net on Monday."Babar had always wanted to be sole captain of Pakistan in all three formats, and when he put that co...

Glasgow, July 27 (IANS) Canada dominated the individual apparatus finals in the Artistic Gymnastics competitions at the 2026 Commonwealth Games by winning three of the five gold medals decided at Glasgow on Monday.The gold medals for Canada were won by Felix Dolco (Men's Rings), Jordan Carroll (Pommel Horse) and Lia-Monica Fontaine (Women's Vault) won the gold medals for Canada while Kate McDonald (AUS) in Women's Uneven Bars and Luke Whitehouse (ENG) in Men's Floor were the other gold medal winners on Monday.The top performer for Canada on Monday was Felix Dolci in the Men's Rings, who turned his bronze medal in Birmingham 2022 into gold at Glasgow 2026.Dolci soared to 13.766 to win the final title of a frenetic day at the Artistic Gymnastics. William Emard, who had posted the biggest sco...

Glasgow, July 27 (IANS) Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, praised weightlifter Bindyarani Devi Sorokhaibam for her gritty show as she won a bronze medal in the women's 58kg weightlifting competition in the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Monday.Bindyarani secured the bronze medal in the women’s 58kg weightlifting competition, adding another medal to the country’s growing tally.The Manipur lifter finished third with a total lift of 199kg, registering 87kg in snatch and 112kg in the clean and jerk. Bindyarani Devi had won a silver medal in the 2022 edition in Birmingham in the 55kg weight-class."Grit, grip, and glory! "Many congratulations to Bindyarani Devi on winning a Bronze medal in the Women’s 58kg category and securing India’s fifth medal in Weigh...

Glasgow, July 27 (IANS) India’s Bindyarani Devi Sorokhaibam secured the bronze medal in the women’s 58kg weightlifting competition at the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow on Monday, adding another medal to the country’s growing tally.The Manipur lifter finished third with a total lift of 199kg, registering 87kg in snatch and 112kg in the clean and jerk. Bindyarani Devi had won a silver medal in the 2022 edition in Birmingham in the 55kg weight-class.The bronze medal took India's tally to six medals with one gold, three silver and two bronze medals. Nigeria’s Rafiatu Folashade Lawal dominated the event to claim the gold medal with a combined lift of 229kg (103kg snatch + 126kg clean and jerk). Canada’s Ann Sophie Taschereau took the silver medal with a total of 215kg (94kg snatch + 121kg ...

New Delhi, July 27 (IANS) Fresh from becoming India’s first World Junior squash champion, Anahat Singh has set her sights on an even bigger dream — the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 — saying the inclusion of squash in the Games has given players an opportunity they never imagined possible.“Every squash player is over the moon that squash is in the Olympics. No one ever really thought we'd get this opportunity. I'm really looking forward to having a shot at qualifying through the Asian Games. If it doesn't happen there, there are other ways as well,” Anahat said after her historic triumph in Toronto.In another landmark achievement, the 18-year-old Delhi player broke Egypt’s stranglehold on the girls’ event by beating Egypt’s second seed Ruqayya Salem in straight games to become the first Ind...

Madrid, July 27 (IANS) Real Betis goalkeeper Diego Conde is expected to spend several weeks on the sidelines after dislocating his left shoulder on his debut for the club. Betis confirmed the injury on Monday after the 26-year-old was hurt during Saturday's preseason friendly against Granada, just days after completing his move from Villarreal.Conde was forced off after colliding with defender Diego Llorente midway through the first half at Granada's Los Carmenes Stadium. The club said Conde suffered a dislocation of his left shoulder. The shoulder was put back into place at the stadium before the goalkeeper left with his arm in a sling.Although Betis have not given a timetable for his recovery, Spanish media reports indicate Conde is likely to be sidelined for at least six weeks. The inju...

Madrid, July 27 (IANS) Osasuna completed their first signing of the summer on Monday, confirming the arrival of forward Jonathan Dubasin from Sporting Gijon for a reported fee of around 4 million euros.The 25-year-old joined the La Liga club after an impressive campaign in Spain's second division, where he scored 17 goals and provided four assists for Sporting.Dubasin has signed a four-year contract that includes a reported release clause of 40 million euros. He is expected to help fill the void left by Spain international winger Victor Munoz, who joined Liverpool during the FIFA World Cup.Capable of playing on either flank or in a deeper attacking role, Dubasin offers versatility across the front line. Although he lacks Munoz's pace, he established himself as a reliable finisher last seas...

Blaine (USA), July 27 (IANS) Rookie Jackson Koivun held his nerve to secure his first PGA Tour title at the 3M Open in only his third start as a pro and held at bay the world's top-ranked player, Scottie Scheffler.Koivun won the 3M Open by three strokes, holding off Scheffler with a closing 5-under 66 for a tournament-record 25-under 259 total.Indian-origin Sudarshan Yellamaraju missed the cut, while Hero-backed Akshay Bhatia and Sahith Theegala did not start this week.“All throughout the crowd I kept hearing, ‘Scottie’s coming. Scottie’s coming,’” the 21-year-old Koivun said. “I just tried to tune that out and keep playing the golf I knew I could.”Scheffler, who played five groups ahead of Koivun, surged into contention with a 63 but settled for his fifth runner-up finish this season. His...

Gwalior, July 27 (IANS) Roundglass Hockey Academy girls rewrote the record book on Monday by registering a staggering 41-0 victory over the Tamil Nadu Hockey Academy at the 4th Hockey India Sub Junior Women Academy Championship 2026 - Zone A & B. The scoreline in the Pool C encounter, held in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, now stands as the biggest victory in the history of the tournament.In other matches on the second day of competitions, Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy emerged victorious in the Sub-junior competition, while Raja Karan Hockey Academy and Pritam Siwach Hockey Academy Sonepat secured wins in the Junior competition in the 4th Hockey India Sub Junior Women Academy Championship 2026 - Zone A & B and the 4th Hockey India Junior Women Academy Championship 2026 - Zone A & B c...

Dundonald Links (Scotland), July 27 (IANS) Diksha Dagar continued her consistent run on the Ladies European Tour (LET) with another strong finish, ending tied-16th at the 2026 ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open despite a modest final-round 1-over 73 at Dundonald Links in Scotland.The two-time LET winner, who had entered the final round in contention for a fifth top-10 finish of the season, closed with rounds of 74-73-70-73 for a total of 2-over 290 in the $2 million event, which was co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour.The result was still good enough to lift the Hero-backed Indian to sixth place on the LET Order of Merit heading into the season's final Major, the AIG Women’s Open. India's Pranavi Urs and Avani Prashanth had earlier missed the cut.Diksha made an encour...