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New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi will not attend the high-stakes Asian Games men's cricket gold medal match between India and Pakistan due to prior commitments.The ACC confirmed Naqvi's absence ahead of the marquee final, to be played at the Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, as he extended his best wishes to the teams competing for the medals. Before the gold medal game, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will face each other in the bronze medal game."ACC President, Mr Mohsin Naqvi, will miss Finals Day at #AsianGames2026 due to prior commitments, but sends his very best wishes to all four teams ahead of the Gold and Bronze Medal Matches," the ACC said in a statement posted on its social media accounts on Friday.India a...

Nisshin, Oct 2 (IANS) India stand on the brink of defending their Asian Games gold medal, but batting coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar has brushed off the hype surrounding their high-stakes final against arch-rivals Pakistan, adding that the side views the contest strictly through a professional lens.An India-Pakistan clash naturally commands massive global attention, and it will be the same when the gold medal game happens at the Korogi Sports Park on Saturday. "A lot of eyeballs will be there, but for the players, to be frank with you, it's facing a bowler or bowling to a batter. So that's what it comes down to, and that's what professionals do, so that's what we'll be focused on," Kanitkar told reporters on the eve of the match.The former India batter, famous for hitting the match-winning boun...

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) President Droupadi Murmu on Friday heaped praise on boxer Parveen Hooda for winning the women's 65kg gold medal at the ongoing Asian Games. Murmu hailed Parveen's "skill, courage and conviction" that brought her the gold medal after defeating Chinese Taipei's Chen Nien-chin in a closely fought final by 3-2. "I extend my warmest congratulations to Parveen Hooda on winning the Gold Medal in the Women’s 65kg Boxing event at the Asian Games 2026," President Murmu wrote for Parveen on X."You fought your way to the top with skill, courage and conviction. Daughters like you make India feel so proud when our tricolour flutters high, and our national anthem is played in an international competition. This Gold Medal is going to inspire countless youth, especially the girls," ...

New Chandigarh, Oct 2 (IANS) India’s under-fire bowling unit faces a stern test of redemption when they take on the West Indies in the third and final ODI at the New PCA Stadium on Saturday.Although the hosts hold an unassailable 2-0 lead, thus making Saturday’s game a dead rubber, the narrative surrounding the series has been dominated by excessively batter-friendly pitches in Thiruvananthapuram and Guwahati, where a whopping 811 runs were yielded. It prompted India head coach Gautam Gambhir to publicly call for a more even contest between bat and ball.While top-order batters have flourished, India’s new-ball bowling attack has floundered, as seen from them picking just one wicket across the opening 10 overs of the first two matches while conceding 177 runs in the mandatory power-play pha...

Nishio, Oct 2 (IANS) Ankush Panghal clinched a gold medal in the men's 80kg final after a superb 4-0 win over Minseong Kim of South Korea at the Nishio Gymnasium at the ongoing Asian Games as India's boxing campaign came to a fruitful end. Ankush dominated the bout from the word go and got the ruling of four of the five judges in his favour by 30-26, while one judge tied the two at 28-28. The Korean pugilist was docked a point for warning in the first round.Ankush won the first round 4-1 as he landed his punches fiercely. He was even superior in the second round as he bagged it 5-0 with some 1-2s and pounced with counter punches. Kim also landed some punches, but the Indian looked far better.The Indian produced another display of counter punches in the third round as he blended defence wit...

Nishio, Oct 2 (IANS) Sujeet Kalkal ended India’s wait for a wrestling gold at the Asian Games 2026 with a stunning comeback victory in the men’s freestyle 65kg category, overcoming Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiyev 10-9 in a dramatic final at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Center on Friday.For most of the match the 23-year-old Indian was behind 2-9, but then pulled off a remarkable late rally by scoring eight consecutive points in the final stages and won from Kudiyev to secure India's first wrestling gold at the Games.The triumph of Kalkal was the climax of an impressive series of results in Aichi-Nagoya, having already beaten an Olympic champion and overcome tough opponents from Iran and Japan on his way to the final.The Indian fighter started his challenge against Afghanistan's Sayed Omar Z...

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) Former India captain Sourav Ganguly believes star fast-bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be vital to maintaining the side’s balance at the 2027 Men’s ODI World Cup in South Africa, adding that keeping him fit and match-ready will be head coach Gautam Gambhir’s biggest off-field challenge leading into the marquee event.The ICC officially launched the schedule for the 2027 Men’s ODI World Cup in Cape Town on Thursday and set the stage for the tournament to commence in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia from October 2 to November 21. Pandya has played two ODI World Cups for India in 2019 and 2023, where he was ruled out of the competition after sustaining an ankle injury in the clash against Bangladesh in Pune."I think Hardik Pandya is very important to India's ba...

New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) Legendary white-ball all-rounder Yuvraj Singh believes India possesses the squad strength and potential to lift the 2027 ICC Men’s ODI World Cup, provided the team management avoids excessive shuffling and zeroes in on a core pool of 16 to 20 players at least a year prior to the marquee event. The schedule for the mega event was unveiled in Cape Town on Thursday, with exactly a year left for the competition to take place in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. India, the two-time winners, will open their Group A campaign against reigning champions Australia on October 7 in Cape Town, before taking on arch-rivals Pakistan on October 10 in Johannesburg.India are also scheduled to play against Afghanistan, Qualifier A team and co-hosts Zimbabwe, with the final to be pla...

Nishio, Oct 2 (IANS) Parveen Hooda ended her long wait for an Asian Games medal in style as the 26-year-old Indian boxer clinched gold in the women’s 65kg category, giving India its second women’s boxing gold at the ongoing Asian Games 2026.Parveen won the closely contested final against Nien-chin Che of Chinese Taipei on Friday, coming after Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain had earlier secured gold in the women's 75kg event.Rohtak born boxer began well by winning the first round 5-0, but Che responded in the second round and also won that round 5-0. In the final round Parveen kept her composure and won the round 3-2, thus securing the gold medal.This achievement represents a major milestone for Parveen, who had earlier secured a gold medal at the 2025 World Cup, obtained a bronz...

Nishio, Oct 2 (IANS) Lovlina Borgohain opened up about thoughts of quitting boxing after the Paris Olympics, where she failed to win a medal after clinching a bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.Lovlina on Friday created history when she became the second Indian woman boxer to win a gold at the Asiad after the legendary Mary Kom as she changed the colour of her 2023 Hangzhou Games from silver to gold this time around.Lovlina opened up about the tough time after the Paris Games, where she contemplated quitting the sport but returned as she enjoys boxing. "The time after the Paris Olympics was very hard for me. It hurts when we give our 100% for the results, but it does not come as we think. After that, it feels like everything is over," she told IANS after her Asiad gold.'But after that, I realise...