SPORTS

Madrid, Oct 28 (IANS) The Copa del Rey first round continues on Wednesday with five matches involving teams from La Liga, all travelling to face lower league rivals. Elche make a short trip to the region of Murcia to face UD Las Garres, an amateur side from a village of just over 7,000 inhabitants that plays in Spain's sixth tier in the 1,000-capacity Las Tejeras Stadium.Villarreal currently sit third in La Liga after winning away to Valencia on Sunday night, but Marcelino Garcia Toral's side will have a different challenge away to fifth-tier Ciudad de Lucena, from the province of Cordoba in the south of Spain. The 5,000-capacity Ciudad de Lucena Stadium will be packed to the rafters as the home side looks to pull off an unlikely surprise against a rival with a poor record in the annual kn...

Durban, Oct 28 (IANS) South African speedster Anrich Nortje, who hasn’t featured in any competitive cricket since the Indian Premier League (IPL) in May, is set to make his return in the Cricket South Africa (CSA) T20 Challenge this weekend. The fast bowler, no longer on a national contract, has been picked up by the Durban-based Dolphins for this season’s competition and is expected to feature in their opening match against the Tuskers at Kingsmead on Saturday.Nortje has now fully recovered from his most recent setback - a stress reaction that sidelined him from South Africa’s winter assignments. As a result, he was not included in the squads for the T20 series in Zimbabwe or the white-ball tours to Australia and England. His last appearance for South Africa came in the T20 World Cup fina...

Chennai, Oct 28 (IANS) Qualifier Anika Dubey (Maharashtra) packed off top seed Unnati Tripathi 3-1 in the 16-player draw Under-19 girls first round of the Sub-Junior & Junior National Squash Championships at the Indian Squash Academy in Chennai on Tuesday.The 15-year-old Anika, a two-time U-15 champion, opted to skip the Under-17 competition for the Under-19, and put up a solid display as she rallied to beat Unnati 7-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-6.Among other notable upsets, qualifier Anika Kalanki (MP) took down top seed Vasundhara Nangare (Maharashtra) 11-8, 11-6, 8-11, 12-10 in the 16-player draw Under-15 girls opening round.Results (1st round):Girls:U-11: Alia Kankaria (1), WB, def. Seerat Ghuman, CH, 11-3 11-3 11-5; Anshika Kumari, KA, def. Anaisha Sahu, JH, 11-2 11-4 11-2; Ariana Almoula (...

New Delhi, Oct 28 (IANS) The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed that Shreyas Iyer, who sustained a spleen laceration injury during the third ODI against Australia in Sydney on Saturday, is now stable but continues to be under observation.Iyer suffered the injury while taking the catch of Australia wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carry during the third ODI against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. He was immediately taken to the hospital for further evaluation and was later admitted to the ICU.“Shreyas Iyer sustained a blunt injury to his abdomen, resulting in a laceration of his spleen with internal bleeding on 25th October during the third ODI against Australia,” BCCI said in a statement on Tuesday.“The injury was promptly identified, and the bleeding was immediatel...

New Delhi, Oct 28 (IANS) India’s table tennis stars Diya Chitale and Manush Shah have etched their names in history books, becoming the first-ever Indian pair to qualify for the prestigious WTT Finals - the season-ending showcase that features the sport’s very best.Diya, the reigning National Champion and highest-valued Indian paddler at Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) Season 6, and Manush, the reigning Men’s National Champion and one of India’s most consistent international performers, have earned their spot at the WTT Finals Hong Kong 2025, to be held from December 10 to 14.The WTT Finals mark the grand culmination of the global WTT Series, featuring only the top-ranked players - the top 16 in Men’s and Women’s Singles, and the top eight Mixed Doubles pairs - competing for a total prize purs...

Kolkata, Oct 28 (IANS) Aman Raj and Kartik Singh will continue their rivalry in the fifth event of the Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL) Tour, with the seasoned Patna golfer facing off against the young Delhi player at the IGPL Invitational Kolkata to be held at the Tollygunge Club in Kolkata.Aman maintained his composure in the final moments to secure victory in Jaipur, with Kartik finishing a narrow second. As Aman aims to replicate Gaganjeet Bhullar’s achievement of consecutive wins, Kartik persists in his quest for his first professional title as he prepares for his fifth appearance on the IGPL Tour.Kartik Singh prepares for his first day at the IGPL Invitational Kolkata, where he is grouped with seasoned players Harendra Singh and Saarthak Chibber in the initial round at the Tollygung...

Delhi, Oct 28 (IANS) The stage is set for a global boxing spectacle as the World Boxing Cup Finals 2025 will be conducted at Greater Noida’s Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex from November 14 to 21, bringing together over 140 elite boxers from 18 nations, including three Olympic medalists.A strong 20-member squad will represent India at the event, led by seasoned pugilists, as well as medalists from previous World Boxing competitions.Donning the Indian colours will be ten men and ten women, headlined by former World Champion Nikhat Zareen (51kg), reigning World Champion Jaismine Lamboria (57kg), reigning World Champion Minakshi (48kg), two-time Asian Champion Pooja Rani (80kg), former World Champion Saweety Boora (75kg), and World Championship silver medallist Nupur Sheoran (80+kg)...

New Delhi, Oct 28 (IANS) Former England captain Nasser Hussain discussed the importance of Sophie Ecclestone and how the left-arm spinner’s inclusion in the XI would mean a lot for the team as they gear up to face South Africa in the all-important Women’s World Cup semi-final. Ecclestone sustained a minor injury to her shoulder in the team’s last group stage game against New Zealand and was subsequently taken off the field as a precautionary measure.The ECB, on Tuesday, stated that the medical team had been closely monitoring her progress and the team was optimistic of Ecclestone participating in their semi-final contest.Discussing the spinner’s calibre and the experience that she brings into the side, Nasser Hussain told Sky Sports, “She is okay, that's great news because she has had shou...

New Delhi, Oct 28 (IANS) Former India batter Reema Malhotra asserted that the Women in Blue have enough firepower in their line-up to topple defending champions Australia in the Women's World Cup semifinal scheduled for Thursday.India, who lost to Australia in the group stage match in Visakhapatnam, have to fire all their cylinders in the knockout clash to overcome the Aussie challenge in front of a packed crowd at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.India will be without their in-form opener Pratika Rawal, who has been ruled out of the tournament. In her place, swashbuckling batter Shefali Verma has been drafted into the squad and will be available to partner Smriti Mandhana at the top for Thursday’s semifinal.On the other hand, Australia are sweating on the fitness of their captain Alyssa He...

New Delhi, Oct 28 (IANS) England cricketers Harry Brook, Joe Root and Sam Curran extended their best wishes for their female counterparts, the Nat Sciver-Brunt-led side, ahead of the team’s Women’s World Cup semifinal against South Africa. The Englishwomen will face the Proteas on Wednesday in their quest to secure a spot in the tournament’s final.Sky Sports Cricket shared a video on their X handle where the three English cricketers wished the women’s team luck for the upcoming challenge.“Hi girls, I just want to wish you all the best playing in the semifinal against South Africa. Go out and smash it,” said Brook.“Just want to wish you all the best of luck for the semifinal against South Africa. Congrats on getting this far; you’ve done extremely well. One more big push. Get to that final ...