International

England captain Joe Root can get even better despite his prolific form, says team-mate Jonny Bairstow. Root made a magnificent 180 not out on day three of the second Test against India at Lord's, his second hundred in the space of eight days. It was his fifth Test century of 2021. Only Denis Compton and Michael Vaughan have made six in a year for England. "He is only 30 years old. He is still coming to his peak," Bairstow told BBC Sport. "It

The 25-member Olympic core group will undergo mandatory quarantine before the commencement of training. New Delhi: The Indian women hockey's core group will return to the national camp in Bengaluru on Sunday to restart the preparations for the Tokyo Games after a 10-day break. The 25-member Olympic core group will undergo mandatory quarantine before the commencement of training. In January, the team toured Argentina where it played seven matches against the home country's junior, B team and the senior side, ranked number two

Health officials in Los Angeles County recently relaxed Covid-19 restrictions, clearing the way for about 2,000 people to pass through the turnstiles. Los Angeles: Los Angeles fans took advantage of relaxed rules on attending sporting events on Thursday with a limited number of spectators allowed into Staples Center for the first time in over a year to watch the Boston Celtics beat their Lakers 121-113. Thursday night was the first time that NBA fans were allowed to watch a game in person at Staples

If you didn’t already know, the first week of IPL 2021 provided ample explanation why Chennai Super Kings enjoyed domination at home over the past years. A slower surface, wherein batsmen find it tough to get the ball away and bowlers enjoy holding a say in T20 proceedings, CSK had turned Chepauk into a near-fortress. It is also an explainer why teams have struggled to come to terms with conditions here. The pandemic has thrown massive curve balls at the IPL —these teams weren’t picked

Flick's announcement capped a turbulent week for Bayern, who bounced back from their Champions League quarter-final exit at the hands of PSG on Tuesday. Bayern Munich head coach Hansi Flick revealed Saturday he wants to quit the Bundesliga leaders even after their 3-2 win at Wolfsburg left the champions seven points clear at the top of the table and on the verge of a ninth straight league title. "I told the team that I informed the club during the week that I want out of

Fourth seed Tsitsipas needed just over an hour to dispatch Britain's Evans, who knocked out world number one Novak Djokovic in the last 16. Monaco: Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Dan Evans 6-2, 6-1 in the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters on Saturday and will face Andrey Rublev for the title. Fourth seed Tsitsipas needed just over an hour to dispatch Britain's Evans, who knocked out world number one Novak Djokovic in the last 16. Tsitsipas has yet to drop a set in Monte Carlo

Bajrang said that he did not want to aggravate the condition of his right elbow. He said he started feeling the pain during the quarter-final against Korean Yongseok Jeong. Indian wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya retained his Asian Championship title with a solid performance but Bajrang Punia settled for a silver medal after withdrawing from the much-awaited final against Takuto Otoguro due to an elbow injury, on Saturday. Bajrang told PTI that he did not want to aggravate the condition of his right elbow. He said

Kolkata Knight Riders made a winning start to an IPL season for the eighth time in the last 10 editions, kicking off their 2021 campaign with a 10-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad at Chennai. Despite the presence of several heavyweights, it was the domestic duo of Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi who led KKR to 187/5, sharing a 93-run second-wicket partnership in just 8.2 overs. In response, SRH lost captain David Warner early, and a disciplined all-round bowling effort from KKR kept them

Punjab Kings had staged a miraculous comeback last year after a disastrous start, nearly making it to the playoffs in the process, and captain KL Rahul will hope his side is able to build momentum early so as to not build too much pressure over the playoffs qualification towards the business end of the tournament. With their purchase of top-ranked T20I batsman Dawid Malan, and shoring up the pace department with the acquisition of Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith, Punjab will certainly fancy

Madrid will host two groups, two last-eight ties, the semi-finals and the final. The 2021 Davis Cup Finals will be held in three cities, with Innsbruck and Turin joining Madrid as hosts, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced on Monday. The competition was reformed in 2019, with Rafael Nadal's Spain winning the 18-team competition in Madrid, but scheduling issues resulted in a number of late finishes and poor attendances at some matches. The ITF said Madrid, Austrian city Innsbruck and Turin in Italy

Even Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga weighed in, telling reporters the performance had been 'really wonderful.' Tokyo: Thrilled Japanese fans welcomed Hideki Matsuyama's historic Masters victory on Monday, with broadcasters close to tears and the country's prime minister hailing the win as a bright spot during the pandemic. "Matsuyama Masters" trended on Twitter after the 29-year-old earned himself a place in history by becoming the first Japanese man to capture a major golf title. "Matsuyama opens the door of history," declared the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. In Japan, the

With the Games just months away, the regime’s sports ministry says it wants to protect athletes from the ‘global health crisis’. North Korea’s sports ministry said on Tuesday that it will not participate in the Tokyo Olympics this year to protect its athletes amid the coronavirus pandemic. The decision was made at a meeting of North Korea’s Olympic committee, including its sports minister Kim Il guk, on 25 March the ministry said on its website, called Joson Sports. “The committee decided not to join the

After a year’s delay, the Tokyo Olympics are set to begin in July, with the Paralympics scheduled to start in August. Years of planning — and billions in television dollars at stake — mean Olympic organizers are keen to hold the event without postponing again. But polling in Japan has trended strongly against the Games, as Motoko Rich and Hikari Hida report in The Times. Thousands of athletes and other participants will be heading to Tokyo, and less than 1 percent of Japan’s population has been

Doha: The Qatar Swimming Association (QSA) yesterday announced that it will host the General Congress of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) for the year 2021 on June 5.  QSA President Khaleel Al Jaber (pictured) in a statement said getting the hosting of the General Congress underlines Qatar’s top billing in hosting major FINA events. The assembly will witness the election of a new  FINA board of directors.  The event will be held under strict coronavirus protocols to ensure safety and health of all

If the 74 unforced errors were not incriminating enough, Paire's latest post-mortem on tennis in a world of Covid-19 was as explosive as ever. Benoit Paire brought his tennis horror show to mainland Europe on Sunday with a predictable first round exit at the Monte Carlo Masters followed by a signature, foul-mouthed rant at the current state of a sport which has brought him $9 million in prize money. The 31-year-old lost 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/5) in three hours to Australia's Jordan

Ishikawa, who is president of an IT company, has attended every Summer Olympics since then, becoming famous as an unofficial 'International Olympic Cheerleader'. She relishes joining in with fans from everywhere to cheer for their athletes. Tokyo: Kyoko Ishikawa was a back-packing Japanese student in Barcelona in 1992 when she says a “miracle happened.” She managed to buy a ticket to the opening ceremony of Spain's historic Olympics. She said she had only “pocket money” with her — maybe $50 — when some

Anirban Lahiri achieved his best in 1260 days and Jordan Spieth got back into the winner's circle after a span of 1351 days at the Valero Texas Open. Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri notched up his best finish in over three years by signing off fifth at the Valero Texas Open after carding a three-under 69 in the final round here. Lahiri, who finished 10-under overall, had opened the week with a modest one-under 71. He added solid 69s on each of the next

The French Open, which last year was postponed by four months and took place in front of limited crowds, is due to start this year on May 23. French Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu said it was possible the French Open could be postoned for the second year amid the COVID-19 crisis. France entered a third nationwide lockdown on Saturday to contain the coronavirus spread, although professional sports have largely been spared. An exception is cycling’s Paris-Roubaix one-day race, which has been postponed from its original April 11

The pros will be leading a five-member team that includes Karman Kaur Thandi, the fast-improving Zeel Desai and Rutuja Bhosale. India's tennis ace Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina began their preparations for the Billie Jean King Cup, previously Fed Cup, tie against Latvia in Dubai in a bid to get back to peak fitness as quickly as possible for the two-day away contest on April 16-17. The duo will be working together for a week before boarding the flight to Latvia. This is

Poland's Hubert Hurkacz claimed his first ATP Masters 1000 title by beating Italian teenager Jannik Sinner in the Miami Open final. Hurkacz, 24, won 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 in one hour 43 minutes to become the first Polish singles player to win one of the ATP's top-level events. The world number 37 is the lowest-ranked player to win a Masters event since Tomas Berdych in Paris in 2005. Sinner, 19, was the youngest Masters finalist since Rafael Nadal in 2005. Nadal, Novak Djokovic and