Sports

The chief of the Wrestling Federation of India, under police investigation for suspected sexual misconduct after accusations by female athletes, held a political rally on Sunday in his first public appearance since the probe was launched in April. Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, also a federal lawmaker from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party, is the subject of a criminal case filed …

Scott Boland sparked a dramatic collapse as Australia hammered India by 209 runs to win the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval on Sunday. India, set a record 444 to win, resumed on 164-3. But they collapsed to 234 all out, losing seven wickets for 70 runs inside 24 overs before lunch on the fifth day. Boland did the initial …

LONDON: England’s Ollie Pope said they have to get Steve Smith out of his bubble during the Ashes series and will look for ways of making the Australian run machine as uncomfortable as possible at the crease. Smith batted for 5-1/2 hours against India in the World Test Championship final at the Oval before he was out for 121 from …

PARIS: Novak Djokovic made a huge leap towards a record 23rd men’s Grand Slam title with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 French Open semi-final victory against an ailing Carlos Alcaraz in a clash of titans that ended in anticlimactic fashion on Friday. The drama unfolded just as Djokovic had levelled the third set at 1-1 with the first two sets …

ISTANBUL: Manchester City are huge favourites heading into Saturday’s Champions League final against Inter Milan in Istanbul as Pep Guardiola’s side aim to finally get their hands on the greatest prize in European club football, and complete a historic treble. City have been building towards this moment ever since the transformative 2008 takeover of the club by the Abu Dhabi …

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Basketball Federation (PBBF) on Friday announced the national squad for a five-nation international event being staged in the Maldives later this month. PBBF secretary general Khalid Bashir said the event besides Pakistan features Maldives, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, and will be held in Male from June 15-22. “This championship will benefit Pakistan [players] in getting exposure …

Former cricketer Shoaib Akhtar doesn’t want to get remarried. During a recent guest appearance on Hafiz Ahmed’s podcast, Akhtar discussed how he met his wife and his thoughts on second marriages. The host asked him if he would remarry, to which the cricketer said that although Islam permits multiple marriages, he personally believes in the importance of remaining committed to a …

ISLAMABAD: The development budget for the sports sector has significantly been reduced, with the government allocating Rs1.9 billion to the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordi­nation (IPC) for 14 ongoing and three new sports projects. Last year, the government earmarked Rs3.4bn for 12 ongoing and seven new schemes. Despite sports having devolved after the 18th constitutional amendment, the IPC ministry regulates the …

PARIS: The Paris 2024 Olympic Games flame will be lit on April 16 next year, marking the countdown to the July 26-Aug 11 games in the French capital, an Olympic movement source said on Thursday. The flame will be lit at Greece’s ancient Olympia, birthplace of the Games, and will remain in the country for about a week before a …

SYDNEY: Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka will stand trial on a rape charge stemming from an alleged incident which occurred while he was in Australia to play in the Twenty20 World Cup last year. The 32-year-old, who was suspended by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) immediately after his arrest last November, had three of the four sexual assault charges he faced …