New Delhi, April 23 The national shooting federation, which is fighting a court battle to uphold its selection criteria in the ongoing trials for Paris Olympics, seems to have bent the rules for one marksman recently, allowing him to participate despite lower-than-requisite scores. Trap marksman Karan missed the National Rifles Association of India's (NRAI) criteria for shotgun selection trials by two points but was allowed to compete, while several others, who shot identical scores during last year's National Championships, were not considered. A letter issued by NRAI in November announcing ..read more

New Delhi, April 23 Rishabh Pant's leadership skills will be under scrutiny as a struggling Delhi Capitals would seek a much-improved performance from their bowlers when they take on an inconsistent Gujarat Titans in the IPL here on Wednesday. It was not an ideal homecoming for Pant as after two consecutive wins, DC slumped to a 67-run loss against a marauding Sunrisers Hyderabad at home on Saturday. The loss saw DC slip to the eighth position with three wins and five defeats. They very well know they can't afford to falter if they want to keep their play-off hopes alive. Against SRH, Pant err ..read more

Kolkata, April 23 Former West Indies bowling all-rounder Sunil Narine, who is having a terrific IPL season, won't be reversing his retirement decision for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA, insisting that the "door is now closed". The 35-year-old last played for the West Indies in a T20 International in August 2019 before retiring from international cricket in November last year to focus on franchise T20 leagues around the world. But owing to his sensational form with both bat and ball for Kolkata Knight Riders this IPL season, attempts were being made to convince Narine to r ..read more

Jaipur, April 23 Following the nine-wicket loss to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya said that they have to accept their flaws and work on them in the coming days. While speaking at the post-match presentation, Pandya said that his side has to learn from the mistakes they have made in the ongoing season of the IPL and rectify them. "What we can do is learn from this game and the mistakes which we have made, rectify it and make sure that we don't make it. Progression is very important. Within the team, individually, we will ..read more

New Delhi, April 22 For most athletes victory is usually the biggest motivator but not for history-making teen Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh, who said he got the "energy" to become the youngest Candidates chess champion thanks to his seventh-round loss to Iran's Firouzja Alireza ..read more

Jaipur, April 22 Yashasvi Jaiswal roared back to form with a terrific hundred after Sandeep Sharma's maiden five-for as a rampaging Rajasthan Royals hammered Mumbai Indians by nine wickets in the IPL here today. 200 Wickets for Yuzvendra Chahal in the IPL, the first bowler to reach the milestone. Dwayne Bravo is second on the list of leading wicket-takers 7 Hauls of four wickets or more for Chahal in the IPL, the second most along with Lasith Malinga. Sunil Narine leads with eight hauls of four or more After Sandeep returned 4-0-18-5 to record the best bowling figures this IPL, Jaiswal found ..read more

Saint Lucia, April 22 With T20 cricket becoming increasingly more batter-dominated, bowlers with the "X-factor" could make all the difference in the World Cup in June, says West Indies head coach Daren Sammy. The batting bias of cricket's shortest format is evident in the ongoing IPL, where 200-plus scores have become a routine and 300 does not look impossible anymore. Sammy, who captained West Indies to both their T20 World Cup titles, expected the batting carnage to continue in the June showpiece. "It's not just the young bowlers, every single international bowler has been under pressure. Lo ..read more

Madrid, April 22 Carlos Alcaraz is back from injury to try to win a third consecutive Madrid Open this week, with Rafael Nadal also in the draw, but top-ranked Novak Djokovic is missing. Alcaraz will be competing in his first European clay-court event of the season after skipping Monte Carlo and Barcelona because of a right arm injury. Nadal, a record five-time champion in Madrid, continues his comeback from injury. The 22-time Grand Slam champion lost to 10th-seed Alex de Minaur in the second round at the Barcelona Open last week. Three-time champion Djokovic will not play for a second consec ..read more

Hilton Head Island, April 22 Masters champion Scottie Scheffler winning the RBC Heritage was inevitable. It felt that way at the start of the week, too. He made a bogey on the final hole for a 3-under 68 and a three-shot win over Sahith Theegala. He won for the fourth time in his last five starts and became the first player since Bernhard Langer in 1985 to win the week after capturing the Masters green jacket. Korda ties LPGA record The Woodlands (US): Nelly Korda is seemingly unstoppable. The world's No. 1 player hasn't lost a tournament since January, and now she's a two-time Major champion ..read more

MADRID, April 22 La Liga leaders Real Madrid's pursuit of a record-extending 36th Spanish title gathered momentum after Jude Bellingham scored a goal in added time to secure a 3-2 comeback win over Barcelona on Sunday. 5 It's just the fifth time that Madrid have won at least three Clasicos in a single season, and the first since 2012-13 Real twice fought back from a goal down before Bellingham smashed in the winner at the far post from about six yards out to beat the champions for a fourth successive time. The result left second-placed Barca 11 points adrift of the leaders with six games lef ..read more