SPORTS

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named a 15-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup tournament, which is slated to begin later the month in the UAE. And among the notable exclusions has been that of star India pacer Mohammed Shami. After missing an array of matches for India in the T20I format, experts expected the return of Shami in the Indian team for the Asia Cup tournament, and his exclusion was questioned by many. However, former Pakistan captain Salman Butt explained the logic behind BCCI's move to snub Shami.

The Indian contingent ended the Commonwealth Games 2022 by winning a total of four gold medals on the final day of the tournament. PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, Achanta Sharath Kamal and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty won gold medals while other Indian athletes also won a few medals. India ended the competition in the fourth position with a total of 61 medals including 22 gold, 16 silver and 23 bronze medals.

Indian fans were left surprised when all-rounder Hardik Pandya walked out for the toss as captain in place of Rohit Sharma against West Indies at Central Broward Park Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida on Sunday.

Hardik won the toss and opted to bat in the 5th T20. India have already clinched the five-match series 2-1.

After the toss, Pandya said that Rohit, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are rested from the fifth T20I.

In an embarrassing incident for the organisers, the wrestling bouts at the Commonwealth Games had to be stopped and spectators were asked to vacate the hall after a speaker fell from the ceiling, minutes after the first session began. Only five bouts could be completed when a speaker, used to relay announcement, fell near one of the mat chairmen, raising a safety issue at the Ceventary stadium and arena on the opening day of the wrestling competitions.

This was right after India’s Deepak Punia had won his opening 86kg bout.

While the Indian weightlifters continued to shine on Day 6 of the ongoing 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, for our boxers, it was a mixed bag of results as three pugilists reached the semis while the two got knocked out. 

It wasn’t all gloomy as three pugilists Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Nitu Ganghas (48kg), and  Mohammed Hussamudin (57kg) assured India of at least a bronze medal by winning their respective quarter-final bouts and advancing to the semis. 

Despite these wins, it was a forgettable day for the Indian boxing contingent as Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain and Ashish Kumar failed to advance to the last four stages, which could have guaranteed them a podium finish.