SPORTS

Chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly recovered just recently after undergoing two rounds of angioplasty in January of this year. Now hale, hearty and back at work, Sourav Ganguly still maintains a steady silence over his future plans.

With Assembly elections in West Bengal just around the corner, Sourav Ganguly is at the centre of a political tug-of-war between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP.

Reports had previously suggested that Sourav Ganguly had been approached by both political parties, seeking to cash in on his widespread popularity, especially among the people of West Bengal.

India head coach Ravi Shastri often does not get the credit he deserves when India wins but when the result doesn’t go India’s way, albeit for a match, Shastri is the first one subjected to numerous social media trolls. While some of the memes are funny, many are distasteful at times. Shastri, however, does not mind that one bit.

When asked about his reaction to the social media memes on him that often go viral, Shastri said they are 'banters'.

"I would say it's banter. They do it to have fun at my expense. I will have milk and honey and you enjoy your drink," Shastri laughed while answering to the query during a virtual press conference.

National record holder and star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra set a new national record on Friday in the third leg of the Indian Grand Prix in Patiala.

Chopra returned to competitive action after more than year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and immediately made an impact with a record throw of 88.07 meters to break his own national record by one centimetre.

Chopra had set the previous record at 88.06m during his gold-medal winning throw at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Chopra's throw is also the best by any athlete this year with the previous best being 87.27m by Johannes Vetter of Germany.

Since the start of 2019, Saina Nehwal has had a total of 10 instances of a 20-19 scoreline going into deuce at all levels of international tournaments, either in the second or third sets. She could be leading in some situations, or have fought gamely from large trailing leads to cover ground – but the 30-year-old has invariably gone onto lose in all those matches at the crunch.

It was the same story at the Swiss Open, as Saina chases Olympic qualification at the Super 300 event. This time, she flubbed two match points against Thai Phittayaporn Chaiwan – 10 years her junior – and ended up exiting in the first round, harming her qualification chances further.

This phase of losing from the brink after rallying for a fightback – littered with 21-19 or 23-21 last set scores – or not doing enough to drive home the advantage, has coincided with the Tokyo Olympic qualification period. It is at the heart of Saina’a slump.

Towards the preparation for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the franchise’s proposed preparatory camp for the 14th edition will kick start next week with a few domestic Indian players, including skipper MS Dhoni. There is no official word on the forthcoming season’s commencement date or the venues however, India is likely to host it from April onwards. Dhoni, who is likely to make his presence in the camp from Day 1 in Chennai, will try to plug-in the holes and plot a comeback for the three-time champions.

The Yellow Army will once again have Suresh Raina aka Chinna Thala donning the jersey in IPL 2021. Last year, he opted out from the campaign citing personal reasons. An official from the CSK camp told Inside Sport that the availability of players would not be an issue. The franchise is hopeful that the camp will begin successfully. Additionally, the official informed that the bio-bubble protocol will be followed in the same manner and no additional measures were necessary to be taken at the moment. The side has put stringent health and safety protocols in place for the camp. All the members of the contingent will follow mandatory testing.