Speaking on RCB's Youtube show 'Bold Diaries', Virat Kohli said he didn't exactly miss the game during the COVID-forced lockdown, which brought sporting action to a halt. "Maybe because I was going on day and night for the last 10 years...It was a revelation for me in the sense that my focus was not solely on missing the game all the time," Kohli said.
India off-spinner R Ashwin courted controversy when he ran out Jos Buttler during last year's IPL as the England batsman backed up too far. The act triggered the age-old debate on the bowler's conduct in such dismissals. Javagal Srinath does not feel that the bowler is wrong if he runs out a batsman in this fashion.
The South African trio of Faf du Plessis, Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada arrived here in the wee hours of Tuesday to join their teammates for the upcoming Indian Premier League, starting September 19.
Fourth seed Naomi Osaka advanced to the second round of the US Open on Monday but was made to work hard during a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Japanese compatriot Misaki Doi at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Novak Djokovic took just 23 minutes to win the first set but laboured to a narrow victory in the second before propelling himself into round two with a convincing third. "I came out, played really well the first set. Second set I lost my focus, kind of got stressed out a couple times, screamed," he told reporters.
The recent sports debate in the country, however, was not around Olympic qualifications or getting sports back on track amid the pandemic. It instead centred around the National Sports Awards, where as many as five Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratnas and 27 Arjuna Awards set a new record besides raising questions around some of the winners and, while some felt some deserving names were also overlooked.
Royal Challengers Bangalore has named Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa as a replacement for his compatriot Kane Richardson, who pulled out of the IPL starting September 19 in the UAE.
A trio of mothers kick off their campaigns at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday with former champions Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters in action on day two along with twice runner-up Victoria Azarenka.
Japan's Zozo Championship, launched last year and memorably won by Tiger Woods, has been moved to California because of coronavirus restrictions, effectively wiping out the 2020 US PGA Tour's $30 million 'Asian Swing', organisers announced Tuesday.
Denis Shapovalov did not get his choice of court for his first round match at the US Open on Monday and was delighted to get out of Louis Armstrong Stadium with a straightforward victory over American wild card Sebastian Korda.
Ruing that the game is getting tilted in the favour of the batsmen, former Indian captain and opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth called for a fair balance between bat and ball.
Veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has signed a one-year contract extension with AC Milan, the Italian giants announced on Monday.
Spanish champions Real Madrid begin the defence of their La Liga title away at Real Sociedad on Sept. 20 and play Barcelona in the season’s first classico just over one month later, Monday’s draw for this season’s fixtures revealed.
Two Paris St Germain players have tested positive for COVID-19 and gone into quarantine, the club announced on Monday without revealing their identity.
Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) zigzagged his way through an elite field to snatch victory on Stage 3 at the Tour de France in Nice as Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) stayed in yellow.
Coco Gauff's hopes of launching another deep run at a Grand Slam ended in the first round at the US Open on Monday, with the US teenager succumbing in three sets to Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova.
While some Serie A clubs are eyeing Lionel Messi longingly, their mantra as they prepare for the transfer window is "financial prudence".
Pre-tournament favorite Novak Djokovic marched into round two of the US Open Monday as he launched his bid for a 18th Grand Slam with a straight-sets win. The world number one dispatched unheralded Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia-Herzegovina 6-1, 6-4,6-1 under floodlights at an empty Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.
After years and years of wait, it was online chess that gave them their cherished Olympiad gold. While the pandemic made them adjust to the new normal, Indian chess greats Viswanathan Anand and Koneru Humpy were all praise for the juniors, and hoped their maiden gold would be a game-changer for chess in the country.
Naomi Osaka climbed one place to number nine in the new WTA rankings, which were released on Monday ahead of the US Open, after withdrawing from the Western & Southern Open final at the weekend.
Australia's Josh Hazlewood is concerned about a COVID-19 outbreak at his Indian Premier League franchise in the United Arab Emirates, the seamer said on Monday.
At a low-key ceremony to mark the unveiling of the Olympic flame display on Monday, Tokyo officials reiterated that next year's Games will be a symbol of hope for the world as it recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.
Even though Rajasthan Royals won the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League back in 2008, since then the franchise has just not been able to replicate their success of the first edition. Just three playoff berths in the 11 seasons after that, which also included a 2-year absence due to a ban is what the Royals have managed. It has been what some might say, a below-par performance .
Quite like England's Jofra Archer, Kuldeep Yadav, the chinaman bowler with loads of variations, also has the ability to predict future events, with his second ODI hat-trick being one of them. That is what the India spinner says.
The CSK camp based in Dubai reported 13 Covid-19 cases, a development which an IPL source said, played a role in Suresh Raina's exit from the event starting September 19. However, it has now emerged that the team management was not particularly happy with the 32-year-old's "conduct" during the quarantine time, something which infuriated CSK owner and former BCCI president N Srinivasan.
On this day last year, pacer Jasprit Bumrah became the third Indian to take a hat-trick in the history of Test cricket.
Madhya Pradesh has turned out to be a mallakhamb hub. After Yogesh Malviya of Ujjain won the Dronacharya award on Saturday, state's mallakhamb players are all set to make their mark in the Tokyo Olympics scheduled to be organised next year. Mallakhamb will be a demonstration sport for the first time in the Tokyo Olympics. Mallakhamb is accorded the status of state's sports game by Madhya Pradesh government.
Suresh Raina might have decided to withdraw from the IPL due to 'personal reasons' but Chennai Super Kings (CSK) aren't pressing the panic button as of yet. In fact, they aren't looking for any replacements for Raina at this stage and it is understood that MS Dhoni and Co. will be putting their faith in youngster Ruturaj Gaikwad to do the job for them in the middle-order.
Novak Djokovic is on a 23-match winning streak, is looking to go through the season unbeaten. The Serb is not just any top-ranked player. Not that the numero uno ranking can be tagged with a commonplace label. Djokovic is the winner of 17 Slams, putting him two behind Rafael Nadal (19) and three behind leader Roger Federer (20).
India's badminton fans, waiting to see their favourite stars in action, can rejoice. Top shuttlers, including PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth and Sai Praneeth, have expressed their willingness to travel to Denmark in the first week of October to play in the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals, it's been learned.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batsman AB de Villiers described his first training session as 'really good' as he kept all his basics in place.
Recently, James Anderson set a new benchmark by becoming the first pace bowler to 600 Test wickets. Courtney Walsh spoke exclusively to TOI about Anderson's remarkable longevity, being part of the CPL in a bio-bubble and more.
Jon Rahm drained a swinging 60-foot birdie putt at the first playoff hole Sunday to win the US PGA Tour BMW Championship over world number one Dustin Johnson.
The much-awaited grand finale of this new event, an online rapid format in mixed category, was followed by a 64,000-plus strong audience but ended on a tame note. A technical glitch forced the Fide president to pass an equitable judgment.
Dominic Thiem had a nightmarish start to his U.S. Open preparations when he was bundled out in his first match of the Western & Southern Open last week but the world number three is confident he can turn things around in time for the Grand Slam.
Overwhelming favorite Novak Djokovic begins his quest for an 18th Grand Slam title on Monday as a unique, spectator-free 2020 US Open gets underway in a COVID-19 quarantine bubble at Flushing Meadows.
Florian Thauvin marked his first start in 15 months with a goal and two assists as Marseille beat Brest 3-2 on Sunday in their opening game of the Ligue 1 season.
Absolute chaos has begun to reign in the UAE, where the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises have stationed themselves along with the operations team of the BCCI and the agencies brought on board. While the IPL authorities have their hands full dealing with the 'Covid mess' that erupted in the CSK camp, the remaining franchises say, "we have not heard anything from the BCCI-IPL ever since we flew in here".
Despite the BCCI categorically stating that it will not compensate the franchises for any 'losses' whatsoever - given the simple logic that these 'losses' are merely relative because of Covid restraints - the franchise sent a detailed presentation to the board, estimating the financial losses per team at Rs 46 crore this season. The said franchise, in fact, yet again raised the question if this cost (read: projected 'losses') will be borne by IPL or entirely by the franchises?
Lyon continued their reign as Europe's dominant women's team on Sunday, beating Wolfsburg 3-1 in the Champions League final to win the trophy for the fifth year running with Japan star Saki Kumagai's goal proving crucial.
Lewis Hamilton acknowledges that if he had been a Formula One fan watching the same man reel off one dominant win after another, it might even have sent him to sleep.
At a time when most of the young cricketers are lured by "easy money" in thriving T20 leagues, West Indian Rahkeem Cornwall, the heaviest ever to play the five-day format at more than 140kg, has got his priorities straight.
"Mentally he is strong as ever," said Trent Woodhill, the long-time batting mentor of David Warner on trying to explain the motivation of the left-handed batsman to play all three formats of the game.
Every success has a story to tell! The famous saying goes hand-in-hand with most of the athletes. Many past and current sports stars come from very humble origins from where they have found a place in the sun despite all odds being stacked against them.
Sumit Nagal is simply happy to be playing tennis in uncertain times rather than ponder about not being under the spotlight and playing in empty arenas.
Delhi Capitals skipper Shreyas Iyer has said that the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) would be one of the most important assignments for him as a skipper.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is back in Italy and ready to sign a new contract with AC Milan.
Lionel Messi did not attend a pre-season medical with Barcelona on Sunday, Spanish media including sports daily Marca reported, following his shock announcement on Tuesday that he wants to leave the club.
Indian badminton player PV Sindhu on Saturday revealed that her father inspired her to take up sports. On being asked about her inspiration she said: "Dad inspired me to play sports when I took up badminton he never questioned my choice."