Sports

NEW DELHI: What was meant to be a once-in-a-lifetime celebration for football lovers in Kolkata turned into heartbreak and anger, as Lionel Messi’s much-awaited appearance at Salt Lake Stadium ended abruptly, leaving thousands of fans disappointed. Among them was a fan who made an extraordinary personal sacrifice, skipping his own wedding, to catch a glimpse…

Lionel Messi (AP Photo/Bikas Das) Former Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia criticised VIP culture at Lionel Messi‘s Kolkata event, where genuine fans were unable to see the football star due to unwanted VIP presence. The GOAT Tour’s Kolkata leg on Saturday turned chaotic at Salt Lake Stadium when fans who purchased expensive tickets began throwing…

GCL set to kick off in Mumbai on Sunday NEW DELHI: The Global Chess League (GCL) launched its Season 3 with an opening ceremony in Mumbai’s Royal Opera House on Saturday. The event showcased the championship trophy for this year’s competition, which will feature six teams competing across 34 matches starting December 14th.“The Global Chess…

Anahat Singh. (Photo credit:X/@IIS_Vijayanagar) CHENNAI “Egypt are Egypt for a reason,” India men’s No. 1 Abhay Singh had said ahead of the Squash World Cup semifinal. On Saturday, the defending champions, who opted to send a lower-string team, stretched India for a major part of the tie but the hosts did enough to seal a…

Argentine footballer and 2022 FIFA World Cup winning captain Lionel Messi, his Inter Miami teammates Rodrigo De Paul, and Luis Suarez during the second leg of ‘GOAT India Tour 2025’, in Hyderabad. (Left), and Lionel Messi playing football (Photo/Agencies) NEW DELHI: Lionel Messi’s programme in Hyderabad on Saturday offered a clear contrast to the disorder…

Argentine footballer Lionel Messi with West Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas, right (PTI Photo/Swapan Mahapatra) An investigation has been ordered into the chaotic events during Lionel Messi‘s GOAT Tour event at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium, as announced by West Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas.“The government has ordered to investigate this matter. An investigation is going…

Yashasvi Jaiswal of Rajasthan Royals (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images) NEW DELHI: The Rajasthan Royals arrive at the IPL Auction 2026 carrying more context than most teams at the table. Few franchises have experienced such sharp swings in direction within a single year. The Royals’ journey into this mini-auction has been anything but linear, spanning…

A banner being vandalised amid chaos during an event of Argentine footballer Lionel Messi as part of his ‘G.O.A.T. India Tour 2025’, at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK), in Kolkata. Fans protested after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the footballer despite paying hefty sums for tickets. (PTI Photo) NEW DELHI: Kolkata has a…

Lionel Messi (Image credit: PTI) NW DELHI: Lionel Messi’s much-anticipated stop in Kolkata during the G.O.A.T. Tour of India 2025 descended into disorder on Saturday, as poor crowd management and security lapses overshadowed what was meant to be a landmark event for Indian football fans. Thousands packed the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium)…

Lionel Messi, visiting India as part of his GOAT Tour India 2025, was forced to cut short his lap of honour. (Image credit: Agencies) NEW DELHI: Kolkata witnessed an unprecedented mix of chaos and celebration as football superstar Lionel Messi made his much-anticipated appearance at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday. Go Beyond The Boundary…