Sports

FIFA president Gianni Infantino (AP Photo) FIFA has launched a strong defence of president Gianni Infantino, accusing unnamed critics of mounting a “concerted and ongoing effort” to undermine the governing body and its president amid fresh allegations concerning his time at UEFA.The statement came after UEFA confirmed that a “departure payment” was made to a…

FIFA President Gianni Infantino (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File) FIFA president Gianni Infantino has strongly denied allegations that UEFA funds were used to finance a severance package for a former employee with whom he allegedly had a relationship during his time as UEFA general secretary.The allegations, published in an investigation by The Daily Telegraph, claim the…

Ashish Yadav and Neeraj Chopra NEW DELHI: Ashish Yadav‘s journey started with a wooden javelin in Mawaiya, Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh. He trained near dry ponds with quicksand patches. The dangers of such a location notwithstanding, Ashish wanted to follow in Neeraj Chopra‘s footsteps.The 19-year-old weighed all of 70kg when he was picked to train in…

Lionel Messi, Jorge Messi Jorge Messi, father of Lionel Messi, died on Friday night (local time) at the age of 68 in Rosario, Argentina after a prolonged illness, news agency Reuters reported.He was a key figure in Lionel Messi’s career and remained involved from his son’s early days as a footballer through his rise to…

Lionel Messi, Jorge Messi The Argentine Football Association (AFA) on Saturday offered its condolences to Lionel Messi and his family following the death of his father, Jorge Messi, at the age of 68.Jorge Messi had been receiving treatment at a clinic in Rosario.Following his death, the AFA posted a message on X offering its support…

Bangladesh were bowled out for just 54 in their second innings to lose their three-day tour match against a Cricket Australia XI by an innings and 38 runs, giving Australia’s bowling attack plenty to take note of ahead of next week’s first Test in Darwin.Campbell Thompson was the main contributor to Bangladesh’s collapse, taking eight…

Ayush Shetty faces a tough opening match at the World Championships against China’s world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi. However, his coach Sagar Chopda believes the difficult draw could actually benefit the young Indian, especially with the home crowd behind him and Shi not being at his best recently.Shetty, 21, made a strong impression earlier…

Ravindra Jadeja, Devdutt Padikkal Devdutt Padikkal strengthened his case for a place in India’s playing XI for the first Test against Sri Lanka with an unbeaten 142 on the second day of the warm-up match against Sri Lanka Cricket XI in Colombo.While Padikkal made the most of improved batting conditions, Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel…

TimesofIndia.com in Colombo: Big strides, assured footwork, smart use of the crease, fluent shots and solid defence. These were the highlights of Devdutt Padikkal’s unbeaten 142 off 164 balls at the Nondescript Cricket Club in Colombo on Saturday. The classy left-hander was not a starter when the squad was picked for the series. Still, the…

Ruturaj Gaikwad named captain of West Zone in Duleep Trophy (Image: X) Worcestershire captain Jake Libby has overtaken India’s Ruturaj Gaikwad to record the highest List A batting average ever. His unbeaten 109 against Sussex, his third straight century with the same score, lifted his average to 61.4. Libby now has 2,456 List A runs,…