by Tanish Prabhu
The past week saw the ups and downs in the International Sports arena with India getting a mixed bag return as the country’s most followed sport, Cricket witnessed a disappointing end to their UK Tour where across 7 T20s and 3 ODIs, the Men in Blue could just win 1 ODI. PV Sindhu’s fantastic triumph in major BWF Japan Open, though, cheered the sports fraternity in India. Read on for more…
PV Sindhu Ends Seven-Year Wait with Japan Open Super 750 Title
PV Sindhu produced a commanding performance to defeat Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-17 in just 50 minutes and clinch the Japan Open Super 750 title in Tokyo on Sunday. The triumph marks Sindhu’s first major title in seven years, a remarkable comeback that answers critics who had questioned whether the Hyderabad star could return to the top of world badminton.
The 31-year-old dominated the final with an aggressive, attacking approach, dictating the pace of the rallies and never allowing Yamaguchi to settle into her rhythm.
The victory also strengthened Sindhu’s impressive head-to-head record against the 29-year-old Japanese ace. It was her 16th win in 30 meetings between the two rivals.
Beyond ending a long title drought, the win provides a significant boost to India’s badminton campaign ahead of the Asian Games in Japan later this year, with Sindhu once again emerging as one of the country’s strongest medal contenders.
Rohit Sharma’s 100 at Lord’s creates history, but India’s UK Tour ends with just 1 win
Amid speculations around the rumors of Rohit Sharma’s retirement from international cricket, India’s woeful tour to UK (England & Northern Ireland) came to an end after they were defeated by 27 runs in the final One Day game at Lord’s. The only positive was Rohit’s ton as the Mumbaikar became the first Indian to score an ODI century at the hallowed ground.
India’s 2027 World Cup preparations have hit a major blow after losing Jasprit Bumrah to another injury, just as he returned to the team after not playing in the format since 2023 and it is very clear that they need him in the team. He is an important asset to India’s bowling lineup as England’s batting unit tore through the inexperienced bowling attack.
Gurnoor Brar, Prasidh Krishna and Prince Yadav were unable to read the conditions offered to them, though there was swing late in the innings, India were given a huge task to chase a mammoth 388 in their allotted 50 overs.
It begs to question how India will fare in South Africa next year if Jasprit Bumrah is injured, but more importantly how much they’ll utilise Mohammed Siraj, having been rested for this entire tour and not playing any competitive cricket since the IPL final, and if Kuldeep Yadav is even considered as a specialist wrist spinner anymore.
For a whole week, the news centering on Rohit Sharma’s international career, was the big talking point in the media. Was the Lord’s game the final match of his career and will he not be on the plane for the World Cup in 2027? Those rumours died down very quickly and rightfully so as Sharma made a statement with the bat, scoring 138 in a losing cause, the first Indian cricketer to score a century at
Lords in One Day cricket and his first one at Lord’s in any format.
Hard to believe he has one before Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, while former Indian bowler and chief selector Ajit Agarkar has a Test match century to his name at Lords back in 2002 in a losing cause, that too before any of the big players.
A statement made that said he is not finished yet, no matter the age because his experience in the team is invaluable. Rohit’s wicket was the turning point of the match and after he was dismissed, Kohli tried his best to save the game, but even a match-winner like him had a rare day off and India could not chase 388, with no
support from the middle-order batters, falling 27 runs short in the end.
But it just goes to show how important it is to have both Kohli and Sharma in the team, no matter what stage of their careers they are in, but the worrying part is the bowling attack and how India will fixate on that before the next series against the West Indies in Kerela.
Sir Garfield Sobers: Tribute to The One Of A Kind (1936-2026)
The boy from Bridgetown, Barbados, rose as Sir Garfield Sobers – the man of many talents, who would one day go on to break records, score consistent runs, take wickets and leave the game at its peak. He was born with one extra finger on both
hands which were cut off not long after. He was talented in all sports – some of which were golf, football and cricket.
But most importantly, he was the best to play the game we love and breathe. An immaculate batsman followed up with his consistent bowling. A scary fielder and one of the finest, charismatic captains of West Indies cricket. Keith Miller once said that Gary Sobers will end up being a better batsman than a bowler when the
West Indies first toured Australia in 1954/55. He went on to become the greatest all-rounder, of not only West Indies cricket, but international cricket.
His illustrious 19-year career included some very iconic moments. The six 6s off an over for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan in 1968, the first-ever cricketer to achieve this feat. The other was his undefeated 365 against Pakistan, 3 years after his debut in 1958 at the age of 21. That milestone marked the arrival of Sobers. That score was beaten by Brian Lara in 1994 when he scored 375. But make no mistake, a young Gary Sobers first made it into the team at aged 17 as a left arm spin bowler and a lower order batter.
Proving himself to be an all-rounder for West Indies cricket, Sobers failed to convert his scores into anything big at the beginning of his early career, and this gave the selectors something to think about. Is he just a bowler? 3 years later, he went on to post an enormous 365 and was unbeaten against Pakistan. It was also his first test century in his career and broke the record of Len Hutton’s 364. In that series overall, he made 824 runs which included 3 centuries against Pakistan and he followed it up with 557 runs and 3 centuries in India in 1958/59.
After that, the scores kept coming and flowing easily. As an all-rounder, if the runs didn’t come consistently, the wickets followed.
As captain of West Indies, replacing the great Frank Worrell, Sobers continued to make West Indies cricket the best in the world and the giants of the game. At that time, West Indies weren’t overly powerful and invincible, but they had a team that could win games. Worrell’s stats as the captain, were terrific. In 15 test matches between 1960-1963, he secured 9 wins and 3 losses with a percentage win of 60, but this was the opposite with Sobers.
Sobers was a different kind of leader. He led his team to a first test series win against Australia at home and in India as well. Nearly a decade later, Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards led West Indies to two test series wins in Australia. His captaincy made a positive impact on his scores with the bat and ball. His all round performances during that time were at its peak.
Sobers left the game at a time when West Indies cricket was still ruling the sport under legends like Rohan Kanhai, Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards. The rebuild slowly began in the early 70s and the dominance started to unfold not long after. 93 Test matches, 8032 runs with an average of 57.02 and 235 wickets. A giant of the game left us at aged 89.
Youthful Spain lift FIFA World Cup 2026
Spain’s triumph over Argentina in the FIFA World Cup 2026 final has fetched the La Roja their second title. The youthful Spanish outfit with average age of 26 years, put up another fantastic tactical masterclass in tiki-taka brand of football against the mercurial Argentines powered by Lionel Messi.
Ferran Torres’ goal in the second half of extra time is one which writes his name into Spanish football history. That strike was the highlight and difference between the teams on the day of a fiery and ill-tempered affair, with Spain dominating much of the game.
The half-time show, a first in the history of the FIFA World Cup, was headlined by Madonna, Shakira, BTS and Justin Bieber, with an appearance from The Muppets as well; left many at the ground puzzled as to whether or not this would become a norm.
Sixteen years on from Andres Iniesta’s winner in 2010, Spain are champions of the world once more. The immediate aftermath, however, saw unsavoury scenes from Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes, who apparently instigated a brawl with Spainish duo Gavi and Eric Garcia – an ugly end to a woeful Argentinian display.
Lionel Messi, in tears, looked to the heavens in despair. For a man so often able to shift fate in his favour, whose career is unparalleled to a point that it may well be a script, he couldn’t believe this was the last page. Incapable of changing the heartache, he instead let all of the emotion pour out of him. This very well could be the final time we see the legendary 39-year-old on the world’s biggest stage.
In the Cup final four years ago, he had collected the only remaining piece his football’s glorious landscape. Today though, it simply was not to be. After he and his Argentine teammates had collected their silver medals, FIFA President Gianni Infantino and US President Donald Trump, the latter bizarrely and controversially so, joined the Spanish side on the stage and Infantino urging the US President out of the way of the celebrations.
In the midst of the confusion from players and all in attendance alike, Spain’s captain Rodri hoisted the World Cup Trophy high into the New Jersey sky, announcing a new era of Spanish supremacy and saying adios to a tournament that delivered on the pitch in every way possible while also having its share of controversies.
2026 Australian Open winner Carlos Alcaraz on the path to tennis return
The French Open and Wimbledon without a doubt has provided plenty of entertainment this year, but it has also missed one of the new generation’s best tennis players in Carlos Alcaraz.
Alcaraz won the Australian Open earlier this year, his first ever Grand Slam success in Australia, but since then missed out on two major tournaments due to an ongoing wrist injury he sustained during the first round match at the Barcelona Open back in April.
The injury not only forced him out of the French Open and Wimbledon, but also smaller tournaments like Madrid, Rome and Queens. Alcaraz will not participate in the tournament in Montreal to manage himself and avoid another setback, but the World No. 3 and seven-time Grand Slam champion is poised and confident to return to the court in the Cincinnati Masters as he looks to compete in the US Open and defend his title.
For his fans and neutrals, the Alcaraz return promises high quality tennis and celebration of the sport with the competing pack at full-strength!
