World Sports: Indian Basketball Team Loses To Iran In FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers; Delhi Capitals Beat UP Warriorz In WPL

Legendary shuttler Pullela Gopichand was extremely critical of politicians and bureaucrats running sports administration in the country, saying that the government should bring a law to ensure only professionals and people who understand sports are at the helm of affairs. Speaking during the 'News9 Global Summit', the former All England champion, who runs a badminton academy in Hyderabad producing top players said, "One legislation, I would really love to see is the government telling that we (sportspersons) are not under bureaucrats, sports administration is not under politicians. But sports is managed by professionals and people who know stuff and who are sportspersons.

"That, from a legislation point I would really want to see," said Gopichand, who is also currently the chief national badminton coach. (PTI)

Despite few close calls, India have beaten England by five wickets in Ranchi to take a 3-1 lead in the five-match Test series. In a topsy-turvy tide between two teams, India finally came out on top after it seemed England had taken the game out of their grasp with two quick wickets post-lunch.

Head coach Biby Thomas Muttath on Monday announced a 23-member Indian squad for the upcoming SAFF U16 Women's Championships to be played in Nepal from March 1-10. The Indians had emerged triumphant in the U15 format in 2018 and 2019, having beaten Bangladesh in the final on both occasions. It's for the first time the event is being held in the U16 format. (PTI)

The Indian Deaf Cricket Association (IDCA) on Monday said it is working hard for the sport's inclusion in the Para Asian Games to provide a level-playing field to the differently-abled athletes. IDCA is a founder member of Differently Abled Cricket Council of India (DCCI), which is being supported by BCCI.

"We are working, we are already in touch with the Asian countries. We have already visited Hong Kong, which is one of the Asian countries who are ready to host the first Asian match with IDCA. But, right now, we are focussing on the World Cup," IDCA president Sumit Jain said. (PTI)

India all-rounder Hardik Pandya on Monday made his return to competitive cricket after a long injury layoff with a two-wicket haul in the DY Patil T20 Cup. Pandya grabbed 2/22 in three overs in Reliance One's win by two wickets in a low-scoring game over Bharat Petroleum Cooperation Limited at the DY Patil Cricket Academy. (PTI)

Anubhav Agarwal broke the back of Andhra's batting line-up with a sensational six-wicket haul to power Madhya Pradesh into the semi-finals of Ranji Trophy 2024, after a nail-biting four-run victory over the visitors in Indore today.

In a low-scoring game at the Holkar Stadium, bowlers ruled the roost for the most part and despite a stirring fight from Andhra, the home team prevailed to make it to the last four. With this win, the 2021-22 champions Madhya Pradesh have become the second team after Tamil Nadu to enter the semi-finals.

Olympian shooter Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar has bettered the world record score while winning the men's 50m rifle 3 positions (3P) national trials in Bhopal. The 23-year-old Tomar, who was part of the Indian team that won 50m rifle 3P gold in the 2023 World Championships, stamped his class with a scorching 466.4 score in the final, PTI reports. The current world record in this event stands at 466.1.

Indian shuttler Aakarshi Kashyap has beaten compatriot Shruti Mundada in the final to clinch the women's singles title at Uganda International Challenge, and Raghu Mariswamy has finished runners-up in the men's final. Aakarshi had to work hard for her win in the summit clash as Shruti pushed her opponent in both the sets, but the former emerged winner by a margin of 25-23, 21-18 in 48 minutes.

On the other hand, Mariswamy found it tough going against Vietnam's Le Duc Phat who beat the Indian shuttler 21-18, 21-14 to emerge winner in the men's category. (PTI)

India has wrapped up its campaign at the Asian Track Cycling Championships with a creditable haul of nine gold, six silver and three bronze, with the para athletes winning the bulk of the nation's medals in New Delhi. Para cyclists contributed eight gold and four silver to the Indian medal tally.

Malaysia topped the medal tally with 19 gold, 11 silver and 7 bronze, followed by Japan with 17 gold, 5 silver and 2 bronze. Korea finished with 9 gold, 8 silver and 6 bronze, PTI reports.

India put up a fight against the much-higher ranked Iran in their Group E clash of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, but ended up on the losing side of a 53-86 score-line in New Delhi. Ranked 81st in the FIBA rankings, India were the underdogs against 27th-placed Iran but the hosts started with a lot of gumption as the packed stadium cheered them throughout the hour-long match.

The Meg Lanning-led Delhi Capitals have completely outplayed Alyssa Healy's UP Warriorz in their Women's Premier League 2024 clash, chasing down a 120-run target with nine wickets and 33 balls to spare. South African medium-pacer Marizanne Kapp returned astonishing T20 figures of 4-1-5-3, and India opener Shafali Verma later smashed a blazing unbeaten half-century (64 not out off 43 balls) to power Delhi past the target with utmost ease in Bengaluru.

An incredible collapse has ensued in Lahore, where Peshawar Zalmi have somehow fought back and wrested the match from Islamabad United's seemingly iron-clad grip. Islamabad were cruising at 181/3 in the 18th over, after which six wickets fell in a space of 13 balls and Zalmi won the game by eight runs. The Peshawar franchise are now in third place in the Pakistan Super League 2024 standings, while Islamabad languish in the fifth spot.

That's all from us today. We will be back tomorrow with the latest happenings in the sports world. Until then, goodbye.