'Pakistan on ventilator': Shoaib Akhtar reveals PCB’s 'nothing' expec…

Pakistan Cricket Board is undertaking a significant rebuilding phase following poor tour performances. Senior players have been removed from the squad for the final Test match. Former bowler Shoaib Akhtar believes the board has lost confidence in the current team. He stressed the need to protect the careers of younger fast bowlers. The board is now focusing on developing a new generation of players for the future.

Recent media reports have highlighted how the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) have made arrangements for the athletes. At SAI Patiala, temporary accommodation arrangements have been made similar to what will be available in Japan, so that the athletes can adjust to the conditions and not face any surprises when they land in Nagoya for the Asian Games.

The Asian Games 2026 are set to start on September 19. India’s Chef de Mission, Sahdev Yadav, who is also the president of the Weightlifting Federation of India, recently revealed in an exclusive chat with RevSportz how the federation and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, have been providing support to the athletes.

“Even I will be staying in such a container, and these makeshift arrangements have helped the athletes to acclimatise,” he said. “But, if still someone needs special arrangements in Japan, IOA can make those arrangements.” cricket-ipl.co.za

Apart from these, the Weightlifting Federation president revealed how the authorities have been supportive of the athletes’ requirements. He gave the example of Mirabai Chanu’s requirement and how it was met.

“This time in Japan, the weights that’ll be used in weightlifting are made by Osaka Co., which have not been used for several years, and are not readily available in India,” he said. “Mira wanted the Osaka plates so she can practice with those because these plates behave differently than those which are generally used.”

“We have been able to arrange the Osaka plates for Mira’s preparations,” he added.

Speaking of Chanu’s chances in the Asian Games, he said, “She is doing well and even lifted 204 kgs in 48 kgs in the nationals. Here, she’s in the 49kgs category, and will surely break the weightlifting medal deadlock.”

“We are eagerly waiting for that moment,” he concluded.

The last time India won a weightlifting medal at the Asian Games was in Bangkok in 1998. Karnam Malleswari won the silver in the women’s 63kg category.

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Sunday’s Dr HD Kanga Cricket League witnessed a couple of abandoned matches and quite a few draws in Division ‘A’, as rain and sunshine tested the patience and temperament of players. Most games began after lunch.

At Cross Maidan, Islam Gymkhana beat hosts Karnatak Sporting Association (KSA) by virtue of a first-innings lead in a game that started at 1.20pm. Put into bat, KSA were bowled out for 58 in 37.1 overs, with left-arm spinners Abhay Patel (4-15) and skipper Vinayak Bhoir (3-29), along with off-spinner Ajit Yadav (2-6), doing the damage.

In reply, Islam reached 62-5 in 15.4 overs, taking the lead with just a couple of minutes remaining for stumps. Opener Amogh Bhatkal scored 25 off 37 balls, while Yadav remained unbeaten on 25 off 31.

Payyade SC’s Akshay Darekar during their match vs MB Union CC on Sunday; (right) Victory CC’s Jay Bista unfurls a shot during his 90 against New Hindu CC on Sunday. Pics/Ashish Raje

Bhoir credited the bowlers for the win. “Our bowlers did well to get them all out for 58. Our batters then chased the target quickly as we had very little time. I hope our performance gets noticed by Mumbai’s selectors,” Bhoir, who has taken 11 wickets and scored 102 runs in three Kanga League games this season, told mid-day.

At Islam Gymkhana, skipper-opener Jay Bista’s attacking 90 off 64 balls (9x4, 5x6) helped Victory CC declare at 174-6 against New Hindu Cricket Club. However, Victory had to settle for a draw after New Hindu reached 98-5 at stumps, with opener Sachin Rao scoring 58.

Bista, who missed out on a century after hitting two successive sixes off pacer Harsh Darji (3-71), said: “It was a good knock, just that I missed a century by 10 runs. It was a curtailed match, so I was trying to score as fast as I could and bowl them out, but it ended in a draw.”

At PJ Hindu Gymkhana, the hosts missed out on a first-innings win despite left-arm spinner Rahul Sawant’s 8-55 off 12 overs. New Hind Sporting Club were bowled out for 130, after which PJ Hindu scored 93-7 at stumps.

At MIG CC, Parkophene Cricketers skipper Kevin D’Almeida hit an unbeaten 100 as his side declared at 145-8. MIG CC replied with 17-1. Meanwhile, ex-Maharashtra captain and their current Ranji Trophy selection committee chief Akshay Darekar did well in a Division ‘C’ game at Cross Maidan. Leading Payyade SC vs MB Union CC, Darekar claimed 3-32, while Dhruv Sharma took 3-28 as MB Union declared at 177-8. Adarshkumar Singh remained unbeaten on 53. Payyade SC finished on 64-4.

New York [US], September 7 (ANI): Local star Frances Tiafoe booked his slot in the US Open quarterfinals, beating the 2021 edition champion Daniil Medvedev in one of the biggest victories of his career.

The American crowd was in favour of Tiafoe at the Louis Armstrong Stadium throughout the clash, as he reached the quarterfinals for the fourth time in New York and recorded a tour-leading 25th hard-court win by 7-6(1), 6-4, 7-6(6).

“What a match," Tiafoe said as quoted by ATP’s official website.

“Daniil has been so good, and he has beaten me so many times. This is the first time I have beaten him in a regular match, so I am super pumped up about it," he added.

The two-time US Open semifinalist is chasing his first major title and had lost six of his seven matches with Medvedev before Sunday. He looked much sharper and energised in the clash that lasted almost three hours, with his record at the Louis Armstrong Stadium reaching a perfect 10-0.

His opponent in the quarterfinal will be countryman Alex Michelsen

“It has been amazing playing on this court, the energy man," Tiafoe said after the win. “It is like the people’s court. I am loving the energy for sure," he added.

Last week, Tiafoe made it to the title clash of the Cincinnati Open, where he lost the ATP Masters 1000 title to Arthur Fils in three sets. In NY, he has won his past three matches without losing a set after taking five sets to beat Martin Damm in the campaign opener.

On the other hand, Ben Shelton booked a clash with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals, marching past former world number three Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.

After taking four sets each to overcome Tallon Griekspoor, Hubert Hurkacz and Denis Shapovalov, Shelton rediscovered his best at the Arthur Ashe Stadium to oust the two-time Grand Slam finalist in one hour and 51 minutes.

The 23-year-old has reached his sixth Grand Slam quarterfinal and his second at the US Open, where he reached the semis back in 2023. Alcaraz has blanked Shelton in their three clashes so far, but the duo has not faced each other since last year’s French Open. (ANI)

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The timing could not have been better for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.

A month after the disappointment of missing out on a medal at the World Championships in New Delhi, India’s leading men’s doubles pair have responded in the most convincing way possible. They have won the China Masters, a tournament that had twice previously ended with them on the wrong side of the final result.

More importantly, they have done it against a home pair after losing the opening game of the final.

That combination makes the victory particularly relevant with the Asian Games approaching. Satwik and Chirag will not be travelling to the Asiad looking to prove that they belong among the best. They already have that status. They will be going there as defending champions, with the expectation that they should be challenging for gold again.

That brings a different kind of pressure.

Their title in Shenzhen gives them something every defending champion wants before a major event: evidence that their game is working when the stakes are high. Against He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu, they were forced to respond after surrendering the first game 11-21. The second game brought a change in momentum, and the Indians then managed the deciding game well enough to close out the victory.

The scoreline tells only part of the story. The more important point is that Satwik and Chirag were able to stay in the contest long enough to change it. That was the narrative throughout the week, as they were taken to three games in four consecutive matches.

Things have not always been straightforward for them this season. Their attacking game can overwhelm opponents when everything falls into place, but the strongest pairs in Asia are capable of absorbing that first wave of aggression and turning it back on them. At the Asian Games, they will face opponents familiar with their strengths and increasingly comfortable with the challenge of playing them.

The China Masters offered a useful rehearsal. They also had to deal with the weight of history at the tournament. Having finished runners-up in Shenzhen in 2023 and 2025, this was a chance to remove one of the few significant gaps from their record at the Super 750 event. They took it.

There is a psychological benefit to that which statistics cannot quite capture.

Satwik and Chirag now know that they can arrive at a major tournament after a setback and quickly rebuild their momentum. The World Championships had raised questions about their form. The China Masters has provided an immediate answer.

It also gives them a victory over a Chinese combination in China, something that can matter when the next major assignment is an Asian multi-sport event where the home crowd, the atmosphere and the pressure will all be amplified.

The Asian Games, however, will not be won on the back of one tournament. The field remains packed with quality, and the margins between the leading men’s doubles pairs are small. Satwik and Chirag will need to reproduce the discipline they showed in Shenzhen while retaining the aggression that has made them one of the most formidable attacking pairs in the sport.

For now, though, they can allow themselves to enjoy the significance of what they have achieved.

The Asian Games will demand another level of consistency. In Hangzhou, they breezed through the draw, losing a game only to Leo Carnando and Daniel Marthin of Indonesia. Three years on, they have had to slightly modify their tactics in order to nurse Satwik’s shoulder injury. In China, in crucial moments, they played according to one of the tenets Sun Tzu mentioned in The Art of War: “Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.”

Satwik and Chirag will head into their title defence with something they did not have a few weeks ago: fresh momentum and the reassurance that, when a match starts going against them, they have the capacity to turn it around.

For the defending champions, that is an ideal place to begin.

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