With No Ben, There Is None To Stoke It!

Ben Stokes is England’s MOST VALUABLE CRICKETER. But the balance of probability is that England will have to defend the Ashes without him. However, even before the Stokes incident, Australia were clear favourites for the series. The reason is simple. When two flawed teams meet in Test cricket, it tends to be the one playing at home who prevail. By TIM WIGMORE.

Understanding The Importance Of Diet

The human body is composed of water, bones, muscles and fat. The proper and PERFECT BALANCE of all these components will give an athlete the edge when playing his game. If you are not at the right weight your performance will suffer.

'India Is A Bomb In Table Tennis, Waiting To Explode'

Massimo Costantini Is a Star in Indian Table Tennis, the Man Behind the Country’s Rich Haul in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Back for a Second Stint as India’s Head Coach, Costantini Discusses Various Facets of Indian Table Tennis With Amol Karhadkar.

Comparing Eras Makes Carter Wince!

“One thing I am not a fan of, is the comparison with other players when a new player is drafted. It puts a lot of PRESSURE ON THAT PLAYER to live up to the comparison. It is better to say this kid has flashes of X or Y..,” opines Vince Carter, the oldest player in the National Basketball Association now.

The Title Battle Boils Over

One of the big talking points of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix has got to be the incident between Vettel and Hamilton. It was a slightly unusual situation. Vettel going into the back of Hamilton was just one of those things. But afterwards, when Vettel side-swiped Hamilton, that was just unnecessary. I think they WERE RIGHT IN PENALISING SEB at that moment.

The Suspense Beats A Hitchcock Thriller

In the end, it was as well that the match concluded in such an ASTONISHING FASHION for it helped to mask a succession of unseemly incidents.

Back To Her Hyderabad Nest, What Next?

Saina Nehwal, the star badminton campaigner, IS BACK with chief national coach Pullela Gopi Chand at his Academy after a three-year stint with Vimal Kumar in Bengaluru. What plans does she have for her game in the days to come? V. V. SUBRAHMANYAM finds out.

Beamon, The Beacon!

October 18, 1968 has been A Red-Letter Day in athletics history. That was the day when Bob Beamon soared to a stunning world record in the long jump competition of the Mexico City Games.

Of Lightning bolt and Phelps gold rush

Forty-three World records and 132 Olympic records were set, and as many as 86 countries won at least one medal in Beijing in 2008. The Outstanding Performers at the Games were American swimmer Michael Phelps, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and the Chinese badminton star Lin Dan.

BCCI At The Crossroads?

It is difficult to dismiss Lodha’s stand on age limit for the administrators as irrational. You have to Draw The Line Somewhere. Unfortunately, the rule is applied equally to those who are healthy and spirited and can continue to contribute to the game, and those who are not so enabled. This is sad, but in the real world, such inequities are common, writes R. K. Raghavan.

A Double By Kohli, A Double For Ashwin, Too!

This series, if played on pitches similar to the one at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium in Antigua, could well see many a Batting Record being set. The Indian skipper Virat Kohli has set the ball rolling with a double hundred in the first Test and he could well make this series his own.

'Running 100m is like being in a trance'

“If you hear anything, you are not concentrating. You can see through the side of your eyes when people are getting close. I didn’t see anybody and when I don’t see anybody, I Know I’m Winning.” That’s Linford Christie, the 100m champion at the Barcelona Olympics, on what goes on in an athlete’s mind when running a race.

IOC plays it soft on doping, cops flak!

“Protecting clean athletes” should No Longer Remain a slogan, but a mission. The over-used “zero tolerance” should be removed from the anti-doping lexicon. It has been made into a mockery.

Dipa, Abhinav Come Close To A Medal

Fourth place finishes by ace shooter Abhinav Bindra, gymnast Dipa Karmakar and the tennis mixed doubles team of Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopana were the closest that the Indians could get. They gave their best effort and missed the podium by a whisker.

Let the Games Begin

The well-known Brazilian spirit will be omnipresent during the Games, as some of the best sports persons perform in Rio. The presence of legendary names like swimmer Michael Phelps, sprinter Usain Bolt and badminton star Lin Dan Adds to the glitter of the games. In fact, what makes it even more special is the fact that these greats have declared Rio as their last Games, which is the first in the Southern hemisphere.

Spreading Goodwill In The Quest For Another Gold

Through a Fabulous Passage Of Time, after experiencing both the highs and the lows, shooting ace Abhinav Bindra is quite composed, focussing on the process, leaving the rest to destiny.

VINH'S Winning Feeling

For the veteran shooter from Vietnam, it was the REALISATION OF A DREAM after narrowly missing a podium finish four years ago.

Spruced Up To Host The Host

The 60,000-capacity iconic Jawaharlal Nehru multi-purpose stadium will host the matches in Group A, which features India, in the Under-17 World Cup.

Will Rooney Give In To China Temptation?

Manchester United and England's ALL-TIME TOP-SCORER is apparently on his way out as reports suggest that the talismanic player is headed for the Chinese Super League.

Ageless Serena And Roger Enhance Their Legends

Four charismatic immortals, two enduring rivalries, and potential record-smashing only added to the denouement of a suspenseful fortnight. Tennis was truly the biggest winner, writes Paul Fein.

Manchester United looks purposeful

Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and surprise package Hull City maintained their 100 PERCENT RECORD after the second round of matches in the Premier League, but champions Leicester City and Arsenal remain winless. Here are the things we learnt…

Hail To The Olympic Queen Of India 2016

By beating three top-10 players, in three days, on way to an Olympic silver medal, Sindhu announced to the world that she clearly belonged to the big league.

High Expectations, Big Disappointment!

There will be the usual post mortems by those who do not have the faintest idea about how sport works. So nothing will happen and EVERYTHING WILL BE FORGOTTEN in a fortnight or so.

A Cricket Book, Autographed By Pele

A meeting with Pele, but no soccer book to sign. But the great man’s signature on ‘An Indian Cricket Omnibus’ is still something to cherish.

‘I Want A Picture With The Cup'

“It’s my third World Cup. I feel happiness and a lot of anxiety, I want the time to come. I'll try to take all the experience of the past two World Cups and dump it in Russia. I want to do well for my team,” says the Argentine striker Sergio Aguero.

Well­-Greased Goal­-Machine

In the absence of the out­ of ­favour Karim Benzema, France will depend solely on the Atletico Madrid striker to score important goals in Russia.

Ready for Another Blockbuster Event

Stan Wawrinka’s decision to give the Chennai Open a miss was undoubtedly a big blow for the organisers, but they recovered soon enough to rope in the services of Chennai’s old favourite, Marin Cilic, who is ENJOYING A CAREER-HIGH No. 6 ranking in the world, thanks to his Cincinnati Masters title. The 2014 U.S. Open champion and two-time former Chennai Open winner will be making a comeback after a three-year gap.

EPL and the January Transfer Window

Every time there will be a successful January signing, there will be an argument to keep it. There are PLENTY OF EXAMPLES to show it does not work. But it takes fewer success stories to ensure its sustenance.

The Mysore Way Of Making KKR Soar!

“It has been a PLEASURE WORKING WITH SHAH RUKH. He has not only been smart, he is smart enough to be hands-off. The latitude that he has given me as a CEO to run the business is appreciated. Therefore, it’s contrary to what normal people might think that he is always into it. It’s not the case,” Venky Mysore tells SHAYAN ACHARYA.

Aussies Hold Sway

The form book was respected and Australia, the EPITOME OF CONSISTENCY and incidentally the defending champion, retained the trophy. In the final at Centurion, Australia defeated its Trans-Tasman rival New Zealand by six wickets.