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  • Afghanistan’s key cricketer banned for five years for match-fixing

    Afghanistan’s key cricketer banned for five years for match-fixing

    Afghanistan cricketer Ihsanullah Jannat has been banned for five years for match-fixing.

    According to the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), batsman Ihsanullah Jannat has been banned from playing in all formats. He violated the International Cricket Council (ICC) anti-corruption code during the second season of the Premier League in Kabul this year. The cricketer has accepted all the charges and admitted to involvement in corruption.

    The ACB anti-corruption unit is also investigating three other players for alleged involvement in match-fixing.

    The 26-year-old has played three Tests, 16 ODIs, and one T20 international match.

  • Cuban wrestler creates history at Olympics with spectacular record

    Cuban wrestler creates history at Olympics with spectacular record

    Cuban wrestler Mijaín López has created new history at the Paris Olympics, becoming the first wrestler in the world to win five consecutive gold medals in the games.

    Lopez won the super heavyweight gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling, after having previously winning gold medals at the 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 Paris Olympics.

    No other athlete has won more than four consecutive gold medals in the event. America Lewis in the long jump, Michael Phelps in the 200-meter medley, Al Oerter in the discus throw, Japan’s wrestler Kaori Icho, and Denmark’s Paul Elvstrøm won four consecutive times in the Paris Olympics.

  • Indian female wrestler disqualified from Olympics after reaching finals

    Indian female wrestler disqualified from Olympics after reaching finals

    Indian female wrestler Vinesh Phogat has been disqualified from the women’s 50kg wrestling finals at the Paris Olympics 2024 despite qualifying for the finals. During the weigh-in, she was 100 grams over the limit.

    The 29-year-old experienced athlete was having an incredible run after facing bullying on the streets of Delhi for months. She defeated Yusneylis Guzman of Cuba and was on track to win gold at the Paris Olympics. She even reassured her supporters with a heartfelt, “I will bring gold” promise during a video call.

    However, everything fell apart when she was found ineligible to compete on the final day. Despite her team’s best efforts throughout Tuesday night, Phogat didn’t meet the weight requirement during Wednesday’s weigh-in. The unfortunate event has ended India’s hopes of winning a gold medal in the women’s 50kg category.

    The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) released a statement saying they apologise for the disqualification.

    “It is regrettable that the Indian contingent shares news of Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification from the Women’s Wrestling 50kg class. Despite the team’s best efforts through the night, she weighed in a few grams over 50kg this morning. No further comments will be made by the contingent at this time. The Indian team requests that you respect Vinesh’s privacy. It would like to focus on the competitions on hand.”

    In January 2024, Several female athletes returned their medals to the Indian government to protest against sexual harassment, but the police charged them and arrested several people. She left two valuable awards on the roadside after she wasn’t allowed to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

  • Take a bow, girl: Imane Khelif reaches finals at Paris Olympics

    Take a bow, girl: Imane Khelif reaches finals at Paris Olympics

    Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, the victim of racist attacks on her gender, is now getting closer to winning a gold medal in Paris Olympics. Despite the controversy about her eligibility, she won her semi-final match against Thailand’s Janjaem Suwannapheng in Paris.

    Read this also: Social media rallies behind Imane Khelif as racism over Muslim boxer turns ugly

    The event was extraordinary in many ways, with the Algerian standing out with her rock solid performance. The long line outside Roland Garros before the match was filled with people waving Algerian flags and wearing football shirts.

    Imane will fight for an Olympic gold medal on Friday against China’s Yang Liu.

  • Pakistan squad announced for Bangladesh series with big change in leadership

    Pakistan squad announced for Bangladesh series with big change in leadership

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced the 17-member squad for the Test series against Bangladesh, with Saud Shakeel replacing Shaheen Shah Afridi as vice-captain.

    This decision aims to handle Shaheen Afridi’s workload during this hectic season. The Pakistan team has to play nine Tests, 14 T20Is, and at least 17 ODIs from August 21, 2024, to April 5, 2025.

    Pakistan Shaheens stars Mohammad Huraira, Kamran Ghulam, and Muhammad Ali are in the squad along with Shan Masood, Saud Shakeel, Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafiq, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Muhammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Shaheen Shah Afridi.

    The first Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh will be played in Rawalpindi from August 21 to 25, while the second Test will be played in Karachi from August 30 to September 3 under Shan Masood’s leadership.

  • Golden Nadeem: Olympic hopes pinned on Pakistani javelin thrower

    Golden Nadeem: Olympic hopes pinned on Pakistani javelin thrower

    Pakistan Javeling star Arshad is set to fire at the Paris Olympics. He will compete for the gold on August 8, after qualifying for the top six.

    Ali Tareen, the owner of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Multan Sultans, who has sponsored and supported Nadeem has expressed his best wishes for the Javelin thrower.

    “Although Pakistan’s Olympians’ early exit was a sad reminder of how little support our athletes get and how much we currently lag behind other nations, it was still a great feeling for all of us to see the Pakistan flag during the events, especially for me watching with my two young daughters,” Ali said, in an exclusive conversation with The Current.

    Highlighting Arshad’s abilities, Tareen said, “Arshad is a phenomenal athlete. The fact that he has achieved so much with such little support is a testament to his skill and determination. Athletes like Arshad need to be celebrated and supported. When we spoke, I realised the short-term nature of his finances/budgets. That is why we are supporting him long-term, regardless of injuries or tournament participation.”

    Talking about how athletes need to be nurtured and taken seriously, he stressed, “Athletes need the peace of mind that constant monthly income provides—income they can use to support their families and themselves. Athletes can’t perform to their full potential when worrying about next month’s expenses.”

    “We are excited to see Arshad at the Olympics and hope he makes it to the finals,” he said.

  • Arshad Nadeem through to finals at Olympics 2024

    Arshad Nadeem through to finals at Olympics 2024

    Pakistani javelin star Arshad Nadeem has qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024. During the qualifying stage, India’s Neeraj Chopra threw the Javelin 89.34 meters, while Arshad was second with 86.49 meters.

    Neeraj Chopra, Arshad Nadeem, and Anderson Peters qualified for the finals from Group B, while Julian Weber, Julius Yego, Jakub Vadlejch, and Toni Keränen qualified for the finals from Group A

    The finals will be played on August 8.

  • Hong Kong Cricket Sixes back after seven years

    Hong Kong Cricket Sixes back after seven years

    The Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes, which captivated cricket fans from 1992 to 2017, is returning this November triumphantly after a seven-year gap. Hong Kong’s cricketing heritage dates back to 1842, when the first official game was played.

    Cricket Hong Kong (CHK), an International Cricket Council (ICC) member, organizes the tournament. The event, scheduled from 1st to 3rd November 2024, will be held at Tin Kung Road Cricket Ground. Twelve countries will compete over three days.

    Rules for the event:

    Games are played between two teams of six players. Each game has a maximum of five six-ball overs for each team (eight-ball overs in the final match).

    Each player on the fielding team, except the wicketkeeper, bowls one over. Wides and no-balls give two runs. If a team loses five wickets before finishing their five overs, the last batsman keeps batting, with the fifth batsman acting as a runner and always taking the strike. The innings ends when the sixth wicket falls.

    Batsmen must retire when they reach 31 runs. A retired batter can return to bat after the lower-order batters are out or retire. A tournament point system gives two points for each match won.

    The Hong Kong Sixes was put on hold in 2019 – and potentially cancelled forever – as Cricket Hong Kong (CHK) struggled to attract investors and considered shifting operations towards hosting tournaments that generate rankings for T20Is and ODIs.

    Pakistan, England and South Africa are the most successful teams in this format, with five titles each.

    Last time, in 2017, South Africa won the title, defeating Pakistan in the final.

  • Bangladeshi protesters set fire to former cricket captain’s home

    Bangladeshi protesters set fire to former cricket captain’s home

    Protesters in Bangladesh have set fire to the house of Awami League MP and former cricket team captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza.

    According to the local newspaper Daily Star, protesters also attacked the houses of Awami League parliamentarians and offices in other cities of Bangladesh. After a month of violent protests in the country and hundreds of deaths, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid resigned on Monday before leaving the country.

    After her resignation, protesters set fire to her party headquarters in Gulistan, Dhaka. The incident took place at 4 p.m., during which time the protesters kept shouting slogans against Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League.

    Around the same time, protesters set fire to 32 Dhaan Mandi, the personal residence of Bangladesh’s founder, Sheikh Mujib ur Rahman, which is now the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.

  • Picture of Olympic gold medalist sleeping in park goes viral

    Picture of Olympic gold medalist sleeping in park goes viral

    Pictures of Italy’s swimming gold medalist at the Paris Olympics 2024, Thomas Ceccon, nicknamed ‘The Shark,’ sleeping in a park have gone viral.

    There was a strange incident of malpractice by Olympic organizers when the gold medalist was forced to sleep in a park in Paris.

    Thomas is seen lying on a towel on the grass next to a bench in search of a peaceful sleep shared by a fellow athlete from Team Saudi.

    Saudi team member Husein Alireza shared the photo on his Instagram with the caption: “Rest today, conquer tomorrow” on Saturday and tagged the Olympic Village’s St. Denis location.

    Husein wrote that Thomas came out after winning the gold medal in the men’s 100m backstroke.