India looks to press ‘advantage’ against Australia in Champions Trophy semifinal

India looks to press ‘advantage’ against Australia in Champions Trophy semifinal
India's KL Rahul (R) plays a shot as Australia's wicketkeeper Josh Inglis watches during the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup one-day international (ODI) final match between India and Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19, 2023. (AFP/File)
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Updated 03 March 2025
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India looks to press ‘advantage’ against Australia in Champions Trophy semifinal

India looks to press ‘advantage’ against Australia in Champions Trophy semifinal
  • Pakistan is hosting the tournament, but India has played all games in Dubai amid security concerns
  • This has created an ‘advantage for India’ debate that has marred the build-up to the knockout rounds

DUBAI: A storied cricket rivalry will add a new chapter when India and Australia square off in the first semifinal of the 2025 Champions Trophy on Tuesday.

And it will come with a bit of controversy.

While Pakistan is hosting the tournament, India has played all of its games in Dubai amid security concerns. This has created an “advantage for India” debate that has marred the build-up to the knockout rounds.

India’s perceived advantage comes from its refusal to play in Pakistan. The Indian government has denied permission for its cricket team to travel to the neighboring state. The latest refusal comes on the heels of viable security threats – tensions on the border, particularly in the northern region of Jammu and Kashmir.

Bilateral cricket between the two countries has long been paused with the last encounter coming in 2012-13 when Pakistan toured India.

Under the hybrid model used for the tournament, India plays all its games in Dubai, including the semifinal and the final on March 9, if it qualifies. Otherwise, the match will be played in Lahore.

It has caused some scheduling and travel headaches for the Champions Trophy.

Both South Africa and Australia flew to Dubai on Saturday because it wasn’t clear which team would take on India in the semifinals. Then, South Africa and New Zealand, which played India in its final Group A game, traveled to Pakistan late on Sunday ahead of their Wednesday semifinal.

All the travel has put India in an advantageous position in some people’s eyes.

“We are very much aware of the conditions here – but we don’t know which pitch is going to be played,” India captain Rohit Sharma said shrugging off talk of the advantage. “This is not our home – this is Dubai. We don’t play so many matches here. This is new for us too.”

Dubai, being the largest of the UAE’s three cricket grounds, was chosen for obvious reasons – it seats up to 30,000 fans as compared to Abu Dhabi (20,000) or Sharjah (16,000).

India played its three Group A games on different pitches at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, winning all. Host Pakistan even traveled to Dubai in a bizarre twist where it was beaten.

So, what do Australia think? Led by Pat Cummins, they upstaged India on their home turf in that 2023 World Cup final, silencing a partisan crowd in Ahmedabad and sending the rest of the country into mourning.

If there is one team capable of repeating that feat, it is probably this one – albeit Australia is severely shorthanded this time around.

Cummins, along with fellow pacers Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc are missing. Yet, led by Steve Smith, they have overcome odds to reach the semis. Lightweight on bowling, the 2006 and 2009 winners will rely again on Ahmedabad-hero Travis Head to spearhead their challenge.

India, on the other hand, is flying high. Sharma opted for a spin-heavy squad for this tournament, and on a slow, two-paced Dubai wicket against New Zealand on Sunday, he unleashed four spinners who shared nine wickets and defended 249 with ease.

“We really need to think (about the combination), even if we want to play four spinners, how we can squeeze (in). If we don’t, then we don’t,” Sharma said.


Scheffler ‘couldn’t care less’ about being British Open favorite

Scheffler ‘couldn’t care less’ about being British Open favorite
Updated 6 min 7 sec ago
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Scheffler ‘couldn’t care less’ about being British Open favorite

Scheffler ‘couldn’t care less’ about being British Open favorite
  • The world number one has never seriously threatened to win a Claret Jug
  • “I could not care any less about being the favorite or not being the favorite,” he said

PORTRUSH, UK: Scottie Scheffler said on Tuesday he does “not care” about being the tournament favorite as he prepares for his latest tilt at a maiden British Open title this week at Royal Portrush.

The world number one has never seriously threatened to win a Claret Jug, but is again enjoying a run of supreme form and arrives in Northern Ireland as the PGA champion.

The American has emphatically rebounded from a slow start to the year after suffering a freak hand injury cutting himself on a wine glass, reeling off 10 successive top-10 finishes including three victories.

“I could not care any less about being the favorite or not being the favorite,” he said.

“We all start even par and the tournament starts on Thursday. That’s pretty much all that matters.”

Scheffler produced his best British Open finish last year with a tie for seventh, but ended his tournament at Troon in ignominious style with an embarrassing topped tee shot on the 18th en route to a closing double-bogey.

He has never missed the cut at the links major before, though, and believes he has what it takes to lift the Claret Jug.

“In terms of links golf, I love the style of golf. I think it’s really fun and you have to be creative,” Scheffler added.

“You have to hit a lot of really good shots. There’s a challenge to it, but I think it’s a lot of fun.

“We’ll see how the weather turns out this week. Weather has a pretty dramatic effect on how the golf course is going to play.”

Scheffler won nine titles last season, including the Masters and the Olympic gold medal.

His third major title at the PGA Championship in May is one of his three victories so far this year, but he says he doesn’t set himself specific targets.

“I don’t look at wins and losses or stuff like that.

“I don’t sit down at the beginning of the year and say I want to win X number of times; I want to win this many majors; I want to win this many tournament events. That’s not something I do.

“That’s not something that works for me.”


Healy becomes first Irishman in 38 years to lead the Tour de France

Healy becomes first Irishman in 38 years to lead the Tour de France
Updated 15 July 2025
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Healy becomes first Irishman in 38 years to lead the Tour de France

Healy becomes first Irishman in 38 years to lead the Tour de France
  • The 24-year-old EF rider had already won stage six in Normandy, but here the smiley Healy confirmed his promise with a career-defining ride claiming the fabled yellow jersey
  • Healy’s performance even overshadowed that of stage winner Simon Yates, who sat on his wheel all afternoon as they crossed the ancient volcanoes that mark the region

PUY DE SANCY, France: Ben Healy became the first Irishman since Stephen Roche in 1987 to take the overall lead on the Tour de France on Monday with a relentless attack across eight gruelling hills in the Massif Central.

The 24-year-old EF rider had already won stage six in Normandy, but here the smiley Healy confirmed his promise with a career-defining ride claiming the fabled yellow jersey.

He becomes just the fourth Irishman to wear it following Shay Elliott, back in 1963, Sean Kelly in 1983 and Roche who went on to win an epic race 38 years ago.

Healy’s performance even overshadowed that of stage winner Simon Yates, who sat on his wheel all afternoon as they crossed the ancient volcanoes that mark the region.

Such was the Irishman’s effort as the escapees rushed through the grey-black volcanic rock villages that he was also awarded the combativity award for the most attacking rider of the day.

“Hats off to him, he’s the one that dropped everyone,” Yates said of Healy as the escape group was gradually whittled down from 30 to five.

The 2025 Giro d’Italia winner Yates attacked on the last of the day’s climbs, with Thymen Arensman of Ineos second and Healy coming third at the line 31sec adrift and having never relented on a punishing day.

Healy was born in Birmingham but chose to represent Ireland in his youth. He is also in the white jersey for the best young rider.

“The stage win I got and the yellow today both mean a lot to me,” said Healy, who had a tense wait at the line for Pogacar to cross 4min 51sec adrift and ceding the overall lead, likely for several days.

“This yellow is more for the team who worked so hard to put me here but the stage win possibly means more as it came first,” he said.

Race favorites Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard crossed the line together after eight climbs in the Massif Central where they were rarely a wheel’s length from each other.

Healy leads the Tour itself by 29sec from defending champion Pogacar, with Belgian Remco Evenepoel in third at 1min 29sec.

Denmark’s double Tour de France champion Vingegaard is fourth overall at 1min 46sec, and his Visma teammate Matteo Jorgenson sits fifth.

Third placed overnight, promising young French rider Kevin Vauquelin dropped a minute to finish the day in sixth place overall.

Recompense for the home nation on the national Bastille Day holiday came in the form of Lenny Martinez as he earned the King of the Mountains polka dot jersey with 27 points garnered on the day’s stage.

His grandfather Mariano Martinez won the polka dot jersey outright on the 1978 Tour.

Successive escape bids ensued from the off Monday as the 164 remaining riders raced out of Ennezat with top guns Pogacar and Evenepoel finally allowing one to get away over the ever-rolling terrain

Once they did, a gap over five minutes was established by a motivated group that rode so hard over the cattle dotted hills the sprinters were dropped to over 30 minutes at the finish line.

While Tuesday is a rest day, Wednesday’s stage 11 is another flat run with a sprinter expected to take the honors in Toulouse.


Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama says he’s been cleared to return following blood clot

Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama says he’s been cleared to return following blood clot
Updated 15 July 2025
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Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama says he’s been cleared to return following blood clot

Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama says he’s been cleared to return following blood clot
  • It has been expected that the team anticipated Wembanyama would be able to start this coming season, though there was no official word until now
  • Wembanyama: I’m officially cleared to return. … I’ll finally be able to play a bit of basketball again

NEW YORK: San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama expects to play this coming season and has been fully cleared after dealing with deep vein thrombosis in his shoulder for the past few months, he told the French newspaper L’Equipe in remarks published Monday.

A person familiar with the situation later told The Associated Press that the Spurs have indeed received word that Wembanyama has been cleared to resume play and, barring anything unforeseen, will be able to fully participate in training camp when it opens this fall. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not revealed that detail publicly.

It has been expected that the team anticipated Wembanyama would be able to start this coming season, though there was no official word until now.

“I’m officially cleared to return. … I’ll finally be able to play a bit of basketball again,” Wembanyama told the French sports daily.

The fact that Wembanyama has been cleared suggests that his type of DVT was provoked, which would rule out a genetic predisposition to a clot returning. The Spurs have not disclosed specifics of Wembanyama’s shoulder issue, but there is a type of DVT that appears when a blood vessel in someone’s upper arm can be compressed by a rib (the top rib is removed in some cases to relieve the compression, if that is the cause) or a muscle. Such issues have proven to be treatable in the past.

Many other athletes have dealt with similar issues. Serena Williams came back to dominate women’s tennis after a clotting issue following the birth of her daughter; Williams needed four surgeries to address the matter. Basketball Hall of Famer Chris Bosh had to eventually retire from the NBA after he was diagnosed with multiple clots. In hockey, Tomas Fleischmann developed clots and went on to play for years afterward; Tomas Vokoun needed surgery to relieve his clotting problem and never played in the NHL again.

“I was afraid of not being able to play basketball anymore,” Wembanyama said in the interview. “I think that we all have thoughts sometimes. Irrational thoughts about the things we care about most. But this type of thinking also changes you as a person, for the better.”

Wembanyama was the league’s rookie of the year two years ago, Spurs guard Stephon Castle won that same trophy this past season, and the team has added another high pick — this year’s No. 2 selection, Dylan Harper — to a super-promising young core. Wembanyama was the front-runner to be defensive player of the year last season when he was diagnosed with the blood clot in his right shoulder in February.

“My injury was an adventure, obviously, but the hardest part is over,” he told L’Equipe. “I’m much better today, physically and mentally.”

Wembanyama was averaging 24.3 points, 11 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 3.7 assists per game when he was shut down in February; the only other player in NBA history to finish a season averaging all that was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975-76.

There will be an obvious ramping-up period before Wembanyama is playing at full speed again, though there is plenty of time between now and training camp for him to get back to that level.

“I have to continue specific work on my shoulder and especially get back into everything related to my basketball habits,” Wembanyama said in the interview. “It’s been five months since I’ve played a 5-on-5 match. If I had to have a game tomorrow, it would be risky. There are plenty of reflexes to find, both conscious and linked to muscle memory.”

Wembanyama has traveled extensively in recent months and spent time last month at a Shaolin temple in Zhengzhou, China. The temple is a place that welcomes visitors who wish to study Chan meditation, Shaolin Kung Fu, traditional Chinese medicine and more.

Wembanyama told L’Equipe that he studied kung fu and Buddhism during his stay there, but added that he does not identify as Buddhist.

“We were initiated there to the life of a warrior monk, which combines Buddhism and intensive kung fu practice,” he said. “It was very hard. We discovered movements that we had never done in our lives. It was more than 1,000 kicks to do per day, jumps, balance exercises, stretching. ... We used muscles that we rarely used and which were quickly overloaded. I had some of the biggest aches and pains of my life.”


Chelsea’s Club World Cup triumph a ‘statement’, but what might be the cost?

Chelsea’s Club World Cup triumph a ‘statement’, but what might be the cost?
Updated 15 July 2025
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Chelsea’s Club World Cup triumph a ‘statement’, but what might be the cost?

Chelsea’s Club World Cup triumph a ‘statement’, but what might be the cost?
  • Maresca could not have asked for much more after arriving off the back of leading Leicester City to promotion

NEW YORK: For Chelsea, victory in Sunday’s Club World Cup decider completed a fine first season under Enzo Maresca, and also finally brought the curtain down on a marathon campaign that they must hope does not catch up with them down the line.

The Cole Palmer-inspired 3-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the MetLife Stadium outside New York was Chelsea’s 64th game of a season which lasted 11 months.

By any measure it was one of Chelsea’s best ever campaigns, with their Club World Cup triumph — placed on a par by Maresca to winning the Champions League — following victory in the UEFA Conference League and a fourth-placed finish in the Premier League.

Maresca, an ex-assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, could not have asked for much more after arriving off the back of leading Leicester City to promotion.

“It has been a fantastic season but I am especially happy for the players,” said the Italian, who has succeeded in putting together a coherent team out of the endless line of new signings being brought in by the club’s owners.

“We have said many times that talent alone is not enough. You need to find a way for them to all fit together.”

It all represents considerable progress from just two years ago, when the Stamford Bridge side finished in the bottom half of the Premier League.

Maresca incorporated more new faces during the Club World Cup, with Joao Pedro making a remarkable impact — the Brazilian forward cut short a holiday to complete a £60 million ($79 million) transfer from Brighton and Hove Albion, and went on to score twice in the semifinal against Fluminense and once in the final.

Liam Delap, Dario Essugo, Mamadou Sarr and Andrey Santos all joined up ahead of the month in the United States, while Jamie Gittens has since arrived from Borussia Dortmund and fellow winger Estevao Willian now joins from Palmeiras in Brazil.

Chelsea will hope those signings, added to a squad led by the likes of Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, can make a real push for the Premier League title off the back of their impressive triumph at FIFA’s new tournament.

“It’s a big statement,” captain Reece James told English media shortly after lifting the trophy alongside US President Donald Trump.

“I’m happy with how much the club has progressed and how next season you know we’ll be competing in the Premier League, to win the title and compete, and to go far in the Champions League as well.”

Chelsea have also pocketed a stunning $115 million in prize money from the Club World Cup, but what if there comes a point in 2025/26 when their exploits of this season catch up with them?

While Chelsea have been competing at the Club World Cup in draining weather conditions, Premier League champions Liverpool and runners-up Arsenal have enjoyed extended off-season breaks.

Manchester City were also at the Club World Cup but they went out over a week earlier.

Global players’ union FIFPro has been the leading voices expressing concerns about the demands on the game’s biggest stars in an ever-expanding calendar.

One of the safeguards it proposed in a study published before the tournament was a mandatory four-week off-season break, along with four-week retraining periods before returning to competition.

Chelsea’s off-season is drastically reduced, with their first match of the next Premier League campaign against Crystal Palace slated for August 17, exactly five weeks after the Club World Cup final. They have a friendly against Bayer Leverkusen on August 8.

“Tomorrow I have three weeks of holiay which is all I want right now because I have not stopped in 15 months,” said Maresca on Sunday.

It remains to be seen if Maresca and his players come back sufficiently refreshed before attacking a season in which they hope to go far in the Champions League, and which will end with the World Cup in North America.

PSG face an even tighter squeeze after a historic campaign for Luis Enrique’s team, capped by their triumph in the Champions League final.

Their first competitive match of next season will be the UEFA Super Cup against Tottenham Hotspur in Italy on August 13, exactly one month after their defeat in New York — a chance to win more silverware, but at what cost?


Jorge Jesus returns to Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr

Jorge Jesus returns to Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr
Updated 15 July 2025
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Jorge Jesus returns to Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr

Jorge Jesus returns to Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr
  • According to a club statement on X deal is for one year

Al-Nassr appointed Portuguese Jorge Jesus as coach on Monday, two months after he left their bitter Saudi Pro-League rivals Al-Hilal.

The 70-year-old won the domestic treble in his second stint with Riyadh-based Al-Hilal in the 2023-2024 season, but left the club in May after they lost in the AFC Champions League elite semifinals to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli.

“It’s official Mr. Jorge Jesus is the new coach of Al-Nassr” the Saudi club posted on X.

The former Copa Libertadores winner with Brazil’s Flamengo, who replaces Italian Stefano Pioli, has signed a one-year contract with Al-Nassr.

Nine-times Saudi champions Al-Nassr have extended the contract of 40-year-old five-times Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo until 2027.