Euro 2020 last-16 stage threw up a bagful of surprises. The quarterfinals may not be any different. TOI gives a lowdown of what’s in store in the next round of the knockouts at the European Championship.
England managed to hold their nerves in a tense chase under lights to beat India by five wickets and clinch the series in the second women’s ODI at Taunton on Wednesday.
Tottenham Hotspur ended their long search for a new manager by naming Nuno Espirito Santo in the role on Wednesday after the Portuguese left Wolverhampton Wanderers at the end of last season.
Olympic-bound Kamalpreet Kaur said she is “disturbed mentally” after fellow discus-thrower Seema Punia demanded a hyperandrogenism test (testosterone and other androgens) on the national record-holder for her drastic improvement in performance within a short period.
American Sofia Kenin became the highest women's seed to fall so far at Wimbledon as she suffered a 6-2 6-4 second-round defeat at the hands of compatriot Madison Brengle on Wednesday.
Ons Jabeur, the first Arab woman to win a WTA tournament, reached the third round of Wimbledon for the first time on Wednesday beating five-time champion Venus Williams 7-5, 6-0.
Canadian boxer Mandy Bujold, pregnant and on maternity leave during Olympic qualifying events, said Wednesday she has won her case with the Court of Arbitration for Sport and will fight at the Tokyo Games.
Team India’s young Test opener Shubman Gill is in danger of missing out on the England Test series with an injury. The 21-year-old has sustained an injury to either his calf or hamstring during the World Test Championship final against New Zealand recently, TOI has learnt.
On Sunday, as Srihari Nataraj took to the pool at the Foro Italico facility in Rome, it must have been a lonely 54 seconds. At the time trial, he swam alone with the single focus of booking his ticket to Tokyo. As soon as he realised he had breached the ‘A’ qualification mark, he let out a cry of triumph even as his fist thumped the air.
Andy Murray battled back from a two sets to one deficit to defeat German qualifier Oscar Otte and reach the Wimbledon third round on Wednesday. Former number one Murray triumphed 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 over the 151st-ranked Otte under the roof of Centre Court.
The growing trend of athletes quitting the social media space ahead of a big-ticket sporting event isn’t new, but it has certainly gained momentum among the Indian athletes. On Tuesday, India’s Tokyo-bound shooter Manu Bhaker posted to her 82.8k followers on Twitter that she’s taking a sabbatical from social media. “As I enter last leg of preparation for Tokyo Olympics, I am now going off social media till end of Olympics.", she said.
Cricket Australia is planning on big crowds for the Ashes series against England later this year, with venues being sold to full capacity despite ongoing concerns about Covid-19.
Skipper Mithali Raj's second successive fifty went in vain as Sophie Dunkley produced a fighting half-century after Kate Cross' five-wicket haul to help England Women register a five-wicket win over India Women and grab an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series here on Wednesday.
Breaking his own world record of 63.97 meters, javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia booked his ticket for the Tokyo Paralympics 2020 with a throw of 65.71 meters during the trials at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The youngest Grandmaster in chess a feat held by Russian Sergey Karjakin for almost 19 years was broken by Abhimanyu Mishra on Wednesday night. The American boy, with Indian roots, rewrote that record at 12 years, 4 months and 25 days. “The match against Leon was tough but a mistake from his end was all that I needed to cross the landmark. I feel just relieved and happy to be able to achieve this feat,” Abhimanyu told TOI moments after his victory.
England hero Raheem Sterling hailed the team's desire to rewrite history after beating Germany in a knockout game at a major tournament for the first time since 1966 on Tuesday to reach the Euro 2020 quarter-finals.
Roger Federer was in deep water in his first-round match against Adrian Mannarino. The eight-time champion was trailing by two-sets-to-one when he finally appeared to have hit stride in the fourth set, taking a 4-1 lead. Mannarino then slipped in the seventh game of the fourth essay, coming down heavily on his left knee.
Tabraiz Shamsi enhanced his reputation as the top T20 bowler in the international game by inspiring South Africa to a thrilling one-run victory over the West Indies in the third of their five-match series at the National Cricket Stadium in Grenada on Tuesday.
Mario Gavranovic said his dramatic late equaliser for Switzerland against France in Monday’s pulsating Euro 2020 last-16 clash might be one of the most important in the country’s football history.
Tennis great Serena Williams limped out of Wimbledon in tears on Tuesday after her latest bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles crown ended in injury.
Artem Dovbyk's header in the 121st minute sent Ukraine through to a Euro 2020 quarter-final clash with England on Saturday as they beat Sweden 2-1 after extra time in Glasgow. Ukraine squeezed through to the last 16 despite taking just three points in the group stage, qualifying in part because Sweden beat Poland to top Group E ahead of Spain.
Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane fired England into the Euro 2020 quarter-finals as they sealed a 2-0 win against Germany that ended decades of hurt at the hands of their bitter rivals on Tuesday. In the 55 years since England beat the Germans in the World Cup final, the Three Lions had endured a painful litany of defeats against Die Mannschaft when the stakes were highest.
Roger Federer survived a huge scare to reach the Wimbledon second round on Tuesday when French opponent Adrian Mannarino was forced to retire injured at the start of the fifth set.
Joe Root celebrated his 150th one-day international appearance with an unbeaten half-century as England claimed a five-wicket win over Sri Lanka in their series opener at Chester-le-Street on Tuesday.
Roger Federer and Serena Williams hope to defy the doubters when they get their Wimbledon campaigns underway on 'Super Tuesday' at the All England Club where a backlog of matches needs to be cleared after the opening day downpours.
France forward Kylian Mbappe has apologised for missing the decisive spot kick in Monday's 5-4 shootout loss to Switzerland that saw the world champions crash out of the European Championship in the last 16.
World number three Simona Halep has become the latest big-name tennis player to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics after the Romanian said she would not recover from a calf injury in time.
With his inauspicious Argentina debut nothing but a distant memory, Lionel Messi became his country's most capped player on Monday in their 4-1 Copa America victory over Bolivia.
World number one Ash Barty will lead Australia's biggest Olympic tennis team at Tokyo as the nation bids for its first medal in 17 years at the Games.
Spain coach Luis Enrique hailed his players' character as the three-times European champions recovered from a nightmare start then let slip a two-goal lead before finally beating Croatia 5-3 in extra time to reach the Euro 2021 quarter-finals.
Beaten third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas spoke of the challenge of living in a COVID-19 'bubble' and lost motivation as the Greek made a shock early exit from the Wimbledon men's singles on Monday.
France coach Didier Deschamps said his team had shown weakness after the world champions threw away a two-goal lead and were eliminated from Euro 2021 after a penalty shootout loss to Switzerland in the last 16 on Monday.
Two-time champion Andy Murray won his first Wimbledon singles match since 2017 on Monday with a four-set triumph over Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia.
Lionel Messi celebrated his record 148th international cap with two goals as Argentina trounced Bolivia 4-1 to clinch top spot in Copa America Group A on Monday.
England captain Harry Kane will wear a rainbow armband in support of the LGBTQ communities during Tuesday's Euro 2021 last-16 tie against Germany.
Diego Maradona's personal physician denied through his lawyer Monday any responsibility for the football icon's death, in which he and six other health care workers are being investigated for manslaughter, and requested a new medical board be assigned to the case.
The T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played in October-November, has been officially moved from India to UAE and Oman. The BCCI, however, will remain the hosting board. BCCI took the decision on Monday after evaluating the threat posed by Covid-19 in India. BCCI will now work with ICC to finalise the tournament schedule with an eye on the remainder of this year's IPL.
Switzerland's Yann Sommer saved France striker Kylian Mbappe's spot kick to secure a 5-4 penalty shootout win following a thrilling 3-3 draw after extra time on Monday as they advanced to the Euro 2020 quarter-finals where they will meet Spain.
Spain striker Alvaro Morata enjoyed sweet redemption by helping fire his side to a 5-3 win over Croatia after extra time on Monday to reach the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 in an enthralling match laced with drama and storylines.
Half-centuries from Tammy Beaumont and Natalie Sciver helped England women's team register an easy win over India in the first ODI on Sunday. England defeated India by eight wickets as the hosts chased down the target of 202 quite easily to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
In a first, a woman cricketer has been handed a four-year ban by a panel of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for failing a dope test.
No matter what happens from when the first ball is struck on a match court at the All England Club on Monday till the curtain comes down on July 11, Serena Williams and Roger Federer are going on 40. And forever GOAT.
Britain's Johanna Konta was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon on Sunday after being identified as a close contact of a positive coronavirus case, the All England Club announced.
South Africa's spinners starred as they rebounded from a hammering in the first encounter of the five-match T20 International series to defeat the West Indies by 16 runs in the second fixture at the National Cricket Stadium in Grenada on Sunday.
Son of an international cricketer, once a wannabe batsman, an NFL aspirant, a 9/11 survivor… Rai Benjamin could be the next Olympic and world champion hurdler.
An Ecuador side fighting to keep their Copa America hopes alive managed to hold a previously perfect Brazil -- playing without a resting Neymar -- to a 1-1 draw Sunday and reach the quarterfinals.
Defending champions Portugal were knocked out of Euro 2020 on Sunday with a 1-0 to defeat to Belgium, who will next face Italy in a mouth-watering quarter-final tie. A 43rd-minute strike from Thorgan Hazard secured the win for Roberto Martinez's team, who survived plenty of pressure from the Portuguese in the second half.