Category: 6. Sports

First India vs Pakistan T20

The first-ever India vs Pakistan T20 match was a classic and is remembered as one of the most thrilling games in cricket history.

Led by MS Dhoni, the Men in Blue went on to post a total of 141/9 with Robin Uthappa top-scoring after making 50 off 39 balls.

Chasing a target of 142, Pakistan needed 12 off the last over with Misbah-ul-Haq and all-rounder Yasir Arafat at the crease.

Arafat picked up a single off the first ball of the final over to give the strike to Misbah-ul-Haq, who scored 10 from the next three deliveries.

With one needed off two, India’s S Sreesanth bowled a dot ball, taking the match down to the wire.

The theatrics continued off the last ball as Misbah hit the ball towards cover only for Yuvraj Singh to pick it up and throw to the non-strikers end, where Sreesanth was present to whip off the bails as the match ended in a dramatic tie.

Though the match is listed as a tie in the record books, the two teams would play a bowl out – cricket’s equivalent to the dreaded penalty shootout in football – to determine the winner.

India prevailed 3-0 in what was the only bowl out in cricket history before it was replaced by the Super Over.

Interestingly, the two teams would meet once again in the final of the 2007 T20 World Cup, where India pulled off a dramatic win by defending 157. The Indian cricket team won the match by five runs to become the inaugural World T20 champions.

In fact, India boasts a 6-1 lead in ICC T20 World Cups, with the Pakistan cricket team’s only win coming in the 2021 edition in Dubai.

India vs Pakistan head-to-head in T20 World Cups

NEW DELHI: The Pakistan Hockey teams for the forthcoming Asia Cup tournament in Bihar’s Rajgir and FIH men’s Junior World Cup later in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai are going to be allowed to participate, sources in the government confirmed, while stating that any attempt to block participation would lead to contravention of the Olympic Charter.

The sources said that the clearance for allowing the Pakistani teams to come to India was given by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the visa process for the players has been initiated.

A high-level source in the government said, the decision has been communicated to the host federation – Hockey India (HI) and in turn it has informed the same to its counterpart in Pakistan.

“The decision was part of the Government of India’s (GoI) efforts to keep politics and sports separate, while following the statutes of the Olympic Charter, which calls for inclusion and harmony among the participating nations despite their political difference,” said a source.

Experts say that had India blocked the Pakistan teams’ participation for the two hockey events, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) would have faced sanction from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

“It is not something you think about at the start of your career,” Ford told BBC Sport of his milestone.

“You dream of playing for England, and when you get to do it once it is an unbelievably special moment – to achieve that was the proudest memory of my career.

“Then I suppose you get your head down to work as hard as you can and improve so you might gather a few caps together – that is all I have tried to do really, take each year and campaign as it comes, try to improve, develop and do the right thing for the team.

“I have the opportunity to hit quite a big milestone and it is something I will be very proud of.”

Scrum-half Ben Youngs, who retired from international rugby at the end of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, won 127 caps for his country, the most of any man.

Dan Cole, Jason Leonard, Owen Farrell, Courtney Lawes, Danny Care and co-captain George have also passed the 100-Test mark for England.

Sarah Hunter retired in March 2023 having won 141 caps for England’s women’s team.

“George has been a standout player for over a decade,” said head coach Steve Borthwick.

“Reaching 100 caps is a remarkable achievement, and it speaks volumes about both the professional and the person he is.

“Everyone in the squad is incredibly proud to share this moment with him.”

Borthwick has said that Argentina will be favourites across the two-Test series after the Pumas’ victory over the British and Irish Lions in Dublin last month continued their fine run of form.

Argentina are ranked fifth in the world, one place above England.

The second meeting between the two teams takes place in San Juan on 12 July.

England: Steward; Roebuck, Slade, S Atkinson, Muir; Ford, Spencer; Baxter, George, Heyes, Ewels, Coles, B Curry, Underhill, Willis.

Replacements: Dan, Rodd, Opoku-Fordjour, Cunningham-South, Pepper, Dombrandt, Van Poortvliet, Murley

We are rattling through the European rounds, and we head to Silverstone for Round 7 of the 2025 campaign and another stern test for the teams and drivers.

With the prospect of changeable weather and the circuit layout promoting great wheel-to-wheel racing, this weekend’s action is sure to be spectacular.

Here are the main areas you’ll want to keep an eye on.

BRITISH SUMMER

After weeks of sunshine, the standard Silverstone affair is back on the menu, with a chance of rain on both Saturday and Sunday.

It could make for a lively Sprint and Feature Race, though it will have some time measuring up to the unpredictability of last season, when Arvid Lindblad managed the conditions best to become the first driver to win both races on an F3 weekend.

With the weather radars indicating the threat of rain throughout both days, drivers and teams will need to be at their sharpest to manage conditions as best they can.

We saw in 2024 just how important it was to be on the right tyre at the right time, and the judgement call to come into the pits and make a pitstop is always a tough one to weigh up.

Get it right though, and a difficult weekend could just turn into a memorable day out in Northamptonshire. Get it wrong, and it’ll be a tough debrief.

READ MORE: Hitech TGR confirms Nikita Johnson at Silverstone round

PUSHING TO THE TRACK LIMITS

The super-fast layout of the Silverstone circuit encourages drivers to push to the maximum in order to extract the best laptime possible, but the white line could make or break a driver’s weekend.

Specifically, Copse and Stowe are both some of the most spectacular corners on the circuit, and reward those getting right up to the edge of the track to carry the speed through both corners. But go just over the track limits and that laptime is gone.

It could be a very interesting Qualifying session if drivers can’t get a provisional time on the board or lose an earlier effort to a track limits deletion. The pressure will only ramp up from there, and ending up outside the top 12 will leave an uphill struggle for the remainder of the weekend.

Keep an eye on these two corners in particular, as they are the most likely areas a driver will fall foul of those limits.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

Three drivers on the 2025 grid call Silverstone their home event, with Callum Voisin, Roman Bilinski and James Hedley preparing for a raucous welcome from the British fans.

All three have raced here before, though each of them will be seeking out a first victory on home soil after taking to the podium previously.

Their experience around the British circuit could pay dividends with the limited track time in Practice ahead of the grid-setting Qualifying session.

With a packed out attendance expected across the weekend, and with the home crowd huge fans of racing no matter what championship, all three can expect plenty of support across the entire event.

In India, the Abhinav Bindra Foundation hosted a variety of sports and movement activities for young people to participate in on Olympic Day – including skipping, football, cricket, volleyball and kho-kho – together with Olympic-themed arts and crafts. The activity is part of the Olympic Values Education Programme (OVEP), implemented in collaboration with the IOC and the governments of Odisha, Assam and Chandigarh, and has already engaged 10 million schoolchildren

The Reliance Foundation marked Olympic Day 2025 with a vibrant celebration featuring 1,450 school children and a line-up of Olympians and national champions at the Reliance Foundation School in Navi Mumbai. Olympic archers Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari, alongside athletic stars Ancy Sojan, Tejas Shirse and Sakshi Chavan, inspired young students to embrace sports and embody the core Olympic values of excellence, respect and friendship.

In China, table tennis player Sun Yingsha, swimmer Pan Zhanle and shooter Sheng Lihao championed Olympic Day 2025 through a series of videos, calling on the public to take on the “Let’s Move +1” challenge – a fun and accessible way to get people moving and ignite passion for physical activity in daily life. More than 13,000 people have participated in the “Let’s Move +1” themed Olympic Mini Program on WeChat, through which they could compete with friends, complete daily challenges, and practise sport together. Worldwide Olympic Partner Allianz held a mini marathon at the company’s Hangzhou headquarters, including online fitness challenges and AI-powered engagement initiatives; whilst Mengniu promoted mass sports, and released an Olympic themed short film, encouraging people to move and “give everyone the strength to power on”.

Over 350,000 people have already participated in Worldwide Olympic Partner Samsung’s “Let’s Move?” challenge to walk 260,000 steps between 23 June and 21 July. The IOC marked the day in the Olympic Capital, including the traditional Olympic Day run – a 5km public event around Olympic House in Lausanne.

The theme of this year’s Olympic Day, “Let’s Move?”, shone a light on the benefits of playing sport and working out together, celebrating the motivation, community and joy that movement with others brings. As part of this, everyone was encouraged to invite a “+1” to walk, run, dance, skip and move with them. People were invited to ask a friend to join their team or workout, and could use specially created “Let’s Move?” digital tools. More than 35,000 posts have been shared on social media in relation to Olympic Day.

“Let’s Move” launched in 2023 in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), following its research that alarming numbers of people across the world are not meeting the minimum activity level required for optimal health: one in three adults and 81 per cent of young people (WHO, 2024). Rallying the power and inspiration of the Olympic Movement to highlight this worrying trend, while aiming to encourage and create opportunities for everyone to move more, “Let’s Move” is part of the Olympic Movement’s mission to make the world a better place through sport and will continue beyond Olympic Day, with the ambition, and the support of the Olympic Movement, to keep inspiring and enabling people to move and enjoy physical activity through resources, activations and content.

BBC

Indian boxers Minakshi (women’s 48kg), Pooja Rani (women’s 80kg) and Sanju (women’s 60kg) had already confirmed medals from Astana after advancing to the semi-finals.

Anamika (women’s 51kg) also remains in contention after reaching the quarters.

The tournament in Astana is the second and last of two scheduled World Boxing Cup meets for the year.

Back in April, India had won six medals at the previous World Boxing Cup leg in Brazil. The Indian women did not compete in Brazil on account of the national championships.

Boxers accumulate ranking points through their performances at these two meets with the top pugilists qualifying for the World Boxing Cup Finals scheduled in New Delhi, India, in November.

The Kazakhstan leg will run until July 7, with over 400 boxers from 31 countries, including Olympians, competing across 10 weight categories in both men’s and women’s divisions. India have sent a 20-member team.

Four-year partnership deal will support the athlete’s Olympic journey and quest for swimming excellence

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
UiPath (NYSE: PATH), a global leader in agentic automation, today announced that it has named Romanian Olympic swimming champion David Popovici a Global Ambassador. In this capacity, Popovici will be attending and speaking at several UiPath events globally. The partnership, spanning four years, will support the young athlete throughout his preparation for the biggest European and world swimming competitions, culminating with the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

A freestyle swimming specialist, the 20-year-old Bucharest-born David Popovici broke into the elite swimming scene with a standout performance at the 2022 World Championships. Then aged 17, Popovici became the first male swimmer in 49 years to win the 100m and 200m freestyle at the same World Championships. He also became the second-youngest swimmer ever to win the men’s 200m world title.

Popovici went on to win gold in the 200m and the 100m freestyle at the 2022 European Championships, becoming the second-youngest male swimmer ever to break the 100m freestyle world record, while also setting a new world junior record in the 200m race.

In 2024, Popovici went on to improve on a fourth-place ranking in the 200m freestyle race at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics by winning the gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in the same race. He also won a bronze medal in the men’s 100m freestyle final.

Currently, Popovici is training towards his third consecutive Olympic Games and will next compete in the Singapore 2025 World Aquatics Championships.

“What makes David a champion isn’t just raw talent – it’s his ability to bring together every element that drives excellence: discipline, mindset, training, recovery, and the will to do it all over again. That kind of integration is what unlocks true performance. I see a similar principle in how we think about the future of technology: real breakthroughs happen when you combine the right parts – people, technology, and intelligence – into something greater than the sum of its parts. At UiPath, while we’re shaping what technology can do, we’re just as focused on the humans behind it. Our vision of agentic orchestration is about uniting people, AI agents, models, and robots into a cohesive system – just like David brings together every part of his craft. He’s the perfect embodiment of the harmony between precision, perseverance, and purpose,” said UiPath Co-Founder and CEO Daniel Dines.

“I am delighted to share my journey with a partner who genuinely understands what it takes to excel in one’s field. As a sportsman, I know firsthand that achieving global success requires hard work, discipline, unwavering motivation and the belief that you can win every time. UiPath is a place where innovative ideas are supported, where everyone is encouraged to express their creativity and contribute to developing the best technology in the world. It feels natural to partner with UiPath, a strong brand with a global impact that has remained true to its roots. We share much of the same journey, and this partnership goes beyond support – it’s built on trust and shared values, representing a big source of inspiration to me,” said Olympic champion David Popovici.

Between September 29 – October 1, 2025, UiPath will hold the first edition of UiPath FUSION, a high-touch, high-tech, white-glove event for the most passionate and innovative members of the UiPath ecosystem. David Popovici will join UiPath Co-Founder and CEO Daniel Dines on stage during the event.

Register here to join UiPath FUSION at the Wynn Las Vegas.

About UiPath

UiPath (NYSE: PATH) is a global leader in agentic automation, empowering enterprises to harness the full potential of AI agents to autonomously execute and optimize complex business processes. The UiPath Platform™ uniquely combines controlled agency, developer flexibility, and seamless integration to help organizations scale agentic automation safely and confidently. Committed to security, governance, and interoperability, UiPath supports enterprises as they transition into a future where automation delivers on the full potential of AI to transform industries. For more information, visit www.uipath.com.

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Released July 3, 2025

The ITA confirms that weightlifter Dilnoza Fayzullaeva has agreed¹ to the consequences imposed for her anti-doping rule violation (ADRV).

Dilnoza Fayzullaeva provided a sample collected under the testing authority of the IWF during an unannounced in-competition doping control performed on 25 May 2024 during the IWF World Youth Championships, Lima, Peru, which yielded an adverse analytical finding² (AAF) for furosemide.

Furosemide is prohibited under the WADA Prohibited List as S5 Diuretics and Masking Agents. It is prohibited at all times (in- and out-of-competition) and is classified as a specified substance. Furosemide can be used by athletes to excrete water for rapid weight loss.

The athlete did not challenge the ADRV and agreed with the consequences proposed by the ITA. Accordingly, the case was resolved via an acceptance of consequences.

The athlete’s period of ineligibility is from 8 August 2024 until 7 August 2026. In addition, all the athlete’s individual competitive results as from 25 May 2024 until the start of the period of ineligibility are disqualified.

The decision may be challenged before the appeals division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport by the parties with a right of appeal in accordance with article 13.2.3 of the IWF anti-doping rules.

The ITA will not comment further on these cases.