Category: 6. Sports

KARACHI – Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan is all set to undergo shoulder surgery on Friday (today) in London and his availability for the Asia Cup also remains uncertain, as his recovery could take between 6 to 12 weeks.

Shadab Khan has also been ruled out from the upcoming series against Bangladesh and the West Indies.

Shadab, who was recently appointed vice-captain under skipper Salman Ali Agha during the tours of New Zealand and Bangladesh, had shown signs of struggle due to recurring shoulder pain. Despite playing all three matches in the home series against Bangladesh—where he took four wickets and scored 55 runs—his discomfort escalated, particularly while bowling googlies.

Sources revealed that Shadab had been dealing with the issue for some time, facing increasing difficulty in throwing the ball.

During a personal trip to England, he underwent an MRI scan, which confirmed the severity of the injury. The doctors advised immediate surgery after which the 26-year-old player decided to prioritize long-term fitness over short-term appearances.

Shadab is determined to safeguard his career, especially with his sights set on leading Pakistan to glory in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Given that he holds a central contract, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is expected to bear the costs of his medical treatment.

The all-rounder has been a key figure in Pakistan’s cricket setup, having represented the country in 6 Test matches, 70 One Day Internationals (ODIs), and 112 T20 Internationals. Over the course of his international career, he has scored 1,947 runs and taken 211 wickets.

Shadab’s absence would b a major setback for Pakistan’s White-ball campaigns in the coming months while his recovery is closely being monitored ahead of the Asia Cup.

Wahab Riaz likely to receive NOC to play in World Championship of Legends

 

The Porsche factory team competed in the online preliminary rounds from their new HQ in Cologne. At the state-of-the-art Porsche Esports Performance Center, they qualified for the finals in Saudi Arabia by finishing top in the teams’ standings. The “R1” series is the highest-ranking championship in sim racing. At the Esports World Cup, the competitors will do battle for a prize pool of 500,000 dollars in their discipline.

Two new faces in the Porsche team

“The EWC is the absolute highlight of the season for us,” said Nina Braack, Manager Esports at Porsche Motorsport. “The EWC is the equivalent of the FIFA World Cup among professional esports tournaments – it’s the biggest event there is. So, we have been making sure we are thoroughly prepared once again. We head to Riyadh as championship leaders in R1, which is why we are confident that we are in with a very good chance.”

The sim racing series was held in the Saudi capital for the first time in 2023. Porsche won the title in the teams’ championship with the then new factory team. They finished in fifth place last year.

Luke Pennington, performance engineer of the Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team: “I’m happy with our performance in the preliminaries. Riyadh will be tough: The many practice sessions and races on the road to the showdown on Friday are spread across four days. That requires peak mental performances in particular. The team is slightly different from last year: In Jordan Caruso we have a new driver on board. Also, it isn’t my first EWC appearance, but it is my first as part of the Porsche team.”

Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team: driver line-up

Jordan Caruso, 24 (AUS)
Charlie Collins, 20 (GB)
Joshua Rogers, 25 (AUS)
Dayne Warren, 25 (AUS)

The road to the title

In the online races held between March and June, the Porsche team picked up the most points. This means they have qualified for the EWC finals, as has Formula 1 star Max Verstappen’s second-placed BMW Team Redline.

Two teams missed out on a ticket for Riyadh in the preliminaries. Six other teams still have the chance to make it to the final in Riyadh – but only one of them will succeed.

The winner of the R1 championship will be decided in “Finalist Mode”: Three teams of four drivers will contest several races. The first team to win a race after having picked up at least 250 points wins the title.

Esports highlight of the year

With 25 different esports competitions in seven weeks, the EWC is the biggest spectator event of its kind. The event gets underway on 7 July and ends on 24 August. It will be held at an event center covering around 60,000 square metres; the center comprises several esports arenas. Across all disciplines, the total prize fund comes in at more than 70 million US dollars – an EWC record.

Live broadcast

Fans and motorsport enthusiasts can watch the R1 races live on Porsche’s official Twitch channel.

Brief overview: R1

• The unofficial sim racing premier class is contested on the “Rennsport” platform.
• The cars fielded are based on GT3 regulations, including the 911 GT3 R.
• Like in real-life racing, a Balance of Performance ensures a level playing field.
• 12 teams consisting of 4 drivers each compete in a team championship.
• The drivers qualify for the final live event at the EWC through the online events.
• 500,000 US dollars in prize money up for grabs in the R1 championship. 

The Porsche Motorsport Hub offers more information about the series.

Esports, sim racing and Porsche

Esports involve competitive gaming with video games. This also includes simulated racing, or sim racing. In professional sim racing, drivers use hardware adopted from real race cars. For example, steering wheels and pedals require the same operating force. The software typically simulates real racetracks and vehicles. Competitors race against each other either online or on a local network. Many major esports championships hold online qualifiers but host their finals on-site with a live audience. Esports are particularly popular in Asia and the USA. Vice President of Porsche Motorsport Thomas Laudenbach: “Whether digital or real, motorsport is in our blood. But we’re not doing it just for the fun of it. Esports help us connect with a young, tech-savvy audience. Plus, simulations are playing a bigger and bigger role – whether it’s preparing for a race or developing our race and road cars.”

Tito Rabat will return to the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship grid at Donington Park as he stands in for Tarran Mackenzie at the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda team. Rabat spent the first five rounds with the Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team outfit but left by mutual consent after the Czech Round but will now be back on the WorldSBK grid at the Prosecco DOC UK Round for MIE Honda, the fourth manufacturer he’s ridden for in the Championship. Zaqhwan Zaidi (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) will also miss the round, with Portuguese rider Ivo Lopes standing in for the Malaysian.

Rabat’s return comes after Mackenzie left MIE Honda after a season and a half, where his best result was ninth in the Tissot Superpole Race in a wet Assen, while it was also his best weekend with the team in total with three points-scoring results. He also raced for the team in WorldSSP and famously took their first win at Most in a dramatic mixed conditions outing. However, ahead of Donington, the team announced that they would part ways with Mackenzie.

This freed up a seat and it will be taken by 2014 Moto2 World Champion Rabat. The #53 joined WorldSBK in 2021 with the Barni Racing Team although left the team before the end of the campaign. He then returned in the same season with the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing, where he raced on and off between 2021 and 2023, before taking a full-time ride with the team in 2024. In 2025, he moved to the Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team as they expanded to a two-rider line-up, joining rookie Bahattin Sofuoglu. However, after Most, the team and Rabat announced their split. Rabat missed the Emilia-Romagna Round at Misano but will be back on the grid with the PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team at the UK Round at Donington Park, filling in for Mackenzie.

Lopes will also be on track with the team as he stands in for Malaysian rider Zaidi. The #21 will race at Motegi in the Asian championship, with Portuguese rider Lopes filling in for him. Lopes tested for the team at Misano and has raced for them before on several occasions throughout 2024, at Portimao, Magny-Cours, Cremona, Estoril and Jerez, but Donington will be a new challenge for Lopes.

Discussing his move to MIE Honda for Donington, Rabat said: “After sitting out the Misano round, I’m definitely going into the Donington round highly motivated to do well. This will be the first time that I’ll be riding the Honda Superbike and working with the team, without any preparation or test time, so it won’t be easy of course. But it is a great opportunity and I’ll be doing my best to make the most of it. The goal will be to try and improve as much as we can session by session; we’ll see what we can do. I want to thank the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team for the opportunity and hope I’m up to the task!”

Lopes said of his return to the team: “First of all, a big thanks to the team for giving me another opportunity to compete in the World Championship. As for Donington, I don’t know the track at all, so we need to understand it as quickly as possible. The goal is to interpret the track effectively, help the team as much as I can and do as well as I can. I know it will be tough as I don’t know the circuit but I’m ready to work hard; we’ll see what I can do.”

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WBC light heavyweight champion David Benavidez will defend his title against Britain’s Anthony Yarde in November, Saudi boxing officials announced on July 3.

Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority and president of the Saudi Boxing Federation, confirmed the fight as part of Riyadh Season. The exact date and venue are yet to be finalised.

The bout will be Benavidez’s first since he was promoted to full champion status.

The 28-year-old previously held the interim belt, which he captured with a unanimous decision win over Oleksandr Gvozdyk in June 2024. He followed up with a victory against David Morrell in February, securing his position as the division’s leading contender.

Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) was elevated to champion earlier this year after former titleholder Dmitry Bivol opted for a trilogy bout against Artur Beterbiev rather than defend against the interim titleholder.

Long linked to a clash with Canelo Alvarez at super middleweight, Benavidez moved up in weight after failing to secure the fight.

His opponent, Anthony Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs), will be making his third attempt at a world title. The London-born fighter fell short in his first title shot against Sergey Kovalev in 2019 and again in 2023, when he was stopped by Beterbiev in a high-profile bout for the WBC, IBF and WBO titles.

Yarde returned to winning form in April with a points win over Lyndon Arthur on the undercard of Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn. He’ll now seek a breakthrough moment against one of the division’s most powerful and technically gifted champions.

The November contest adds another high-profile name to Riyadh Season, which has emerged as a key player in boxing’s global calendar. Further details on the card are expected in the coming weeks.

Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth marched into the quarter-finals of the men’s singles event at the Canada Open 2025 badminton tournament with a commanding win in Ontario on Thursday.

Up against world No. 71 Wang Po-Wei of Chinese Taipei at the Markham Pan Am Centre, Kidambi Srikanth won his pre-quarterfinal match 21-19, 21-14.

The Indian badminton player trailed 18-13 at one stage before coming from behind to win the first game. Srikanth was also 13-10 behind in the second game but recovered to win it and went on to close out the match in 41 minutes.

Srikanth, who finished as runners-up at the Malaysia Masters in May, will face top seed and Olympian Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei in the quarter-finals.

Srikanth’s compatriot and world No. 57 Sankar Subramanian also joined him in the quarter-finals after a 21-19, 21-14 win over Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yu Kai, who is 63rd in the men’s singles badminton rankings.

Sankar Subramanian will go up against Olympian and world No. 12 Kenta Nishimoto of Japan in the next round.

The two players have met once in the past, with the Japanese shuttler emerging triumphant following a straight games win in the Orleans Masters in March.

Meanwhile, the only remaining Indian in the women’s singles at the BWF Super 300 tournament also progressed to the quarter-finals.

Shriyanshi Valishetty, 75th in the women’s singles rankings, beat world No. 45 Letshanaa Karupathevan of Malaysia 21-15, 21-14 in 35 minutes.

She will face world No. 69 Amalie Schulz of Denmark in the quarter-finals. The 18-year-old Indian defeated Amalie Schulz in their only previous meeting at the Abu Dhabi Masters in 2023.

India’s doubles campaign at Canada came to an end on Wednesday after mixed doubles top seeds Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto bowed out after losing to Spain’s Ruben Garcia and Lucia Rodriguez.

Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth marched into the quarter-finals of the men’s singles event at the Canada Open 2025 badminton tournament with a commanding win in Ontario on Thursday.

Up against world No. 71 Wang Po-Wei of Chinese Taipei at the Markham Pan Am Centre, Kidambi Srikanth won his pre-quarterfinal match 21-19, 21-14.

The Indian badminton player trailed 18-13 at one stage before coming from behind to win the first game. Srikanth was also 13-10 behind in the second game but recovered to win it and went on to close out the match in 41 minutes.

Srikanth, who finished as runners-up at the Malaysia Masters in May, will face top seed and Olympian Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei in the quarter-finals.

Srikanth’s compatriot and world No. 57 Sankar Subramanian also joined him in the quarter-finals after a 21-19, 21-14 win over Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yu Kai, who is 63rd in the men’s singles badminton rankings.

Sankar Subramanian will go up against Olympian and world No. 12 Kenta Nishimoto of Japan in the next round.

The two players have met once in the past, with the Japanese shuttler emerging triumphant following a straight games win in the Orleans Masters in March.

Meanwhile, the only remaining Indian in the women’s singles at the BWF Super 300 tournament also progressed to the quarter-finals.

Shriyanshi Valishetty, 75th in the women’s singles rankings, beat world No. 45 Letshanaa Karupathevan of Malaysia 21-15, 21-14 in 35 minutes.

She will face world No. 69 Amalie Schulz of Denmark in the quarter-finals. The 18-year-old Indian defeated Amalie Schulz in their only previous meeting at the Abu Dhabi Masters in 2023.

India’s doubles campaign at Canada came to an end on Wednesday after mixed doubles top seeds Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto bowed out after losing to Spain’s Ruben Garcia and Lucia Rodriguez.

Centre Seb Atkinson and wing Will Muir will make their debuts for England as coach Steve Borthwick picked two captains for the Test against Argentina in La Plata on Saturday, including centurion George Ford.

England are without several regulars who are on tour with the British & Irish Lions, but that gives Borthwick the chance to create “Test match animals” as he put it during the week, including Atkinson.

Borthwick has had special praise for the all-action centre, who he says has broken “every GPS record we have got” in training with his high work rate.

Fly-half Ford, who will earn his 100th cap for England, co-captains the side with hooker Jamie George.

“George [Ford] has been a standout player for over a decade. 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 said.

Scrum-half Ben Spencer will partner Ford in the half-back pairing, while Atkinson plays alongside Henry Slade in the midfield. The back trio is made up of wings Muir and Tom Roebuck, and fullback Freddie Steward.

George will have props Fin Baxter and Joe Heyes pack down either side of him in the front row, with Charlie Ewels and Alex Coles the lock pairing.

The back row of the scrum features No. 8 Tom Willis and flankers Ben Curry and Sam Underhill.

Back-row forward Guy Pepper could win his first cap from the bench.

“Having beaten the British & Irish Lions in Dublin, they [Argentina] come into this series as favourites. They’re brilliantly led by Julian Montoya, and we know it will be a huge challenge,” Borthwick said.

England have never lost a Test series to Argentina despite touring the country several times with depleted squads in Lions seasons.

England team:

15-Freddie Steward, 14-Tom Roebuck, 13-Henry Slade, 12-Seb Atkinson, 11-Will Muir, 10-George Ford, 9-Ben Spencer, 1-Fin Baxter, 2-Jamie George, 3-Joe Heyes, 4-Charlie Ewels, 5-Alex Coles, 6-Ben Curry, 7-Sam Underhill, 8-Tom Willis

Replacements: 16-Theo Dan, 17-Bevan Rodd, 18-Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 19-Chandler Cunningham-South, 20-Guy Pepper, 21-Alex Dombrandt, 22-Jack van Poortvliet, 23-Cadan Murley

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– Three things we learned as Lions crush Reds

EPA

‘Centre of excellence’

Let’s not get carried away just yet.

On Wednesday, Emma Raducanu produced one of her best performances “in a long time” to beat 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova and move into the Wimbledon third round.

But backing up that victory to reach the last 16 will probably require an even better display from the British number one on Friday.

Standing in her way is Aryna Sabalenka, the world number one and overwhelming favourite for the women’s singles title.

Raducanu has made sound progress to climb back into the world’s top 40 this season, but the evidence has shown there is still a clear gulf between the 22-year-old and the leading stars.

Both of her Grand Slam appearances this season were ended in ruthless fashion by five-time major champion Iga Swiatek – Raducanu winning only one game at the Australian Open and three at the French Open in a pair of demoralising defeats.

Coco Gauff, who went on to win the Roland Garros title, also proved too much of a step up in class for Raducanu on the Rome clay.

The challenge for Raducanu is discovering how she can test the very best.

“I think I need more weapons. I think I need to be able to hit the ball with better quality more often,” Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, told BBC Sport before facing Sabalenka.

“I think I need to serve better. I think I need to hit better on the move. There are a lot of things I need to do better.

“Beating a top player like Marketa, who has won this tournament, was obviously a really positive thing for me and a really good marker.

“But I need to bridge the gap to the very, very top.”