Category: 6. Sports

Paris 2024 was a Games defined by record-breaking moments, with 19 new world records set across seven sports: archery, modern pentathlon, sport climbing, swimming, track cycling, weightlifting, and of course, athletics.

Pole vault superstar Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis soared higher than any athlete in history*, claiming gold with an incredible 6.25m jump, shattering his own world record in the process. Words alone can’t capture the sheer brilliance of his vault, but the image above (and video below) says it all.

*Duplantis has since gone to break his own WR a further three times, now holding a new best of 6.28m.

The previous edition of the Durand Cup in 2024 saw Kerala Blasters FC’s Moroccan attacker Noah Sadaoui claim the Golden Boot with six goals.

Meanwhile, Mohammedan Sporting’s David Lalhlansanga was the last Indian player to top the Durand Cup scoring charts after sharing the honours with Sadaoui, who was representing FC Goa at the time, in 2023.

Lallianzuala Chhangte was the last Indian footballer to finish as the outright top scorer in a Durand Cup edition after netting seven times for Mumbai City FC in 2022.

Trinidad and Tobago forward Marcus Joseph, who played for Gokulam Kerala in 2019, was the last individual to reach double digits in the Durand Cup with 11 strikes.

Marcus Joseph had also finished as the joint top scorer in the Durand Cup 2021, alongside FC Goa’s Devendra Murgaonkar, while playing for Mohammedan Sporting.

CHENGDU, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) — Germany’s Marius-Andrei Balan and Khrystyna Moshenska claimed the Latin dance gold medal at the 2025 World Games here on Friday with a total of 195.71 points, while home favorites Du Yujun and Yan Bangbang finished fourth, marking China’s best finish in Latin dance at the World Games.

“It’s our first World Games, and the atmosphere has been fantastic,” Balan said. “From the moment we arrived until stepping onto the floor, we felt that everyone around us made this competition important. That gave us a stronger sense of responsibility.”

It was also a debut performance for the German pair at the event, adding a new milestone to their decorated career.

France’s Charles-Guillaume Schmitt and Elena Salikhova took silver with 194.00 points, followed by Spain’s Guillem Pascual Iniesta and Diandra Illes in third on 188.46. Du and Yan scored 186.96, missing the podium by 1.5 points after five dances – samba, cha cha cha, rumba, paso doble and jive.

Balan, 34, and Moshenska, 35, four-time world champions from 2021 to 2024, began their partnership in 2015 in Pforzheim, Germany, and quickly rose to the top of the sport. They captured German, European and World Latin titles within six weeks in 2021 and have remained among the most successful couples in international Latin dance.

Balan attributed their success to “consistency” under pressure.

“Whatever stress or challenge you have, you always step up. That consistency is what separates top athletes from the rest,” he said.

Du and Yan, both 31 years old, are currently China’s highest-ranked Latin dance duo. In 2024, they placed fourth at the World Championships – a best-ever result for Chinese dancers at that event. Over recent years, they have steadily climbed the world rankings, breaking multiple national records in the process.

Inside the packed Chengbei Gymnasium, the home crowd cheered and applauded enthusiastically each time the Chinese pair took to the floor. The energy from the stands, Du later noted, “was like an extra push on every step,” helping them produce one of their strongest performances on the international stage.

The Chinese pair’s performance improved on their semifinal appearance at the previous edition in Birmingham, the United States, which had been the country’s best performance in the event.

“We may have lost in results, but we won in our dance,” Yan said. “It felt like everyone in the venue was dancing with us.”

The pair are also known for blending Chinese cultural elements, such as Tai Chi and Baduanjin, into their routines.

“When we dance rumba or paso doble, we try to convey the feeling of tai chi’s circular flow and internal energy,” Yan explained. “It’s something different from the European style, and many people here told us they enjoyed it.”

China also celebrated another milestone in Chengdu, as Shao Huinan and Yu Qiufan joined Du and Yan in the semifinals. Having two pairs reach the top 14 at the World Games for the first time underscored the depth and progress of Chinese Latin dance in recent years.

Latin dance is one of the centerpiece disciplines of dancesport at the World Games, which gathers elite athletes from non-Olympic sports across the globe.  ■

Chelsea’s academy has undergone leadership changes in the past year, with Joe Shields and Glenn van der Kraan taking charge, while Jack Francis remains a key figure from the previous regime.

Although the departure of popular former leaders Neil Bath and Jim Fraser risked unsettling the academy, insiders say the new team has integrated smoothly into a structure already thriving at that level.

Meanwhile, head coach Enzo Maresca gave debuts to eight academy players last season but was no doubt influenced by Chelsea’s participation in the Conference League, a competition that saw them face a much lower level of opposition.

A more accurate measure of academy success is Premier League minutes played, where Levi Colwill, Reece James, and Chalobah remain flag bearers for the coaching staff at Cobham.

They were joined by Tyrique George and Josh Acheampong, both promoted to the first-team squad on a full-time basis.

All in all, Chelsea gave minutes to Colwill (3,149), James (1,063), Chalobah (911), George (178), Acheampong (169), Shim Mheuka (1), which totals 5,471 minutes played by academy players in the league last season.

Compared to their ‘big six’ rivals, that’s more than Manchester City, Tottenham and Arsenal, although the latter impacted by a serious injury to Bukayo Saka.

However, Manchester United and Liverpool provided more minutes to homegrown players or those at the club before their 21st birthday, per Uefa’s definition, which includes United’s Amad Diallo and Garnacho.

Lau Mo Sheung Grace wins historic women’s kata gold, delivering the first-ever women’s title and second overall medal of Hong Kong, China in World Games history.

CHENGDU, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) — Lau Mo Sheung Grace of Hong Kong, China claimed the women’s kata gold in karate at the 2025 World Games here on Friday, delivering the Hong Kong delegation’s first gold in Chengdu and only its second in the World Games history – and its first-ever in a women’s event.

Lau’s flawless 45.3-point routine beat Japan’s Maho Ono for silver and Spain’s Paola Gacia Lozano for bronze.

“This gold medal was a promise to my grandmother, who passed away two weeks ago,” said the 33-year-old. “This world title makes it real – I am a world champion now.”

In the men’s kata final, Japan’s Kakeru Nishiyama took gold ahead of America’s Ariel Torres Gutierrez, with Alessio Ghinami of Italy earning bronze.

Drama struck in the women’s kumite -55kg semifinals when China’s Wei Yuchun saw a 9-1 lead over Ukraine’s Anzhelika Terliuga erased after a successful protest. The match was restarted from Terliuga’s original 1-0 lead, and Wei eventually lost, finishing fourth. Germany’s Mia Bitsch went on to win gold, beating Terliuga, while Chile’s Valentina Toro Meneses claimed bronze.

“Having all nine points stripped and restarting from 1-0 down – I’ve never experienced this,” Wei said, adding that she was still proud of outscoring the defending champion. “She was my idol as a child, and now I believe I can beat her.”

Also on Friday, Iran’s Sara Bahmanyar upset world No. 1 Moldir Zhangbyrbay of Kazakhstan for the women’s kumite -50kg gold, with Croatia’s Ema Sgardeli taking bronze.

In the men’s kumite -60kg division, Turkey’s Eray Samdan beat Japan’s Hiromu Hashimoto for gold, and Greece’s Christos Xenos secured bronze.

Morocco’s Said Oubaya beat Japanese Yugo Kozaki in the men’s kumite -67kg final to take gold, and Abdel Rahman Tayel Hayel Almasatfa of Jordan pocketed bronze.  ■

This Lions tour will not automatically benefit Irish rugby. You have to earn everything, all over again.

In theory, a record number of Ireland players and coaches coming off a successful series bodes well for the 2027 World Cup back in Australia.

In reality, two years feels like a decade to most athletes. Anything can happen, and it usually does.

All the players want now is an uninterrupted break, far away from anyone who knows anything about rugby. They want to spent time with their family and friends, without the daily routine of buses, training and airports.

They want to stop sharing a hotel room with another grown man.

I bet the players will miss Aled Walters’ intense yet entertaining sessions. Lads love going to the gym when Aled is holding court. Andy Farrell and Simon Easterby used to pop down to watch the best S&C coach in the business do his thing.

It might be August already but next season is not on the agenda. Never mind the 2027 World Cup.

We wrongly presumed that winning a Grand Slam in 2018, followed by the series win in Australia and going unbeaten through the calendar year (when we had the All Blacks’ number in November) would drive Ireland into the 2019 World Cup.

There are no guarantees in elite sport, particularly international rugby. Remember how good the Wallabies were at Twickenham last year, and how poor they were in the first Test in Brisbane before finding their sea legs in the second and third Tests.

If we flipped the schedule on its head, people would be calling it one of the great Lions tours.

The players who benefited the most, from an Irish perspective, are Jamie Osborne and Tom Clarkson. Neither made the match day squad when Northampton beat Leinster in the Champions Cup semi-final last May.

Two months later they are Lions. Osbourne is a natural footballer who excels at fullback or centre. There are serious players ahead of him, like Hugo Keenan, Garry Ringrose and Robbie Henshaw, but I suspect Osborne will find a way into the Ireland team sooner rather than later.

Same goes for Clarkson.

Dan Sheehan was the star on tour. Nothing fazes him. I remember when Rónan Kelleher first came into Ireland camp. He had all the tools a world-class hooker needed. And then Sheehan arrived a year or so later and kicked down the door.

Now they are a pair of interchangeable Lions test hookers. Some going.

Most of all, I was delighted for Tadhg Beirne to be named player of the series. I know early on tour he was worried about making the Test 23. And not because of external opinions – he was not hitting the standards he expected of himself.

He set the tone after 16 seconds in Brisbane with a trademark jackal over Joseph Suaalii. Penalty. 3-0. The Lions never really looked back.

Beirne has a habit of getting his hands on opposition ball when they are threatening to cut open our defence. He did it in the URC final in South Africa two years ago. He does it every other week at Thomond Park.

I expect Sheehan and Beirne to be shortlisted for world player of the year.

Ireland can be a better for this Lions tour. Of course they can. They can evolve from 2023 into an even better team in 2027, that are capable of… I better not start making predictions in the middle of a World Cup cycle!

We also need to accept that Farrell and the other Irish coaches weren’t holding back on the Lions tour.

From the expertise of Easterby’s coaching to Garry Keegan’s focus on performance, Jac Morgan will bring a wealth of information back to the Ospreys and the Welsh camp in November.

But so will Joe McCarthy after partnering Maro Itoje in the second row.

The only way the Lions can work is when every player and coach, from the four countries involved, are open to sharing ideas.

The Scots and English return home with precise details about how an Andy Farrell team will attack and defend.

Ireland will have to evolve. But that was always going to be the case. Lads are not getting any younger.

Having said that, I started this column last month by waxing lyrical about Jamison Gibson-Park. He did not disappoint. To my mind, even at 33, Jamo is the Ireland scrumhalf through the next World Cup.

Sure, Craig Casey and others will challenge him for the nine jersey. Casey captained Ireland this summer, he won’t take his foot off the gas. Ben Murphy had an unbelievable season for Connacht. Fintan Gunne, the Leinster young fella, looks fairly decent. Nathan Doak in Ulster too. Paddy Patterson, with more opportunities, can show how much of a threat he is around the ruck. Paddy’s quick, and so agile.

My suspicion is that a 16- or 17-year-old from a hurling area or one of the Leinster schools will burst through in the next few years. We don’t know his name yet, but this Lions tour has inspired him to become a professional. To improve his weaker side. To head into the back field by himself to perfect box kicks until it’s too dark to see the ball.

From an Aussie perspective, the hope is that Joe Schmidt used the Lions series to ready his players for victory over South Africa at Ellis Park next Saturday, to win back the Bledisloe Cup after 23 years and to be contenders for a World Cup on their own grass when Less Kiss takes over as head coach.

If Schmidt has done anything for the game in Australia, he revived a belief that used to be ingrained in every Wallaby.

Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls and Rachin Ravindra all scored 150 and over as New Zealand built up a commanding 476-run lead against hosts Zimbabwe at the end of the second day of the second test at the Queens Sports Club on Friday.

New Zealand were 601-3 at stumps following a dominant day at the crease after being 174-1 overnight, with Conway scoring 153 and Nicholls and Ravindra compiling an unbeaten 256-run partnership to ensure a mammoth total.

Nicholls was 150 not out and Ravindra unbeaten 165 as the tourists resisted the temptation to declare late in the day and put Zimbabwe into bat.

The home team, bowled out for 125 in two sessions on the opening day on Thursday after winning the toss and choosing to bat, took only two wickets on a day of miserable toil on Friday as bat totally dominated ball.

Conway brought up his fifth test century off 142 balls and then went on to hit 18 boundaries before being bowled by Blessing Muzarabani after Zimbabwe had taken the second new ball.

Before lunch, nightwatchman Jacob Duffy, one of three debutants in the Kiwi line-up, scored 32 before chipping to midwicket off the spin bowling of Vincent Masekesa.

Duffy put on 73 runs with Conway for the second wicket while Nicholls and Conway added a further 110 before Conway’s dismissal.

Nicholls, in the team in place of injured captain Tom Latham, took 166 balls to bring up his 10th ton in test cricket while fellow left hander Ravindra needed only 104 balls for his third test century.

New Zealand completed their nine-wicket win over Zimbabwe in last week’s first test inside three days and are expected to declare either overnight or early on Saturday, leaving Zimbabwe with a massive deficit to try and haul in if they are to avoid another heavy defeat.