Category: 6. Sports

Bedrin is multiple winner in international karting competition, having made headlines by dominating the 2020 WSK Super Master Series (OK), where he won heats, qualifying sessions, prefinals, and finals over the final two rounds.

More recently, he captured his first FIA Formula 3 Sprint Race victory in 2024, confirming his potential at the highest levels of junior single-seater racing.

As part of the Penske Driver Development Program, Bedrin will work closely with the DS PENSKE engineering team, contributing to simulator development and gaining valuable insight into the technical and strategic demands of electric racing at the elite level.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Nikita into our development structure,” said Deputy Team Principal Phil Charles. “His talent is undeniable, and we believe he has the mindset and dedication to thrive within the DS PENSKE environment.”

Kvyat tests Formula E machinery once more

The former Formula 1 driver has taken part in rookie sessions before, at the Rookie Test in Berlin with then-NIO 333. The Russian also took the wheel of the DS E-TENSE FE25 during the FP0 session at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit earlier this season.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about the Rookie Free Practice session in Jeddah

Kvyat, 30, is an accomplished driver with extensive experience in top-tier motorsport. Having competed in multiple Formula 1 seasons with teams such as Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso, Kvyat has demonstrated skill and adaptability at the top level.

“With podium finishes and years of experience in high-pressure race environments, he brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the DS PENSKE squad,” say the team.

Find out more

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It also sees Mandhana reach a new career-best rating of 771 points and close to within 23 points of No.1 ranked player Beth Mooney at the top of the charts for T20I batters.

Fellow Indian opener Shafali Verma gains one place to move to 13th on the same rankings list following her innings of 20 in the same match against England, while teammate Harleen Deol re-enters the batter rankings in equal 86th after a quickfire knock of 43.

Pakistan’s white-ball vice-captain Shadab Khan is facing a three-month layoff because of a recurring shoulder injury that will require a surgery.

A source in the Pakistan Cricket Board said on Tuesday that the PCB’s medical panel has advised the leg-spin all-rounder to undergo a surgery for the chronic shoulder problem.

“He is likely to fly to London for the surgery very soon and he will require at least three months rehabilitation,” the source added.

Shadab, one of Pakistan’s most experienced white-ball players, was appointed vice-captain earlier this year and played in the recent home series against Bangladesh which Pakistan won 3-0.

ALSO READ | Nathan Lyon yearns for Test series win in India before retirement

The source said that because of the shoulder problem, Shadab was now certain to miss out on the coming white-ball series in Bangladesh and West Indies and also a home assignment against Afghanistan.

“If the Asia Cup is held in September, Shadab will also miss that event,” the source said.

The 26-year-old has appeared in six Tests, 70 ODIs and 112 T20 internationals and was recently also drafted in to play in the Big Bash this season.

Kinghorn’s fantastic versatility is part of why he’s here. Full-back is, in his own words, his favourite position, and it’s where he plays his Test rugby. He’s played five of his last six games for Toulouse on the left wing and he’s also played right wing. He scored a try for Scotland against the Wallabies while playing 10.

“I’ve played the majority of my rugby at full-back, so I still say that’s probably my best position,” the 28-year-old says. “At club level, it’s different. We have positions, but we don’t really have positions. Everything’s interchangeable, it’s not structured, so you’re floating around. Winger’s the same as a full-back in most instances.”

On the night the Lions were playing the Pumas in Dublin, Kinghorn was playing Bayonne in the Top 14 semi-final in Lyon. When the Lions were going up against Western Force in Perth, Kinghorn was running out in front of French president Emmanuel Macron and 80,000 others in Paris for the domestic final against European champions Bordeaux. It turned out to be an all-time classic.

He continues: “I was so focused on finishing the season well with Toulouse that I hadn’t many thoughts about [the Lions]. I tried to keep them at the back of my head just because I wanted to stay in the moment. Now I can turn my full attention to this and it’s really exciting.

Did Andy Farrell or any of the Lions coaches keep him up to speed with what was going on in their camp? “No, I think all the coaches understand how intense it is to be in the knockout stages of your league competition. They all know that overloading information is not going to help anyone.

“The next couple of days will be head-in-the-book days for me, I just need to learn everything and catch up with where the boys are at. Hopefully I’ll catch on pretty quickly. All I can do is learn as fast as I can and show what I can do if I get the chance to play.”

He’s got some ground to make up, for sure. Elliot Daly is the early Lions pace-setter at full-back and Hugo Keenan has a big opportunity against the Queensland Reds on Wednesday. Best-case scenario is that Kinghorn starts against the Waratahs on Saturday. That’s game three in Australia. There are only two more after that before we get to the Test series.

Toulouse has been the most extraordinary move for him. Everything is different there, he says. “The squad is so deep and so talented that you’ve got to be on top of your game. You’ve got to come into training every day and work hard. Coaches are on your back the whole time, which is great. It’s high pressure, but it makes you thrive.

“Having great players and great coaches around you does make you a better player. The way that Toulouse see the game is similar to the way I like to play, so it’s matched up nicely there. Competition for places, consistency of training, high pressure.”

Back in April, Kinghorn picked up a knee injury and missed two months of the season, a blessing in disguise in a sense. “I was injured for eight weeks. It’s never fun, but it freshened the brain up a little bit.”

He’s about to bring that energy to the camp now, a late arrival, but quite possibly a very key man in the weeks ahead.

This year’s Japan Athletics Championships takes on a whole new level of significance with spots for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo at stake.

It’s all up for grabs for the home athletes of the 13-21 September worlds at the National Stadium, where the 109th edition of the Japan Athletics Championships are also being held from 4-6 July.

Only three athletes have pre-booked a place on the Japanese team for the world championships – Kitaguchi Haruka, the Olympic and world champion in the women’s javelin throw; Takemura Rachid, the 110m hurdler; and Miura Ryuji in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase.

Everyone else will have to go through the nationals this week if they want the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of competing at athletics’ flagship event in their own country. To qualify, he or she must meet the qualifying standard while finishing in the top three at the three-day meet.

With Kitaguchi having withdrawn due to right elbow inflammation and Takemura saving himself for worlds coming off fourth place at Diamond League Paris, most eyes will be on the men’s 100m, two-time Olympian Abdul Hakim Sani Brown in particular.

Sani Brown – who has reached the final at the last two world championships – is the only one in the field with a sub-10 qualifying time but has not run better than 10.31 so far this year.

His chief threat is expected to come from Yanagita Hiroki, the reigning two-time Asian champion who won the Golden Grand Prix in May in a Japanese lead of 10.06, over Christian Coleman.

National record-holder of 9.95, Yamagata Ryota, who helped his team to 4x100m silver at Rio 2016, could make things interesting after showing signs of a reprisal having run a 10.12 last month.

Also look out for half-Peruvian Flores Arie, who has just acquired eligibility to compete after acquiring Japanese citizenship.

In May, the 21-year-old surpassed the women’s 400m Japan record with a 51.71. Although it did not go down as a new record because she had not been naturalised yet, it was the fastest time in 17 years.

Below is the complete schedule of the Japan Athletics Championships.

Over 400 athlete representatives came together in Lausanne, Switzerland, for the forum organized by the IOC Athletes’ Commission. Participants included athlete representatives from 200 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), 54 International Federations (IFs), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the International Paralympic Committee, Organising Committees for upcoming Olympic Games, Continental Associations of NOCs, as well as members of the Athletes’ Declaration Steering Committee. The forum provided a platform to address key topics impacting athletes, such as their rights, the promotion of clean sport, and issues surrounding sport integrity.

The ITA was present with an interactive booth, offering athlete representatives the opportunity to connect with ITA staff, expand their knowledge about clean sport, better understand their rights and responsibilities, and show their commitment to clean competition by signing the ITA Wall.

Bernardo Silva is refusing to look at Manchester City’s shock exit from the Club World Cup as a blessing in disguise.

The Premier League outfit crashed out of the competition in the early hours of Tuesday morning as they were beaten 4-3 in extra time by Saudi outfit Al-Hilal after a pulsating last-16 clash in Orlando.

City had established themselves as one of the favourites to triumph in the United States after winning all three of their group games in convincing fashion.

A run to the final would have prolonged their campaign until July 13, however, just five weeks before the next Premier League season begins.

After much debate about the impact of the Club World Cup on player welfare, there is a feeling in some quarters that City – after an underwhelming 2024-25 season – need the rest, but Silva does not see it that way.

The City captain said: “No-one wanted to lose. We are very used to not having holidays, unfortunately, because the schedule is crazy and when we are in a competition we take it very seriously.

“We had a lot of ambition for this Club World Cup and we wanted to win it.”

Asked if the defeat hurt as much as Champions League elimination, Silva said: “Yes, a little bit. Yes.”

City had taken early control with a ninth-minute goal from Silva at the Camping World Stadium, but they were to rue missing a succession of chances to increase the lead before the break.

Al-Hilal turned the game around through Marcos Leonardo and Malcom and reclaimed the advantage again with a Kalidou Koulibaly header after Erling Haaland forced extra time.

Phil Foden made it 3-3, but City could not regain the initiative and Leonardo settled an eventful contest – and secured a statement victory for Saudi football – with 112 minutes on the clock.

Silva said: “There was always a feeling of danger coming from them when they recovered the ball in transition and their counters. We allowed them to run way too many times.

“But apart from that we had chances. We scored three goals and we could have scored five or six.

“They punished us. They have a good team with a lot of individual quality and congratulations to them.”

Former Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves impressed in the Al-Hilal midfield and fellow Portuguese Joao Cancelo was a threat against his old City team-mates.

Silva, also a Portugal international, said: “I have friends there, I know most of their players and I know the quality they have.

“We were expecting another difficult game like Juventus and when you don’t control transitions then good players, like Al-Hilal have, punish you. That’s what happened.”

City begin the new Premier League season at Wolves on August 16.

Silva said: “We will try to have as much rest as possible but also come back to prepare for the season properly.”

Watch every Fifa Club World Cup game free on DAZN.

Now 57, Rowe, who subsequently got involved with cycling coaching, still feels the effects of the injury in terms of her mobility.

Keen to accentuate the positive, she says: “I can do things in adapted form and I just thank my lucky stars I am here.”

While Sarah may have been lost to the sport, in a competitive sense at least, far too early, her two children are showing plenty of signs that they, like their mum, could be heading to the top.

Her son, Elliot, 19, has been signed by cycling giants Team Visma Lease a Bike, as part of their development team, and won a bronze medal in June’s British under-23 individual time trial.

Her daughter, Melanie, 16, recently finished first in the under-17s race in the prestigious Tour of Flanders event.

“I have to say my heart is in my mouth every time they go out on the roads, but that is part of life and they just have to get on and enjoy it and be careful and be safe as best they can,” Rowe says.

“It is lovely seeing what they are doing because I can relate to it. I just love to see them enjoying the journey – it is such a special thing what the bike can give you.”

Elliot and Melanie were not born when their mum was competing at Olympic level.

However, her knowledge and experience is clearly a huge help as they aim to make their own way in the sport, with Elliot suggesting: “My mum is really modest.

“She never bigs it up too much, but we get little stories here and there, which is pretty cool, because it is just a reminder that it did happen and it is something that you will always remember and something that me and my sister would both want to work towards in the future.”

Melanie adds: “I find it really helpful because she always knows exactly how I feel about everything because she has done it before.”

If both children continue to deliver on their early promise, perhaps their mum will find herself back, as a proud parent, at an Olympic Games some day in the future.

YOKOHAMA, Japan – Abbi Pulling and Gabriele Minì will be back in action for Nissan Formula E Team in the upcoming FIA Formula E Rookie Test. The pair will return to the wheel of the Nissan e-4ORCE 05 on Monday 14 July at Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport Street Circuit.

Reigning F1 Academy champion Pulling impressed by finishing top of the timesheets at the all-women’s session in Jarama last November. This will be her first on-track appearance with the Japanese outfit in her new role as Nissan Formula E Team’s rookie and simulator driver. The British racer is currently competing in GB3 Championship, where she scored a strong fifth on debut at Silverstone.

In addition, Minì returns to the squad for a third time thanks to Nissan Formula E Team’s collaboration with Alpine Racing. The Italian driver will be looking to develop the skills he learned in his previous two outings in a Formula E car, having taken a top-10 finish in last year’s Berlin Rookie Test, before securing an impressive second in FP0 in Jeddah. Minì has enjoyed a solid debut FIA Formula 2 campaign so far, earning a podium finish in the Monaco Sprint Race.

The pair will take on two sessions at the 2.343-kilometre circuit, which features 15 corners and runs anti-clockwise. Drivers’ tire management will be tested by the famously abrasive surface, which will add another level of difficulty for the rookies.

On-track action begins at 09:00 local time (UTC+2) before the checkered flag at 12:00. Testing resumes with the second three-hour session at 13:00, running until 16:00. 

Tommaso Volpe, managing director and team principal, Nissan Formula E Team: “We’re very happy to have Abbi and Gabriele with us for the Berlin rookie test this year. It will be Abbi’s first on-track action since joining us as our rookie and simulator driver, and we’re happy to welcome Gabriele again thanks to our close collaboration with Alpine Racing. We’ve worked with them separately in the past with a lot of success, so it will be great to see them teaming up for this test. They’re both very talented drivers and for us it is great to have continuity with our rookies, so they can keep developing at the same time as doing a better job for the team every time.”

Abbi Pulling, rookie and simulator driver, Nissan Formula E Team: “I’m really excited to get out on track and to work with the team again. I’ve driven street circuits before but never in such a high-powered car, so it will be an amazing opportunity. Berlin looks like a fun track – Gabriele has been there with the team before, so it will be interesting to work with him and get up to speed from his previous experience. I’ll be there for the race weekend prior to the test as well, so my goal is mainly to pick up as much information as possible, improve my understanding of the car, and make the most of the experience for both the team and myself.”

Gabriele Minì: “It’s great to be back, I’ve enjoyed my two previous outings with the team, so I’m delighted to work with them again. It’s a track I know well, having driven there in the Rookie Test last year. I also had the chance to drive the GEN3 Evo in the FP0 session in Jeddah, with the 350kW power mode, new tires, and all-wheel drive, so I will be aiming to put these two experiences together. My main goal is to keep learning and to help the team complete its program for the day, like we did in Jeddah, while also showing my pace.”

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