Category: 6. Sports

LAUSANNE (Switzerland) – United States moved one victory from their mission of reclaiming the title by rolling past New Zealand to reach the Final of the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 and a date with Germany.

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The record eight-time U19 world champions had no trouble with New Zealand, who were making their maiden appearance in the Semi-Finals in the competition. USA ended up winning 120-61 – setting a new scoring record.

The 120 points eclipsed the previous mark for the most scored in a FIBA U19 World Cup Semi-Finals. The Americans beat Lithuania 100-60 in the 2013 Semis and then walloped Lithuania 102-67 in the 2019 Semi-Finals.

Caleb Holt was USA’s leading scorer with 20 points as six USA players hit in double figures, including Mikel Brown tallying 11 points and 6 assists.

United States did not waste any time and built an 18-point lead after the first quarter against New Zealand. The Junior Tall Blacks never could get any kind of rhythm going, trailing 55-26 at halftime. And the second half was mostly one-way traffic for the Americans.

New Zealand still have a chance to make history with a matchup against Slovenia in the Third Place Game. A victory on the final day would mean the Oceania’s best-ever finish in a FIBA competition.

The only team standing in USA’s way now is Germany in the Final.

USA have only played Germany twice at the youth level – both of them in this competition. The first game was an 88-87 overtime victory for Germany in the Semi-Final group stage in 1983. The Americans beat Germany 81-59 in the Quarter-Finals of the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup.

United States have now averaged 115.5 points in the tournament and are on track to become the highest scoring team in FIBA U19 World Cup history. They would also be just fifth team to score at least 100 points per game in the tournament.

The top spot all-time belongs to the legendary Yugoslavia team from 1987, which included the likes of Toni Kukoc, Dino Radja, Vlade Divac and Sasa Djordjevic and poured in 108.9 points per game.

All-time best team scoring averages at the U19 World Cup

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Inspiring the Swiss spirit for the future

While it’s clear Wälti is in love with her native country and its unique beauty, there is a sense that the star footballer is trying to achieve something bigger than simply being a tour guide.

By partnering with brands and tourism boards to show off Switzerland, the captain believes a lasting connection can form between the hosts and women’s football.

“I hope that the Euros will give us that extra push for people to see that this game actually has a lot of potential, even in Switzerland,” the experienced midfielder told ESPN about her aspirations for the event, “and that they want to push and invest and give the girls a chance … the same chance as the boys basically.

“Probably [it] never will be like in England [previous women’s Euros hosts], because men’s football is not like in England either. So we have to respect that, but it can at least be equal; that you have the same opportunities, same facilities, same conditions, and same possibilities as well.”

Wälti’s ambitions so far seem to be coming to fruition, with there being plenty of examples of Swiss spirit during their opening game against Norway.

Despite the sweltering heat, 34,063 fans turned up in Basel to watch their women’s team kick off their tournament, and though they might have fallen 2-1 to their opponents, the display of local support has set the tone for the occasion and has certainly inspired the captain.

“Tears in my eyes. What a feeling. A dream come true. Our fans. Our home. Unforgettable,” Wälti wrote on social media the day after the game.

She will be hoping for more special Swiss support – on and off the field of play – when they go again for their next game against Iceland on Sunday, 6 July in Bern.

Animesh Kujur already holds the men’s 200m Indian national record of 20.32 seconds, which earned him a bronze medal at the Asian Athletics Championships 2025 in Gumi, the Republic of Korea, earlier this year.

The Odisha-born runner was also a part of the national record-setting Indian men’s 4x100m quartet, alongside Gurindervir, Manikanta Hoblidhar and Amlan Borgohain, at the National Relay Carnival 2025. They clocked 38.69 in Chandigarh.

In the 100m men’s Final A, Indian athlete Lalu Bhoi finished fourth with a wind-assisted 10.42, followed by Mrutyam Jayaram Dondapati with 10.47.

Animesh Kujur also ran in the men’s 200m race in Greece and logged a modest 20.73 to finish seventh. Manikanta Hoblidhar crossed the finish line in 21.28 to finish in 11th position.

Animesh Kujur, Lalu Bhoi, Jayaram Dondapati and Gurindervir Singh also teamed up for the men’s 4x100m relay event in Greece and clocked 39.99 seconds to finish behind Turkiye.

Moumita Mondal, meanwhile, logged a new personal best of 13.24 to win the women’s 100m hurdles event at the Vari meet. Jyothi Yarraji holds the national record in the event – 12.78.

Wimbledon 2025 – Novak Djokovic reaches round four in style in pursuit of 25^th major

At his 20^th Championships appearance and 20 years after his debut, Djokovic has reached the magic century of victories and now holds a 100-12 record at SW19.

He is just the third singles player in tennis history to achieve the feat, joining 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer and 18-time major winner Martina Navratilova.

“I did enjoy myself, except maybe the last couple of games,” Djokovic said on court post-match. “Tennis has made me who I am, I try not to take anything for granted, particularly at this age, still going strong…I feel blessed.”

It was plain sailing for the world number six, who registered his first bagel (a 6-0 scoreline) of the Grand Slam season and sealed the win in an hour and 47 minutes.

But if Djokovic had to be summed up in one point, refer to the moment when he was at deuce at 4-3 up in the first set. A diving backhand winner after angled dropshots and a tweener from Kecmanović brought Centre Court to its feet in pure awe.

Harry Sweeny joined our team in 2024 and quickly became a key rider for us in the classics and grand tours. This is the Australian’s fifth season as a pro.

Harry is still discovering his limits as a racer. As a U23, he won Il Piccolo Lombardia and has since ridden the Tour de France, where, as a rookie, he finished third on a stage and rode onto the Champs-Élysées in the break, as jets trailed bleu, blanc, et rouge streaks into the sky overhead. He has raced Paris-Roubaix in the wet and Liège-Bastogne-Liège alongside his friend, the former winner and cycling legend, Philippe Gilbert. Last year, he finished seventh on GC at the Tour of Luxembourg after riding hard for his teammates all season. Harry believes that his best is yet to come.

He came to cycling late. As a kid growing up in Brisbane, where his family moved when he was a child, he played soccer and rugby and did gymnastics and swam. He took up triathlon as a schoolboy, but focused on cycling when he was a junior and was recovering from a running injury. He started out racing local crits. His athleticism soon shone and he was picked to race the world championships in Richmond, Virginia for the Australian national team.

He moved to Europe to race, first for a small junior team in Belgium, and then for two years with the Australian Institute of Sport squad, which was then based in Italy, before moving back to Belgium for his final year as an U23. Those years opened up new worlds for Harry.

EF Education-EasyPost’s open-minded international character is a big draw for him. On the teams he has raced for in the past, he has often been one of the few foreigners. Our team is made up of riders and staff from dozens of nationalities. Most of them know what it is like to build a life far from home and can help with all of the little difficulties that come with that. Our multicultural make up helps us to expand our outlook and think beyond traditional ways of doing things too.

Harry is a lot more than a bike racer. He is a keen cook and he loves to go camping and hiking with his girlfriend, an environmental scientist, near their adopted home in Andorra. In the winter, he loves to ski. And he is a YouTuber.

This summer, Harry will return to the Tour de France in EF Education-EasyPost pink. We know that we can always count on him to be where we need him to be when it counts – and to bring a laugh to the bus.

Novak Djokovic defeated Miomir Kecmanović 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 on Saturday for his 100th career Wimbledon victory.

The 38-year-old Djokovic, who has dropped the past two Wimbledon finals to Carlos Alcaraz, now has a career singles record of 100-12 at the All-England Club. He joins nine-time winner Martina Navratilova and eight-time champion Roger Federer as the only players to have reached the century mark in victories at Wimbledon.

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Djokovic, a seven-time Wimbledon men’s singles winner, will make his seventh straight appearance in the fourth round when he faces Australia’s Alex de Minaur on Sunday.

The French Open is the only other Grand Slam tournament Djokovic has surpassed 100 career singles wins (101). He has won least 90 matches at the Australian Open (99) and U.S. Open (90).

On Thursday, Djokovic moved past Federer by reaching the third round of Wimbledon for the 19th time in his career, the most by a male player in the Open Era.

Djokovic is seeking his 25th career singles major title and first since the 2023 U.S. Open when he beat Daniil Medvedev to tie Margaret Court for most Grand Slam singles championships with 24.