Category: Sports

Koneru Humpy has made headlines again by winning her second World Rapid Chess Championship in 2024. Humpy, an Indian chess player, triumphed over Indonesia’s Irene Sukandar in the championship. This victory adds to India’s growing list of chess achievements, after D Gukesh became the world chess champion recently.

Humpy first won the World Rapid title in Georgia back in 2019. Now, she joins China’s Ju Wenjun as one of the only players to win the championship twice. Humpy is 37 years old, and her exciting win celebrated by chess fans everywhere. Notably, she received praise on social media from D Gukesh and even Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi!

Famous American chess player Hikaru Nakamura, recognized for his skills in Rapid and Blitz formats, praised Humpy’s fantastic performance. He compared her to legendary players Judith Polgar and Hu Yifan. “Humpy has been a strong player for many years and is doing really well,” Nakamura said.

In her journey, Humpy made history in 2002 by becoming the youngest female Grandmaster at just 15 years old, a record only surpassed by Hu Yifan. She is also India’s first female Grandmaster and has won many medals, including at the Olympiad and Asian Games.

Nakamura highlighted how chess has grown in India and mentioned the strong sponsorships that help players succeed. Like Arjun Erigaisi, who reportedly has a sponsorship deal worth $300,000 a year, many Indian grandmasters receive significant support.

Nakamura also pointed out that with help from local governments and the Chess Federation, Indian players can play chess out of love for the game rather than just to earn a living.

However, it’s worth mentioning that Nakamura previously accused Arjun of cheating, but this claim lacked evidence. Indian Grandmaster Srinath Narayanan shared that this accusation made Arjun feel sad, as he admired Nakamura.

India’s chances of playing in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final at Lord’s took a big hit. They lost to Australia by 184 runs during the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). This defeat puts India behind 1-2 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, with one Test left to play.

Because of this loss, India’s points percentage (PCT) in the WTC standings fell to 52.78%. This makes it much harder for them to qualify for the final at Lord’s. In contrast, Australia strengthened their position with a PCT of 60.71%, staying in the race along with South Africa, who is currently at the top.

What Happens Next for India?

Here’s how India can still qualify for the WTC final:

– If India wins in Sydney (series tied at 2-2):
India’s PCT will rise to 55.26%. To make it to the final, Sri Lanka must beat Australia by at least 1-0 in their next two matches.

– If India draws in Sydney (series ends 1-2):
India’s PCT will drop to 51.75%, which means they are out of the race for the final.

– If India loses in Sydney (series ends 1-3):
India’s PCT will fall even lower, and they won’t have any chance to qualify.

Meanwhile, South Africa has already secured a spot in the final. Now, India must perform well in Sydney and hope Sri Lanka can beat Australia.

Australia’s Chances

Australia still has two important matches against Sri Lanka. With a PCT of 60.71%, they are in a good position to qualify but cannot afford to lose. Winning both games against Sri Lanka would guarantee their place in the final, no matter what India does.

Current WTC Points Table:
| Position | Team | Matches Played | Wins | Losses | Draws | Points | PCT |
|———-|—————–|—————-|——|——–|——-|——–|———|
| 1 | South Africa | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 886 | 66.67% |
| 2 | Australia | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 1186 | 61.46% |
| 3 | India | 18 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 1145 | 52.78% |
| 4 | New Zealand | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 381 | 48.21% |
| 5 | Sri Lanka | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 604 | 45.45% |
| 6 | England | 22 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 2214 | 43.18% |
| 7 | Bangladesh | 12 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 453 | 31.25% |
| 8 | Pakistan | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 403 | 30.30% |
| 9 | West Indies | 11 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 322 | 24.24% |

Conor McGregor, the famous fighter, has announced that he plans to fight social media star Logan Paul in a boxing match set for 2025. This exciting fight will take place at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India, which can hold 33,000 fans.

McGregor shared his plans on X (formerly known as Twitter), saying, “I am in preliminary agreements with the Ambani family to face Logan Paul in a boxing exhibition in India.” This comes three years after his grave leg injury during a fight against Dustin Poirier that kept him away from the sport.

This fight could earn McGregor a huge $250 million (£200 million), making it one of the richest boxing matches ever! The event is also linked to a campaign promoting tourism in India, and it’s being organized by Mukesh Ambani, one of the richest people in the world.

McGregor shared his excitement about the fight by posting heart and Indian flag emojis on social media.

However, there may be some challenges. McGregor still has two fights left with the UFC, the organization he has been part of since 2018. UFC rules usually say fighters can’t participate in other sports without asking for permission first. Still, McGregor has had a successful crossover before; he fought Floyd Mayweather in a big boxing match in 2017.

After recovering, McGregor has had many rumors about his return to the ring. One of the talks was about a fight with Michael Chandler, which didn’t happen. There’s also talk of McGregor potentially fighting Jake Paul, Logan’s brother, in late 2025.

Jake Paul has shown interest in fighting McGregor, but he wants UFC President Dana White involved in the talks.

Alongside his fight planning, McGregor is dealing with some legal issues. He was recently ordered to pay €250,000 (£208,000) due to an assault claim from 2018, which he strongly denies.

This potential fight between McGregor and Logan Paul has sparked a lot of excitement and reactions in the world of sports. While some people think it’s great, others share mixed feelings. However, the blend of famous personalities and the growing importance of India in sports is making this fight a major event to watch! Fans are eager for official news about the match, which promises to be an incredible experience.

In Melbourne, on December 29, Australian bowlers Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland created a special record during the fourth Test match against India. They survived 50 balls together in both innings, becoming only the second pair to achieve this!

The Indian bowlers tried hard to win the match. After Australia found itself struggling at 91/6, the lower-order batsmen made a fantastic recovery, reaching 228/9 by the end of day four, leading India by 333 runs.

In the first innings, Boland and Lyon helped Australia score 474 runs. Together, they added 19 runs while facing 51 balls before Lyon got out. In the second innings, they did even better! After struggling to 91/6, they put on 55 more runs while facing 110 balls. Boland did well to defend, scoring 10 runs off 65 balls, while Lyon played aggressively, scoring 41 runs off 54 balls.

Previously, the first pair to survive so many balls was Pakistan’s Afaq Hussain and Haseeb Ahsan in 1961.

As for the match, Australia won the toss and chose to bat first. Key contributions came from Konstas (60), Usman Khawaja (57), Marnus Labuschagne (72), and Steve Smith, who scored his 34th Test century with 140 runs.

Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja were the top bowlers for India. India struggled early but an excellent partnership between Yashasvi Jaiswal (82) and Virat Kohli (36) helped stabilize the innings. Later, Washington Sundar and Nitish played beautifully to help India reach 369 runs.

In their second inning, Australia faced more pressure but Labuschagne (70) and skipper Pat Cummins (41) helped the team recover again.

This Test match continues to keep fans on the edge of their seats!

In a thrilling game at Centurion, South African tailenders Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen showed incredible determination against Pakistan’s fast bowler Mohammad Abbas. They secured a tense two-wicket win in the first test match, earning South Africa a place in next year’s World Test Championship final.

After some difficult moments, Jansen, who remained unbeaten at 16, hit a boundary against Abbas, leading South Africa to a total of 150-8 just after lunch on Day 4. Captain Temba Bavuma, who scored 40 runs, felt emotional but proud. He said, “We found a way to win. There’s a lot of joy in our team and glad we got the result.”

Mohammad Abbas, returning after a three-year break from Test cricket, had impressive bowling figures of 6-54. He almost stopped South Africa’s chase of 148 runs by taking four wickets for just three runs during a tough session before lunch. At one point, South Africa was in deep trouble at 99-8 until Rabada joined Jansen in a strong partnership that earned 51 runs.

Rabada scored 31 not out off just 26 balls, helping to secure a memorable win for the Proteas, who denied Pakistan their first Test victory in South Africa in nearly 18 years.

Despite starting the World Test Championship cycle with a 1-1 draw against India and a 2-0 loss to New Zealand, South Africa has bounced back, winning against teams like West Indies, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka to rise to the top of the standings.

Bavuma emphasized the significance of reaching the WTC final, especially after a shaky start. “We weren’t expected to succeed, but we proved ourselves,” he said.

In their chase, Bavuma and Aiden Markram (who scored 37) faced off against Abbas and held on tight. Unfortunately, Bavuma was controversially dismissed without reviewing the decision when replays suggested the ball might have touched his pocket, not the bat.

After losing a few quick wickets and collapsing to 96-4, it looked tough. But Rabada and Jansen steadied the ship, with Rabada’s edge just eluding the wicketkeeper.

Pakistan’s captain Shan Masood expressed disappointment. He said, “We have to stop making the same mistakes and work to win next time.”

The second test match begins in Cape Town on Friday.