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Monkey Whisperers At Badminton Worlds? PV Sindhu Reacts On Viral Buzz

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The World Badminton Championships returns to India after 17 long years. The marquee competition will start from August 17 in New Delhi. The event is being held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, which hosted the India Open badminton tournament earlier this year. The venue drew international criticism due to hygiene issues, a monkey menace, as well as bird excreta halting play. The Badminton Association of India and the Sports Authority of India have combined to give the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium a thorough makeover this time.

The organisers have roped in three trained monkey whisperers, who mimic the calls of langurs to scare away rhesus macaques, which are commonly found in central Delhi, including the area around the stadium that will host the August 17-23 championships. Heavy-duty polyethylene bird nets and non-toxic deterrent gels have also been installed.

While the effort put in has been lauded, some sections of social media have made terse remarks about the World Championships organisers’ focus on these remedial measures. Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu defended the organisers.

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The unique solution comes in the wake of the India Open in January, which was briefly disrupted by monkeys in the spectator stands, with the images making international headlines.

Rhesus macaques are believed to be wary of langurs, which are considerably larger in size, and the mimicry is being used as a deterrent. The use of actual langurs for such activities was banned in 2012.

“100%. I genuinely don’t understand the outrage. We all love Wimbledon, and they’ve had Rufus the hawk keeping pigeons away for years. Every major sporting event has its own local challenges. This is just one additional measure on top of the countless measures already being taken. Somehow that becomes the talking point,” PV Sindhu wrote on X.

“Can’t wait for the world to experience Indian hospitality. I’m 100% sure we’re going to deliver a world-class World Championships.”

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Xavi Becomes New Netherlands Head Coach

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Xavi Hernández has officially been appointed as the new head coach of the Netherlands national team, marking his return to management after leaving Barcelona in 2024.

The 46-year-old Spaniard has agreed a contract that will run through the 2030 FIFA World Cup, taking charge of the Dutch side following Ronald Koeman’s departure after the Netherlands were eliminated by Morocco at the 2026 World Cup.

The former Spain international had already expressed his interest in taking charge of a national team, saying in July that international management could be a good fit for his next step.

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His appointment represents a major change in direction for the Netherlands, with Xavi expected to bring his possession-based and attacking football philosophy to a talented squad.

The Netherlands will now hope Xavi can build on the team’s strong footballing tradition and guide the Oranje towards success at Euro 2028 and the 2030 World Cup.

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After ten defeats in 19 Tests and WTC hopes fading, Amit Mishra says ‘give Gautam Gambhir more time’

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After ten defeats in 19 Tests and WTC hopes fading, Amit Mishra says 'give Gautam Gambhir more time'
Amit Mishra and Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir‘s record in white ball and red ball cricket as Indian men’s team coach has been a story of two polar opposites. In the white ball cricket, especially T20s, India have been a team to beat, Ireland and England would disagree.While India have lost T20 series against Ireland and England after Shreyas Iyer assumed T20I captaincy after India’s 2026 T20 World Cup triumph against Suryakumar Yadav, there’s little denying the fact that the Men in Blue are among the ruthless side in the T20 internationals. India didn’t lose a T20 series between 2024 and 2026 T20 World Cup.In ODIs too, India won the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. While they have lost some series here and there, there’s not much to worry about for India in the format.The worst for India under Gambhir’s coaching has come in the Tests. In the six Test series that India have played since Gambhir took charge as head coach (one-off Test against Afghanistan not included), they have won just two – against Bangladesh and West Indies at home.India lost 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia 3-1 and drew the series in England in 2025 2-2. However, the worst part is that India have lost two home series, that too they have been clean swept, against New Zealand (3-0) in 2024, and South Africa (2-0) in 2025.

Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill during a training session ahead of first Test cricket match between India and South Africa, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. (PTI File Photo)<br>

Overall, India have won seven Tests and lost ten and drew two out of 19 Tests since Gambhir has become the head coach (not including one-off Afghanistan Test)

Gautam Gambhir’s record in Tests as India coach

Matches played Win Loss Draw
19 7 10 2

India are scheduled to play Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in the two-match series starting later this month (Aug 15), and then they will travel to New Zealand for the two-match series before hosting Australia for the all important Border-Gavaskar series at the start of 2027 for the five-match Test series.With 48.15% of points, India are at fifth position in the World Test Championship (WTC 2025-27) points table, and it is highly likely that they will not make it to the WTC final for the second cycle in a row.With such an awful record in Tests under Gambhir, there have been talks about the split coaching previously, separate coaches for white ball and red ball cricket. However, talking to TimesofIndia.com, former India leg-spinner Amit Mishra backed Gambhir for the role and suggested that players should take “more responsibility”.“It’s tough for the coach. I think players need to take more responsibility. One coach for all format has been the norm for years. You have to give time to any coach. In Test matches, we have new players with less experience. It takes time for coaches and players to develop,” Mishra said in an exclusive interview with TimesofIndia.com.“It took 1-1.5 years for Rahul Dravid to establish himself. Then performance improved. Players need to take responsibility, understand the wicket’s behavior. You are selected from 140-145 crore people, you have to adapt according to the wicket and situation. That’s why you’re playing at the top. I don’t think any blame should be given to the coach.”“Give him (Gambhir) time in red-ball. He needs to explain to new players (in the squad). A coach’s job is to work on mental aspects, skills, but players have to play. In our time, players did it. You have to take stress, understand. You have to spend time, change according to the situation, player, bowler, wicket. Players need to take more responsibility. A coach’s job is to guide, plan, but players have to execute,” Mishra added.It’s not just the overall win-loss record, but Indian team’s tactics since Gambhir has assumed the role of head coach have also been under scrutiny. India have not sticked to a settled batting order, especially number three, with Karun Nair, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, and even Washington Sundar.However, Mishra believed that Gambhir and team management should be given some more time to prove themselves. “We don’t see it here, but they spend time with them (in the nets), and see who’s batting well and who isn’t. They have that in mind. We only see the changes. According to the wicket, situation, maybe Sundar was fitting, so they put him there (at number three in South Africa series). They see who bats well, bowls well. They’re trying to find the best combination for 11 in Tests. Give them time.”

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Tom Brady urges parents to “check garage ASAP” as collector’s girlfriend unearths $704,550 trading card after 20 years

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Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady reacted after a rare trading card featuring him was found after nearly 20 years.

The story went viral Tuesday after a collector’s girlfriend discovered a rare 2005 Topps Finest SuperFractor 1-of-1 die-cut card featuring Brady in his New England Patriots uniform.

The card had been missing from the sports card market for two decades and was worth six figures. It was authenticated by PSA and later sent to Goldin Auctions. After 43 bids, the card sold for $704,550.

Topps shared the incredible discovery on social media, and Brady reacted to the post on his Instagram Story. The NFL legend reshared Topps’ post, tagged his trading card company, CardVault by Tom Brady, and jokingly asked his parents to check their garage.

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“Mom / Dad please check the garage ASAP. 🤪😜🤪”

Source: (Via Instagram/ @TomBrady)Source: (Via Instagram/ @TomBrady)
Source: (Via Instagram/ @TomBrady)

Brady also gave fans a glimpse into his personal life on the same day.

The retired NFL star shared a photo of a family-style taco dinner on his Instagram Story with Post Malone’s “Circles” playing in the background. The meal included rice, black beans, shredded cheese and roasted corn.

Brady’s dining companion was seen holding a taco in the photo. He captioned the post:

“Taco Tuesday (Night) w my bestie. ❤️❤️❤️”

Source: (Via Instagram/ @tombrady)Source: (Via Instagram/ @tombrady)
Source: (Via Instagram/ @tombrady)

But Brady did not reveal the identity of his “bestie.”


Tom Brady celebrated his 49th birthday in Europe

Tom Brady celebrated his 49th birthday on Aug. 3 with a vacation in the South of France.

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He was spotted spending time with his kids and an unidentified blonde woman.

Marking the occasion on Instagram, Brady posted photos of his children with the caption declaring that the “40’s farewell tour starts today” as he enters his final year before turning 50.

Before jetting off to South of France, he enkoyed “trip of lifetime” with “3 best friends” aka his children, Jack, Benjamin and Vivian, in Alaska.

Also Read: That’s embarrassing” : NFL fans mock “soft & distracted” Travis Kelce for gushing about Taylor Swift wedding night

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