India’s hopes of improving their medal tally of 107 from the Hangzhou Asian Games at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya suffered a massive blow as their star athlete and two-time defending gold medallist in the javelin throw event, Neeraj Chopra, on Saturday announced that he will be missing the tournament after suffering a ligament tear in his ankle during a practice session following his recent participation at the Lausanne Diamond League.

The 2020 Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra took to his social media page on Instagram, where he informed his fans about his unfortunate injury, due to which he will now sit on the sidelines for the rest of the season.

Chopra’s withdrawal means India will have just one representative in the men’s javelin throw event in Aichi-Nagoya in the form of 25-year-old Rohit Yadav.

What did Neeraj Chopra’s post say?

Neeraj Chopra, in his Instagram post on Saturday, said he had begun to feel that he was finding the momentum and rhythm he had been looking for after a period of hard work. However, the Olympic champion suffered a ligament tear in his ankle during training soon after his season’s best throw in Lausanne.

Following discussions with his doctor and team, Chopra said he had decided to sit out the rest of the season. He described the setback as disappointing but said his focus was now on recovering well and returning stronger.

Check the Instagram post here:

Neeraj Chopra and the unfortunate list of injuries

2019: Right elbow injury

Chopra’s first major injury setback came in 2019, when he suffered an injury to his right elbow that required surgery. The injury ruled him out of that year’s World Championships and kept him away from competition for a prolonged period as he underwent rehabilitation.

2022: Groin injury

Chopra suffered a groin injury soon after winning his first World Championships medal in Eugene in 2022. The setback forced him to miss the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where he was the defending champion. It also brought an abrupt end to what had been a highly successful season for the Olympic champion.

2023: Muscle strain

In 2023, a muscle strain forced Chopra to miss three competitions in quick succession. He pulled out of the FBK Games, Paavo Nurmi Games and Ostrava Golden Spike before returning to action at the Lausanne Diamond League.

2024: Adductor discomfort

Fitness concerns resurfaced in 2024 when Chopra experienced discomfort in his adductor. He withdrew from the Ostrava Golden Spike and later skipped the Paris Diamond League as he chose not to risk aggravating the problem ahead of the Paris Olympics.

Despite the concerns, Chopra went on to win a silver medal at the Paris Games. However, the adductor issue continued to trouble him and remained a concern in the following season.

2025: Adductor problem persists

Chopra continued to compete despite his ongoing adductor issue and took part in the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo. The injury affected his campaign as he finished eighth in the final.

2025-26: Back injury

Chopra then suffered another major setback when a back injury kept him away from competition for around nine months. His comeback was pushed into 2026, with the Indian star missing the Doha Diamond League before eventually returning to competitive action.

2026: Ankle ligament tear

Just as Chopra appeared to be regaining his rhythm, another injury struck. After finishing second in Lausanne with a season-best throw of 88.05m, he suffered a ligament tear in his ankle during training.

The latest setback has ruled Chopra out for the remainder of the 2026 season, adding another chapter to an increasingly lengthy list of injury interruptions in his career.

A strong return after long injury setback

After spending nearly nine months on the sidelines with a back injury, Neeraj Chopra made a measured return to competition in 2026. He finished fourth at the Doha Diamond League with 85.69m before stepping up at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where he won silver with a throw of 85.83m. Chopra then showed clear signs of returning to his best at the Lausanne Diamond League, producing a season-best 88.05m to finish second. His consistent performances also earned him 12 points and qualification for the Diamond League Final.

Just when Chopra appeared to be building momentum, another injury brought his season to an abrupt end. The injury means he will miss the Diamond League Final, the World Athletics Ultimate Championships and the Asian Games, where he was due to defend his title.

Misses chance to secure Asian Games hat-trick

Neeraj’s latest injury now means he will miss the chance of winning his third successive Asian Games gold medal in Japan.

The former Olympic champion made his Asian Games debut in Jakarta back in 2018, where he secured the gold medal with his brilliant throw of 88.06m in his third attempt to become the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in the javelin throw event at the Asian Games.

Chopra then went on to defend his medal at the 2020 Hangzhou Asian Games (which took place in 2023 due to the Covid-19 pandemic), with a massive throw of 88.88m.

Tour Championship, final leaderboard

-16 S Scheffler (US); -13 V Hovland (Nor) ;-12 R Gerard (US); -11 A Fitzpatrick (Eng), C Gotterup (US), R McIlroy (NI), R Henley (US), MW Lee (Aus), J Bridgeman (US)

Selected others: -10 T Fleetwood (Eng), C Young (US), A Scott (Aus), L Aberg (Swe); -9 C Morikawa (US); -7 J Rose (Eng); -5 M Fitzpatrick (Eng), W Clark (US); E R MacIntyre (Sco)

Full leaderboard

At times it felt like there was a certain inevitability about Scottie Scheffler collecting his second Fedex Cup title on Sunday.

As those around him began to falter, the world number one, who started the day three strokes adrift of overnight leader Viktor Hovland, produced a typically metronomic performance with the winning cheque in sight.

And what a prize. Scheffler’s reward for his 22nd career victory at the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta will see his bank account credited to the tune of $10m (£7.4m).

The 2024 champion also joins Tiger Woods (2007 and 2009) and Rory McIlroy (2016, 2019 and 2022) to have won the event on multiple occasions.

Across the final three pairings, Scheffler’s four-under 66 was the only round to break par with his superb ability to find green after green giving him a substantial edge over his rivals.

Hovland, whose driving became more erratic, also found that his putter had gone cold when he most needed it, and the Norwegian signed for a two-over 72 as he finished three back.

American debutant Ryan Gerard, who started one behind Hovland, ended the day in the same position and third overall on 12 under par after also taking 72 shots.

McIlroy was unable to rediscover the rhythm that rocketed him into contention on Saturday, with his topsy-turvy round of 69, containing four birdies and an eagle mixed with five bogeys.

Aside from the Northern Irishman there were few moments of sparkle on show elsewhere among the potential contenders, albeit Justin Rose’s hole-in-one on the ninth was an obvious exception.

While Rose was unable to gather any momentum from that to seriously challenge, ending the day at seven under overall, another Englishman Alex Fitzpatrick matched Scheffler’s 66, the lowest round of the day, to catapult himself up the leaderboard to conclude the tournament alongside six-time major winner McIlroy at 11 under.

It earned the 27-year-old a tie for fourth on his debut to cap a remarkable season in which he won his first DP World Tour event at the Indian Open before teaming up with his elder brother, the 2022 US Open champion Matt, to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans pairs event.

A former world champion has considered the effect a gruelling weight cut might have on Conor Benn’s performance against Ryan Garcia.

The pair will square off at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on September 12, with Garcia making a first defence of his WBC world welterweight title.

He claimed the belt by dethroning Mario Barrios, who he dropped and unanimously outpointed in arguably a career-best performance this past February.

Prior to that, Garcia suffered a points defeat to Rolando Romero in May 2025, yet this was his first official outing at 147lbs and arrived after he served a year-long doping ban.

Benn, meanwhile, is coming off consecutive points victories over faded versions of Chris Eubank Jr and Regis Prograis, having not fought at welterweight since 2022.

Back then, a second-round finish over Chris van Heerden followed his fourth-round stoppage of Chris Algieri, with ‘The Destroyer’ testing positive for banned substance clomifene later that year.

Algieri has now discussed his former opponent’s upcoming fight, telling ProBox TV that, after seeing a photo of Benn looking particularly drawn on social media, and with the 29-year-old having said this will be his last outing at 147lbs, he does not anticipate the challenger having a smooth encounter with the scales.

“Conor always trains really hard – we’ve seen that throughout his career. He was training hard two months ago, and he looked a little bit drawn even then.

“There’s still two weeks to go and we’re seeing pictures [of him looking drained], so it is worrisome. And when you’ve got a guy who’s three or four weeks out [from fight night] and is saying ‘this is my last time fighting in this weight class’, that tells you a lot.”

Algieri went on to make the point that Garcia and Benn should be at “polar-opposite ends of health”, with the defending champion, by contrast, making 147lbs relatively easily.

🚨 CONOR BENN LOOKING SERIOUSLY TRIM 👀🥊

Just 16 days out from his September 12th day with Ryan Garcia, Conor Benn looks incredibly trim, noticeably leaner than what we’ve been used to seeing from him over the last four years.@ConorNigel @RyanGarcia pic.twitter.com/voJuOBiMI7

— Boxing King Media (@boxingkingmedia) August 27, 2026

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Inter Miami CF announced Thursday that Cristian Alberto Kily González has been appointed as the club’s new first team head coach, replacing Guillermo Hoyos.

“González will officially assume his duties once he receives the corresponding work permits. Guillermo Hoyos will provisionally continue in charge of the team until the arrival of the new head coach and his coaching staff,” the club said in a statement.

Inter Miami sits in second place in the Eastern Conference standings with 39 points through 21 games. The coaching change comes during a five-match winless streak, with the club recording four losses and one draw between MLS regular season and Leagues Cup play.

González previously managed Argentine clubs Rosario Central, Unión de Santa Fe, and Platense. As a player, he began his career with Rosario Central in 1993 before moving to Europe to play for Valencia, Zaragoza, and Inter Milan. He also represented the Argentina national team, playing alongside current Inter Miami captain Lionel Messi during World Cup qualifiers in 2005.

Hoyos initially took over as interim manager in April, stepping over from his role as Inter Miami sporting director to replace Javier Mascherano. 

The front office named Hoyos permanent manager following the World Cup. Hoyos began his managerial stint with a 6-1-1 record, taking 19 of 24 points while the team scored 26 goals in eight matches.

Inter Miami hosts CF Montreal Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Manchester United played their first home game in more than three months on Sunday and some changes to Old Trafford were on display

Manchester United made two big changes to Old Trafford before their first Premier League home game of the season. The Reds went up against newly-promoted Ipswich Town on Sunday afternoon.

It was their first home match for more than three months and United decided to make some alternations to the stadium in the off-season and in preparation for Ipswich’s visit to Sir Matt Busby Way.

Indeed, the Old Trafford pitch has been re-laid for the first time in 14 years. Soon after United’s final home game of the 2025/26 season against Nottingham Forest, the turf was dug up and stripped back to its foundation.

The project, led by award-winning groundsman Tony Sinclair and his team, saw the entire pitch regrown in a concerted effort to improve player welfare and water drainage, following concerns in recent years.

In an attempt to get the pitch fitted and sorted in time for the start of the season, United decided against having a home pre-season fixture this summer, instead playing all six friendlies across Europe.

But, as seen before kick-off and during the win against Ipswich, the Old Trafford pitch looked in fine condition and prepared for the 2026/27 as the Reds prepare to return to the Champions League.

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The second major change enforced was that the old perimeter wall was covered in padding to give the players more protection. The United pitch is about three feet higher than the surrounding area due to a 1990s elevation, creating a drop-off, ditch, and masonry wall that risked player safety and caused concerns.

But, after Benjamin Sesko aggravated a shin injury following a collision with the perimeter during a match against Liverpool, United have appeared to address that issue and put padding on the area.

United ended up thumping Ipswich 5-2 at Old Trafford as they secured their first win of the season. However, the Reds did have to come from behind after the Tractor Boys took the lead through Leif Davis.

But Bruno Fernandes equalised just before half-time and a Jacob Greaves own-goal saw United go 2-1 in front in the second. A clinical attacking performance from United followed as Fernandes scored two more to net a hat-trick before Bryan Mbeumo made it five to the Reds with an inch-perfect lobbed finish.

There was still time for Ipswich to reduce the deficit to three and make it 5-2, however, as Julio Enciso robbed Lisandro Martinez before squaring to substitute Chuba Akpom to prod home from close-range.

Deepti Sharma (Pic credit: BCCI)

NEW DELHI: Deepti Sharma scripted history on Sunday, producing one of the most remarkable bowling spells in Women’s T20I cricket to become the highest wicket-taker in the format as India began their Women’s T20 Asia Cup campaign with a thumping 94-run victory over Thailand in Dubai.Playing her landmark 150th T20I, Deepti claimed three wickets without conceding a single run from seven deliveries, taking her career tally to 171 wickets and moving past Thailand’s Thipatcha Putthawong, who took one wicket in the match to reach 170 wickets.The veteran all-rounder first drew level with Putthawong when she took two wickets in the ninth over to leave Thailand reeling at 44/6. She returned in the 17th over and struck with her very first delivery, dismissing wicketkeeper-batter Nannapat Koncharoenkai to complete a stunning 3/0.Thailand were eventually bowled out for just 65 in 16.1 overs, giving India a winning start to their campaign.

Deepti enters record books with sensational spell

Deepti’s achievement was made even more remarkable by the fact that she became the first Indian bowler to claim three or more wickets without conceding a run in a Women’s T20I. Overall, there have now been 26 such spells in the format.Her figures of 3/0 are also the best for an Indian bowler taking at least three wickets in a T20I. Renuka Singh previously held the record for the fewest runs conceded with 3/5 against Sri Lanka in Sylhet in 2022.Deepti’s three wickets also took her past Putthawong at the top of the global wicket-taking charts. She now has 171 wickets, followed by Putthawong on 170, Rwanda’s Henriette Ishimwe on 164 and England’s Sophie Ecclestone on 154.The landmark came on a memorable day for Deepti, who had earlier become only the third Indian after Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana to reach 150 T20I appearances.Most wickets in Women’s T20Is

Shafali’s fireworks set up India’s win

Before Deepti’s record-breaking intervention, Shafali Verma had provided India with a flying start. The opener smashed 64 from 36 balls, hitting eight fours and three sixes, and brought up her 19th T20I half-century from just 26 deliveries.India raced past 100 in 10 overs and appeared set for a total in excess of 200. However, Thailand fought back through leg-spinner Suleeporn Laomi, whose variations triggered a dramatic Indian collapse.India slipped from 108/2 to 137/9, losing seven wickets for only 29 runs. Laomi finished with impressive figures of 3/26, including the wickets of Shafali and Richa Ghosh in successive deliveries. Off-spinner Sunida Chaturongrattana added 2/31.Smriti Mandhana had earlier scored 19 from 10 balls before being run out by a direct hit from Aphisara Suwanchonrathi. Pratika Rawal, making her T20I debut in place of injured Jemimah Rodrigues, contributed 22 from 18 balls before Laomi cleaned her up.Despite the collapse, India managed 159/9, with Kranti Gaud’s unbeaten 15 off eight balls providing a late boost.Least runs conceded for a 3-plus wicket haul for IND-W in a T20I

Thailand’s chase never got going. Kranti Gaud and Nandani Sharma removed the openers early, while Shree Charani and Deepti then dismantled the middle order. Charani finished with 2/10 and Nandani took 3/18.Nannapat offered the only significant resistance with 41, but Deepti ended her stay with the first ball of her final over.The comprehensive win gives India two points to begin their Group A campaign. They next face Hong Kong on Thursday.

Moses Itauma has sent a message to Filip Hrgovic and fans following his defeat in London this weekend.

The rising heavyweight star was dealt the first loss of his career at the O2 as he challenged for the vacant IBF heavyweight world title. Despite a spectacular start, where he showcased incredible speed and agility, Itauma tired down the stretch and looked out on his feet by the ninth round.

Hrgovic, who showed one of the best chins in the business to get that far, took advantage and forced a stoppage from referee Howard Foster. The Croatian – now the first ever heavyweight world champion from the nation – said post-fight that Itauma is the best fighter he has come up against, and noted that his lack of experience played a major part in the result.

Speaking on social media, Itauma congratulated Hrgovic, took positives from the defeat and vowed to return.

“So, yesterday wasn’t my night. We attempted greatness and just fell short to the more experienced man. I want to say congratulations to Filip Hrgovic on the win, and although I never reached my desired outcome, I believe I gained experience that I’ll take to my future fights.

“I want to thank the fans, in and outside the arena. You guys made it a little bit more special and a little bit more electrified than I expected. It was a f***ing good fight, and I want to thank Queensberry and DAZN for putting this show on. God bless, take care, and I’ll be back.”

How long the 21-year-old now spends out of the ring remains to be seen, but time is on his side for a major return and successful career.

Moses Itauma vowed “I’ll be back” after failing in his attempt to become the second-youngest ever heavyweight world champion on Saturday.

Britain’s Itauma, 21, tore through his first 14 opponents but his team threw in the towel in the ninth round against Filip Hrgovic at O2 Arena, London.

Having appeared to punch himself out, Itauma was barely able to stand as Hrgovic, 34, applied pressure to end the fight.

“It wasn’t my night, we attempted greatness and just fell short to the more experienced man,” Itauma said on social media.

“I want to say congratulations to Filip Hrgovic on his win. And although I never reached my desired outcome, I believe I gained experience that I’ll take to my future fights.

“God bless, take care and I’ll be back.”