Olympic medallist Swapnil Kusale said on Tuesday that Indian shooters now command a degree of awe from their international rivals — a sign, he believes, that the country has truly become a world power in the sport.

The men’s 50m rifle 3-positions bronze medallist at the Paris Olympics, who is not part of India’s Asian Games-bound contingent for Aichi-Nagoya, said the “fear factor” had been earned through the shooters’ consistent performances on the international stage.

India’s 36-member shooting squad is expected to mount a strong medal challenge at the continental showpiece after an impressive year that has included podium finishes at World Cups, World Championships and the Asian Championships.

“Well, you can see for yourself (the Indian shooters’ consistency). If you see (double Olympic bronze medallist pistol shooter) Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh and several others in the Indian shooting contingent, you would realise why they are held in awe,” Kusale said on the sidelines of an Indian Olympic Association send-off event for the 503-strong Indian contingent.

“When we used to see shooters (from other countries) performing well, although we used to feel good for them, inside us there also used to be an element of nervousness.

“Now that the Indian athletes are doing so well, they (shooters from other countries) would also be feeling the same nervousness. So, it is human nature,” he added.

Kusale, whose remarkable composure helped him beat a formidable field to win bronze in Paris, backed the Indian team to deliver in Japan, though he stopped short of predicting a medal tally.

“They are doing really well. Their training has also gone very well and I really hope that all their efforts and hard work pays off and they win more medals,” he said.

Several top Indian pistol shooters, including world champion Samrat Rana and World Championship bronze medallist Varun Tomar, were left out of the Asian Games squad. But Kusale felt their absence would not weaken the team.

“No, I won’t say that (their absence would make a difference). Had they (those selected for the Asian Games) been weak, they wouldn’t have qualified through competitions and trials.

“The fact that they are representing the country at the Asian Games means they have worked really hard to reach where they are,” said the Pune-based shooter.

“There are several factors that play a part in an athlete making or not making the national side. It could be psychological, family… we don’t know what is going on with them. Sometimes, in a trial or competition, they might have shot poor scores and the rankings go down.” Kusale also insisted that Indian shooters are not overawed by China, widely expected to pose the biggest challenge in Japan.

“During competitions, we are really not thinking about who is standing next to us, whether he is a Chinese or someone from some other country. We are just competitors,” he said.

With the qualification cycle for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics set to begin later this year, Kusale said he was looking forward to the road ahead, though he admitted that ongoing maintenance and renovation work at the Karni Singh Ranges was creating some impediments.

“There is a lot of maintenance going on at the Karni Singh Range. Definitely, it creates impediments, but the government is there to resolve it. So, they should wrap up these renovations soon,” he said.

Hamzah Sheeraz believes Ryan Garcia is a “different breed” of fighter, capable of defeating any opponent besides one of the sport’s leading pound-for-pound stars.

The 28-year-old delivered an emphatic second-round stoppage of Conor Benn over the weekend, retaining the WBC title he claimed by dethroning Mario Barrios in February.

Back then, Garcia scored a first-round knockdown but ultimately settled for a unanimous decision victory, sensing that Barrios was not quite there for the taking.

This time, though, the American floored his man early doors and managed to secure the finish, with referee Thomas Taylor intervening around 20 seconds after Benn climbed off the canvas.

While known more for his potent left hook, it was a right hand that did the damage on  this occasion, with Garcia finding his target in a smooth, seamless manner.

The same punch had also dropped Barrios earlier this year, with Garcia proving that he is not just a one-trick pony and can actually select his shots with impressive dexterity.

In fact, WBO super-middleweight champion Sheeraz believes that this version of ‘King Ry’ is virtually untouchable, telling Fight Hub TV that he would only favour Shakur Stevenson to beat him.

“If anyone got caught by that shot [the right hand], they’re out. It’s Ryan Garcia at the end of the day – he’s a different breed.

“Ryan beats [Teofimo Lopez]. The only person to beat Ryan at the minute, in my opinion, is Shakur Stevenson.”

For this fight to materialise, Stevenson would need to move up from 140lbs while Garcia, who has just completed his third welterweight outing, may be expected to accommodate a catchweight of 144lbs.

Filip Hrgovic could be on the verge of securing a major opportunity after claiming his IBF title with a stunning ninth-round finish over Moses Itauma.

The pair squared off last month, with many expecting Itauma to become the youngest world heavyweight champion since Mike Tyson dethroned Trevor Berbick in 1986.

It then appeared as though such predictions would be proved accurate, as the 21-year-old scored a second-round knockdown and generally outclassed his opponent with speed and movement.

That was until Itauma completely emptied his gas tank and Hrgovic, in response, managed to gather enough energy to stop the prodigy on his feet.

As a result, the Croatian has placed himself in the shop window for unification matches and lucrative paydays, but must first defend his belt against IBF mandatory challenger Frank Sanchez.

Should he emerge triumphant, Hrgovic may then explore a potential clash with Rico Verhoeven, who has been named by Turki Alalshikh as a worthy challenger.

The former kickboxing champion entered his second professional boxing match in May and, despite suffering an 11th-round stoppage defeat, he was widely credited with giving Oleksandr Usyk one of his toughest assignments.

Since then, Verhoeven has been placed at No.8 by the WBC while, at this stage, the remaining three sanctioning bodies are yet to rank him.

According to reporter Mike Coppinger, though, Saudi boxing chief Alalshikh has named Hrgovic-Verhoeven as one of seven fights he is eager to make.

Big-time fights @Turki_alalshikh tells me are on his wishlist to make:

Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua

Jai Opetaia-David Benavidez

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Shakur Stevenson-Devin Haney

Naoya Inoue-Bam Rodriguez

Terence Crawford-Canelo Alvarez rematch

Filip Hrgovic-Rico Verhoeven

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Crawford-Ryan Garcia pic.twitter.com/4dJhvFfUAW

— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) September 13, 2026

The remainder of the boxing world, meanwhile, would perhaps rather see Hrgovic face one of his fellow champions, whether it be Agit Kabayel, Murat Gassiev or the winner of Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley 2.

Florida State University President Richard McClullough spoke with the media on Monday, explaining the school’s decision to move on from athletic director Michael Alford, explaining why they made the move when they did, and more.

With Alford gone, all eyes are now on head football coach Mike Norvell, who has arguably the hottest seat in the country after back-to-back losing seasons and a 1-1 start to 2026. McClullough addressed his status with the program, briefly evaluating the job he has done.

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“Look, I love Mike Norvell,” McCullough said. “He’s a great human being.I love what he does with our student-athletes. Our grades have never been better under his leadership. I love how he takes our student-athletes and helps them to be the best version of themselves.

“I love how he makes them competitive, and we love all that. And I have to tell you, nobody wants to win more than Mike Norvell. Except for maybe the players, me, Chairman Collins. I mean, we want to win. Of course we want to win. And, you know, college coaches are in the winning business, so that’s what we’re working on. I mean, we’re not really here to talk about Coach Norvell. This is really about AD Alford.”

Norvell is in his seventh season as FSU’s head coach and has a 39-35 record overall and a 22-27 record in conference play. They went 13-1 in 2023 and won the ACC, but have done nothing but struggle since then, going 8-18.

While pressure is mounting for the Seminoles to make a change, it will be a costly move to fire Norvell. According to Craig Myers of USA TODAY Sports, his buyout is $46.7 million if he is fired before Dec. 1, 2026. That would be the third-biggest ever.

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This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: FSU president evaluates Mike Norvell after firing AD

10 years ago, Canadian author Dennis E. Taylor released his second book We are Legion (We are Bob) in audiobook format. Unable to find someone to publish his work in print, he received an offer from Audible. Soon, We are Legion (We are Bob) became a huge Audible success story.

We spoke to Taylor and voice actor Ray Porter on the tenth anniversary of the release. Six books in, Taylor is a happy man. He told Sportskeeda:

“Well, I don’t know what I expected when I wrote the first book. This is not it. Nothing even close to this. But everything keeps exceeding expectations. It’s hard to be upset.”

Taylor wrote the first book in the Bobiverse in the traditional format, not even knowing that audiobooks were a thing. We are Legion (We are Bob) was thankfully a natural fit for Audible:

“I didn’t even really know audiobooks existed. I mean if somebody had asked me flat out, I would have said sure, there must be an audio version of some books on vinyl or CD or something like that. But I didn’t know the company name Audible or anything like that. I just wrote it.”

And lo and behold! The story translated wonderfully into the Audible format, thanks to the format the story was written in and the talents of voice actor Ray Porter. Taylor continued:

“There are some style decisions that you should make when you write for audio. I was just fortunate that I tended to write that way anyway.”

Dennis E. Taylor still remembers the day when he heard We are Legion (We are Bob) in audiobook format:

“It was absolutely mindblowing. And you’ve got to remember, because I was published audio first, I didn’t have a text version to look at. The audiobook was my book. That was it.”

Ray Porter’s voice made We are Legion (We are Bob) special

In this science fiction saga, Bob wakes up in the future and realizes he has no body. He embarks on an interstellar adventure and makes several replicants of himself. Porter recalled his first impression:

“The prospect of it was daunting. The way that it was presented to me was that we have a sci-fi book with hard science and I was like great, good, love that. I am a big science space fan. I love all that stuff. And you’re going to play a guy who replicates himself endlessly. So you’ll have 50 to 60 characters and it’s all the same guy.”

Even though several Bobs are replicated from the first one, each one has a distinct personality. The writing is what informed Ray Porter’s decisions in creating the Bobiverse:

“All of the different characters, even though they are replicants essentially, all have their own identities in different ways.”

We are Legion (We are Bob) paved the way for several other books in the Bobiverse series. The Infinite Extent, the sixth installment of the Bobiverse is currently out on Audible, expanding the universe significantly.