Newly-crowned junior squash world champion Anahat Singh has revealed that she placed her academic goals at the prestigious Harvard University on hold this year to give herself the best chance of winning a medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Anahat’s original plan was to follow in her elder sister Amira’s footsteps and pursue higher education at the Harvard.

But bolstered by the title triumph in her fifth and final attempt, the 18-year-old now wants to put all her energies into preparing for the upcoming Asian Games and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in a couple of years’ time.

Anahat has been living out of the suitcase for as far as she can remember, juggling top level squash and school. Having graduated from school only a couple of months ago, Anahat has now chosen to focus on the sport to take her game to the next level.

“I was supposed to go to college this year, but I decided to take a gap year because of the Asian Games coming up. And now I understand that this year is really important for me regarding squash and, the build up to the LA 2028 (Games),” Anahat told PTI in an interview referring to her plans for squash’s Olympic debut.

“So, yeah, I mean, just focusing on this year, outside of school, because I’ve been doing that for the last 12 years (smiles). I’m just focusing on squash for a year and just making sure that I’m at my peak going in to LA 28,” she said.

World title confidence-booster ahead of Asiad 
Having got the monkey off her back with a world junior title in her fifth and final appearance, Anahat’s next big assignment is the Asian Games in Japan in September-October.

If Anahat is to win gold, she will have to find ways to upstage higher-ranked players like world number five Sivasangari Subramaniam from Malaysia and sixth-ranked Satomi Watanbe from Japan.

Considering the challenge ahead, the triumph in Canada that included wins over three Egyptians, will give Anahat more confidence against the world’s best players. A gold in Japan would secure her automatic qualification to the Olympics.

“It (the win at world juniors) definitely adds a lot to my confidence to get into this event. I mean, if I didn’t win, it wouldn’t really make much of a difference, but it definitely puts me on a high now,” said the youngster, who is supported by JSW Sports.

“I’ve played almost every single player that will be there in the Asian Games, and I know what to expect. So, just going back home and focusing on that. If I have a shot at getting a chance to be a part of the Olympics in almost two months, I think that will be a dream come true,” said Anahat. 
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Praise from idol PV Sindhu and PM Modi 
Anahat began her journey in racket sports with badminton before settling on squash.

No wonder she continues to idolise the great PV Sindhu, who was among the many who took to social media to congratulate on her path-breaking win in Ontario. Prime Minister Narendra Modi too was among them.

“Firstly seeing the Prime Minister’s post was, I mean, there’s no words to it really. It’s amazing getting to see that and of course PV Sindhu as well. I’ve been following her since I’ve been almost four or five years old and she’s been an inspiration to me ever since I got into the world of sports,” she said.

Egypt has dominated squash for decades but Anahat doesn’t feel any added pressure while playing the players from that country on the professional circuit. She faced three Egyptians — in the quarters, semis and final — and came out on top.

“The Egyptian infrastructure is basically what makes them the best. Like I went for the World Juniors last year, which happened in Egypt, and they were playing until 10, 11 pm, which was crazy,” she recalled.

World champion Gaultier and Ghosal as support staff 
Anahat’s support staff included world champion Gregory Gaultier from France and India great Saurav Ghosal. Both of them have dealt with success and failure in equal measure and now help Anahat with tactics and handling pressure in top level sport.

“…having Greg and Saurav by my side, I don’t think I could have really asked for anything more. They’ve been in the top stages, they felt that sort of pressure, they know what it’s like to climb up to the top,” she said.

“It’s not just helpful in the game aspect, but also mentally and the strategy side of it, just being able to understand what I need to do in those big moments,” Anahat added.

The Washington Commanders have fired tight ends coach Ben Steele following a DWI arrest last month.

The Commanders confirmed the news, stating they would be “parting ways” with Steele before his first season with the franchise ever begins.

“The team will have no further comment at this time,” the Commanders added to its statement on X.

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Arizona Cardinals tight ends coach Ben Steele watches from the sideline during a game against the Los Angeles Rams on Dec. 7, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. (IMAGN IMAGES)

Steele was arrested on charges of DWI last month, as The Athletic reported,he was placed on administrative leave after the Commanders were informed of the incident.

Steele is also facing charges for refusing a blood/breath test, obstructing or resisting an officer without force and changing course without signaling, per Virginia court records.

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The report also said Steele’s replacement is expected to be named on Tuesday, as the Commanders are set to begin training camp the following day.

Wes Welker, the former New England Patriots and Denver Broncos receiver, was the Commanders’ interim tight ends coach while Steele was on leave during the team’s minicamp this offseason.

Steele is a veteran tight ends coach, having served in the role with the Arizona Cardinals for the past three seasons before joining Dan Quinn’s staff in Washington before the start of this year.

Steele played the position before coaching it, seeing time with the Green Bay Packers and Houston Texans from 2004-06, though he was a part of camps with the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings before that.

Arizona Cardinals tight ends coach Ben Steele watches from the sideline during a game against the Los Angeles Rams at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Dec. 7, 2025. (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)

Steele’s coaching career started not long after his playing days ended, seeing time in college football before joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers staff in 2014 as an offensive quality control coach. He was eventually promoted to tight ends coach in 2017.

He has also seen service with the Atlanta Falcons (2019-2020), Vikings (2021), and Broncos (2022).

It’s worth noting that his time with the Cardinals saw Colorado State product Trey McBride explode into one of the best tight ends in the game.

McBride racked up two Pro Bowls these past two seasons, collecting at least 1,100 yards in each, including a 1,239-yard season in 2025 with 11 touchdowns, which smashed his career high. McBride was a first-team All-Pro this past season.

The Commanders feature a new tight end in their building, signing Chig Okonkwo this offseason to bolster the group. John Bates and Ben Sinnott were featured at the position last season, which was a down year for Washington after reaching the NFC Championship Game the year before.

Arizona Cardinals tight ends coach Ben Steele oversees practice during the NFL game between the Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans on Nov. 19, 2023, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. (Icon Sportswire)

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Much of the team’s 5-12 record had to do with the injury to quarterback Jayden Daniels, who played just seven games. The Commanders are hoping to replicate the 12-5 season Daniels and company had in 2024, where he won Offensive Rookie of the Year.

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The Women’s League Cup will be renamed the Players Cup and operate in a league system with regionalised matches for the 2026-27 season.

Last November, clubs in the Women’s Super League (WSL) and WSL 2 voted in favour of proposals to revamp the competition to help combat scheduling issues and to protect player welfare.

They agreed the new format would exclude sides who have qualified for the Women’s Champions League, meaning League Cup holders Chelsea, WSL champions Manchester City and runners-up Arsenal will miss this year’s edition.

The remaining 23 teams from the top two divisions have been split into Northern and Southern sections – but will be in one table.

They will compete from September to December on nights when Champions League fixtures are taking place.

Each team will play three home and three away games against sides in their region, with three points for a win.

Any match that is level after normal time will be decided by a penalty shootout, with the victor gaining two points and the loser awarded one.

The top eight will qualify for the quarter-finals in January, when higher-placed finishers will be granted home advantage.

After a one-legged semi-final hosted by the higher seed, the final will be scheduled at a neutral venue on the weekend of 13 and 14 March.

“We wanted meaningful playing minutes for young and fringe players and to address disparity on playing opportunities across the leagues, without compromising our player welfare principles,” WSL’s chief revenue officer Zarah Al-Kudcy said.

Last season, teams played three or four matches across five groups, with the winners of each being joined at the quarter-final stage by sides in European competition.

Fixtures will be announced on Thursday, 6 August.

Northern section: Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Burnley, Durham, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United, Sunderland.

Southern section: Brighton & Hove Albion, Bristol City, Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace, Ipswich Town, Leicester City, London City Lionesses, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Watford, West Ham United, Wolves.

New Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso has started highly rated youngster Olutayo Subuloye in the pre-season game with Western Sydney Wanderers on Tuesday (July 28) at Accor Stadium, Sydney.

Suboloye, 18, is a verstaile player, who was key to the Blues’ success in the Under-17 Premier League Cup, as per the club’s website. Starting out as a midfielder, he transitioned to centre-back.

During the 2023-24 Under-16 Premier League campaign, Suboloye was key and also captained the Blues in the National Cup final. The next season, the teenager featured for England U-18 and also became a consistent name in the Blues’ U-19 side, scoring his first goal in youth football in a 6-2 victory over Aston Villa at Cobham.

Having signed a contract with the Blues at the end of 2024, Olutayo Subuloye continued his rise by captaining Hassan Sulaiman’ U-18 team in the 2025-26 season. He scored his first league goal of the season in a 6-1 victory over Aston Villa and also made his UEFA Youth League debut for the U-19s.

A contract extension signed in January this year will keep the lanky defender at Stamford Bridge till 2030, having captained the Blues’ U-18 team in the Premier League National Final, where they beat Manchester City 2-1.

“It’s been really positive” – Chelsea’s Olutayo Subuloye ahead of last season’s UEFA Youth League campaign

Chelsea youngster Olutayo Subuloye was excited to lead his side in last season’s UEFA Youth League, where the club reached the Round of 16, losing 1-0 to Real Madrid.

Having begun their campaign with a 5-0 victory over Qarabag, the Blues drew 1-1 with Barcelona before winning 3-1 at Atalanta. A shootout win over PSV Eindhoven after a 1-1 draw put them into the Round of 16, where they came up short against Los Blancos.

‘I think it’s been really positive,” Suboloye had said before the campaign (as per the club’s website). “For the Under-18s I’ve been wearing the armband, which has been a big honour.

“Wearing the armband gives me that extra bit of responsibility and it shows that the coaches trust me to lead the group. I’ve always tried to set an example on and off the pitch, but being captain makes you think even more about how you can support the boys and keep standards high.

Olutayo Subuloye is now set to make his first start for Chelsea’s senior team, albeit in a friendly, as the Xabi Alonso era gets underway at Stamford Bridge.