Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday interacted with India’s Commonwealth Games 2026 medal winners at his residence and praised the athletes for their dedication, hard work and contribution towards bringing glory to the nation.

During the interaction, PM Modi said athletes have been among the most frequent visitors to his residence and appreciated their consistent efforts over the years to achieve success for India.

“I have been in this house for about 12 to 13 years now. If there is anyone I have received regularly and every single time, it is the athletes. Because of your hard work over the last 10 to 12 years, your constant efforts to bring victory to India, and the tradition of scaling new heights of success,” PM Modi said in a video posted on his YouTube handle on Monday.

The Prime Minister highlighted the impact of athletes’ achievements in motivating young people to take up sports, saying their medals inspire more than just words.

“The impact we could try to make by going to schools and telling them ‘you should play,’ your medals inspire them far more than any words ever could,” he added.

PM Modi also interacted with individual athletes during the meeting. Speaking to women’s shot put F57 gold medallist Sharmila Dhankar, he recalled her earlier promise that her two daughters would also become athletes.

“You promised me last time that your two daughters would become athletes,” PM Modi said.

Responding to him, Sharmila said, “Yes, they are still young. In the next Commonwealth Games, we will show you three medals coming from one home.”

The Prime Minister also shared a light moment with women’s discus throw bronze medallist Seema Kaliramna, who said she was nervous while meeting him. 

“My heart is racing, sir,” Seema told PM Modi.

“Don’t worry. You’re going to get a medal for your speech too!” PM Modi replied.

Seema later shared her excitement about meeting the Prime Minister and said her friends often asked her in Haryanvi if she would get an opportunity to meet him.

“My friends used to ask me, in Haryanvi, they’d say, ‘Have you met PM Modi that we should listen to you?’ Today, I have met you, sir, and now I can tell them, ‘Yes, I have met Modi-ji,’” she said.

PM Modi further stressed that building a sports culture was essential for India to achieve greater success at the international level.

“Sports infrastructure is one part of it, but a country wins medals when a ‘sports culture’ is built. Friends, you have done a great job and brought glory to the nation. I congratulate you all,” he said.

Expressing confidence in their future performances, PM Modi said the athletes would continue to achieve success and hoped to meet them again after more victories.

“Believe me, you will be victorious in the future as well, and we will meet here once again. Thank you very much and best wishes,” he said.

India ended its Commonwealth Games campaign in Glasgow with 39 medals, including 13 gold, 17 silver and nine bronze, to finish fourth in the overall medal standings.

The Glasgow Games concluded after 11 days of competition, with Scotland formally handing over the Commonwealth Games flag and ceremonial baton to India, which will host the landmark centenary edition of the multi-sport event in Ahmedabad in 2030.

Pep Chavarria has joined Chelsea from Rayo Vallecano on a five-year contract for a fee understood by the Press Association to be £16.3 million plus £1.7m in add-ons.

An agreement was finalised last week for the 28-year-old to move to Stamford Bridge as the club’s squad overhaul continues under new manager Xabi Alonso.

The left-sided defender, who featured in last season’s Conference League final against Crystal Palace, is expected to battle with Jorrel Hato for the left full-back role following Marc Cucurella’s departure to Real Madrid.

He told Chelsea’s website: “I’m so excited to get started. This is a dream for me as Chelsea are one of the biggest clubs in the world.

“It is a big opportunity but I am prepared and will work hard to help the team achieve success.”

Despite his age, the defender possesses just four seasons of top-flight experience, having moved from Segunda Division outfit Real Zaragoza in 2022.

His signing continues a pattern of adding experienced players under Alonso, following 35-year-old striker Danny Welbeck’s arrival from Brighton and 36-year-old Jordan Henderson joining the Blues after leaving Brentford.

Chavarria is the Chelsea’s third defensive signing this summer, following right-back Marco Palestra from Atalanta in July and Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace earlier this month. Meanwhile, England international Trevoh Chalobah left Chelsea to join Serie A side Como on Sunday.

After a dismal 2025-26 campaign that saw the team finish down in 10th, the club’s hierarchy acknowledged a recruitment shift was needed, moving away from inexperienced players towards those who can help challenge for the title.

However, Chelsea have also spent big on younger players as they broke their transfer record in July to sign Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa for £117m, while Argentina international Valentin Barco joined from Strasbourg.

Striker Emmanuel Emegha and winger Geovany Quenda have also signed for the club.

Chelsea are due to play their final pre-season game against Real Sociedad on Saturday as they complete their preparations for the new season.

They will then begin their Premier League season with a London derby against Fulham at Craven Cottage on 24 August.

New York Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson is just like so many of us: He can’t live without video games.

Brunson, 29, was asked about the one thing he couldn’t live without in an interview with his mother. His mother said family, and the two had very different answers.

“The one thing that I can’t live without is family,” Sandra Brunson said in a recent interview with Lindsay Czarniak. The full interview with Brunson and his mom will premiere during the third season of Czarniak’s podcast.

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Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks celebrates after winning the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs during Game Five at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, on June 13, 2026. (Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE)

“So my answer was going to be video games, but I can’t do that now,” Brunson said on the show, drawing a laugh from his mother.

Brunson said he is currently playing FC 26, EA’s latest soccer game, and is waiting for the next edition of the game.

As a kid, the NBA Finals MVP was allowed to play video games on the weekend, but he had to earn his time on the console.

ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!

Jalen Brunson is seen at the New York Knicks ticker-tape parade along the Canyon of Heroes in New York City on June 18, 2026. (NDZ/Star Max/GC Images)

“Any amount of hours he put into the video games he had to give back in the form of education whether it was reading a book so that limited (it),” Sandra said.

The former Villanova star said there was a trick, though, because he was allowed to play video games as long as he had a friend over. If his parents’ old rules still applied to Brunson, he would still be able to play a lot during the NBA season, as two of his closest friends from college, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges, are on the Knicks.

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New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson speaks during a ceremony at New York City Hall on June 18 after the championship parade. Brunson was the Finals MVP. (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)

That trio was instrumental in helping bring the Knicks their first title in 53 seasons in June.

The Knicks’ captain will look to try to follow up this year’s title with another one next summer, all while still managing to play a lot of video games.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Gulf Giants have strengthened their squad ahead of the ILT20 Season 5 Player Auction, securing the services of South African powerhouses David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen as pre-auction signings. The inaugural champions have also retained the services of Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai and Zimbabwe fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani, bringing four established international names into their squad for the upcoming season, which will run from November 22 to December 20, 2026. The signings give Gulf Giants considerable firepower across departments as they look to reclaim the title they won in the tournament’s inaugural edition in 2023.

Gulf Giants head coach Simon Helmot welcomed the additions, saying, “We are delighted to welcome David and Heinrich to the Gulf Giants family while bringing back Azmatullah and Blessing. They are world-class players and proven match-winners who add tremendous quality and depth to our squad. We’ve built a strong foundation, and the Player Auction gives us another opportunity to complete our squad as we prepare for Season 5.”

Miller brings extensive experience to the Giants’ batting unit. The South African has featured in 571 T20 matches and accumulated more than 12,000 runs across international and franchise cricket. His résumé also includes a key contribution to Gujarat Titans’ IPL title triumph in 2022.

Klaasen, meanwhile, adds another explosive option to the middle order while also providing wicketkeeping cover. The South African wicketkeeper-batter has scored more than 6,900 runs in 294 T20 appearances and is set to make his first ILT20 appearance in the upcoming season.

Omarzai’s return follows an impressive debut campaign with the franchise. The Afghanistan all-rounder contributed 233 runs and 12 wickets in 10 matches last season, establishing himself as an important two-way option for the Giants.

Muzarabani is also back after injury ruled him out of the previous campaign. The Zimbabwe quick has taken 22 wickets in 17 matches for Gulf Giants since joining the franchise in 2023. His most productive season came in 2024-25, when he claimed 16 wickets in 10 games.

With four key pieces now secured, Gulf Giants will head into the October Player Auction with the core of their Season 5 squad already in place.

The franchise will be aiming to build on its status as the competition’s inaugural champions when the fifth edition of the ILT20 gets underway on November 22.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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One Manchester United rivalry stands tall above all when it comes to ferocity, according to Sir Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson admitted Manchester United‘s fixtures against Leeds United were the scariest he managed. The long-time rivals meet again in pre-season on Wednesday at Croke Park in Dublin, in what is likely to be a raucous atmosphere at the 82,300-capacity stadium.

However feisty the crowd will be, it probably won’t live up to the shocking scenes Ferguson once witnessed when he faced the Yorkshire side. Ferguson’s team travelled to Elland Road in September 2011 in a third-round League Cup clash.

United won in resounding fashion as they claimed a 3-0 win in enemy territory, but it was the animosity prior to the game that left Ferguson stunned by what he and his players had experienced.

The Premier League giants prepared for the game in Leeds’ city centre and required police protection, resulting in the legendary Scotsman ranking the matches against the Whites as the most ferocious he’d encountered.

Ferguson said: “Historically, it has been there for a long time. I have always said Liverpool-Manchester United games are fierce in many aspects. Sometimes supporters can play a bad part in that particular game.

“But it never reaches the levels of Leeds United. Never. It was frightening at our hotel. We had seven police vans round the hotel protecting the team. I don’t know why it is like that. I don’t understand it. But it is there and it is not nice.”

The fixture ended with 14 fans being charged with numerous offences, with sections of both sets of fans hurling insults at each other during United’s victory. The home supporters had cast taunts about the 1958 Munich air crash that resulted in 23 deaths, eight of those being United players.

Fans of the then-Premier League champions had held up a banner with the word “Istanbul”, a reference to the two Leeds fans who were tragically killed the day before their UEFA Cup semi-final clash against Galatasaray in 2000.

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United and Leeds have both lost one game in pre-season, with those defeats occurring against Wrexham. Michael Carrick’s side are unbeaten since the loss to the Championship side, with only AC Milan to play after Wednesday to round out their pre-season preparations.

They begin their Premier League season away to Hull City at the MKM Stadium on August 22, with their first home game coming eight days later when they welcome newly-promoted Ipswich Town.

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Having lost 2-1 in the first leg, Lyon turned the tie around with a 3-0 victory over Sparta Prague in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. OL will face Fenerbahce in the playoffs to secure their place in the group stage.

The Vikings officially made the call.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter sent along word: “ESPN sources: the Vikings have named Kyler Murray their starting QB.” And then some more insight: “Kyler Murray signed a minimum deal with the Vikings this offseason while still getting paid by Arizona, with the hope of becoming their starting QB, which he now is. Murray has a no-tag clause, meaning he can become a free agent next offseason if he wants.”

The Vikings Officially Make the QB Call

Opting for Murray allows Minnesota to rally around the newcomer for a long time as the Vikings prepare for what is hoped to be a competitive 2026. Consider, as well, that we’re considering a two-way street. Murray gets to acclimate while the team gets to acclimate to Murray.

Still, the timing isn’t going to go over well with some. Many will think that J.J. McCarthy wasn’t given a fair shot.

Recent days have featured many insisting that McCarthy had the on-field edge. Worse yet, the reports insisted that he didn’t get the same amount of opportunities to work with the starters. What prompted the flip to Murray at this stage?

Ben Leber — the former linebacker and current team analyst — didn’t go that far while nevertheless saying that he was surprised by the timing: “Well this happened faster than I expected. No more splitting reps. Ownership of the offense starts now.”

Kevin Seifert of ESPN: “Kevin O’Connell will talk with us at 1 CT. This was the near inevitable final answer but was clouded by a rough weekend. But ultimately it was hard to see it going any other way.”

No doubt, Mr. Murray was the favorite. Still, the timing is curious and will generate questions. Naming Murray as the main man means having roughly a month to rally around the passer to Week 1 versus the Packers. That debut game of the 2026 season occurs on Sunday, September 13th.

Let the record show that it was on Tuesday, August 11th that Minnesota anointed Murray as the QB1.

J.J. McCarthy is looking like the QB2 for the Minnesota Vikings in 2026. We’ll see, though, if there are any teams that make the call about a trade.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.