Sports
Women poised to take India sports to the next level
Apart from cricket,India has long been seen as an underachiever on the international sporting stage, as demonstrated by a 71st ranking in the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, a surge in the participation of women in a wide range of sports could help change this.
The number of registered women football players in India grew from 8,683 in 2016 to 37,829 last year. Participation in national javelin championships rose from 31 juniors in 2019 to 137, while in shooting, the number of female competitors jumped from 1,033 to 2,181 over the same period. At the Asian Games, women won just 36% of India’s medals in 2002; by 2023, that share had climbed to 43%.
Taruka Srivastava, who represented India in tennis at the 2010 Asian Games, has witnessed these changes first hand.
“If you look at the Paris Olympics and the athletes that emerged in their sports, you will see more women than men,” she told DW.
“When I look at the state of Uttar Pradesh where I come from, most of the top athletes are women.”
Role models
As well as the cricket team that won the 2025 ICC World Cup and became household names, there are footballer Manisha Kalyan, and Olympic medallists such as Manu Bhaker (shooting), Mirabai Chanu (weightlifting), P.V. Sindhu (badminton) and Lovlina Borgohain (boxing) for aspiring athletes to look up to.
Annesha Ghosh, a Mumbai-based sports documentary-maker believes that Indian women are now benefiting from groundbreakers from an earlier generation.
“Women and athleticism were never part of a same sentence by default because the subcontinent has largely been run on patriarchal lines, but the arrival of female role models has made a difference,” Ghosh told DW.
Ghosh added that even the cricket World Cup winners have cited badminton legend Saina Nehwal, who won bronze at the 2012 London Olympics, as an inspiration. There was also tennis star Sania Mirza, who won six major titles in a decade-long professional career.
“From a visual perspective, Mirza was breaking so many stereotypes, a woman – a Muslim woman – playing a sport and wearing a skirt. If you belong to certain communities, you are especially perceived a certain way, and Mirza had to contend with judgment on that front too,” added Ghosh.
“She lived on her own terms on and off the court. She was a real badass. When I was growing up, I thought, ‘who is this woman, dominating the court and taking on rubbish questions from journalists.’”
Media and perception
Stars like Mirza helped to change perceptions in the country.
“This is especially important in rural areas as most of the women who started their athletic journeys are from villages or small towns, not the major cities,” Srivastava said.
“When these women saw other women winning medals and saw their stories in the media, it changed the mindset of many. Families saw that girls could take up sports as a potential career.”
Public Support
According to Ghosh and Srivastava, there are now more women in boardrooms and involved in policymaking, including former athletes such as Mary Kom. The ex-boxer, who won bronze at the 2012 Olympics, was a member of parliament from 2016 to 2022.
The government has also encouraged the private sector to get involved while at the same time providing direct support.
According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s website, his government has distributed sports equipment to over 11,000 youth clubs and conducted over 180,000 early talent assessments, through various programs.
ASMITA. launched in 2021 by the sports ministry, stands for “Achieving Sports Milestone by Inspiring Women Through Action” and is aimed at empowering women in sports by creating more leagues, opportunities, and platforms for female athletes across India – especially those that are underprivileged.
In 2025, 852 league competitions across 15 sports disciplines took place through ASMITA, involving 70,000 female athletes, a rise of 17,000 from 2024.
“It’s about breaking barriers,” Raksha Khadse, minister of state for youth affairs and sports said of ASMITA.
“It is a powerful step towards affirmative action, bringing aspiring women players, including those from tribal and minority communities, right into the spotlight.”
Srivastava is among those who credit the initiative with removing practical barriers.
“In the past, state tournaments were sometimes far away and hard to travel to, she said.
“There are now more tournaments for athletes to compete and more events in which to compete nearer to home.”
One example from the world of entertainment has also been a factor. The 2016 movie “Dangal” told the story of the wrestling sisters Geeta and Babita Phogat. Geeta won gold at the 2010 Commonwealth games and Babita took silver. At the time, it was the highest-grossing film in Bollywood‘s history.
“Dangal was a huge success and played a big part in pushing women’s sport into the mainstream, to become part of popular culture,” said Ghosh.
“Story-telling is important and there were stories being told by Bollywood, which is huge in India.”
2036 Olympic bid
Now the challenge for India is to maintain this momentum, according to Baljit Rihal, sports agent and founder of players agency Inventive Sports.
“The foundation is there,” Rihal told DW.
“The key now is scale. If India wants this to become a lasting legacy rather than a moment in time, investment needs to increase significantly, particularly in facilities, coaching, long-term development and safeguarding.”
The city of Ahmedabad is to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games and Prime Minister Modi hopes the capital of his home state of Gujarat will win the right to host the Summer Olympics six years later – something that would stand to benefit female athletes, not only through the construction of new facilities.
“You have to uphold Olympic values, do justice to what the Games stand for and the IOC (International Olympic Committee is big on gender equality,” said Ghosh, before noting that the journey is long from over.
“Sport can be a soft power to the world and India is standing on a goldmine of potential talents.”
Edited by: Chuck Penfold
Ireland head coach Scott Bemand names nine uncapped players in his Women’s Six Nations squad, but he is without key winger Amee Leigh Costigan.
The Senegalese government has called for an “independent international investigation” into “suspected corruption” at African football’s governing body after it stripped Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title and awarded it to Morocco.
Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in January’s final but the Confederation of African Football (Caf) overturned the result on Tuesday because Senegal’s players walked off the pitch in protest when hosts Morocco were awarded a stoppage-time penalty.
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The players returned after a 17-minute delay, and Brahim Diaz’s ‘Panenka’ penalty for Morocco was saved before Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored an extra-time winner.
Following an appeal by the Moroccan FA (FRMF), Caf ruled that Senegal had forfeited the match, with the “result being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.
In a statement the Senegalese government said the “unprecedented and exceptionally serious decision” was based on “a manifestly erroneous interpretation of the regulations, leading to a grossly illegal and deeply unjust decision”.
It said: “Senegal unequivocally rejects this unjustified attempt at dispossession.”
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BBC Sport has contacted Caf for comment.
Fight is far from over – Senegal FA chief
Earlier on Wednesday, the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) said it would appeal against Caf’s decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), calling it “an unfair, unprecedented and unacceptable decision which brings discredit to African football”.
“This decision is a breach of trust that is not based on any rule of law,” FSF secretary general Abdoulaye Seydou Sow told Senegalese TV channel RTS 1.
“We felt that the jury wasn’t there to uphold the law, but to carry out an order.
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“We will stop at nothing. The law is on our side. The fight is far from over. Senegal will defend its rights to the very end.”
Some Senegal players have suggested they will not relinquish their winners’ medals.
“We know what we experienced that evening in Rabat. And no-one can take that away from us,” Senegal and Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye said on social media.
The walk-off by Senegal prompted the International Football Association Board (Ifab), football’s lawmaking body, to open a consultation on how to deal with situations when “players unilaterally decide to leave the field of play, or team officials instigate such action, as a means of protest against a referee’s decision”.
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Senegal’s players, apart from Sadio Mane, left the pitch after the award of a penalty for Morocco by referee Jean Jacques Ndala shortly after he had disallowed a goal by Ismaila Sarr at the other end.
Ndala gave the penalty in the 98th minute after being advised by the video assistant referee (VAR) to consult the pitchside monitor and review defender El Hadji Malick Diouf’s challenge on Diaz.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino said it was “unacceptable to leave the field of play in this manner” and that the scenes “must be condemned and never repeated”.
During the tournament there was much debate about refereeing decisions and VAR, with accusations from some journalists that Morocco were treated favourably by some officials.
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Senegal complained before the final about how they had been treated and expressed “serious concerns” over security when they arrived in Rabat for the game.
‘Game should not be won in the boardroom’
In its ruling to award Morocco the title, Caf also “partially upheld” an appeal against an incident involving ball boys in the final, and reduced the Moroccan FA’s fine for the incident.
In torrential rain, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy regularly dried his gloves, but the ball boys repeatedly tried to discard his towel.
At one point Senegal reserve goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf was tackled to the ground by three ball boys and dragged around on the floor when he tried to intervene.
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A fine for fans shining lasers at players on the pitch was also reduced by Caf.
Caf’s former head of disciplinary, Raymond Hack, questioned the decisions made by African football’s governing body and suggested there is a perception of “political interference” as “the president of the Moroccan Football Association [Fouzi Lekjaa] is the first vice-president of Caf”.
“The circus continues,” Hack told BBC World Service.
“A lot will depend on the referee’s written report, but the fact that the referee allowed the game to continue and they went into extra time gives the impression that he was satisfied that the game will continue.
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“He is the only person who can call an end to the game. Not the authorities, not the governing bodies, only the referee.
“Otherwise you’re going to have situation worldwide where every time someone disagrees with a decision, they’re going to go on appeal or take it to court or something ridiculous like that.
“The game should be won on the field of play not in a boardroom.”
Hack, a lawyer and a member of Fifa’s disciplinary committee, said the Morocco players should have informed the referee they were playing under protest if they intended to challenge the result.
He also said it could take six months for Cas to rule on Senegal’s appeal.
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Moroccan journalist Jalal Bounar told Newsday that Caf’s decision had been welcomed “with great excitement and joy across the country”.
“Morocco appealed the decision to the confederation of African football because they believed that Senegal had broken the rules during the match, and that’s why Moroccans went out to celebrate,” he said.
“If they give it to Senegal, it won’t be the end of the world. We will accept because we are satisfied that we reached the final.”
However, north African journalist Maher Mezahi said such a sentiment is not matched across the continent.
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“It does seem like the rest of Africa feels outraged by this because it seems like, once again, the Confederation of African Football has almost disgraced the sport,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Mezahi cited Caf’s decision to ban Togo from two Africa Cup of Nations for quitting the 2010 competition following a gun attack on their team bus in Angola two days before the tournament.
Referring back to Caf’s decision on the 2025 final, he said: “They have, unfortunately, come up with a habit of releasing decisions like this – whether it’s the disciplinary committee or the appeals board – that eventually do get shot down at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but it makes the entire thing look very amateurish.”
Previous walk-offs in football
While the sanction issued for the Senegal players leaving the pitch was unprecedented in global football, it was not the first time players had walked off the field in protest.
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Czechoslovakia v Belgium (1920)
Czechoslovakia’s players abandoned their shot at gold at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics when they left the field 40 minutes into the final against Belgium in protest against English referee John Lewis, who had awarded the hosts a penalty and sent off Czechoslovakia left-back Karel Steiner.
Belgium were awarded the gold medal with Czechoslovakia disqualified from the competition entirely.
Lille v Manchester Utd (2007)
Ryan Giggs’ late free-kick for Manchester United, scored while Lille were still arranging their wall, led the Lille players to walk off in a Champions League last-16 tie.
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Having gathered by the touchline, they eventually returned to complete the match.
Uefa fined Lille £42,000, which included a sanction for poor security and organisation at the stadium.
AC Milan v Pro Patria (2013)
AC Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng led his team-mates off the pitch after being racially abused by sections of the crowd during a friendly against Pro Patria.
Fifa applauded Boateng’s principles and made him the first member of its anti-discrimination taskforce, but said it did not condone his decision to walk off.
Paris St-Germain v Istanbul Basaksehir (2020)
Players from both sides left the field during a Champions League match after fourth official Sebastian Coltescu was alleged to have used a racist term towards Istanbul Basaksehir assistant coach Pierre Webo.
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When Basaksehir refused to return, the match was abandoned and replayed the following day. Coltescu was suspended until the end of the season and ordered to attend an educational programme.
Fenerbahce v Galatasaray (2024)
Fenerbahce started an under-19 side and then walked off after one minute in the Turkish Super Cup against rivals Galatasaray after their request for the game to be postponed – because they had a Europa League quarter-final against Olympiacos four days later – was rejected.
Fenerbahce were fined 115,000 euros (£98,000) and Galatasaray awarded a 3-0 win.
Colombe Sportive du Sud v Panthere du Nde (2026)
In February champions Colombe Sportive du Sud walked off during the Cameroonian Super Cup against Panthere du Nde after the award of a controversial penalty and a red card for captain Randy Ntume in the 69th minute.
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The match was abandoned and the final outcome is still to be determined by the Cameroonian football authorities.
Former Nigel Reo-Coker has strongly criticised the Confederation of African Football for awarding the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title to Morocco.
CAF announced that Senegal had forfeited the final, with the match recorded as a 3–0 win for Morocco. The decision came after a dramatic and tense final between the two teams.
Before the ruling, Senegal had appeared to win the match after scoring in extra time. However, there were several controversial moments during the game, including a disallowed goal and a late penalty incident that caused protests from Senegal players.
Reacting to CAF’s decision, Reo-Coker, who played for West Ham United and Aston Villa, described the situation as embarrassing for African football.
“CAF is an embarrassment. I’m of African heritage, and I know about the Cup of Nations. I watched it as a kid growing up, and I know players who have played in it, World Class players,” he said.
He added that such incidents could damage the reputation of the tournament.
“There’s always a stigma about Africa, and its football. We’ve had conversations about AFCON not being taken seriously for many years.
“It’s another reason why people will look down on this tournament and have a stigma attached to it. There’s not one Morocco player, past or present, who would want to win in this manner.
“None of them will look in the mirror and be happy about being handed that.
“CAF have embarrassed themselves again in front of the world, and allows other footballing federations to laugh at Africa as a continent because of how this whole situation has been handled,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Senegal Football Federation are preparing to challenge the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport as they seek to overturn the ruling.
PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, March 18, 2026: The Africa Cup of Nations has seen another unbelievable turn as the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has stripped Senegal of their 2025 African Champions title, to give it to Morocco. Also, the Guardian reveals that the UK took part in negotiations between Iran and the United States in Geneva and had judged a war unnecessary. Next, The New York Times has a long read about weapons being smuggled from the US to Mexico. Finally, Banksy’s identity is revealed.
The Africa Cup of Nations has taken another mind-boggling turn. It’s “the joke of the century”, according to the Senegalese daily Le Soleil. Le Dakarois reports that the Confederation of African Football’s appeal board decided that Senegal were “declared to have forfeited the final” by walking off, and therefore automatically lose 3-0. The Guinean website Le Djely calls it a disproportionate decision. The mood in Morocco is quite different. Moroccan news site 360 says that CAF has “saved African football from the grip of unsportsmanlike conduct”.
Meanwhile, an exclusive report in the Guardian reveals that the UK‘s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, attended the US-Iran talks in Geneva in late February, after which he judged that Tehran’s offer had been significant enough to prevent a war in the Middle East. This in part explains the UK government’s reluctance to back the US attack on Iran.
A long read in The New York Times looks into the American weapons being smuggled into Mexico and used by violent drug cartels. Firearms are sold in American gun shops and on websites and phone apps and are then funnelled to Mexican cartel members. The paper says as many as 1 million weapons could be being smuggled into Mexico every year.
Finally, in the UK, one of art’s worst kept secrets has just been solved. Reuters has uncovered Banksy‘s identity. The Times, though, says that the street artist’s identity has been known since the early 2000s: “he’s a shortsighted bloke from Bristol called Robin”. The Wall Street Journal explains that although anonymity helped Banksy move undetected, it did make art collectors uneasy and his art is now going to sell for a lot more. For Sky News, the revelation of Banksy’s identity will only add to his legacy as an artist of the people.
You can catch our press review every morning on France 24 at 7:20am and 9:20am (Paris time), from Monday to Friday.
The Miami (OH) RedHawks battle the SMU Mustangs in a First Four matchup on Wednesday night. The winner will be the 11th seed and will face the sixth-seeded Tennessee Volunteers on Friday. The RedHawks (31-1) suffered their one and only defeat this season in an 87-83 loss to UMass in the first round of the MAC Tournament. SMU was able to get into the tournament thanks largely to a grueling nonconference schedule. The RedHawks have won four of five games, while the Mustangs have lost four of five games.
Tipoff from UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio, is set for 9:15 p.m. ET. Miami (OH) holds a 2-0 all-time series lead over SMU. The RedHawks should have a clear home-crowd advantage with the University of Dayton Arena being only one hour from Miami’s campus in Oxford, Ohio. SMU is a 6.5-point favorite in the latest Miami (OH) vs SMU odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 163.5. Before making any SMU vs. Miami (OH) picks, check out the men’s college basketball predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times. It entered the tournament on a sizzling 11-1 run on its top-rated over/under college basketball picks dating back to last season, and is on a 28-22 run on top-rated CBB side picks. Anyone following its college basketball betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen strong returns.
Now, the model has simulated Miami (OH) vs SMU 10,000 times and just revealed its coveted men’s college basketball picks and betting predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several men’s college basketball odds and men’s college basketball betting lines for Miami (OH) vs SMU:
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Miami (OH) vs SMU spread: |
SMU -6.5 |
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Miami (OH) vs SMU over/under: |
163.5 points |
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Miami (OH) vs SMU money line: |
SMU -303, Miami (OH) +241 |
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Miami (OH) vs SMU picks: |
See picks at SportsLine |
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Miami (OH) vs SMU TV: |
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Top Miami (OH) vs SMU predictions
After 10,000 simulations of Miami (OH) vs SMU, SportsLine’s model is going Over on the total (163.5 points). The total has gone over in nine of SMU’s last 13 games. Both teams have a 62% Over rate this season, so the trends clearly point in this direction.
The model projects the RedHawks to have four players score 10.3 points or more, including Peter Suder, who is projected to score 14.8 points. The Mustangs are projected to have five players score 11.9 points or more, led by Boopie Miller, who is projected to score 22.3 points. The model is projecting 167 combined points as the Over clears in 61% of simulations.
How to make Miami (OH) vs SMU picks
The model also says one side of the spread hits well over 60% of the time. You can only see that pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Miami (OH) vs SMU, and which side of the spread hits well over 60% of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to back, all from the advanced model that has simulated this game 10,000 times, and find out.
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NCAA Tournament 2026 bracket: Simulation predicts surprising upsets, top sleepers, March Madness picks
Finding success in the 2026 March Madness bracket often means going on a roll at just the right time. Which teams can do that will go a long way in determining who comes home with this year’s title at the end of the 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket. The obvious favorites are the top seeds like Duke in the East, Arizona in the West, Florida in the South and Michigan in the Midwest. However, due to the amount of talent throughout the 2026 NCAA bracket, nothing seems impossible for a good portion of the 2026 March Madness field.
In 2014, seventh-seeded UConn cut down the nets after defeating eighth-seeded Kentucky in the championship game. Nine years later, the Huskies won another championship when they downed fifth-seeded San Diego State. Who will be the 2026 March Madness Cinderella team? Before you make your 2026 NCAA Tournament predictions, see the 2026 March Madness bracket picks from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
Two years ago, SportsLine’s computer simulation nailed massive upsets, including huge wins by No. 11 Oregon over No. 6 South Carolina, No. 11 NC State over No. 6 Texas Tech, No. 10 Colorado over No. 7 Florida. Last year, SportsLine’s computer simulation nailed massive upsets, including calling both 9-seeds that advanced in the first round, No. 12 Colorado State over No. 5 Memphis, and No. 6 BYU advancing to the Sweet 16. The model has beaten over 91 percent of all CBS Sports bracket players in four of the past seven tournaments.
This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has nailed 25 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception in 2016 and nailed UConn’s championship run in 2024. It nailed 12 teams in the Sweet 16 and correctly predicted all four Final Four teams a year ago.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times. It entered conference tournament week on a sizzling 14-2 run on its top-rated over/under college basketball picks dating back to last season, and is on a 28-21 run on top-rated CBB side picks. You shouldn’t even think about making a pick without seeing what their model has to say.
Top 2026 March Madness bracket upset picks
One South Region surprise the model has identified: No. 9 Iowa defeats No. 8 Clemson in the first round. Iowa has completely changed its style under first-year head coach Ben McCollum, who led Drake to the Round of 32 in last year’s Big Dance. He brought six players with him to Iowa, including Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Bennett Stirtz. That move has paid dividends, with Stirtz averaging 20.0 points and 4.5 assists per game this season.
The Hawkeyes play at the eighth-slowest adjusted tempo in college basketball, according to KenPom. They are facing a Clemson team that does not have anyone scoring 12 points per game, and second-leading scorer Carter Welling tore his ACL in the ACC Tournament. The Tigers lost to No. 12 seed McNeese State in the Round of 64 last season, and they are in line for another first-round exit this year.
Another South Region surprise the model has identified: No. 5 Vanderbilt over No. 4 Nebraska to advance to the Sweet 16. The Huskers are having one of their best seasons ever, going 26-6 overall and finishing tied for second in the Big Ten at 15-5. Vanderbilt, meanwhile, is 26-8 overall and tied for fourth in the SEC at 11-7. The Commodores made it to the SEC Tournament championship game, where they lost 86-75 to Arkansas.
Nebraska appears to be trending in the wrong direction. After starting the season 20-0, the Cornhuskers have gone just 6-6 since, including a 20-point loss at UCLA on March 3. They fell 74-58 to eventual champion Purdue in the Big Ten Conference Tournament quarterfinals. Vanderbilt, meanwhile, appears to be on a roll, having won four of its last five games, including three of those games coming against ranked opponents. See which other 2026 March Madness upsets and matchups to target here.
How to make 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket predictions
Who wins every tournament-defining matchup? And which teams will make surprising runs through the 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket? With the model’s track record of calling bracket-busting upsets, you’ll want to see which stunners it’s calling this year before locking in any 2026 NCAA bracket picks.
So what’s the optimal NCAA Tournament 2026 bracket? And which NCAA Tournament Cinderella teams will shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine now to see which region features two mammoth upsets in the first round, including one by a No. 14 seed, and see which 6-seed makes the Sweet 16, all from the model that’s nailed 25 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds.
New Delhi: It was Tuesday morning, and the sun was beating down. The facilities of Northern United Football Club in Delhi-NCR were busy. On one side, a group of players were going through warm-up drills. On another, the goalkeepers were being tested with walloping drives. In the middle of the pitch, the coaching staff kept a watchful eye over the proceedings.It was followed by the field being divided into two halves as two different sets of strategies were employed. As the sun grew sharper, the approach shifted to set pieces with the coaches dictating matters.
It was no ordinary morning, and it is no ordinary week. Finishing touches were being applied to what is a monumental occasion – a Delhi-based top-level club returning home after a seven-year gap.Delhi once boasted of three clubs in the top two divisions: Delhi Dynamos in the Indian Super League (ISL) and Sudeva Delhi and Delhi FC in the I-League (now called the Indian Football League). Dynamos witnessed an average attendance of over 15,000 in the first ISL season (2014) and had legends such as Alessandro Del Piero and Roberto Carlos in their ranks.Delhi’s tryst with ISL and top-tier football lasted until February 2019 as ahead of 2019-20 season, the club rebranded itself as Odisha FC and shifted its base to Bhubaneswar. The presence of I-League clubs has persisted.The capital city’s seven-year void of first-division football ends on Thursday (March 19) as Sporting Club Delhi, earlier called Hyderabad FC, host Jamshedpur FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. It is an emotional moment for defender Akshat Mehra, who was part of the Dynamos youth setup and is now one of two Delhites in the SC Delhi squad.
SC Delhi picked up their first points of the season against Mumbai City FC in a come-from-behind draw. (Image: AIFF)
“I’m very happy that football is finally back in Delhi after a very long time. Last time it was Delhi Dynamos and thankfully I was a part of it also and now being a part of SC Delhi it’s a great feeling because it’s my home club and I get to represent my city and I’m very happy about it,” said the 19-year-old after the team’s training session in Noida.The magnitude of the occasion is not lost on Akshat, who was part of Delhi’s U-20 national championship-winning side recently. The stage and level of expectation are bigger now. “It’s a great feeling, but also it’s a bigger responsibility, and I feel it’s not going to be easy, but we are prepared for it as a team. If you talk about Delhi, now it’s time for Delhi to step up… there’s no going back from here, and hopefully we do great for the city, and we make all our fans proud,” continued Akshat.The Phoenix, as the club is nicknamed, are hoping that this home stretch proves to be a turnaround in their fortunes. After four matches played in the truncated season, SC Delhi are second from bottom with one draw and three losses — doing only marginally better than Mohammedan Sporting, who are yet to open their account.
SC Delhi players in action against East Bengal in the Indian Super League. (Image: AIFF)
The season began with a 0-2 loss in Bengaluru, followed by a 1-4 thrashing at the hands of East Bengal, a slender 0-1 defeat against FC Goa before staging a comeback from 0-2 down to force a 2-2 draw against Mumbai City FC for their first points of the season.Having zig-zagged across the country, taking multiple flights — sometimes more than one — this home game comes as a respite after a 10-day gap. It helps that it comes at a time when the team is struggling, and the threat of relegation is ever-so-real.“There is always the additional support, so we are counting on them to come in big numbers. They will be loud in the stadium and they will motivate our players. We say that fans are like the 12th player and we are expecting that, waiting for that,” said coach Tomasz Tchorz.
We are counting on them to come in big numbers. They will be loud in the stadium and they will motivate our players. We say that fans are like the 12th player and we are expecting that
Coach Tomasz Tchorz on fans
Tchorz has been in India for a while now: with ATK Mohun Bagan and Kerala Blasters – both with strong home connections and a loyal fan base. He hopes Delhi adds to the list for him and JLN Stadium continues to be a venue of miracles.“I think this is challenging but also very interesting especially in a city like Delhi which is (the) capital, which is big and versatile because you have a lot of communities in Delhi. Also, you have foreign people, and our team can represent different communities and unite them,” said the Polish manager.“This is something I would like to do as a coach of the team. Even in our team you can see people from different parts of India. You can also see people from different parts of the world.“With our team, we can unite communities, and we can make a big family which is very rich in different cultures, languages, and religions. We can be as one by football,” he continued.
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will host the SC Delhi home games in the ISL. (File photo)
To draw fans for this momentous occasion, SC Delhi have invited school kids, made tickets free and are collaborating with social media influencers to spread the message. The response has been “overwhelming”, says club CEO Dhruv Sood.“We launched (tickets) Friday night, and we’ve had an overwhelming response so far, above our expectations. The first game is an inaugural offer. The ownership wanted people to see and feel the pulse of ISL and football in Delhi. So, it’s been free of charge for all people who want to attend.“Tickets are still available. We are still trying to put out more because we want young people, we want Delhi people to come and see football.“So, we are trying to get out there, even in this current situation in Indian football, as much as possible. My hope is that we have 10-11,000 people which would be a good number. Hopefully, a lot of them (will be) wearing red and supporting us and hopefully, the team will respond by giving them the first win of the season,” said Sood with a lot of optimism.
Reality television personality Jessie Holmes has clinched a second consecutive victory in the grueling Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race after guiding his team across approximately 1,000 miles of Alaskan wilderness.
His triumph marks a significant achievement in the challenging endurance event.
Holmes navigated his dog team to the finish line on Tuesday night in Nome, a Bering Sea coastal community.
The arduous race began on 8 March in Willow, following a ceremonial start in Anchorage, taking mushers and their dogs over two mountain ranges, along the frozen Yukon River, and across the unpredictable Bering Sea ice.
This repeat win places Holmes, a former cast member of National Geographic’s “Life Below Zero,” among an elite group.
He is only the third competitor in the Iditarod’s 54-year history to win back-to-back races after their initial victory, joining legends Susan Butcher (1986-1987) and Lance Mackey (2007-2008), both of whom went on to claim four titles.
Before the race, Holmes described this year’s Iditarod as the most crucial of his career.
He told The Associated Press: “That’s hard to put that on yourself because you got to live with that pressure every day. And if I do not make it, it is going to absolutely crush me.”
He will pocket about $80,000 for this year’s win, up from the $57,000-plus he took home last year.
The prize fund was bolstered by Norwegian billionaire Kjell Rokke, who also participated in a new, non-competitive amateur category. Rokke reached Nome on Monday, under rules allowing outside support from a former Iditarod champion, flexible rest periods, and dog swaps.
Holmes first competed in the Iditarod in 2018, earning rookie of the year honours with a seventh-place finish. He has now raced nine times, achieving seven top-10 placements and securing a top-five spot in his last five attempts.
His eight-year stint on National Geographic’s “Life Below Zero”, chronicling life in rural Alaska, provided the means to acquire better dogs and equipment.
It also enabled him to purchase raw land near Denali National Park and Preserve, where the carpenter has established a homestead in the wilderness, his closest neighbour some 30 miles away.
Rokke, who now lives in Switzerland, provided $100,000 in additional prize money and $170,000 to Alaska Native villages that serve as checkpoints.
Canadian entrepreneur Steve Curtis, another non-competitive musher, pledged $50,000 to help youth sports programmes in the villages, though he did not finish the race.
The Iditarod continues to face criticism from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which claims over 150 dogs have died in the race’s history.
PETA urged Rokke to spend his money helping dogs rather than putting them through “hazards and misery.” The Iditarod has never provided its count of dog fatalities.
Tragically, one dog has died in this year’s event: a four-year-old female named Charly from musher Mille Porsild’s team, as confirmed by the Iditarod in a statement on Tuesday. A necropsy is scheduled to determine the cause.
This year’s race saw 34 competitive mushers start, matching the 1973 inaugural event for the second-lowest number in its history.
The dwindling participation is attributed to the retirement of many seasoned mushers and the escalating costs of supplies, such as dog food, which have kept field sizes small this decade.
The Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) has criticized the “unfair, unprecedented, and unacceptable decision” to strip its team of the Africa Cup of Nations title and award it to host nation Morocco two months after they contested the final.
The Confederation of African Football’s appeals board on Tuesday ruled Senegal “forfeited the final” by walking off the field and turned its 1-0 win in extra time into a 3-0 default win for Morocco.
The FSF said the decision “discredits African football,” and that it will appeal “as soon as possible” to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, a process that would typically take a year to deliver a verdict.
“The FSF reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the values of integrity and sporting justice and will keep the public informed of developments in this matter,” the federation said in a statement.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First Published: Mar 18 2026 | 4:22 PM IST
Global apparel brand UNIQLO has announced Indian cricket star Jasprit Bumrah as its new brand ambassador in India, marking a strategic collaboration that aligns sport with everyday lifestyle fashion.
The partnership kicks off with a fresh campaign that reflects UNIQLO’s signature LifeWear philosophy, focused on delivering simple, high-quality clothing designed to improve daily life through comfort, functionality, and timeless style.
A partnership rooted in simplicity
The association highlights a shared approach between the brand and the cricketer, one built on consistency, authenticity, and effortless performance. Bumrah, known for his calm demeanor and precision on the field, embodies the understated confidence that UNIQLO aims to represent through its clothing line.
Campaign focus: AIRism collection
The campaign subtly draws parallels between Bumrah’s evolution as a fast bowler and the idea of everyday essentials becoming indispensable over time. Just as discipline and instinct define his game, the campaign suggests that comfort-driven clothing naturally integrates into one’s lifestyle.
Bumrah on the collaboration
Speaking about the partnership, Bumrah said, “In my day-to-day life, I prefer clothing that feels comfortable and effortless, especially when I’m spending time off the field. That’s why I’m happy to be partnering with UNIQLO, the brand’s approach to everyday clothing feels like a natural extension to my personal style.”
Brand Perspective and Rollout
Nidhi Rastogi, Marketing Director at UNIQLO India, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, “We are proud to partner with cricket world champion Jasprit Bumrah and welcome him to the UNIQLO family. His focus on excellence, authenticity and quiet confidence reflects the essence of UNIQLO’s LifeWear philosophy.”
The campaign has been launched across multiple platforms, including digital media, social channels, outdoor advertising, and in-store displays, aiming to connect with a wide audience while reinforcing the brand’s commitment to everyday comfort and style.
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