Bologna FC lifted the Coppa Italia Frecciarossa (Italian Cup) trophy For the first time since 1973/74 with a 1-0 victory over AC Milan.

After 3 minutes, Milan created the first chance when Leao beats Lucumì on the wing and sent in a dangerous cross, but Jimenez can't finish it. Five minutes later, Bologna replied with a close-range header from Castro, but Maignan made a great save.

In the 9th minute, Skorupski pulls off a double save—first on a deflection from Miranda, then stopping Jovic's close-range shot. After these early chances, both defenses settle in, and the first half ends 0-0.

India’s star athlete Neeraj Chopra has been conferred with the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army. The announcement was made by the Ministry of Defence in the Gazette of India, a weekly authorised journal of the Government of India, on Wednesday.

Chopra became India's most successful individual Olympian after he claimed a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the javelin throw, marking his second medal at the Games after his historic gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Chopra became the first Indian track and field athlete to win a gold medal in Tokyo. He ended his 2024 season with a second-place finish in the prestigious Diamond League Final in Brussels.

"No 3 (E) dated 9 May 2025 in exercise of the powers conferred by Para 31 of the Territorial Army Regulations, 1948, the president is pleased to confer Honorary Rank of Lieutenant Colonel in Territorial Army on Ex-Sub Maj Neeraj Chopra, PVSM, Padma Shri, VSM, Village & Post Office Khandra, Panipat, Haryana with effect from 16 April, 2025," the Gazette of India read.

As the Indian men's cricket team braces for a period of hard transition following the retirement of stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from Test cricket, former captain Anil Kumble has thrown his weight behind Karun Nair for a sensational comeback. With the five-match Test series in England starting next month and a massive void left at the No. 4 position — occupied for over three decades by Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar before him — Kumble believes Nair could be the right man to step in.

India is entering uncharted territory. For the first time since 1989, when Sachin Tendulkar made his debut, India will tour England for a Test series without Tendulkar or Kohli in the ranks. Rohit Sharma’s retirement compounds the middle-order crisis, leaving the team to figure out a new batting blueprint that may have to rely more on form than reputation.

Australia has maintained its top position in the ICC Women’s ODI team rankings, whose annual update was released on Wednesday. As per the annual update, Australia have 167 rating points, which is comfortably 40 more than second-placed England.

In a statement, ICC said the recent annual update removes matches played between October 2021 and April 2022, including the 2022 Women’s ODI World Cup in New Zealand. “The women’s updates have this year moved from the start of October to the start of May, like the men’s team annual rankings update.

"Prior to the update, weightings were 50 per cent for matches between October 2021 and September 2023 and 100 per cent thereafter. Post update, the weightings are 50 per cent for matches between May 2022 and April 2024 and 100 per cent thereafter," said the ICC.

The series with 100 per cent weightage for Australia included two 3-0 series wins over India, both home and away, as well as 3-0 wins in Bangladesh and at home versus England. They also beat the West Indies and New Zealand 2-0 in another three-match series and South Africa 2-1 at home.

Human Rights groups, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and FairSquare, have warned FIFA and the Saudi Arabian authorities of ‘failing to adequately ensure basic safety protections and social security for migrant workers in the preparations of the 2034 FIFA World Cup.

Saudi laws require employers with 50 or more workers to implement a health and safety policy, conduct training, assess workplace risks, and provide necessary protective gear and first aid.

But the report by HRW found that workers across employment sectors and geographic regions in Saudi Arabia continue to face widespread labour abuses and occupational dangers at their work sites and claimed FIFA has awarded the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia without proper human rights due diligence.

England fast bowling ace James Anderson has hailed Virat Kohli as one of the greatest batters to ever play Test cricket and feels that expressed confidence that India possesses a deep talent pool capable of filling up the big shoes following the retirement of veteran players.

Kohli retired from Test cricket on Monday, bringing the curtains down on a glorious career with with 9,230 runs in 123 matches, including a stellar 30 centuries and 31 fifties.

He hung up his spikes as the fourth-most successful Test captain overall, behind Graeme Smith (53 wins), Ricky Ponting (48 wins), and Steve Waugh (41 wins).

Kohli’s 30 Test centuries make him the fourth-most successful India batter, behind Sachin Tendulkar (51 hundreds), Rahul Dravid (36), and Sunil Gavaskar (34). Kohli also made seven Test double hundreds, the most ever by an Indian.

Alfonso Gonzalez's 43rd-minute goal gave Celta Vigo a 1-0 win away to Real Sociedad to strengthen the visiting side's hopes of qualifying for next season's Europa League, while ending Real Sociedad's European ambitions.

Gonzalez was the first to react in the Real Sociedad area to prod a loose ball home for three vital points, and a win at home to Rayo Vallecano at the weekend would cap an excellent season for the northwestern outfit.

Girona's veteran striker Cristhian Stuani netted 10 minutes from time to give his side three vital points in a 1-0 win away to bottom side Real Valladolid, reports.

Aunar saw a shot tipped onto the bar from Girona goalkeeper Pablo Gazzaniga with the score at 0-0, although Valladolid's Karl Hein also made several big saves before Stuani's goal.

Tennis cricket, a backyard sport that has long been synonymous with India’s passion for the game, is set to receive international legitimacy with the launch of the first-ever Tennis Cricket Ball World Cup and Asia Cup, both scheduled to be hosted in India.

This marks a historic moment as tennis ball cricket steps onto the global stage with official international and continental tournaments.

Recognizing the sport’s rapid grassroots growth in India, the International Tennis Cricket Federation (ITCF) has thrown its weight behind the initiative.

The decision comes after observing the popularity and scale of domestic tennis ball cricket tournaments across the country, culminating in a new structured league format known as the Dream League of India — a competition that will now serve as the official selection platform for India’s squads in both global events.

Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali believes Virat Kohli’s retirement from Test cricket is a “massive blow” to the format, hailing the Indian great as a “pioneer” whose passion and charisma brought fans to stadiums much like Sachin Tendulkar once did.

As India prepares for a stern five-Test challenge in England starting June 20 at Headingley, Moeen acknowledged that the absence of Kohli and Rohit Sharma is a significant setback for the visitors — and a timely advantage for the hosts.

“It’s a massive blow to Test cricket. Virat was the one pioneer, the one guy in Test cricket that always pushed the format,” Moeen told Sky Sports. “He’s done so much for the game, especially in India. I think after Sachin, he was the guy everybody came to watch. He filled out stadiums.”

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has remained tight-lipped about the participation of foreign players in the remaining matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, which is set to resume on May 17, after a week-long suspension because of India-Pakistan conflict.

The BCCI has left it all to the franchises to share details about the return of the players, who departed for their respective countries following the suspension of the League on May 9 after Pakistan launched missiles and drone attacks at many places along the border. The attacks were thwarted by the Indian defence system, but the BCCI decided to suspend the league as a precautionary measure.