ISSF Shooting World Cup: Indian shooting star Rhythm Sangwan breaks world record in Baku
The 19-year-old shooter from Haryana recorded a score of 595 in the qualifying round, breaking the previous record of 594 set by Bulgarian shooter Diana Iorgova in May 1994 at a World Cup in Milan.
Indian shooter Rhythm Sangwan created history at the ISSF Shooting World Cup held in Baku, Azerbaijan by setting a new world record in the 25m pistol event on Saturday.
Sangwan registered the highest-ever score in the women's 25m pistol event. Image- Times of India
The 19-year-old shooter from Haryana recorded a score of 595 in the qualifying round, breaking the previous record of 594 set by Bulgarian shooter Diana Iorgova in May 1994 at a World Cup in Milan. Iorgova's record was then matched by the Chinese shooter in 2002 before Veenekamp too leveled it at the 2023 ISSF World Cup held at Bhopal in March earlier this year.
However, Sangwan missed all five shots in the first series and was always playing catch-up. She finished eighth in the final with an overall score of 10. On the way to the world record score, Rhythm Sangwan scored 296 in her the Precision stage and followed it up with an even impressive 299 in the Rapid stage to top the qualification stage. Greece's Anna Korakaki finished a distant second with a score of 588.
Earlier on Wednesday, Rhythm Sangwan had opened India's medal tally at the ISSF World Cup Baku by winning a bronze medal in the Women's 10m Air Pistol event. She will now be in action in women's 25m pistol final later on Saturday.
Manchester United Sporting Director Dan Ashworth leaves the club after just five months
According to multiple reports, Sporting Director Dan Ashworth has left Manchester United after just five months at the helm. Ashworth was in charge of football performance, recruitment, and operations at the club.
Manchester United Sporting Director Dan Ashworth has left the position at the club after just five months of being appointed. According to multiple reports, the decision was finalized following the Red Devils' 2-3 defeat against Nottingham Forest last night.
🚨 BREAKING: Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth has LEFT the club after just 5 months. 🤯
It is said that his move from Newcastle has not worked, with his departure agreed in a meeting at Old Trafford last night 😬
Dan Ashworth joined Manchester United only in July 2024 to oversee the operations of football performance and recruitment at Old Trafford. Ashworth did a sensational job at his previous club Newcastle United to help them rebuild which caught the attention of the new Manchester United owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe. The 53-year-old executive pulled off some huge deals for the Red Devils as he played a crucial role in signing Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs De Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, Manuel Ugarte and Leny Yoro in the 2024 summer transfer window. Ashworth was also on the committee that sacked former boss Erik Ten Hag.
However, Simone Stone, the journalist for BBC Sport who was at Old Trafford yesterday to cover the match, reported that Ashworth kept his head down and didn’t make eye contact with the journalists present in the mixed zone after the game. Stone hinted that there could be a lot of work in front of the United officials. There was nothing to confirm the shock decision but now it seems that Ashworth was sure about the decision of him getting dismissed.
According to a report by renowned journalist David Ornstein of TheAthletic, Ashworth reached a mutual agreement to depart from Old Trafford after the Forest game. following discussions with Omar Berrada, the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of Manchester United.
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Dan Ashworth leaves Man Utd after 5 months as sporting director. 53yo’s move from Newcastle has not worked + departure agreed in meeting at Old Trafford last night; presented by #MUFC as mutual. W/ @AdamCrafton_@lauriewhitwell@TheAthleticFChttps://t.co/aj62hx3maE
It has also been reported that United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe instigated the decision, who once praised Ashworth as one of the top sporting directors in the world. Now the officials in the club believe that Ashworth's transition at the club "has not been smooth" as the news is now officially confirmed. Manchester United have just confirmed the decision minutes ago which reads:
Dan Ashworth will be leaving his role as Sporting Director of Manchester United by mutual agreement.
We would like to thank Dan for his work and support during a transitional period for the club and wish him well for the future.
There has been no official confirmation on who will be appointed as the predecessor of Ashworth but the United official will need to speed up the process as the winter transfer window in January will approach in just 22 days.
Sunil Chhetri with his recent hat-trick against Kerala Blasters FC, became the only third player to score three ISL hat-tricks. Here are the players with the most ISL hat-tricks in their careers.
Scoring a hat-trick is considered one of the most significant achievements of a striker in football. In football leagues worldwide, we get to see the top-level strikers achieving multiple hat-tricks in their careers.
In the Indian Super League, Nigerian striker Bartholomew Ogbeche has the record for scoring the most number of hattricks in the league. With Indian legend, Sunil Chhetri giving him a tough competition in the table, we present you players with the ISL stats of players with the most hat-tricks in Indian Super League history.
Stiven Mendoza, Dudu Omagbemi, Coro, Marcelinho, and Modou Sougou have scored two hattricks in their ISL careers.
Mendoza, the Colombian left winger played for Chennaiyin FC on two stints; once in the 2013/14 season and again in the 2014/15 season. He scored 15 goals in 22 games and netted twice in three ISL playoff matches.
He scored his first ISL hat-trick against FC Goa in Chennaiyin’s opening game in 2015. Mendoza scored his second hattrick, against Kerala Blasters in a 4-1 win.
Dudu, the Nigerian striker is one of the known faces in Indian football, having played for East Bengal and Salgaocar FC in the I-League. However, he played for FC Pune City, FC Goa and Chennaiyin FC in ISL.
He scored his first ISL hat-trick against Mumbai City FC while playing for FC Goa, in 2015. His last hat-trick in the league came against Northeast United FC in a 3-3 draw for Chennaiyin FC in the 2016/17 season.
Coro, the Spaniard spent three seasons in India with FC Goa from 2017-18 to 2019-20. In 50 ISL league games, he scored a stunning 47 goals while contributing 16 assists. He had scored back-to-back hattricks in his first season, one against Bengaluru FC, followed by one against Kerala Blasters.
Marcelinho, the Brazilian winger started his ISL career with Delhi Dynamos in 2016, joined Pune City in 2017 and continued playing in India for Hyderabad FC, Odisha FC, ATK Mohun Bagan and NEUFC.
He scored one hat-trick against FC Goa for Delhi Dynamos and another against NEUFC for FC Pune City in 2017.
Modou Sougou, the Senegalese right winger played for Mumbai City FC in the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons. He scored four goals in a match against Kerala Blasters in the 2018-19 season and scored his last ISL hat-trick against ATK in the same season.
3 hattricks | Iain Hume and Sunil Chhetri
One of the earliest stars of the Indian Super League, the Canadian striker, who had played for clubs like Leicester City, joined Kerala Blasters in the first season. In 2015/16, he moved to Atletico de Kolkata and won the league in 2016. Later, he rejoined KBFC, before finishing with Pune City.
His fast ISL hat-trick came for Atletico Day, Kolkata against Mumbai City FC. His other hat-trick for ATK came against FC Pune City in the 2015-16 season.
Hume’s third hattrick was for Kerala Blasters against Delhi Dynamos in the 2017-18 season.
Like Hume, Indian football legend, Sunil Chhetri has also scored 3 ISL hattricks in his career. The former India captain has scored the number of goals in the league’s history.
Chhetri became the first Indian player to score a hat-trick in ISL when he scored against Northeast United FC in the 2015/16 season for Mumbai City FC.
In the 2017-18 season, Chhetri scored his second hat-trick against FC Pune City for Bengaluru FC. His latest hat-trick came against Kerala Blasters in 4-2 win for BFC. With this hat-trick, he has also become the oldest player to score a hat-trick in ISL history at 40 years and 126 days old.
The former Nigerian striker is one of the most successful footballers in ISL history. In 2018, he started his career in India with Northeast United and later moved to clubs like Kerala Blasters, Mumbai City FC and Hyderabad FC.
Bartholomew Ogbeche won the ISL Cup twice with Mumbai City FC and Hyderabad FC and the league once with Mumbai City FC.
His first ISL hat-trick was against Chennaiyin FC for NEUFC in the 2018-19 season. Chennaiyin became his favourite opponent when he scored his second ISL hat-trick against the Kerala Blasters in the 2019-20 season.
3. Who was the first Indian player to score an ISL hat-trick?
Answer: Sunil Chhetri became the first Indian player to score a hat-trick in ISL when he scored against Northeast United FC in the 2015/16 season for Mumbai City FC.
4. Who is the oldest player to score an ISL hat-trick?
Answer: At the age of 40 years and 126 days, Sunil Chhetri is the oldest player to score an ISL hat-trick.
5. Who is the only player to score four goals in an ISL match?
Answer: Modou Sougou is still the only player in ISL history to score four goals in a game. He achieved the feat while playing for Mumbai City FC in the 2018-19 season against Kerala Blasters.
Real Madrid close in the gap on Barcelona with a 3-0 win over Girona
Real Madrid delivered a commanding performance to secure a 3-0 victory over Girona, narrowing the gap on league leaders Barcelona. With a clinical display of attacking football, Los Blancos keep their title ambitions alive
Real Madrid secured a vital victory at Montilivi, defeating Girona 3-0 to keep pace in the La Liga title race. Jude Bellingham opened the scoring in the 36th minute, continuing his fine form with goals in five consecutive league games.
First Half
Girona started strongly but created few clear chances. Van de Beek’s early effort went over the bar, while Real Madrid began imposing themselves midway through the first half. Brahim DÃaz came close in the 34th minute, forcing a sharp save from Gazzaniga. Moments later, Bellingham capitalized on a loose clearance to break the deadlock.
Despite Gazzaniga’s heroics, Real’s relentless pressure was too much for the hosts. This commanding win keeps Madrid in the title race and highlights their offensive depth and clinical edge as they continue their strong league campaign.
The club will be excitedly heading into next week's Champions League match.
Man City 2-2 Crystal Palace: Manchester City secure a crucial draw away at Crystal Palace with 10 men
Manchester City showcased their resilience with a hard-fought draw against a determined Crystal Palace side at Selhurst Park with Haaland and Rico Lewis getting on the scoresheet. Sportz Point narrates the key highlights from this match
Visiting Selhurst Park was always set to be a challenging task for Pep Guardiola's City. With every team eager to claim maximum points, the home side delivered an impressive performance that pushed the reigning champions to their limits, forcing them to dig deep late in the match to salvage a point.
First Half
Both sides began the game to score early however it was Palace that made good use of their first chance when English midfielder Will Hughes threaded a neat through pass which Munoz latched onto and dispatched in the bottom left side of the goal to give the home side an early led.
City started to generate a lot of momentum by holding the ball for long periods to force Palace out but they remained resolute in defending and maintaining their shape. In the 30th minute, Mattheus Nunes played a beautiful cross which Haaland headed from the centre of the box to the left-hand corner of the post to make it 1-1. IikayGundogan struck the bar before halftime.
City started the second half in control once more, but it was Palace who broke the deadlock through Maxence Lacroix. In the 55th minute, Hughes delivered a precise corner that found Lacroix surging forward, and the centre-back powered a close-range header past Ortega, leaving him with no chance.
However, City once again rose to the occasion after falling behind—this time through an unexpected source in Lewis. A swift 68th-minute move began with a drop ball in Palace's half. Kevin De Bruyneplayed it to Bernardo Silva, who delivered a sublime pass to the onrushing Rico Lewis.
The England defender unleashed a spectacular shot into the top left corner, levelling the score in style. However, the England defender was later shown a red card after receiving a second booking for a foul on Trevor Chalobah. This decision will see Lewis miss next weekend's Manchester derby.
BCCI announce the player List for WPL 2025 Auction: Only two players from Bengal
BCCI announced the player list for the upcoming WPL 2025 Auction. 120 players are on the list, among which 91 are Indian and 29 overseas cricketers, including 3 from Associate Nations.
BCCI announced the player list for the upcoming WPL 2025 Auction. 120 players are on the list, among which 91 are Indian and 29 overseas cricketers, including 3 from Associate Nations.
The Women's Premier League (WPL) Auction 2025 will take place on 15th December 2024 in Bengaluru. The are 82 Indian uncapped players and 8 uncapped overseas players in the auction list.
With most of the franchises holding their core group of players, 19 slots will be up for grabs, with 5 slots reserved for overseas players.
Only 3 players were listed in the bracket of the highest base price of INR 50 lakhs while 28 players will be auctioned starting with their base price of INR 30 lakhs.
West Indian all-rounder Deandra Dottin, England batter Heather Knight, and South African wicket-keeper batter Lizelle Lee will enter the auction with the highest base price of INR 50 lakhs.
In the first set of 20 marquee players, Australia's Darcie Brown and Kim Garth, England's Lauren Bell and Sarah Glenn and India's Sneh Rana can go for big bucks during the WPL 2025 auction.
From the Cricket Association of Bengal, only two players have been able to make it to the list. Priyanka Bala, who was already with the Mumbai Indians squad, has found herself on the list. Along with her, young all-rounder Sushmita Ganguly will also be auctioned with a base price of INR 10 lakhs.