‘Extremely happy with that winning shot’: Coach Sagar Chopda lauds Ay…

New Delhi [India], August 17 (ANI): Indian shuttler Ayush Shetty’s coach Sagar Chopda praised the youngster’s composure and talent after his stunning performance against World No. 1 and the defending champion Shi Yu Qi in the Round of 64 match of the BWF World Championships 2026 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on Monday. forestarrow.help

Shetty held his nerve to produce a stunning winner in the deciding game and knock out Shi Yu Qi in the opening round of the BWF World Championships 2026, winning the match 21-14, 13-21, 21-19.

With Shi fighting back and saving four match points, Ayush delivered a deceptive net flick at the crucial moment, shaping to send the shuttle towards the Chinese star’s forehand before changing direction at the last instant to seal a memorable upset, according to a press release from the Badminton Association of India (BAI).

“I am extremely happy the way Ayush played that last shot. I mean, to play that at that moment speaks volumes of his talent," Shetty’s coach Sagar Chopda told BAI.

“He has always been good at that shot. If you look throughout the match, he played at least three or four times, even on the first service receiving. You know, in the third game, he started off with that shot. And again, in the third game, he played that one more time. So he has always been good at that shot. It is something that as kids, maybe you pick it up. It’s not that as coaches, you can teach them this," he said.

“If he had probably kept the shuttle at the net, Shi was ready for it. And that is how Shi scored almost all his 10 previous points. He was much more alert on the net than Ayush. And Ayush was a little jittery. But as soon as he played that shot, I knew that that was the winning moment," he added.

Chopda, who has been working with Ayush for a long time at the academy in Bengaluru, said Shetty was relaxed coming into the match, and working with Indonesia’s Irwansyah has played a big role in making a strong start to the match, as the Indian player led from the first point till the end.

“He used his net shots really well. From the back of the court, he was not in a hurry to hit those hard smashes. He has been very erratic with that shot. So the main thing that we told him was to expect high lifts from Shi. And don’t get hassled by taking that jump and hitting it. He used that really, really well. He mixed his clears because he was playing from the better side. So he used his clears and lifts very well, opening up the court. Overall, it was 10-on-10 in the first game," he said.

“There was never an ounce of doubt in his shots. Coach Irwansyah has been helping him tactically. And they had a long chat yesterday. If you also look at Ayush’s defence today, Shi is one of the best players in the world to have variations from everywhere. From the back of the court, from the net. So Ayush was ready for it. He was really good with his defence," he explained.

Chopda – who rated this as his ward’s best win so far – also shared that coach Vimal Kumar was in the stands watching Shetty’s match and shared important insights. He added that it was important that he now recover and turn his attention to the next round, because the job isn’t done yet. (ANI)

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Melbourne [Australia], August 18 (ANI): Former Australian cricketer Ian Chappell slammed selectors for their poor calls in the aftermath of the loss to Bangladesh at Darwin, calling for some big changes within the set-up.

While Jake Weatherald has been dropped from the second Test, there are still a lot of questions that the Aussie batting needs to answer during their second Test against Bangladesh at Mackay from August 22, where they would be playing to avoid an embarrassing series whitewash, having lost the first Test at Darwin by nine wickets.

Speaking to nine.com.au, Chappell said, “If you pick the wrong people in the first place, you can get into trouble."

“With their selections, they have shown to me that they do not understand things very well."

“To me, it is the selectors who’ve got themselves into this problem. Now they have got to try and find a way out. But I am not convinced that they’re good enough to find a way out," he continued.

Chappell also wants to recall young opener Sam Konstas, who was dropped after a disastrous West Indies tour last year, to return and partner Renshaw at the top, allowing Travis Head to return to his much-productive middle-order slot.

He also said that the selectors should not persist any longer with Marnus Labuschagne at number three; needing no more evidence of his struggles, they should urge Steve Smith to move up to the one-down spot.

Since his final Test ton against England during the Ashes tour to the UK in 2023, Marnus has been averaging 25.23 in Tests, having made just 959 runs across 42 innings, with only nine fifties to his name, with a best score of 90. Patches of brilliance have been there, but with a series against Bangladesh at stake, time seems to be running out for Australia’s premier number three.

Chappell also lambasted selectors’ decision of have all-rounder Beau Webster bat at number seven, despite his average of late 30s and 14 first-class centuries.

“He is there to make centuries, and you are batting him at seven. What is that? That is bulls**t," Chappell said.

While there is hype around Victoria’s rising stars Campbell Kellaway and Oliver Peake, Chappell does not feel they are ready for Tests. Kellaway, 23, averages 31.52 after 44 FC matches, while 19-year-old Peake averages 26 after 14 FC matches.

“I think Kellaway and Peake have got talent, but are they ready? I’m not too sure about that," Chappell said.

“If you look at their Shield record, averages in the 20s should not get you into an Australian side," he added.

He was also very scathing in his assessment of Nathan McSweeney, who had a rough Test outing against India in the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, scoring just 72 runs in three Tests and making just 477 runs in 19 innings across 10 Sheffield Shield matches last season, with just a ton and two fifties.

“He’s not a Test player," Chappell signed off. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

द हंड्रेड टूर्नामेंट में लंदन स्पिरिट और एमआई लंदन के बीच मैच के दौरान स्टैंड में एंटी-करप्शन अधिकारियों की नजर उस जोड़े पर गई, जिन्हें इस हफ्ते की शुरुआत में सदर्न ब्रेव के मैच के लिए लॉर्ड्स में और एजबेस्टन में T20 ब्लास्ट फाइनल डे पर भी देखा गया था. दोनों ही बार अधिकारियों ने उन्हें मैदान से बाहर निकाल दिया था. दरअसल यह कपल सट्टेबाजी के मकसद से मैदान के बाहर किसी तीसरे पक्ष को लाइव कमेंट्री दे रही थे. जो लाइव एक्शन होता है, और फिर टीवी पर दिखता है, कुछ मामलों में इसमें 12 सेकंड का अंतर हो सकता है, ऐसे में ये सट्टेबाजों को सट्टेबाजी के बाजार से आगे रहने का मौका देती है.

मैदान से इस तरह की जानकारी बाहर भेजने को 'पिच-साइडिंग' या 'कोर्ट-साइडिंग' कहते है, हालांकि यह गैर-कानूनी नहीं है, लेकिन यह मैदान के नियमों के खिलाफ है और पकड़े जाने पर बाहर निकाल दिया जाता है. इस जोड़े द्वारा दूर तक लाइव जानकारी पहुंचाना, अवैध सट्टेबाजी नेटवर्क द्वारा इस्तेमाल किए जाने वाले एक जाने-पहचाने चालाक तरीके के तौर पर पहचाना गया. ऐसे मामलों में कई बार दोषियों पर पूरे वेन्यू में बैन लगा दिया जाता है, लेकिन ईएसपीएन क्रिकइन्फो की रिपोर्ट के अनुसार लॉर्ड्स में ये दोनों तीसरे पक्ष के टिकटों का इस्तेमाल करके नियमों से बचने में कामयाब रहे.

रिपोर्ट में क्रिकेट रेगुलेटर में इंटीग्रिटी ऑपरेशन्स के प्रमुख रयान स्मिथ के हवाले से बताया गया कि, "जो लोग बाहर के अवैध सट्टेबाजी नेटवर्क के लिए सक्रिय रूप से कमेंट्री कर रहे हैं, वह ज्यादा बड़ी समस्या है. यह खेल की ईमानदारी के लिए ज्यादा बड़ा जोखिम है क्योंकि इसमें शामिल लोग असल में एक संगठित आपराधिक नेटवर्क का हिस्सा होते हैं जो अवैध सट्टेबाजी का काम देखता है."

स्मिथ रेगुलेटर में 9 समर्पित फ़ुल-टाइम जांचकर्ताओं और छह एंटी-करप्शन अधिकारियों की टीम के हेड हैं. पुलिस फोर्स में 34 सालों तक सेवा देने वाले क्रिस हॉवर्ड इस संस्था के प्रमुख डायरेक्टर हैं. हालांकि रेगुलेटर की देखरेख एक स्वतंत्र क्रिकेट रेगुलेटरी बोर्ड करता है, लेकिन इसे ECB से फंड मिलता है.

यह भी पढ़ें- गॉल टेस्ट के चौथे दिन कैसा रहेगा मौसम, बारिश बिगाड़ेगी टीम इंडिया का खेल? जानिए

न्यूज़ीलैंड के खिलाफ इंग्लैंड के पहले टेस्ट के बाद टीम कर्फ्यू तोड़ने के लिए ECB ने बेन स्टोक्स और गस एटकिंसन को फटकार लगाई थी. इसके बाद रेगुलेटर ने जांच की, लेकिन उसे नियमों के उल्लंघन का कोई ठोस सबूत नहीं मिला. जब रेगुलेटर ने अपने सबूत ECB को उसकी अपनी आंतरिक जांच के लिए सौंपे, तभी स्टोक्स और एटकिंसन को "खास कॉन्ट्रैक्ट की शर्तों" का उल्लंघन करने का दोषी माना गया और उन्हें लिखित चेतावनी दी गई. वह मामला दुर्व्यवहार (misconduct) के दायरे में आता था. इस पर नजर रखना रेगुलेटर की जांच शाखा के चार मुख्य कामों में से एक है.

यह भी पढ़ें- जो रूट के कप्तान बनने पर हैरी ब्रूक ने तोड़ी चुप्पी, जानें क्या कहा

"सुरक्षा" (safeguarding) को भी बहुत प्राथमिकता दी जाती है और जांच के लिए अधिकतर संसाधन इसी में लगते हैं। यह खास तौर पर उन लोगों से जुड़ा है जिन्होंने क्रिकेट के बाहर कोई ऐसा अपराध किया है जिसकी वजह से उन्हें खेल में हिस्सा लेने से रोका जाना चाहिए, खासकर मनोरंजक स्तर पर। जैसे क्लब क्रिकेट से जुड़े वे लोग शामिल हैं जिन्हें अश्लील तस्वीरें रखने और/या बांटने के आरोप में गिरफ्तार किया गया है.

"एंटी-डोपिंग" तीसरा क्षेत्र है, जो UK एंटी-डोपिंग की प्रतिबंधित सूची में शामिल होने और उससे बाहर निकलने वाले सप्लीमेंट्स और दवाओं से संबंधित है. इस क्षेत्र में लगातार शिक्षा देना रेगुलेटर के चार्टर का हिस्सा है. आखिरी स्तंभ "भ्रष्टाचार-रोधी" (anti-corruption) है, जो एंटी-डोपिंग की तरह ही खिलाड़ियों की जागरूकता पर बहुत ज़ोर देता है. 'द हंड्रेड' (The Hundred) टूर्नामेंट को साफ-सुथरा रखने की मुहिम के तहत, गर्मियों के इस दौर में शायद यही क्षेत्र सबसे ज़्यादा चर्चा में रहता है.

Capri Sports has launched Nova Sports, a girls-only football development initiative aimed at creating a structured pathway for girls in India to progress from grassroots participation to elite football.

The initiative, built around the philosophy of “Girls first. Always.”, will initially focus on girls aged 8 to 18 and combine coaching, competition and long-term player development. The first step will be the Super Nova Football Championship, a seven-a-side schools’ tournament across the U13, U15 and U17 age groups, scheduled for September 5 and 6 in Bengaluru.

Speaking exclusively to RevSportz, Apurv Gupta, Director, Contact Sports, Capri Sports, explained that Nova Sports is designed as more than a grassroots programme.

“Nova Sports was launched with a view that we wanted to build a pathway that allows every girl to pursue football, at any level,” Gupta said. “Nova Sports is girls first, always, which essentially means that every decision that we take with everything that we plan is built keeping in mind what our athletes need.”

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The pathway will operate across two interconnected tracks: development and participation. The development side will begin with grassroots schools and academies before moving towards performance centres and eventually elite residential academies. The participation track will provide regular competitive opportunities so players can put their training into practice.

Gupta believes the focus on women’s football comes at an important time for the sport in India. While investment in men’s football has grown considerably, he feels women’s football still has significant room for development.

“If we look at women’s football globally, it’s expanding, it’s rapidly growing,” he said. “And if you double click on India as a nation, women’s football has not had deep, deep sort of investment.”

A key difference, according to Gupta, will be the programme’s attempt to build its methods around the specific needs of female athletes rather than simply adapting existing boys’ programmes.

“We want to contextualise all of that to India because India is a unique, diverse market,” he said. “We just can’t pick up something and put it in India and expect it to work.”

That approach will extend to the coaching curriculum and safeguarding. Gupta pointed to the need for training methods that take female-specific requirements into account, while also creating an environment where young players feel safe and confident.

The Super Nova Football Championship will be the first major test of that approach. Around 50 teams are expected to participate, but Gupta said the tournament will not be judged solely by results.

“The success factor for us was if every girl walks out feeling happy and like a champion,” he said. “When you’re dealing with younger kids at the grassroots level, passion and interest is far more important.”

Beyond the football itself, the tournament will include engagement and experiential activities designed to give players a memorable matchday experience.

The ambition extends well beyond Bengaluru. Capri Sports plans to take Nova Sports to more than 10 markets across India over the next decade, while the wider initiative aims to reach more than 1.5 million girls.

For Gupta, the ultimate measure of success will be seeing more girls enter the sport, progress through the system and eventually represent India.

“We want more and more girls to play. We want more and more talent to come through and we want those girls to go on and shine for India,” he said.

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