The Times, Britain's oldest major daily newspaper, published the following headline in its Friday morning edition: "Rohit Sharma's criminal act helps put England's collapse in perspective". ....

Ace shuttler and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist P.V. Sindhu on Friday praised the Andhra Pradesh government for introducing schemes to encourage sportspersons. ....

India's Bajrang Punia suffered a huge setback as he lost to Aliyev Haji of Azerbaijan, the bronze medallist in 57kg at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, as he went down 12-5 on points and will now have to fight for the bronze medal on Saturday. ....

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted on Friday that he was renaming the nation's highest award for sports in response to "many requests from citizens across India". It will now be called Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award after the hockey wizard who won three Olympic gold medals for India from 1928 to 1936. ....

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday announced an award of Rs 50 lakh each to the nine members of the Olympics women's hockey team representing the state. ....

Top Indian grappler Bajrang Punia defeated Iran's Morteza Ghiasi by fall in the quarterfinal of the Tokyo Olympic Games men's 65kg event to secure a last-four berth at the Makuhari Messe Hall on Friday. ....

Ace footballer Lionel Messi will not stay at FC Barcelona due to La Liga regulations, the Spanish league club has confirmed in a statement. The announcement ends the Argentine star's 21-year old relationship with the club that saw him score 672 goals in 778 appearances and win 10 La Liga and four Champions League titles. ....

Olympic bronze medallist wrestler Sakshi Malik on Thursday expressed her disappointment over India's strong medal contender Vinesh Phogat's shocking defeat in the quarterfinal of the 53 kg category at Tokyo 2020. ....

England pace bowler James Anderson turned the clock back as he picked two crucial wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara (4) and Virat Kohli (0) to reduce India to 125/4 before play on the second day of the first Test was stopped due to rain. ....

Indian wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya fought a brave bout but could not overcome the Russian Olympic Committee's (ROC) Zavur Uguev in the final of the men's freestyle 57kg at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday. The 23-year-old Indian had to settle for a silver medal as the ROC wrestler won the bout 7-4 on points. ....

Thursday proved to be one of the most memorable days in the history of Indian hockey. The men's team, led by Manpreet Singh, defeated Germany 5-4 to win bronze at the Tokyo Olympics. This is India's first-ever medal at the Olympics since 1980 Moscow and 12th overall in the showpiece event. ....