Feb 1, Top Sports News: India's concussion sub debate rages, Sports Budget news, Bengal Tigers win Men's HIL, Bangladesh footballers allege harassment
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Sports budget gets Rs 350 crore raise, Khelo India gets biggest share
The government’s flagship Khelo India programme to scout and nurture athletes at the grassroots level was the biggest beneficiary as the allocation for sports and youth affairs was hiked substantially by Rs 351.98 crore in the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi on Saturday.
The ambitious scheme has been allocated Rs 1,000 crore for the financial year 2025-26. This is Rs 200 crore more than the grant of Rs 800 crore in 2024-25.
Overall, the Ministry for Youth Affairs and Sports was designated Rs 3,794.30 crore.'
Tigers maul Toofans, lay claim to Hockey India League 2024-25 title
In an evening of penalty corner masterclass from both sides, Rarh Bengal Tigers prevailed 4-3 over Hyderabad Toofans in the Hockey India League (HIL) final at a packed Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium on Saturday.
Crowd trouble at final, people injured in minor stampede
Ticketing issues and crowd trouble marred the final day of the Hockey India League (HIL) at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium on Saturday.
Nearly six people were injured in a minor stampede outside the gates, with as many as 4,000 people—several with tickets—waiting outside, eager to get in to watch the final and movie actor Sara Ali Khan, headlining the closing ceremony.
Shivam Dube-Harshit Rana swap raises debate over concussion sub rule
Concussion substitute or Impact Player.
That has been the debate ever since Harshit Rana was allowed to be a concussion substitute for Shivam Dube during India’s fourth T20I against England at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium in Pune on Friday.
Australia beats England by innings & 122 runs in MCG Test, completes first-ever 16-0 whitewash
The Australian women’s team beat England in the one-off Melbourne Test by an innings and 122 runs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday to complete a first-ever Ashes whitewash in women’s cricket.
Australia completed a 16-0 clean sweep after beating England in the multi-format Ashes. Australia won 3-0 in the One Day International series before claiming a lopsided series win with the same scoreline in T20Is.
This is the first-ever instance of an Ashes whitewash since the multi-format points system was introduced in 2013.
Beth Mooney becomes first Australian woman to score century in all three formats
Beth Mooney became the first Australian woman and only the fourth overall to record a century in all three formats after scoring a ton during Day 3 of its one-off Test against England on Saturday.
She joins an exclusive list comprising England’s Heather Knight, Tammy Beaumont and South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt.
Tejas Shirse breaks 60m hurdles national record in indoor meet in France
Tejas Shirse broke his own national record in men’s 60m hurdles while finishing second at the Elite Indoor Track Meeting in Miramas, France.
Shirse clocked 7.64 seconds at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver level event on Friday to better his earlier national record time of 7.65 seconds, set at the CMCM Indoor Meeting in Luxembourg on January 19.
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This was his third race of the season.
Bangladesh internationals accuse coach of inappropriate behaviour, federation sets up investigation committee
The Bangladesh Football Federation has set up a committee after more than a dozen women’s national team players refused to train under coach Peter Butler and accused him of inappropriate behaviour, the BFF’s women’s committee’s chief said on Saturday.
In an open letter to the media, the group of players led by captain Sabina Khatun accused Butler of favouritism, dividing the team, making inappropriate comments about players’ personal lives and insulting them.
The players said they would quit if the 58-year-old English coach remained in charge.
Butler declined to comment on the allegations.
Media reports said only 13 of the 31 players called up for the national camp trained under Butler on Saturday.
Alyssa Healy to miss upcoming season due to injury; blow to UP Warriorz
Australia captain Alyssa Healy, who also captains Lucknow-based franchise UP Warriorz in the Women’s Premier League, will miss the 2025 edition of the league.
The keeper-batter has been plagued by a recurring foot injury which particularly flared up during the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and during India’s ODI tour Down Under last year.
Sri Lanka suffers its biggest defeat in Test history, loses to Australia
Sri Lanka suffered its biggest defeat in Test history as it lost to Australia by an innings and 242 runs at the Galle International Stadium on Saturday.
After Australia scored 654/6D in the first innings, host Sri Lanka got out for 165 and then 247 following on to lose the first of two Test matches.
This now Sri Lanka’s biggest defeat in Tests going past its loss against India in Nagpur in 2017 when the visiting lost by an innings and 239 runs.
‘Pitch tampering’ controversy delays start of third day of Baroda vs J&K
Controversy erupted on Saturday ahead of the third day’s play between Baroda and Jammu and Kashmir at the Reliance Stadium in Vadodara as the latter lodged a formal complaint to the match officials alleging the pitch was tampered with.
While the Baroda Cricket Association officials firmly refused the allegations and claimed that it would take up the matter with the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the Jammu and Kashmir coach Ajay Sharma thought the colour of the pitch had changed, which according to the team management, was ‘quite unexpected on the third day’ of a Ranji Trophy fixture.
Wriddhiman Saha bids adieu?from competitive cricket, receives guard of honour?during Bengal vs Punjab match
Wriddhiman Saha bid adieu to competitive cricket as his state team Bengal finished its Ranji Trophy campaign with an innings victory over Punjab in its last group match at the Eden Gardens here on Saturday.
As a mark of respect, the Bengal players carried Saha, who donned the wicketkeeper’s gloves for the last few minutes of the match, off the field on their shoulders.
Earlier this season, the Siliguri-born Saha, who returned to Bengal after playing two seasons for Tripura, had said that he would quit after the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy assignment.
Saha, who was felicitated prior to the match, signed off after posing for memorable pictures with his family and team-mates.
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