Sports News Highlights: Narang Named India's Paris Chef De Mission; Warner 'Open To Playing' CT 2025

Here are the highlights of the sports news on Monday, July 8, 2024. In tennis, fourth seed Elena Rybakina entered her third straight quarter-finals at Wimbledon. In cricket, despite having retired, Australia legend David Warner said he was open to playing Champions Trophy 2025 if selected. And back home, Indian Olympic Association named Gagan Narang as the new chef de mission to replace Mary Kom, and PV Sindhu as the female flag-bearer for the opening ceremony. Catch the highlights of the sports world on Monday, right here

Boston Red Sox defeat the New York Yankees.

Coco Gauff has yet to make it past the fourth round at Wimbledon, and she exited at that stage again Sunday, eliminated by Navarro 6-4, 6-3 in an all-American matchup. Hers was the latest in a series of departures by top women from the Wimbledon bracket this year: No. 1 Iga Swiatek lost on Saturday, No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka withdrew with an injured shoulder before playing a match and No. 6 Marketa Vondrousova, last year’s champion, was defeated in the first round.

John Cena announced on Saturday night that he will retire from professional wrestling next year after two decades in the ring.

The wrestler-turned-actor delivered a heartfelt speech to a stadium of World Wrestling Entertainment fans in Toronto, who booed in disappointment as Cena said the 2025 season would be his last. He promised a farewell tour with dozens of dates and an epic final fight, and he assured fans he would remain involved with the wrestling franchise that launched his career.

“Thank you so much for letting me play in the house that you built for so many years,” Cena told the crowd. (AP)

Die-hard cricket fans took the services of chartered flights to move from one venue to the other during the just concluded T-20 World Cup that was co-hosted by the United States and the West Indies.

As a large number of Indian fans were scrambling to reach from one venue to another at a short notice, in particular during the Super 8 and knockout stages in the Caribbean, Crickbuster, the official OTA (online travel agency) for the International Cricket Council (ICC), hired a special chartered plane, its officials said. (PTI)

“I love the fact that he (Kohli) won the tournament. It was long overdue. I know that he genuinely wanted to win it. To see the tears, as a sportsperson myself, I understood the emotions,” Chhetri was quoted in Sportstar.

France fullback Melvyn Jaminet was suspended from the national rugby team on Sunday after a video surfaced of the player making a racist remark. He later apologized.

In a statement posted on X, the French rugby federation (FFR) condemned the comments as “unacceptable and contrary to the fundamental values of our sport.”

It said Jaminet “is sidelined with immediate effect, and will leave the French squad gathered in Argentina.” (AP)

India opener Abhishek Sharma has revealed that his mentor Yuvraj Singh was delighted when he got out for a duck on his T20I debut against Zimbabwe here as the swashbuckling former all-rounder, for reasons best known to him, felt it was a "good start".

"I spoke to him yesterday (Saturday) also, and I don't know why he was very happy when I got out on zero. He said that's a good start but he must be very happy and proud just like my family," Abhishek said in a video posted by BCCI.

He credited the hero of India's 2011 World Cup triumph for not only helping him hone is skills on the cricket field but also supporting him in his life away from the field.

"It's all because of him as well, the hard work he has put in (shaping) me. (For) two-three years, he has worked really hard not only on my cricket but off the field (life) as well." (PTI)

India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah on Monday said he has been "living a dream" for the past few days as he expressed gratitude for the stupendous reception that he and the rest of his teammates got for winning the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean.

"I am so thankful for the last few days. I've been living a dream and it has filled me with happiness and gratitude," Bumrah posted on X, along with a video of him enjoying the rapturous homecoming that included a breakfast meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a victory parade attended by lakhs of fans in Mumbai. (PTI)

Former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya has been named the interim head coach of the island nation's cricket team ahead of its white-ball home series against India beginning later this month.

The Indian team will be touring Sri Lanka for three T20 Internationals and as many ODIs, starting July 27. (PTI)

The recently crowned T20 world champion Indian cricket team has been invited to celebrate its triumph in the Maldives by the country's tourism association and its marketing and public relations corporation. The Indian team, led by Rohit Sharma, won the trophy in Barbados after defeating South Africa by seven runs in the final on June 29th.

Several French players at the European Championship are already celebrating something beyond their games – the success of a leftist coalition back home in France. The coalition came together to prevent the far right from gaining power and has secured the most parliamentary seats in Sunday's runoff parliamentary election.

Ravichandran Ashwin, an Indian off-spinner, has become a co-owner of the American Gambits, a new team that will participate in the second edition of the Global Chess League. This league is a joint venture between Tech Mahindra and the International Chess Federation. The league recently unveiled the six franchises for the upcoming second edition, which will be held in London from October 3 to 12. The American Gambits, owned by prominent business leaders Prachura PP, Venkat K. Narayana, and Ashwin, will replace Chingari Gulf Titans.

NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo has notched up 23 points against Croatia to send Greece into their maiden Olympics. Antetokounmpo has not previously featured at a Games, but is now set to debut there as Greece have qualified for the 12-team event. They beat Croatia 80-69, and will now face Australia, Canada and Spain in the group stage in Paris.

British tennis star Emma Raducanu has said that though it was "a very difficult decision", her call to withdraw from what would have been Andy Murray's farewell match at Wimbledon was the right one. "Of course, I didn't want to take his last match away from him. 

"But I think a lot of players in a similar situation would have done the same thing, prioritising their body. I still stand by making the right call," she said.

NorthEast United assistant coach Nausad Moosa and former Mohun Bagan, East Bengal coach Stanley Rozario are among the Indians to have applied for the national football team head coach's role, left vacant after the sacking of Igor Stimac. In all, 291 applications have been received by the All India Football Federation from all over the world, PTI reports.

The Indian men's hockey team has left for adventurer Mike Horn's base in Switzerland, which will be followed by a training camp in the Netherlands ahead of the Paris Olympic Games 2024.

Though he has officially announced his retirement after the T20 World Cup 2024, David Warner has now stated in an Instagram post that he is open to playing Champions Trophy 2025 for Australia if selected. The veteran opener penned an emotional farewell note, thanking his family and fans for their support during his 15-year-long international career.

Stating that he comes from a generation that was "chicken-hearted", India's first-ever Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra feels the current generation of athletes is much more confident. At the same time, he has advised the Paris-bound Indian contingent to not make the mistake of thinking about either past or future.

"I came from a generation that was chicken hearted, in nature. These athletes are much more confident, have self belief. They want to go and win and not just win but win gold medals and it comes out very clearly. That is a reflection of our society, how it has developed over the years," Bindra has said.

Former Olympic bronze medallist shooter Gagan Narang will replace Mary Kom as India's chef de mission for the upcoming Paris Olympic Games 2024. Mary Kom had resigned from the role in April, citing personal reasons. Meanwhile, star India shuttler PV Sindhu will be the female flag-bearer at the opening ceremony.

India captain Rohit Sharma and batting mainstay Virat Kohli might be rested for the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka in August, and either Hardik Pandya or KL Rahul could be asked to lead the side, according to a PTI report.

"Both are automatic choices in the ODI set up and the three 50 over games against England before the Champions Trophy is good enough practice for them. For next few months, they both will prioritize Tests and India will play 10 of them between September to January," a BCCI source told PTI.

Fourth seed Elena Rybakina advances to the last-eight stage of Wimbledon 2024 as Anna Kalinskaya is forced to retire with an injury in the second set. This will be Rybakina's third Wimbledon quarter-final appearance in as many years.

Indian tennis bulwark Leander Paes will showcase four of his treasured trophies when he becomes one of the first Indian players to be inducted into the prestigious International Tennis Hall of Fame later this month, PTI reports. Paes, the 18-time Grand Slam champion, made the announcement at a special Wimbledon-themed event in London.

With that, we wrap up our live coverage today. We will be back tomorrow with all that is current from the sports world. Until then, goodbye.