World Sports: Simona Halep Wins Doping Case On Appeal; Sports Ministry Revokes PCI Suspension - As It Happened

Welcome to our live blog coverage of today's sports news and events. Lazio will face Bayern Munich and Real Sociedad will meet Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League matches. In cricket, Nepal and the Netherlands will face each other in the final of the Nepal T20I Tri-Series 2024 and Vidarbha will continue action on Day 4 of the Ranji Trophy semifinals against Madhya Pradesh. In the Women's Premier League 2024, the Delhi leg will start with a Delhi Capitals Vs Mumbai Indians match. Follow the live cricket scores and updates of all the action on Tuesday, 5 March 2024 here. (Cricket News | Football News)

In the English Premier League, Arsenal thumped Sheffield United 6-0 at Bramall Lane to go two points off leaders Liverpool in the standings. Whereas in the Serie A, Inter Milan beat Genoa 2-1 to go fifteen clear as Simone Inzaghi's men remain clear favourites to clinch the Italian title.

A tearful Jason Kelce has hung up his boots after 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. The 36-year-old Kelce officially called it quits, ending a 13-year career spent entirely with Philadelphia in which he became not only one of the great centers of his era who played a key role in the franchise’s lone Super Bowl championship but a beloved Philly personality and popular podcast host. (AP)

Cristiano Ronaldo returned from suspension and could not prevent Al-Nassr losing to Al-Ain 1-0 in the first leg of their Asian Champions League quarterfinal on Monday. A first half goal from Moroccan forward Soufiane Rahimi was enough for one-time champion Al-Ain to have the advantage in the return leg in Riyadh next Monday. (AP)

The 34-year-old will become the 17th Englishman to win 100th Test cap when he steps out for the fifth and final Test against India starting on Thursday and it will be an emotional week for Bairstow, who endured a tough childhood and a long career-threatening injury. "My mum is the embodiment of strength. There was a determination there. She worked three jobs and had two kids that were under 10 at a difficult time. She was taking me to Leeds United (where he played youth football), to Headingley, all sorts of other places.

"It's paying all that back, making sure they are OK, creating a life for my own family as well. (PTI)

Ace Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal brushed past the challenge of American wildcard Stefan Dostanic in straight sets in his first outing at the Indian Wells Masters. The India number one beat Dostanic in straight sets 6-2 6-2 in the first round of the qualifying on Monday. (PTI)

A Pakistani boxer has disappeared in Italy after stealing money from a teammate's bag, the Pakistan Amateur Boxing Federation said on Tuesday. Zohaib Rasheed has gone to Italy to take part in an Olympic qualifying tournament. A senior official of the federation said they had brought it to the notice of the Pakistan Embassy in Italy and also filed a police report about the incident. "It is most embarrassing for the federation and country the way Zohaib Rasheed has behaved as he had gone there as part of a five-member squad to take part in an Olympic qualifying tournament," the national federation's secretary, Colonel Nasir Ahmed said. (PTI)

Australia captain Pat Cummins is yet to come to terms with the death of his mother and described flying to India for a Test series as she received treatment at home as the "hardest time of my life". Cummins' mother, Maria, died of cancer last year. "I knew when I was getting on that plane that I was going to have to come back in a couple of weeks pretty much," Cummins said in an interview for the Imperfects podcast.

Read more about it here

Indian boxers Shiva Thapa and Nishant Dev will kick-start their Paris Olympics qualifying campaign at the world Olympic qualifiers starting tonight.

India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Tuesday described the Test rubber against England in 2012 as the turning point of his illustrious career as the humbling series defeat at home helped him "correct" his flaws. England rallied to win the 2012 series 2-1, their first in India since 1984-85. "The 2012 series against England was the turning point for me. It taught me what to correct in my game," Ashwin said in a press conference on the eve of his 100th Test match. (PTI)

The Netherlands have beaten Nepal by four wickets in the Tri-Nation series finale. The hosts had earlier posted 184 in 20 overs but the Dutch, led by their experienced batters Michael Levitt (54), Sybrand Engelbrecht (48) and Timm van der Gugten (21 not out) guided them towards victory. For Nepal, Kushal Malla was the pick of the bowlers with 4/33.

Indian men's double pairing of Satwiksairaj/Chirag have defeated Malaysian pair of Y.S. Ong/E. Y. Teo. They beat 21-13, 24-22 in the first round.

Reigning national champion Lakshya Chahar became the fourth Indian boxer to crash out in the opening round of the first World Olympic Boxing Qualifier in Busto Arsizio, according to PTI reports.

Competing in the men's 80kg event, Chahar was knocked out in the third round by 2021 Asian Championships silver medallist Gheshlaghi Meysam of Iran on Monday.

Commonwealth Games bronze medallists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand progressed to the second round after claiming a 16-21 21-19 21-17 win over Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto in an all-Indian opening match in women's doubles.

A young female judoka has died in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after suffering head injuries during a competition bout.

Fiza Sher Ali, a talented 20-year-old student couldn't recover from the head injuries she sustained while competing in the 44kg category fight during a Youth Talent Hunt program in Mardan.

According to AP reports, Aston Villa insisted the club is operating within the financial rules of the English Premier League despite reporting a loss of 119.6 million pounds (USD 151 million) in its latest accounts on Tuesday.

Those accounts are up to May 31 last year, covering a period when the team finished seventh in the league to qualify for the Europa Conference League.

Less than five months before the Paris Olympics, the World Anti-Doping Agency suspended work at the only approved testing laboratory in Africa late Monday, according to AP reports. WADA said accreditation for the lab in Bloemfontein, South Africa, was removed for up to six months because of faults with a testing method to detect the use of steroids by athletes.

Samples from Bloemfontein now “must be securely transported to another WADA-accredited laboratory,” the global watchdog said.

Vidarbha took command of their Ranji Trophy semifinal with the key wicket of Yash Dubey (94) late on day four as they inched closer to a thrilling victory over Madhya Pradesh in Nagpur on Tuesday, as per PTI reports.

Heading into the final day on Wednesday, hosts Vidarbha are a mere four wickets away from setting up a date in the summit clash with Mumbai, while Madhya Pradesh, who still need 93 runs to win, will hope their tailenders can produce an inspired fightback.

India’s Sonal Patil and Soha Sadiq recorded impressive wins to enter the second round of the W35 Nagpur ITF Women’s Championship in Nagpur on Tuesday, according to PTI reports.

Kolhapur’s 19-year-old Sonal brushed aside the challenge from local wildcard entrant Maithili Mothe 6-0, 6-1.

Soha, on the other hand, bounced back to get the better of former national champion Sowjanya Bavisetti 6-2, 2-6, 6-2, who is placed 351 places above her.

Wangkheimayum Sadananda Singh slammed a hat-trick as former champions Manipur stormed into the Santosh Trophy semifinal with a resounding 7-1 win over Assam in Itanagar on Tuesday, according to PTI reports.

Sadananda struck thrice in 11th, 16th and 70th minute whereas skipper Phijam Sanathoi Meetei (4th), Ngangbam Pacha Singh (19th-penalty), Maibam Deny Singh (82nd) and Imarson Meitei (88th) were the other scorers for the Manipur.

The Sports Ministry on Tuesday revoked the suspension imposed on the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) after the body initiated the process for its long-pending elections in which multiple-time Paralympic medallist Devendra Jhajharia is set to be elected President, according to PTI reports.

On February 2, the ministry terminated PCI's recognition for "intentional delay to elect a new executive committee" as per the National Sports Code.

According to PTI reports, the Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa defeated overnight sole leader Nodirbek Abdusattarov of Uzbekistan to stake his claim for the top honours at the Prague Masters chess tournament.

Winning with the black pieces, Praggnanandhaa came within striking distance of the sole leader in the ten-player round-robin event that still has three rounds remaining.

According to PTI reports, the Jharkhand left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem, who featured in two Tests for India, has announced his retirement from international cricket to try his luck in franchise-based leagues as he does not foresee opportunities in the national team.

The 34-year-old said it is better to pave the way for younger talent.

"I realise I can't feature for Team India anymore, as I'm not in the selectors' plans, and there is a pool of talented youngsters waiting for their chance," Nadeem told PTI from Dhanbad.

Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni landed in Chennai on Tuesday ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League season.

The defending champions posted a picture of Dhoni, who led them to their fifth title last season, exiting a vehicle on social media, captioning it "#THA7A Dharisanam!"

Speculation is rife that this season will be Dhoni's final one as a player.

Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, batter Jemimah Rodrigues and all-rounder Deepti Sharma are the three Indians placed in the highest reserve price bracket for overseas cricketers in the upcoming The Hundred draft, according to PTI reports.

The Indian trio is joined by Australian all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner as the four overseas players with a reserved/base price of GBP 50,000.

Rakesh Kumar and Pooja qualified for the finals of their respective categories to assure India of at least two silver medals in the 8th Fazza Para Archery World Ranking Tournament in Dubai on Tuesday, according to PTI reports.

Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep was cleared for an immediate return to tennis on Tuesday by the sports' highest court cutting her ban for doping on appeal, according to AP reports.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said its judges partially upheld Halep's appeal and reduced her four-year ban to just nine months. It was applied retroactively and expired last July.

The Hopman Cup in France was cancelled on Tuesday to avoid a clash with the Paris Olympics, according to AP reports.

The mixed-team tennis event was scheduled to take place in the southern city of Nice at the end of July. The Olympic tennis tournament takes place from July 27 to August 4. The Hopman Cup will return in 2025, the International Tennis Federation said.

Indian Super League's return leg of the Kolkata derby between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan Super Giant will now have a late kickoff time of 8.30pm on March 10, the red-and-gold announced on Tuesday, according to PTI reports.

"The club management can confirm that our upcoming derby against Mohun Bagan SG will take place at Kolkata's VYBK on March 10 from 8.30pm," East Bengal FC posted on their official 'X' handle.

Jemimah Rodrigues and skipper Meg Lanning slammed entertaining fifties as Delhi Capitals defeated Mumbai Indians by 29 runs in a top-of-the-table Women's Premier League clash in Delhi on Tuesday. Put in, Delhi Capitals posted 192/4 with Lanning giving the team a fine start, with her 38-ball 53 (6x4, 2x6). Down the order, Jemimah smashed a 33-ball 69 not out (8x4, 3x6) to propel them to 192/4.

A new policy for state associations to collaborate with foreign boards will be discussed at the BCCI's Apex Council meeting on March 18, according to PTI reports.

"Discussion on policy for state cricket associations collaborating with foreign boards for organising cricket," read item number five in the eight-point agenda, which is in possession with PTI.

Diphu Nihang and Shillong Labet were crowned champions in men's and women’s categories respectively at the 8th North East 3x3 Basketball Challenge in Shillong, according to PTI reports. Diphu Nihang defeated SYM Guwahati 18-11 to claim the men's title, but they failed to make it a double, losing to a star-studded Shillong Labet 14-8 in a lopsided women's final.

Sports Ministry revokes the PCI suspension with immediate effect and the Simona Halep won the case against her doping ban on appeal. In cricket, Netherlands beat Nepal to clinch the Nepal T20I Tri-series 2024 and DC-W beat MI-W by 29 runs in Delhi. That's all from our side. We will join you tomorrow. Goodnight!