Sports News July 1 Highlights: Hurricane Beryl Disrupts Indian Cricket Team's Return After WC Win; France Beat Belgium 1-0 At Euro 2024

Here are the highlights of all the sporting action from across the globe for today 1 July, 2024. Wimbledon 2024 kicked off with Carlos Alcaraz in action. Aryna Sabalenka withdrew due to injury. France beat Belgium 1-0 to book their last-eight spot as Copa America saw Ecuador hold on for a goalless draw with Mexico to go through. In cricket, the LPL was underway and Indian women's team beat South Africa in the one-off Test. Catch all the highlights for today, July 1, right here

Venezuela outclassed Jamaica 3-0 to soar to the top of Copa America Group B! After a scoreless first half, Bello unleashed the scoring fury with a goal right after the restart. Veteran striker Salomon Rondon followed up to double the lead, and Eric Ramirez added the finishing touch late in the game. This dominant win secures Venezuela a prime position in the knockout stages.

Indian cricket fans will have to wait a bit longer to welcome their T20 World Cup-winning heroes back home as the Rohit Sharma-led team's travel plans have been disrupted by Hurricane Beryl. The hurricane, which originated in the Atlantic, has intensified with maximum sustained winds of 210 km/h.

France's Kevin Vauquelin surprised everyone with a breakaway victory on stage two of the Tour de France. However, the bigger story belonged to Tadej Pogacar. The two-time champion seized the yellow jersey from Romain Bardet after a blistering attack on the brutal San Luca climb.

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen's fierce fight for the Austrian Grand Prix victory ended in disaster for both drivers. The former teammates, now championship contenders, collided on track after a race-long battle. Norris, fuming after the incident, accused Verstappen of reckless and desperate driving.

Michael Hooper, a revered figure in Australian rugby, has called time on his international career. The former Wallabies captain's dream of competing at the Paris Olympics was dashed, leading him to announce his retirement from international duty with immediate effect.

Hooper, at 32, leaves behind a remarkable legacy, having captained the Wallabies a record 69 times across his 125-Test career. He was also the youngest player to reach 100 Test appearances for Australia.

On his last day as India's head coach, Rahul Dravid, known for his no-nonsense attitude, gave star batter Virat Kohli an assignment after India's T20 World Cup win. In a video shared by the ICC on Instagram, Dravid can be seen telling Kohli, "All three white ticked off, one red to go. Tick it." By "three white," he meant the limited-overs global trophies: the T20 World Cup, the ODI World Cup, and the Champions Trophy, all of which Kohli has won as a player. The only remaining trophy is the World Test Championship Final.

The Indian deaf cricket team achieved a 5-2 series victory over the host England team by winning the seventh and final T20 match in Leicester. In the final game, Abhishek Singh was named man of the match, while Sai Akash was honoured as the player of the series. India chose to bowl first, limiting England to 164 for 4. India then successfully chased down the target, scoring 168 runs with four balls to spare, with Abhishek contributing 68 runs and Umar Ashraf scoring 56 runs.

In the fifth round of the Superbet Classic tournament in Romania, Grandmaster R Praggnandhaa once again missed the chance to win, ending the game in a draw against American Wesley. None of the five boards in the tournament produced any decisive results. The top positions remained the same, with Fabiano Caruana of the United States leading with 3.5 points, holding a half-point lead over world championship challengers D Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa.

Viswanathan Anand, a five-time world champion, once again showed his skill by defeating Spaniard Jaime Santos Latasa 3-1 in the finals to win the Leon Masters for the 10th time in Spain. The 54-year-old Anand, who lived in Spain for many years before moving back to Chennai, proved once more that this was one of his favourite competition grounds. Anand won his first title in Leon 28 years ago, in 1996. The tournament featured four players including his compatriot Arjun Erigaise, the world number four, as the fourth seed, and Bulgarian Veselin Topalov as the other player.

Seiminlen Doungel, a midfielder from Manipur, has extended his contract with Jamshedpur FC until the end of the 2024-25 season of the Indian Super League, as announced by the club on Monday. He is a skilful, strong, and versatile player who has been an integral part of the Jamshedpur FC team for the past four seasons. Doungel played a crucial role in the team's ISL Shield-winning campaign in 2021-22.

India secured a dominant 10-wicket victory over South Africa in the one-off Women's Test. Opener Shafali Verma scored the fastest double-century, and Sneh Rana put up remarkable figures of 8/77 in the first innings. India declared at 603/6 with standout performances from Shafali Verma (205) and Smriti Mandhana (149). South Africa, chasing a massive total, were dismissed for 266 by off-spinner Sneh Rana.

The members of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Executive Council have decided not to accept the dearness allowance for the Paris Olympics, which is higher than that of the athletes. They have chosen to make their own arrangements instead of taking the payment. The IOA EC stated that they are not reliant on government funds for travel abroad because all the members are from "sound backgrounds". Each member was supposed to receive USD 300 per day (approximately Rs 25,000) according to the budget estimates. They were also supposed to receive an additional USD 1000 (around Rs 90,000) per day for accommodation during their five-day visit.

Olympic Gold medallist Neeraj Chopra has opted out of the Paris Diamond League with an adductor niggle that has been causing issues for a couple of months according to reports.

South Africa Women T20I Squad: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Mieke de Ridder, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Suneì Luus, Eliz-Mari Marx, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Chloe Tryon

Meanwhile, Under Armour, inspired by world champion Neeraj Chopra's grit, resilience and tenacity has launched their latest campaign “ZIDD FOR MORE” - it delves deep into the Olympic and World Champion’s ziddi mindset to never give up on his goal of bringing greater glory to the nation.

Neeraj is the first Asian to win Olympic Gold and a World Championship title in the Men's Javelin Throw event, and one of only two Indians to win an individual Olympic gold. The 26 year old is one of the most consistent athletes in the world, achieving a podium finish in his last 26 competitive event since 2018.

Third-seeded Aryna Sabalenka withdrew from Wimbledon on Monday because of an injured shoulder.

The two-time Australian Open champion was supposed to play Emina Bektas of the United States in the first round on Day 1 at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament. (AP)

Mumbai City FC on Monday appointed Clifford Rayes Miranda as assistant coach and Denis Kavan as its strength and conditioning coach on a two-year contract.

Miranda, an AFC Pro License holder, has previously worked as an assistant coach with FC Goa, Odisha FC and Mohun Bagan. (PTI)

B-Love Kandy: Andre Fletcher, Dinesh Chandimal(w), Mohammad Haris, Kamindu Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga(c), Chaturanga de Silva, Dushmantha Chameera, Chamath Gomez, Mohammad Hasnain

Dambulla Sixers: Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Perera(w), Nuwanidu Fernando, Towhid Hridoy, Mark Chapman, Mohammad Nabi(c), Akila Dananjaya, Nuwan Thushara, Mustafizur Rahman, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Dilshan Madushanka

Sikandar Raza (captain), Akram Faraz, Bennett Brian, Campbell Johnathan, Chatara Tendai, Jongwe Luke, Kaia Innocent, Madande Clive, Madhevere Wessly, Marumani Tadiwanashe, Masakadza Wellington, Mavuta Brandon, Muzarabani Blessing, Myers Dion, Naqvi Antum, Ngarava Richard, Shumba Milton

Both Houses of Parliament on Monday congratulated the Indian cricket team for winning the T20 World Cup.

In the Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla said the country's youngsters and sportspersons would derive inspiration from the victory. Birla congratulated the team led by Rohit Sharma on the feat.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar lauded the team for the historic win. (PTI)

India's tennis ace Sumit Nagal loses the first set 6-2 to Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic in a first-round clash on Court 10 at Wimbledon with all the catching upto do.

Manchester United announced the appointment of Dan Ashworth as sporting director on Monday.

Ashworth joins from Newcastle after months of negotiations, as new co-owner Jim Ratcliffe reshapes the club. (AP)

A late own-goal sealed the deal for France to book their spot in the last-eight with a 1-0 win over Belgium at the Dusseldorf Arena in Germany.

And that's the night for us, folks. Thank you for joining. Until next time, goodbye and take care!