Month: August 2023

Iga Swiatek was in fiery form in her second round US Open 2023 encounter, against Daria Saville on Wednesday at the Louis Armstrong Stadium on Wednesday. The defending champion sealed a 6-3 6-4 win, and looked like she was in her best form. The Pole will now face Kaja Juvan in the third round.
Iga Swiatek, of Poland, returns a shot to Daria Saville, of Australia, during the second round of the U.S. Open.(AP)
After her win, Swiatek was hailed by Novak Djokovic, who had earlier replaced a compliment from the WTA no. 1. Speaking after his second round victory vs Bernabe Zapata Miralles, he said, “Well, Iga has been dominating the women’s game last couple of years, multiple Grand Slam winner. I love her, you know, devotion, dedication. Also, you know, maybe she’s too humble to say, too modest to say, but she’s got a great fighting spirit, no doubt.”
“She’s a warrior, goes out there and, you know, doesn’t give a single game. Actually, she has probably the most bagels of anyone in women’s tennis the last few years.
“It speaks about how seriously and professionally she’s taking every single point and game on the court. So that’s very admirable. I really like that kind of champion spirit and mindset,” he further added.
Earlier, Swiatek had spoken about Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz during a press conference. Revealing that she followed their Cincinnati and Wimbledon finals, she said, “I watched both matches. I don’t watch a lot, but these matches I actually watch from the beginning till the end. Yeah, they are always really exciting, and you see, you know, the clash of, like, two generations. Well, I don’t know. They’re just so solid and good.”
“They don’t give each other points for free. It’s amazing how they can keep the intensity from the beginning till the end. I don’t know. I’m just watching them as a fan, you know, because I know that most of the stress they are playing it would be impossible for me to play,” she further added.
She also stressed on the duo’s never give-up attitude. She said, “I can learn obviously, like, from how they behave and, like, mentally how they never give up. There were like plenty of points in this match in Cincinnati when Carlos, I don’t know, for example the match point how he saved this was unbelievable. I don’t know. I’m watching more as a fan, yeah. But how they fight till the end and, like, the clash of these two games is just amazing.”
Wednesday also saw seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas crash out after the second round to 128th-ranked Swiss qualifier Dominic Stricker 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-7 (5) 7-6 (6), 6-3. Stricker ended the four-hour match with a forehand winner which caught the baseline. He raised his hands and flopped on his back to celebrate. Tsitsipas is a Grand Slam finalist at the Australian Open and French Open, and has never gone past the third round at the US Open. He is the second-highest seed to go down on the men’s side after no. 4 Holger Rune lost to Spaniard Roberto Caballes Baena, who is ranked 63rd. Meanwhile, Aslan Karatsev of Russia defeated Baena on Wednesday in four sets.

The much-anticipated moment for football fans around the world is approaching as the UEFA Champions League group stage draw for the 2023-24 season is scheduled to take place on Thursday, August 31. This annual event will determine the fate of 32 elite teams as they are drawn into eight groups of four teams each.
The teams have been meticulously seeded into pots based on their UEFA club coefficients, adding an extra layer of excitement to the draw. The top pot will showcase the reigning champions of the highest-ranked leagues, along with the defending titleholders of the UEFA Champions League. Subsequent pots will accommodate the runners-up and other top-performing teams from the previous season.
To ensure fierce competition, teams from the same national association will be kept apart in the group stage. Moreover, the occasion will not only unveil the groups but also honour exceptional achievements from the prior season. Among the notable awards to be announced are the Men’s and Women’s Player of the Year awards, celebrating the outstanding talents of the beautiful game.
The ceremony promises grandeur, with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin gracing the stage. A special moment awaits former German football legend Miroslav Klose, who will receive a personal lifetime achievement award for his significant contributions to the sport.
Which teams are in the group stage draw?
ENG: Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, NewcastleESP: Atletico, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, SevillaITA: Inter, Lazio, Milan, NapoliGER: Bayern, Dortmund, Leipzig, Union BerlinFRA: Lens, ParisPOR: Benfica, Braga, PortoNED: Feyenoord, PSVAUT: SalzburgSCO: CelticSRB: Crvena zvezdaUKR: Shakhtar DonetskBEL: AntwerpSUI: Young BoysDEN: CopenhagenTUR: Galatasaray
When is the Champions League group stage draw and how to watch it?
To catch this monumental draw live from Grimaldi Forum (Monaco), tune in to Sony TEN 2 and Sony TEN 2HD channels or use the Sony LIV app and website. The broadcast will begin at 9:30 PM IST, ensuring that fans across the globe can witness the unfolding of fate for their favourite teams.
What are the Champions League group stage dates?
Mark your calendars, as the UEFA Champions League group stage matches will kick off on September 19, treating football enthusiasts to months of thrilling action that will culminate on December 13. The journey to European football supremacy is about to begin, promising unforgettable moments, fierce rivalries, and astonishing displays of skill on the greatest stage.
Matchday 1: September 19-20 Matchday 2: October 3-4 Matchday 3: October 24-25 Matchday 4: November 7-8 Matchday 5: November 28-29 Matchday 6: December 12-13

In a bold move to regain its subscribers, Disney+ Hotstar announced that it will stream the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup for free on its mobile app. To recall, JioCinema started offering free streaming of major cricket tournaments on its mobile app. The Asia Cup 2023 will be held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka from August 30 to September 17, while the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup will be held in India from October 5 to November 15. Both tournaments are expected to be major draws for cricket fans around the world.
Disney+ Hotstar’s userbase has witnessed a steady drop. According to Reuters, Disney+ Hotstar had the largest user base last year. However, starting from March 2022, the user count began to decline, resulting in a hefty $41.5 million loss for the company. The user base dropped by about 25 per cent between October and July of the same year, pressuring the company to seek ways to become profitable again.
Initially, Disney+ Hotstar assumed that Indians would continue subscribing for their premium content, but this didn’t materialize. Subscribers cancelled their subscriptions when cricket matches were not available. Faced with this scenario, Disney+ Hotstar has decided to take the route of streaming live cricket matches for free.
One of the primary reasons behind the downfall of Disney+ Hotstar was the exodus of HBO shows. The popular shows like Game of Thrones, Succession, and the upcoming Harry Potter series, which were earlier streamed on Disney’s OTT platform, went to JioCinema. Reliance Jio signed an agreement with Warner Bros Discovery to bring popular Hollywood content to its streaming platform, JioCinema.This partnership between Reliance’s Viacom18 and Warner Bros allowed HBO content as well as Warner Bros shows to be available on JioCinema. The HBO shows Game of Thrones, Succession and The Last of Us were the reason people subscribed to the Disney+ Hotstar. With the partnership ending between the two production giants, subscribers saw no reason to stick around.
Streaming the IPL for free was another reason why most subscribers were drawn towards JioCinema.The reason why users ditched Disney+ Hotstar was because only subscribers had access to the IPL. However, now that Disney+ Hotstar plans to stream the major cricket tournaments for free, it can attract more subscribers.
Disney+ Hotstar thinks that the number of people watching a cricket match could reach 50 million. If this actually happens, it would be 56 per cent higher than the number of people who watched the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Mukesh Ambani’s JioCinema platform.

According to Sri Lanka Met department there are high chance of rain in coming few days in southwestern part of the Island & the Central Province The highly anticipated blockbuster India vs Pakistan clash will take place on Saturday (September 2). The match is set to take place at Kandy in Sri Lanka. However, the threat of rain looms large as Balagolla storm is set to cross Kandy. With tickets sold out in minutes and millions of viewers waiting in anticipation to watch the IND vs PAK clash, rain-playing spoilsport is the last thing fans want.
Not only once, but India and Pakistan could face each other three more times if they make it to the Super 4 stage and finals of the Continental Cup. Since these two teams meet only at Asia Cup and ICC events, fans, experts, and critics are in all readiness to watch the blockbuster clash.
Nine matches will be played in Sri Lanka, starting from IND vs PAK. While Asia Cup Kicked off in Pakistan yesterday without rain interruptions, the same cannot be said for the epic IND vs PAK calsh on September 2.
According to the UK-based Met Office chance of rain during IND vs PAK in Kandy is 70%. The precipitation is expected to come at 2:30 (half an hour before the start of the match).
The chance of precipitation is expected to come down to 60% by 5:30 PM. Sri Lanka’s Met Department has also predicted rain in several provinces of the country for the next few days. Kandy comes under Central Province, which is expected to receive rain on Friday and Saturday.
“Showers will occur at times in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and Northwestern provinces and Galle and Matara districts,” the Department of Meteorology said in its bulletin for Wednesday to Sri Lanka news. “Fairly heavy showers above 75mm can be expected at some places in Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in Galle and Matara districts.”

Pakistan secured a comprehensive 238-run win over Nepal in the 2023 Asia Cup opener in Multan. With the tournament returning to Pakistan after a gap of 15 years, the home team put on a commanding performance despite a few hiccups. The highlight of the night was captain Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmed’s 214-run stand, the highest fifth-wicket partnership for Pakistan. Babar slammed 151 off 131 on his way to his 19th ODI century, while Iftikhar notched up his maiden ton.
Babar and Iftikhar propelled Pakistan to 342-6, before the bowlers bundled out Nepal for 104.
After the match, a journalist asked Iftikhar, who is commonly referred as “chacha” (uncle) by his teammates and fans, about his partnership with Babar. The journalist also called Babar as Iftikhar’s “bhatija” (nephew) during the conversation.
This drew a hilarious response from Iftikhar.
“Bhatija also gave confidence to chacha and chacha also gave confidence to bhatija. Babar is a world-class player. The way he handles strike rotation alleviates pressure. Consequently, we relished our time batting together,” Iftikhar said at the press box in Multan.
Ifti Mania speaks about the experience & ease of Batting with a world class player Babar Azam #PAKvNEP#AsiaCup2023#BabarAzampic.twitter.com/U8yq27ilUL
SAAD (@SaadIrfan258) August 30, 2023
The win over Nepal gave Pakistan, who rose to world number one in the ODI rankings last week, an ideal start and perfect tune up for the high profile clash against arch-rivals India in Pallekele on Saturday.
The Asia Cup is being played on a hybrid model this year with Pakistan hosting four matches and Sri Lanka nine after India refused to tour Pakistan because of political tensions.

Treble winners Manchester City will visit Newcastle United in the pick of the Carabao Cup third-round ties drawn on Wednesday.
Following their comeback win over AFC Wimbledon, Chelsea will host Brighton as teams involved in European competition make their entry into the EFL Cup.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)
In other all-Premier League matchups, holders Manchester United will welcome Crystal Palace to Old Trafford, Arsenal will travel to Brentford in a London derby and Aston Villa will host Everton.
Elsewhere, nine-time EFL Cup winners Liverpool will face off with Championship leaders Leicester City at Anfield and Fulham, who knocked out Tottenham in round two, will face Norwich City.
The third-round ties will take place in the week commencing Sept. 25.
Full third-round draw:
Ipswich vs. Wolverhampton
Exeter vs. Luton
Aston Villa vs. Everton
Manchester United vs. Crystal Palace
Port Vale vs. Sutton
Bradford vs. Middlesbrough
Bournemouth vs. Stoke
Lincoln vs. West Ham
Brentford vs. Arsenal
Chelsea vs. Brighton
Salford vs. Burnley
Fulham vs. Norwich
Blackburn vs. Cardiff
Liverpool vs. Leicester
Newcastle United vs. Manchester City
Mansfield vs. Peterborough

Neeraj Chopra and Murali Sreeshankar Zurich Diamond League Live Streaming: Newly-crowned world champion Neeraj Chopra will look to maintain his unbeaten streak in the prestigious Diamond League meet when he competes in a star-studded men’s javelin throw field here on Thursday.
The 25-year-old Chopra has been unbeaten this season, having won two Diamond League meetings in Doha (May 5) and Lausanne (June 30) before his World Championships triumph. In Zurich, where he is competing four days after being crowned world champion, Chopra will be up against familiar rivals like Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch, bronze winner in Budapest with 86.67m, Julian Weber of Germany and two-time world champion Anderson Peters of Grenada. Only Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, silver medallist in Budapest, will not be there in Zurich.
Long jumper Murali Sreeshankar will also be in action and he would be looking to redeem himself after failing to qualify for the final round at the World Championships. Sreeshankar, who has a season’s and personal best of 8.41m, jumped a below-par 7.74m to finish 22nd overall in the qualification round. He is currently third in the long jump standings of this Diamond League season, with 10 points from two events.
When will Neeraj Chopras Javelin Throw and Murali Sreeshankar long jump events at the Zurich Diamond League take place?
Neeraj Chopras javelin throw and Murali Sreeshankar long jump events at the Zurich Diamond League will take place on Thursday, August 31.
Where is Neeraj Chopras javelin throw and Murali Sreeshankar long jump events at the Zurich Diamond League taking place?
Neeraj Chopras javelin throw and Murali Sreeshankar long jump events at the Zurich Diamond League is taking place at Zuriche, Switzerland.
What time does Neeraj Chopras javelin throw and Murali Sreeshankar long jump events at the Zurich Diamond League start?
Neeraj Chopras javelin throw and Murali Sreeshankar long jump events at the Zurich Diamond League will begin at 12.12 AM (Sept 1) and 11.54 PM (Aug 31) IST respectively
Which TV channels will broadcast Neeraj Chopras javelin throw and Murali Sreeshankar long jump events at the Zurich Diamond League?
Neeraj Chopras javelin throw and Murali Sreeshankar long jump events at the Zurich Diamond League will be telecast on the Sports18 network in India.
How do I watch the live streaming of Neeraj Chopras javelin throw and Murali Sreeshankar long jump events at the Zurich Diamond League?
Neeraj Chopras javelin throw and Murali Sreeshankar long jump events at the Zurich Diamond League will be streamed live on the JioCinema app and website.

Pune 31s August 2023: The ticket of ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup matches 2023 scheduled to be held at Pune, Chennai and Delhi will be available for purchase from today. The tickets sale will go online at 8 pm from Thursday on the official website tickets.cricketworldcup.com.
The Indian team is scheduled to play against Bangladesh at Maharashtra Cricket Stadium (MCA) in Gahunje, Pune on October 19. The online tickets will be available for this match besides two more matches the Indian team is scheduled to play at Chennai and Delhi. India will play against Australia on October 9 against Australia at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai while the team will play against Afghanistan at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on October 19.
According to officials, the world cup tickets will be released in phases. According to ICC, tickets for matches scheduled at Dharamsala, Lucknow and Mumbai will go on sale on September 1 while tickets for matches scheduled at Bengaluru and Kolkata will be available on September 2 and tickets for matches scheduled in Ahmedabad will go on sale on September 3. The tickets for Semi Finals and Finals will be made online on September 15.
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