World Sports: Indian Women Beat Australia In FIH Pro League, Manchester City Hold Chelsea In EPL Derby

Welcome to the highlights of the sports news and events on Saturday, February 18, 2024. The third India vs England Test in Rajkot was on everybody's radar, but the day began with the Indian women's team beating Japan in its maiden semi-final appearance at the Badminton Asia Team Championships. PV Sindhu and Co have made their way into an unprecedented title clash, where they will be up against Thailand on Sunday.

In the tennis arena, India's red-hot singles hope Sumit Nagal bowed out in the semi-finals, losing to Stefano Napolitano at the Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger. Later in the evening, the Indian women's hockey team edged out Australia 1-0 in the FIH Pro League, and in football, Manchester City drew with Chelsea 1-1 in the English Premier League. Catch the highlights of all the sporting action here. (Cricket News | Football News)

Ravichandran Ashwin-sans India will look to start the day with some scalps after the English batters especially Ben Duckett blew them away.

Six-time Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy has revealed that he is "optimistic, positive and surrounded by love" after coming out that he was diagnosed with cancer last year.

India are 1-0 down to Japan in the semis of the Badminton Asia Championships with PV Sindhu losing the 1st tie to Aya Ohori.

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah could play against Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday after recovering from a hamstring injury, manager Jurgen Klopp said. The Egypt international has been out for a month since sustaining the injury at the Africa Cup of Nations. “Mo is back in full training, that brings him automatically in contention of course,” Klopp said Friday.

In what promises to be a mouth-watering affair, Chelsea visit Man City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday in the late EPL fixture. The last time these two met, it was a thrilling 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Anmol Kharb has scripted history for India as they have reached the final of the Badminton Asia Championships, beating Japan 3-2 in the semis. What a team!

Indian sprinter Harmilan Bains has struck gold at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships with a timing of 4:29.55.

Current Liverpool manager has praised his Bundesliga counterpart Xabi Alonso, with the latter touted to replace the German come next season. "The next generation is already there and I would say Xabi is a standout in that department... Former world-class player, from a coaching family as well which helps a little, he was like a coach already when he was playing. The football he is playing, the teams he sets up, the transfers he did, it is absolutely exceptional."

Alyssa Healy-led Australia Women's team have beaten South Africa women's by an innings and 284 runs in their one-off Test match in Perth. After a dismal 76 in the first innings, the Proteas were bowled out for 215 in their second innings, handing the hosts a massive victory.

India have ended day 3 of the third Test match against England with a handy lead of 322 with Yashasvi Jaiswal (retired hurt) on 104 and Shubman Gill still batting on 65.

India's top-ranked singles tennis player Sumit Nagal has raced away to a 3-0 lead in the first set of his semi-final match against Italy's Stefano Napolitano at the Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger tournament. Sumit is the second seed and is aiming for his second successive Challenger title, after his triumph in Chennai last week.

India's Pranati Nayak has secured a bronze medal in the first leg of the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup. Pranati finished with an average score of 13.620 to stand third in the women's vault category in Cairo. Veteran gymnast Dipa Karmakar finishes fifth with an average score of 13.383.

Sumit Nagal's dream run this season is halted by Italy's Stefano Napolitano at the Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger tournament. The 26-year-old from Jhajjar, Haryana, loses in straight sets 6-7 (2-7), 4-6 to bow out in the semi-finals. Nagal had won the Chennai Open Challenger last week and broke into the top-100 for the first time in his career, as a result.

Stop the press! After games and days of despair across arenas, India have beaten Australia in an international sports event. And it is Savita Punia and Co who have done it, despite their lacklustre campaign so far.

The Indian women’s hockey team have beaten Australia 1-0 in the FIH Hockey Pro League 2023-24 in Rourkela to bring up their second win of the tournament. The only goal of the match came from Vandana Katariya (34’) in the third quarter.

Mohamed Salah has made a scoring return for Liverpool as the English Premier League 2023-24 leaders have routed Brentford 4-1. Salah had been out for a month since sustaining a hamstring injury at the Africa Cup of Nations. He came on as a substitute just before halftime at the Gtech Community Stadium and struck his 19th goal of the season in all competitions in the 68th minute.

In the much-awaited English Premier League 2023-24 derby of the day, Chelsea are leading Manchester City by a solitary goal with 15 minutes of regulation time remaining. Raheem Sterling put the visitors ahead in the 42nd minute, and they have held on to the lead since. City are placed third in the table as of now, and Chelsea are in the eighth spot.

It looked like Chelsea's game for the longest time, but Rodri struck late to draw parity for Manchester City in their English Premier League 2023-24 clash. The Spanish midfielder's 83rd-minute goal has rescued a point for City, who stay in third place in the standings behind Liverpool and Arsenal. Chelsea, meanwhile, slump to the 10th spot.

That's a wrap from us tonight. We will be back tomorrow with the lowdown on all that happens in the world of sports, beginning with the Indian women's historic final clash against Thailand. Until then, goodbye.