Sports News Highlights: Weightlifting Records Broken At National Games; Travis Head Earns Allan Border Medal At AUS Cricket Awards

With that, we come to an end of our coverage of today's sports news and events. We will be back tomorrow with all that is current in the world of sports. Until then, goodbye.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has announced that she plans to return to the WTA Tour in February after a 15-month maternity leave. Kvitova, who won her two grand slam titles at the All England Club in 2011 and 2014, posted a video to Instagram confirming her return to the sport. 

German stalwart Manuel Neuer is set to mark 15 years at Bayern Munich next year after agreeing to a one-year contract extension. The 38-year-old goalkeeper's contract had been due to expire at the end of this season. Neuer has been with Bayern since arriving from Schalke in 2011. He's won the Champions League twice and the Bundesliga 11 times.

Karnataka swimmers Srihari Nataraj and Dhinidhi Desinghu have both secured their seventh gold medal to stay on course to becoming the best male and female athletes, respectively, of the National Games. With five gold medals from the pool, Karnataka have upstaged Services to return to the top spot in the tally with 42 medals (22 gold, 10 silver, 10 bronze). The southern state was also on top of the standings on the first two days of competition.

West Ham have signed Evan Ferguson on loan from Brighton until the end of the 2024-25 season, reuniting the forward with his former coach Graham Potter. West Ham have been on the lookout for attacking reinforcements after losing Niclas Fullkrug to a hamstring injury last month.

The Germany international had already missed three months with an Achilles injury prior to Christmas, while fellow striker Michail Antonio suffered a broken leg in a car crash in December and is expected to be out for around a year. As a result, the Hammers have swooped for Republic of Ireland international Ferguson, who has made 11 of his 13 league appearances this season from the bench.

Fortune Barishal have trounced Chittagong Kings by a thumping nine-wicket margin to march into the Bangladesh Premier League final. Chasing a target of 150 runs, Barishal knocked off the total in 17.2 overs, with Towhid Hridoy scoring an unbeaten 82 off 56 balls. Medium pacer Mohammad Ali was named the Player of the Match for his five-wicket haul (5/24 in four overs).

For the summit clash, Barishal will await the winner of Qualifier 2, which will be played between the Kings and Khulna Tigers. The Tigers had earlier defeated Rangpur Riders by nine wickets in the Eliminator clash.

India will reportedly have no representation in the first wrestling ranking series of the year. The national contingent, which includes 57kg defending champion and Paris Olympics medallist Aman Sehrawat, will apparently miss the Zagreb Open, which starts on February 4 in Croatia, owing to a lack of clearance from the sports ministry.

Sehrawat and other Indian freestyle as well as Greco-Roman wrestlers will bear the brunt of this development, according to a Times of India report. The sports ministry's refusal to grant affiliation to the elected Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) body is the reason for the lapse, the report states.

Punjab weightlifter Mehak Sharma has broken three national records -- all in her name -- en route to winning the gold medal at the 38th National Games in Dehradun. The 29-year-old Mehak was the star performer on the final day of weightlifting competition. Competing in the women's 87+ kg category, Mehak lifted 106kg in snatch, surpassing her previous national mark of 105kg. She then came up with 141kg in her final clean-and-jerk attempt, bettering her national record of 140kg.

Australian sports radio broadcaster SEN Radio has reportedly terminated the services of noted cricket journalist Peter Lalor midway through Australia라이브 바카라 tour of Sri Lanka, owing to Lalor's social media posts pertaining to Palestine. Lalor라이브 바카라 X (formerly Twitter) feed includes amplification of news stories on Israeli attacks in Gaza, and regarding the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Read more about it HERE.

Chittagong Kings are batting first against Fortuna Barishal in the Qualifier 1 match of Bangladesh Premier League. Shamim Hossain has crossed the 50-run mark and is batting alongside Khaled Ahmed for the Kings, who are five down for 123 runs after 16 overs. Earlier in the day, Khulna Tigers thrashed Rangpur Riders by nine wickets in the Eliminator to progress to Qualifier 2. The Tigers await the loser of the Qualifier 1 match between Barishal and Kings, for a place in the final.

James Ward-Prowse will return to West Ham for the remainder of the Premier League season after his loan spell at Nottingham Forest was cut short.

The midfielder initially moved to Forest on loan from West Ham following a 30-million-pound transfer from Southampton in August 2023. However, with the arrival of Graham Potter as West Ham라이브 바카라 new manager, Ward-Prowse will now rejoin the squad for the rest of the 2024-25 season.

Star wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson has fractured his index finger after being hit by a Jofra Archer scorcher during the fifth T20 International against England in Mumbai and will be out of action for more than a month, side-lining him from the upcoming Ranji Trophy quarterfinals. Read the full story HERE.

Marcus Rashford has joined Aston Villa on loan for the remainder of the Premier League 2024-25 season after being frozen out by Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim.

Villa will cover 75% of Rashford's wages and have the option to buy him for £40 million at the end of the season.

The fight for knockout spots in the AFC Champions League Elite 2024-25 will grow more intense, with the seventh and penultimate round of league-stage matches beginning today in the West region.

Four matches take place tonight:

Al Ain vs Al Rayyan: February 3, 7:30pm IST at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi

Esteghlal FC vs Al-Shorta: February 3, 9:30pm IST at Azadi Stadium in Tehran

Al Sadd vs Al-Ahli Saudi: February 3, 9:30pm IST at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha

Al-Nassr vs Al Wasl: February 3, 11:30pm IST at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh

Check the Live Streaming details of the AFC Champions League Elite, West matches HERE.

The first and only Australian men's player to have 100 T20I wickets to his name is Adam Zampa who has been awarded the Men's T20I Player of the Year today at the AUS Cricket Awards.

The Men라이브 바카라 ODI Player of the Year award goes to Travis Head.

Josh Hazlewood earns the Shane Warne Men라이브 바카라 Test Player of the Year.

Travis Head also receives the 2025 Allan Border Medal.

2025 Belinda Clark Award goes to Annabel Sutherland.

Beth Mooney takes the Women's T20I Player of the Year award.

Chris Gayle, Makhaya Ntini, and Monty Panesar will headline the inaugural International Masters League (IML), set to begin on February 22. The former legendary cricketers will represent West Indies, South Africa, and England, respectively, in the tournament that will take place across Navi Mumbai, Rajkot, and Raipur. There will be total of six teams, including India, Sri Lanka, and Australia in the league.

The Indian badminton contingent, including top players like PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen, will put the finishing touch on their preparations ahead of the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships during a five-day preparatory camp, beginning in Guwahati on Tuesday.

Having clinched a bronze at the 2023 edition, the Indian team will be aiming to improve on their performance and secure a better medal at the prestigious event, scheduled to take place in Qingdao, China, from February 11-16. (PTI)

Josh Hazlewood has been named the Shane Warne men라이브 바카라 Test Player of the Year, while the men라이브 바카라 ODI Player of the Year is Travis Head. Beau Webster, who made his international debut has been named the men's domestic Player of the Year.

The tickets for India's three group-stage Champions Trophy matches and the first semifinal in Dubai will begin on Monday evening. The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be held across Pakistan and Dubai from February 19.

Punjab라이브 바카라 Sift Kaur Samra won the gold in the Women라이브 바카라 50m 3 Position event at the 38th National Games, held at Maharana Pratap Sports College Trishul Hall in Uttarakhand.

In the Men라이브 바카라 10m Pistol final, Karnataka라이브 바카라 Jonathan Anthony won the gold medal with a composed showing. SSCB라이브 바카라 Ravinder Singh took silver, and his teammate Gurpreet Singh earned the bronze.

It's Transfer Deadline Day in the Premier League with clubs hassling over arrivals and departures. The likes of Arsenal, Man United, City, Chelsea and other teams, will be busy as they look to get players over the line as well sell or reduce their team size.

Rangpur Riders win the toss and have opted to bat.

• Men's Domestic Player of the Year: Beau Webster

• Women's Domestic Player of the Year: Georgia Voll

• Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year: Sam Konstas

• Betty Wilson Young Cricketer of the Year: Chloe Ainsworth

Limited cricket action today but Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2024-25 reaches its business end as Rangpur Riders take on Khulna Tigers in the Eliminator today.

Carlos Alcaraz rubbished Patrick Mouratoglou's comment about Australian Open 2025 champion, Jannik Sinner. Mouratoglou, who previously coached Serena Williams, suggested that Alcaraz, who claimed two Grand Slams in 2024, was above Sinner in terms of performance. 

Real Madrid face a 'real' worry after their star defender Antonio Rüdiger has been diagnosed with a leg muscle injury sustained in a Spanish league game on Saturday. Madrid said that Rüdiger has “an injury to the biceps femoris” in his right leg.

- Barcelona 1-0 Deportivo Alaves

- Valencia 2-1 Celta Vigo

- Osasuna 2-1 Real Sociedad

- Real Betis 2-2 Athletic Club

The Australian Cricket Awards will see the top individual prizes handed out for the best performers over the last 12 months. However, the men라이브 바카라 cricket team will be missing as the Allan Border Medal is set to be crowned via a video link. The winners will be declared on Monday night (February 3) as to who will win the prestigious Allan Border Medal and the 'Belinda Clark Award.

Golfer Rory McIlroy clinched his 27th PGA Tour title of his career with an impressive victory in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am tournament on Sunday, Feb 2.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Sunday said he has not seen a “better T20 hundred” than Abhishek Sharma라이브 바카라 54-ball 135 against England here and asserted that the team will continue to play in a “fearless” manner going forward.

"I haven't seen a better T20 hundred (Abhishek's ton) against bowlers who are bowling at 140-150 kph consistently,” Gambhir said after the match.

Luka Doncic led the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals last season, Anthony Davis won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020 and now they’re switching teams in a move that stunned most everyone in the league.

Doncic was traded by the reigning Western Conference champion Mavericks to the Lakers for Davis as part of a three-team deal. The trade was announced Sunday morning after the teams got the required league approval. (AP)

Sports fans you are at the right place. We will cover all the latest news and updates and live scores from sports world on Monday, February 2 right here.