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Avani, 22, shot a superb 249.7 to erase her own Paralympic record of 249.6 set in the Tokyo Games three years ago. In qualification, she shot a 625.8 to be placed second. Mona, the two-time World Cup gold medallist, shot a 623.1 to lie fifth.

The elimination rounds were a tense affair. By the fourth round, Avani (187.0) and Mona (186.8) were in the top two spots. The latter overtook the former in the fifth round as the pair confirmed two medals. In the end, however, Avani’s experience came in handy with Korea’s Lee Yunri taking the second spot.

In the shootout, Avani began with a 9.9 while Lee shot a 10.7. But the Korean’s nerves took over as she managed only a 6.8 in the next while Avani shot a 10.5, sealing her second gold on the trot.

The Jaipur-born shooter had a challenging run-up to the Olympics, having gone under the knife for a long-standing gallbladder issue. That procedure forced her to take a break for a month and a half.

Avani wins Second Paralympic Gold 2024.

“It mentally hampered me because I am not training months away from the Paralympics,” said Avani in a video call from Chateauroux. “Even though it’s a small surgery, a lot of core muscles weren’t working the way they were before and so I had to work on that more. My team worked heavily to get me back on track.”

Growing up, Mona faced a lot of discrimination due to her polio diagnosis. She found her calling in shooting after trying out shot put, discus, javelin and weightlifting.

“In 2010, I left home to fulfil my dreams. At that time, my family objected and said it wouldn’t accept me or let me into the house again. But now they’re all celebrating with me,” said Mona.

The 37-year-old mother of two is excited to share the triumph with her children. “When I left for practice, I had to leave my kids behind. Everyday, they would video call me and tell me how much they missed having me over. They said, ‘GPS lagake ghar vaapas aajao.’ I cried at least once everyday speaking to them,”

Manish, who won gold in the Tokyo Games in the Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1 event, missed out on the podium top step this time. After lying sixth at the end of the first series, he slowly moved up.

“Last time when I won a medal in Tokyo, we danced and celebrated the entire night. Now, I am missing him a lot. He’s gone but his memories are with me,” he said, struggling to hold back his tears. Manish had Paralympic Committee of India president Devendra Jhajharia by his side consoling him.

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Paralympics 2024 Paris – Macron announced the Games open during a lively ceremony at Place de la Concorde with 4,400 athletes from 168 delegations.

As the sun set in Paralympics 2024 Paris France entered last, receiving a standing ovation from 30,000 spectators in the crowded square stands. The sunny weather provided a sharp contrast to the heavy rain during the Olympics opening ceremony on July 26.

French singer Lucky Love, missing his left arm, performed “My Ability” with dancers, creating a memorable highlight.

IPC president Andrew Parsons urged for an “inclusion revolution” before Macron officially declared the Games open.

The ceremony ended with the cauldron being lit in the Tuileries Gardens, a popular attraction since the Olympics. The Paralympics will use 18 of the 35 Olympic venues, including the Grand Palais and Stade de France.

Organisers reported strong ticket sales, with over two million of the 2.5 million available tickets sold, and some venues full.

Thomas Jolly, the director of both ceremonies, highlighted the symbolism of holding the event in central Paris

“Putting Paralympic athletes in the city’s heart shows Paris is not fully adapted for handicapped people,” Jolly stated.

Organisers ensured wheelchair users could access Paris buses and arranged 1,000 specially adapted taxis for better mobility. France aims to surpass its 2021 Paralympic performance, where it won 11 golds and finished 14th in the overall ranking.

China, the top medalist in Tokyo with 96 golds, sent a strong delegation again, aiming to dominate the competition. Ukraine, facing challenges due to the ongoing war, sent 140 athletes competing in 17 sports, showing remarkable resilience.

Ninety-six athletes from Russia and Belarus will compete neutrally, barred from opening and closing ceremonies due to the invasion.New stars emerge at every Paralympics; watch for American Ezra Frech, a sprinter and high jumper, to make headlines.

Returning athletes seek glory, including Iranian volleyball legend Morteza Mehrzad, who stands 8ft 1in, aiming for another gold.Italian fencer Beatrice ‘Bebe’ Vio, who lost all four limbs to meningitis, seeks her third Paralympic title.

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Jay Shah named unchallenged as the new ICC chair. The board of directors had however until August 27 to file nominations for the next chair only if two or more candidates were nominated was there to be an election, in this case, Shah was the only nominee. Shah was however gracious enough to say ‘I am greatly honored to be nominated for the position of Chairman of International Cricket Council.

Jay Shah elected unopposed as the new ICC chair.

In any case, I am ready to engage as much as possible with the ICC leadership and the national governing bodies to popularize the sport,’ said Shah in ICC release.

“We are at a point where we need to arm ourselves with the promotion of multiple formats, the advancement of technologies and the expansion of our flagship events to new global targets. Our objective is to reinvent the game of cricket in the most diversified and embraced fashion ever.

“While we will leverage the most useful lessons, we also have to fight against the traditionalism and the conservatism that hinders the further popularization of cricket worldwide.

The inclusion of cricket in the Olympics at LA 2028 represents an unprecedented tipping point for the further development of this sport regardless of how.

It was in 2022 that he became a part of the ICC’s influential Finance & Commercial Affairs (F&CA) committee and took over as its chair in 2023. Shah was also re-elected as BCCI secretary in 2022 and his tenure was to run until 2025.

Once he takes over as the ICC chair, he will have to relinquish his position at the BCCI and at the ICC’s F&CA committee. Shah was also the Asian Cricket Council president from 2021 to 2024.

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The free-kick goal also marked Ronaldo’s 899th career goal, leaving him just one goal shy of the historic 900-mark. Ronaldo already has 130 goals for his country at the international stage, putting him at the absolute top of the standings.

Ronaldo’s approach towards the free-kick goal was also intriguing. The 39-year-old usually takes a few steps back and tries to hit the ball with power. However, against goalkeeper Abdulraouf Al-Duqayl stunned, he opted for a more measured approach. This time, it was more about beating the goalkeeper by sheer placement and precision. Ronaldo executed that to perfection, scoring his 64th career goal through a free-kick.

This was also Ronaldo’s 53rd free-kick goal in club football, putting him just one goal shy of arch-rival Lionel Messi‘s tally. When it comes to the national teams, both Messi and Ronaldo have scored on 11 occasions each.

In a recent interview, Ronaldo had spoken about the 1000-goal milestone that he intends to reach in his career. Already sitting on 899 goals, however, Ronaldo would need his body to help him quite a lot if he is to reach the historic landmark.

“It’s going to be pretty tough, but it’s about seeing how I am mentally, my motivation. If, physically, my legs treat me as well as I treat them? We’ll see, they are small stages. Until I get to 1,000, first I have to get to 900. I think I’ll get there,” Ronaldo had said about the record.

“If you look at my career for the last 20 years, my level is high. If you are top for 20 years, it’s unbelievable. I do that and I continue to do that. For me, it’s a big achievement,” he had said.

Courtesy of Ronaldo 899th career goal, Al-Nassr secured a 4-1 win against Al-Feiha.

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Match facts

Who: Sydney Thunder v Melbourne Renegades

What: Match 40, BBL|13 

Where: Sydney Showground Stadium

When: Wednesday, January 17. Bat flip at 6.30pm AEDT, first ball at 7.15pm AEDT

How to watch: Channel Seven, Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports

Buy tickets: Tickets are on sale here

Live scores: Match Centre

Highlights, news and reactions after the match: cricket.com.au, the CA Live and Big Bash apps

Officials: Ben Treloar (field), Mike Graham-Smith (field), Gerard Abood (third), Roberto Howard (fourth), David Gilbert (match referee)

Match squads

Thunder: Cameron Bancroft, Ollie Davies, Liam Doddrell, Matthew Gilkes, Toby Gray, Chris Green (c), Alex Hales (England), Liam Hatcher, Nathan McAndrew, Alex Ross, William Salzmann, Daniel Sams, Gurinder Sandhu, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, David Warner

Renegades: Nic Maddinson (c), Will Sutherland (vc), Jordan Cox (England), Scott Edwards, Aaron Finch, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mackenzie Harvey, Akeal Hosein (West Indies), Ruwantha Kellapotha, Shaun Marsh, Fergus O’Neill, Kane Richardson, Tom Rogers, Peter Siddle, Jon Wells, Adam Zampa

Thunder: LLLLD (most recent first)

It’s been a season to forget for the Thunder, with little to cheer about in recent weeks. Defeat in last Friday’s Sydney Smash was followed by a crushing loss at the hands of Adelaide Strikers on Sunday night. In fact, their last win (against the Stars) came prior to Christmas. They need a big win here to avoid the wooden spoon – a disappointing effort for an outfit that has qualified for the last four BBL finals series.

Renegades: WLLWL

Similarly, it hasn’t been a great campaign from the Renegades who – like the Thunder – featured in last year’s finals. If there’s one small silver lining for head coach David Saker, it’s that his side have put up a fight in recent games despite being out of the top four race. Coming off a Melbourne Derby win on Saturday night that gave club legend Aaron Finch a fitting send-off, the Renegades will hope to do the same for another outgoing veteran in Shaun Marsh. 

KFC BBL|13 standings

Team	Matches playedM	WinsW	LossesL	TiesT	No resultsN/R	Net Run RateNRR	DeductionsDed.	Total pointsPTS
1Brisbane Heat Men	10	7	1	0	2	0.972	0	16
2Sydney Sixers Men	10	6	2	0	2	0.339	0	14
3Perth Scorchers Men	10	6	3	0	1	0.725	0	13
4Adelaide Strikers Men	10	5	4	0	1	0.331	0	11
5Hobart Hurricanes Men	10	4	6	0	0	-0.268	0	8
6Melbourne Stars Men	10	4	6	0	0	-1.051	0	8
7Melbourne Renegades Men	9	2	6	0	1	-0.288	0	5
8Sydney Thunder Men	9	1	7	0	1	-0.652	0	3

Players to watch

Despite playing against the Renegades just four times, Tanveer Sangha is the fourth-highest wicket-taker in fixtures between these two clubs. With nine wickets, he also boasts an incredible average of just 8.33 against the men in red. In what has been a tough campaign for the Thunder, Sangha has again stood tall. His economy rate of just 6.53 per over is comfortably the side’s best, and is ranked fourth across the competition for bowlers to have sent down 15 overs or more. While David Warner is hanging around for a third game of the BBL season following his Test retirement, English batter Tom Kohler-Cadmore has departed the Thunder camp for his stint in the UAE T20 league after just 37 runs in four games.

On Sunday, Renegades veteran Shaun Marsh announced that this clash would mark his final game of professional cricket, calling time on a decorated career that began way back in 2001. Throughout his career he has remained a fan favourite due to his classical technique and aesthetically pleasing strokeplay, which has again been on show during BBL|13. Despite playing just five of nine games to date this season, Marsh has been the Renegades’ second-highest run-scorer behind Jake Fraser-McGurk. Speaking of, it was announced on Tuesday that the 21-year-old has penned a four-year deal at the Renegades, which will see him remain at the club until at least BBL|17. In a breakout campaign, his 18 sixes to date this season has only been eclipsed by the league’s most in-form player in Matt Short, who has cleared the rope 25 times.

Head-to-head

Overall: Thunder (7 wins), Renegades (10 wins)

At Sydney Showground: Thunder (0 wins), Renegades (2 wins)

Most runs: Aaron Finch (505), Usman Khawaja (369), Alex Hales (302) Shaun Marsh (206), Callum Ferguson (201)

Most wickets: Gurinder Sandhu (15), Kane Richardson (14), Daniel Sams (14), Tanveer Sangha (9), Cameron Boyce (8)

Rapid stats

• Sydney Thunder have won six of their past eight matches against the Melbourne Renegades, although prior to that span they had only won one of the first nine meetings between the two sides in the BBL.
• Melbourne Renegades have finished eighth in three of the past four BBL seasons – a loss in this match could potentially see them claim their fourth wooden spoon, equalling the Thunder for the most last-placed finishes in the history of the competition.

What’s on the line?

While the top four has been secured, the Renegades will be desperate to avoid a fourth wooden spoon in five BBL seasons. Victory, or a marginal defeat, assures them of that, while a big loss could see the Thunder draw level on points and overtake them on net run-rate. More importantly, they’ll be looking to send retiring great Shaun Marsh out on a high in what is his last professional match, just as they did with the outgoing Aaron Finch on Saturday night.

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The scorecard will show 29 off 16 balls, hardly much for a player of Virat Kohli’s pedigree, but how he batted and got out seemed to suggest he was willing to go against his nature to fit into the new brand of T20 batting that India is trying to embrace.

Kohli, even in the shortest international format, is known more as an accumulator at the start of his innings, before he showcases his rich repertoire of strokes and going into overdrive as the innings reaches its climax. When he first comes in, the most characteristic feature of his batting is his speed between the wickets that keeps the scoreboard moving and gets him into the rhythm of the game.

On Sunday, in his first T20I since the 10-wicket semifinal loss to England at the 2022 World Cup in Adelaide, Kohli wasn’t going to play the waiting game. He was in the middle in the first over itself, replacing Rohit Sharma, and was back before the Powerplay got over. But the former captain, for once, wasn’t playing the situation or the target but trying to prove that there were more gears to his batting which can be activated even early on in a race.

The scorecard will show 29 off 16 balls, hardly much for a player of Virat Kohli’s pedigree, but how he batted and got out seemed to suggest he was willing to go against his nature to fit into the new brand of T20 batting that India is trying to embrace.

Kohli, even in the shortest international format, is known more as an accumulator at the start of his innings, before he showcases his rich repertoire of strokes and going into overdrive as the innings reaches its climax. When he first comes in, the most characteristic feature of his batting is his speed between the wickets that keeps the scoreboard moving and gets him into the rhythm of the game.

On Sunday, in his first T20I since the 10-wicket semifinal loss to England at the 2022 World Cup in Adelaide, Kohli wasn’t going to play the waiting game. He was in the middle in the first over itself, replacing Rohit Sharma, and was back before the Powerplay got over. But the former captain, for once, wasn’t playing the situation or the target but trying to prove that there were more gears to his batting which can be activated even early on in a

The first ball Kohli faced, from left-armer Fazalhaq Farooqi, was driven firmly to mid-on. The second, from mystery spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman, was a length ball outside off, which was lofted over mid-off for a boundary. No need for the niceties of having a look or rotating strike. The last ball of the same over was met by an uncharacteristic slog-sweep wide of long-on. That it was a full ball well outside off-stump indicated that the shot might well have been a premeditated one.

Whenever Kohli’s prowess in the T20 format is discussed, the straight six he hit off a hard-length ball from Pakistan speedster Haris Rauf during the World Cup game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground comes up. Now, Naveen-ul-Haq is no Rauf, but there’s history between him and Kohli, and the latter rekindled memories with a flat-bat shot over the bowler’s head off a much wider ball that landed just inside the boundary.

There were a few ungainly hoicks and aerial shots that one doesn’t associate with the batting technician that Kohli is, but it reflected the message he was trying to send about his utility in the format.

Mujeeb was handsomely cover-driven to the fence, bisecting the off-side ring, when the bowler offered width on a full ball. There was not much of asking-rate pressure at this moment, when Kohli set his sights on Naveen again. The medium pacer was slog-swept across the line, as if he was a spinner, to the long-on boundary. The next ball, Kohli tried to clear mid-off but failed.

All this while, Yashasvi Jaiswal was going full throttle at the other end, and Kohli seemed intent on showing that he could keep pace. Much talk about the return of Kohli and Rohit to the T20 fold surrounds their strike rates, but he seems determined to prove there are more strings to his bow.

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A lot was expected from Rohit Sharma when the veteran opener walked out to bat for Team India in a T20I for the first time since the heartbreaking World Cup 2022 exit to England. Leading the Virat Kohli-less side in his first T20I after 14 months, Rohit opened the innings with his partner-in-crime Shubman Gill in the series opener against Afghanistan at Mohali on Thursday.

After playing a dot in Fazalhaq Farooqi’s first over of the Indian innings, Rohit came down the track and creamed the ball towards the mid-off region. Nothing but a spectator at the non-striker’s end, Gill was caught ball-watching as the Indian opener paid no attention to Rohit’s call for a quick single. Gill tried to send Rohit back, but the Indian had already made a darting run to complete the single. What happened next made headlines as Rohit lashed out at Gill after the horrible mixup.

Speaking after the match in the post-match presentation ceremony, Rohit was all smiles when he was asked to recall his cheap dismissal in the series opener between India and Afghanistan. “These things happen (on the run-out). When it happens you feel frustrated, you want to be out there and score runs for the team. Everything will not go your way. We won the game, that’s more important. I wanted Gill to carry on, unfortunately, got out after playing a very good little innings,” Rohit said.

Shivam Dube shines on Rohit’s return

In his return game at Mohali, the 36-year-old was dismissed for a two-ball duck. However, India ended up registering a comfortable win over the visitors as all-rounder Shivam Dube delivered the goods with a quick-fire knock. Dube remained unbeaten on 60 off 40 balls to help India complete the 159-run target in 17.3 overs. For the hosts, Gill (23), Tilak Varma (26) and Jitesh Sharma (31) also made crucial contributions with the bat. For scoring his second half-century and picking a wicket, Dube was named the Player of the Match.

ALSO READ: Watch: Rohit Sharma absolutely livid, furiously yells at Shubman Gill after dismal run out in 1st T20I vs AFG

What Rohit said about match-winner Dube

“Lot of positives. Shivam Dube, the way Jitesh batted, Tilak as well and then Rinku is in good form as well. We want to keep trying different things – try and bowl our bowlers in different situations of the game, like you saw today, Washi bowled the 19th over. We want to challenge ourselves in the areas we are slightly uncomfortable with and the bowlers are not used to that. We want to try and do that. Keeping all of those things in mind, we’ll try and do whatever is possible but not at the cost of the game,” Rohit added.

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Now, ahead of the curtain raiser, Sarfaraz and Saud indulged in a war of words during one of the practice sessions. The video has gone viral on social media.

Cricket Pakistan deciphered the conversation between Sarfaraz and Saud, who both play for Karachi in the domestic circuit.

“For how long will I continue to be of use to you?” Shakeel was heard as saying in the video

Sarfaraz retorted, stating, “You won’t be of any use to me. To begin with, I never instructed you to do anything. I never requested you to make a swap. I swapped with the person I intended to.”

Shakeel countered, saying, “You still made the swap, so I was beneficial to you.”

A few days back, Sarfaraz and Saud were involved in a separate incident.

Sarfaraz had appealed for a timed-out dismissal against Saud Shakeel, who taking a long time to come out to the middle.

Upon realising the same, Saud made a scampering run towards the middle, and was eventually declared not out.

This led to jubilant scenes at the Manuka Oval, with Pakistan players cheering and clapping at the funny incident.

Pakistan squad for Australia Tests: Shan Masood (captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi

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Pat Cummins’ Australia teammate Glenn Maxwell recounted the World Cup presentation ceremony.

“It was quite funny watching the videos of the post-match presentation where he shook Modi’s hand and was stuck there on the podium,” Maxwell told theage.com.au.

“It felt like that lasted for about 10 minutes, him just standing there with the trophy waiting for the group to come on. But he actually dealt with it with class. He didn’t make a big song and dance about it, [he] just thought ‘you know what, I’ll wait here, be respectful.’ Not everyone would’ve dealt with that like he did.”

After handing over the trophy, PM Modi also met the Indian cricket team in the dressing room.

In a video shared by PIB, PM Modi is seen consoling the devastated team, speaking to the players individually.

“Aap log poora 10-10 game jeet ke aaye ho, yeh toh hota rehta hai. Muskuraiye bhai, desh aap logon ko dekh raha hai. Maine socha mil lun sab ko.(You have won 10 consecutive games. This one loss is normal, it keeps on happening. Please smile, the entire country is watching you. I just thought that I should go and meet you people),” PM Modi said.

“Hota hai (it happens),” he said to Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, holding their hands.

Speaking to Ravindra Jadeja, a fellow Gujarati, the PM said, “Kya babu (speaks in Gujarati and both laugh)”.

Approaching Mohammed Shami, who ended the tournament as a top wicket-taker, the Prime Minister wrapped him in a hug. “Arrey Shami, bahut accha kiya iss baar. (Well done, Shami. You played really well this time),” he said.

To Jasprit Bumrah, he said: “You speak Gujarati?” Bumrah replied, “A little bit”.

Further in the video, PM Modi said, “Toh, aap sab log bahut acchi mehnat kare ho. Chaliye, hota hai. Aur saathiyon zara ek doosre ka hausla buland karte chaliye. Aur jab aap log zara free honge aur Delhi aayenge toh baithunga aap sab ke saath. Meri taraf se nimantaran hai aap sab logon ko.(You guys have worked really hard and played exceptionally well. Just stick together and keep on motivating each other. Also, if whenever you guys are free and are in Delhi then let’s meet again. You all are cordially invited from my side.)”

The Indian cricket team was unbeaten in the World Cup, winning 10 matches on the trot before being beaten by Australia in the final.

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