Hockey India's decision to drop three players, including veteran midfielder Manpreet Singh, from the list of probables for the upcoming FIH Pro League season stemmed from "serious disciplinary" issues during the team's tour of South Africa in December. Sources said that in the wake of alleged indiscipline during the three-Test tour, Manpreet Singh, Dilpreet Singh and goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak were left out of the 33-member probables' list for the national preparatory camp, scheduled from February 1 to 7, ahead of the upcoming FIH Pro League season. India endured a tough Test series between December 2 and 16, losing two matches while the third ended in a draw. "A serious case of indiscipline came to light during the South Africa tour when a player was absent from a team meeting. It was later discovered that Manpreet, Dilpreet, and Pathak had allegedly given him chewing gum containing a banned substance, which caused him to lose consciousness," a source told PTI Bhasha. After allegedly consuming gummies infused with a banned substance, the player felt nauseous and missed a team meeting. The incident was subsequently brought to the attention of the coaching staff, following which it was revealed that the gummies were allegedly supplied by Manpreet, Dilpreet and Pathak. "The player had to be tended to throughout the night and was also unable to attend the team meeting the following morning," the source added. The source added that the players who allegedly supplied the gummies later apologised, but the management took strong objection to the incident and omitted them from the probables' list. "The players later apologised for giving their teammate a banned substance, but the decision to exclude them from the upcoming camp was announced during the team meeting." It is learnt that no written report of the incident was submitted to Hockey India by India's foreign coach, Craig Fulton. The exclusion of senior players, particularly Manpreet Singh -- a former India captain and part of the squads that won back-to-back Olympic bronze medals at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 -- came as a surprise to many. There was also speculation that Manpreet's omission was aimed at preventing him from equalling Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey's record of 412 international appearances, with the midfielder just one match away from matching the mark. India, who had finished eighth among nine teams in the last Pro League season, will open their campaign against Belgium on February 11 followed by a game against Argentina a day later. The Harmanpreet Singh-led side will then take on Belgium in the return fixture on February 14, followed by the match against Argentina a day later. The team will then fly to Hobart where they will take on Spain (February 21 and 24) and Australia (February 22 and 25). The European leg of the tournament will be held in June. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
30 January,2026 02:42 PM IST | New Delhi [India] | PTIV Srinivasan, husband of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President and Rajya Sabha MP P T Usha, died in the early hours of Friday, according to family sources.He was 67. Srinivasan collapsed at his residence early this morning. Although he was rushed immediately to a nearby hospital, he could not be revived, the sources said.Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to a bereaved Usha and expressed his condolences on the passing away of her husband, officials said. A former central government employee, Srinivasan was a constant presence by Usha's side throughout her illustrious sporting and political career. He was widely regarded as her pillar of support and the driving force behind her many professional milestones. The couple have a son, Ujjwal. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
30 January,2026 10:11 AM IST | Kozhikode (Kerala) | PTIIndia’s top-rated chess player Arjun Erigaisi could not match the skills of Vincent Keymer of Germany in key moments and crashed to another defeat in the 10th round of Tata Steel Masters here. Meanwhile, world champion D. Gukesh fought his way back into contention, delivering an endgame masterclass against young prodigy Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
30 January,2026 08:21 AM IST | Wijk Aan Zee (The Netherlands) | PTIFormer Australian hockey player Michael Nobbs, who coached the Indian men’s team at the 2012 London Olympics, has died after a prolonged illness. He was 72 years old and is survived by his wife Lee Capes, a former Australian women’s international and daughter Kaitlin, who is a current Hockeyroos star. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
30 January,2026 08:21 AM IST | Melbourne | PTI“In the end, no one really knows which horse will win — certainly not the owner,” Robert Morley’s famous quote must be weighing heavy on the minds of at least two horse owners in the Indian Derby fray — KN Dhunjibhoy and Shiven Surendranath. They own, along with friends, the top two horses running in Sunday’s Villoo C Poonawalla Indian Derby (Gr 1) at the Mahalaxmi racetrack — the Pesi Shroff-trained Fynbos and the Adhirajsingh-trained Baychimo. “I’m very nervous at the moment,” KN Dhunjibhoy told mid-day on Wednesday, before laughing aloud, “certainly much more nervous than my filly Fynbos, who will do the actual running. You can say I’m already having butterflies in my stomach.” Dhunjibhoy has reason to feel anxious as many of his horses have finished runner-up in the Indian Derby. “I have lost more Indian Derby races than I have won. A long list of my horses have finished second — a clear case of seconditis,” he added. After opening his Indian Derby account with Indictment in 1997, Dhunjibhoy had to wait for 25 years to win the race again in his own silks. In that quarter of a century, his horses finished second on four occasions — Zurbaran (2003), Estonia (2004), Frida Kahlo (2005) and Sergeant At Arms (2017), before Zuccarelli broke the jinx in 2022 to go one better. Understandably, Dhunjibhoy is leaving no stone unturned to enable Fynbos to put her best foot forward. He is importing jockey Tom Marquand from England to ride her on Sunday. Comparatively, Shiven Surendranath, in whose colours Baychimo runs, is almost an upstart. His Velvet Rope caused one of the biggest upsets in Derby history in 2006. After two decades, Surendranath has a horse in the Derby fray, Baychimo, who is a top contender. Will lightning strike twice in the same spot after 20 years? “Baychimo is a lovely horse. You will fall in love with him if you spend even a minute in his company,” Shiven told mid-day. “I have led in a Derby winner once, but trust me this Sunday I will not be thinking about myself — I want Baychimo to win for his own sake,” added an emotional Shiven. Baychimo will be ridden by Indian champion Suraj Narredu, who has an insatiable hunger for winners despite riding over 2500 of them. Clearly, a lot more than mere reputation will be riding on Fynbos and Baychimo this Sunday.
30 January,2026 08:21 AM IST | Mumbai | Prakash GosaviIndia’s two-time Olympic medal-winning pistol shooter Manu Bhaker believes the NRAI-organised Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship in New Delhi (February 2 to 14) will serve as vital preparation for the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan (September 19 to October 4). “I’m really looking forward to the Asian Championship, since it’s on our home turf. I’m really excited to perform in front of my family and friends. I have really prepared well for it. This competition is very important as I’m looking for progressive growth throughout the year, in the lead-up to the Asian Games. The performance here will show me where I stand in terms of technique, and that will help me figure out what sort of changes I need to make moving ahead. I’m confident that not just me, but all the Indian shooters will do a good job,” Bhaker said during a virtual media interaction on Thursday, organised by FanCode, who will be broadcasting the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship on the FanCode app and website. Bhaker, 23, was rather off-colour in 2025 after the highs of securing a double bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Despite winning three bronze medals (including one in the individual 10m air pistol) at the Asian Championships in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, Bhaker failed to find a spot on the podium in the subsequent World Championships in Cairo, Egypt, and the ISSF World Cup Final in Doha, Qatar. Reflecting on last year, the Haryana-born shooter, who has won 10 medals at the ISSF-organised Asian Championships (including four gold medals), said: “I felt I was in decent form through most of the year and had some good matches, but the podium finishes were comparatively lower [than previous years]. So, I’m hoping that changes this year, and I will try my best to do so.”
30 January,2026 08:20 AM IST | Mumbai | Ronan CarvalhoNovak Djokovic knows all too well the mountain he must scale to capture an elusive record 25th Grand Slam crown, but the Serbian great is not ready to “walk out with a white flag” just yet. The 38-year-old was gifted passage into an Australian Open semi-final showdown with Jannik Sinner after Lorenzo Musetti retired hurt when in complete control of their last-eight clash, 6-4, 6-3, 1-3. Djokovic was crushed by Sinner in last year’s French Open and Wimbledon semi-finals, but remains optimistic he can still pull off an upset. “I’m creating my own history and I think I’ve been very clear when I say what my intention is in terms of achievements and objectives and results. Are they [Sinner and Alcaraz] better right now than me and all the other guys? Yes, they are. I mean, the quality and the level is amazing. But does that mean that I walk out with a white flag? No. I’m going to fight until the last shot, until the last point, and do my very best to challenge them,” said a determined Djokovic, who is a ten-time winner in Melbourne. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
30 January,2026 08:20 AM IST | Melbourne | AFPMaria Sharapova: I’ve been grunting since I was a kid. It’s just instinctive. It’s not planned or I never thought about it while playing. It just came naturally. You either do it or you don’t. Victoria Azarenka: I’m just being me. I say what I want to say. I laugh when I want to laugh. I play how I want to play. I grunt when I want to grunt. I can’t stop and I won’t. Guys grunt too. Serena Williams: I grunt because growing up I liked Monica Seles and she had this very cool grunt which sounded like, “aaa-eee.” So I started grunting and later it came naturally. Monica Seles: I’ve grunted since age 7-8. I was a little girl and they didn’t have kids racquets in those days so my dad gave me his racquet, and I was tiny, so I put all my energy into it and so the grunt.
30 January,2026 08:20 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentBelarusian Aryna Sabalenka said that an umpire call against her for grunting helped fire her to victory over Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina on Thursday in a politically charged Australian Open semi-final. There was no handshake afterwards as top-ranked Sabalenka triumphed 6-2, 6-3 to roll into a fourth Melbourne final in a row. Rybakina in summit clash She faces Kazakh fifth seed Elena Rybakina for her third Melbourne title. Rybakina fought her way into the title match by downing American sixth seed Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-6 (9-7) in a one-hour -40-minute arm-wrestle. It denied the 12th-seeded Svitolina a piece of history, having been on the brink of becoming the first woman from Ukraine to reach a Grand Slam singles final in the Open era. Like other players from Ukraine, Svitolina does not shake hands with opponents from Russia or Moscow’s ally, Belarus, because of the war. An announcement was made before the match at Rod Laver Arena and a statement flashed up on a big screen saying there would be no handshake, asking fans to “respect” that. The two players also noticeably kept apart for the pre-match formalities and photos. There was controversy at the start of the fourth game. With the match on serve, Sabalenka was hit with a hindrance call for grunting during a rally, triggering a long video review and boos. An irritated Sabalenka lost the review and point, but recovered to break for 3-1, hold for 4-1. “That’s actually never happened to me, especially with my grunting,” said an emotional Sabalenka. ‘Wrong call’ “I think it was the wrong call, but whatever. She [umpire] really — how do I say it in a nice way — she really pissed me off. And it actually helps me and benefits my game. I was more aggressive. I was not happy with the call, and it really helped me to get that game,” added Sabalenka. 6-1Aryna Sabalenka’s win-loss record against Elina Svitolina in women’s singles 11Sabalenka’s winning streak in 2026; she won the Brisbane International leading into the Aus Open 26No. of singles ties won by Sabalenka in her last 27 matches at the Aus Open. Her only loss came to USA’s Madison Keys in the 2025 final 03Sabalenka is now only the third woman in the Open Era to reach four consecutive Aus Open finals, after Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Martina Hingis This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
30 January,2026 08:19 AM IST | Melbourne | AFPIndian GM Arjun Erigaisi was forced to settle for a quick draw against Hans Moke Niemann of the United States in the ninth round of the Tata Steel Masters chess tournament here. Erigaisi played the white side of an English opening wherein his attempts to complicate matters as per his preference did not materialise once again in the tournament. The opening fizzled out with black giving up the right to castle in favour of quick development and Arjun realised very soon that it could be dangerous to hope for something out of nothing. Predictably, the two shook hands after 22 moves. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
29 January,2026 08:57 AM IST | Wijk Aan Zee (The Netherlands) | PTITennis fans at the Australian Open are speculating about what could be signs of a relationship between top seed Carlos Alcaraz and world famous DJ Peggy Gou, after his win over Alex de Minaur on Tuesday night. Gou, who will be performing at the Australian Open on Sunday afternoon before the men’s singles final, was spotted cheering Alcaraz on from his players’s box during the quarter-final, which the Spaniard won in straight sets. After the match, Alcaraz was asked about the renowned South Korean DJ and music producer. “Peggy is a friend, she’s really cool. I’m happy to see her here,” said Alcaraz, before adding: “I’d better win the next round if I want to see her playing [performing]. I’ve got great support from her, which is really cool. Hopefully, I’ll see her play on Sunday.” Gou was born by the name Kim Min-ji in Incheon, South Korea, on July 3, 1991 and her performance fee is in the six figure-mark, as reported by Britain’s The Daily Mail, with some sources suggesting a starting price of $300,000 (approximately Rs 2.76 crore). Before the Australian Open, Alcaraz and Gou were also spotted at a dinner date in Seoul, it is learnt. Some fans are convinced Alcaraz is in love. “He is in looove,” one follower wrote on Instagram. “Bro is struggling to lie. They are clearly not friends,” claimed another online follower.
29 January,2026 08:57 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentADVERTISEMENT
-1769746166518_d.png "V Srinivasan, former central govt employee and P T Usha’s husband, passes away. Pic/X @PTUshaOfficial")
