India's dismal run in the FIH Men's Pro League saw them go down 3-4 in a shootout against Spain after a tense 1-1 draw in regulation time here on Tuesday. Despite holding a 1-0 advantage until the 59th minute, courtesy a brilliant strike from Maninder Singh, India conceded a late equaliser when Spain's Bruno Font found the net to take the match into shootout. Spain started strongly, controlling early possession and testing the Indian defence. They won their first penalty corner in the fourth minute, but the drag-flick was comfortably saved by Indian goalkeeper Mohith. Spain thought they had taken the lead in the eighth minute, but Jose Basterra's goal was disallowed. Shrugging off the pressure, India earned a penalty corner in the 14th minute, but Amit Rohidas's drag-flick was denied by Spanish goalkeeper Luis Calzado, keeping the first quarter goalless. The breakthrough arrived in the 19th minute. Skipper Hardik Singh dispossessed a Spanish player, turned brilliantly, and set up Maninder, who smashed a tomahawk into the net to give India a 1-0 lead. Spain immediately responded by winning a penalty corner, but Pepe Cunill's shot was saved by Suraj Karkera. Karkera pulled off another stunning save moments later to deny Basterra. Striker Abhishek also came close after a superb dribble, but failed as India held on to their slender 1-0 lead at halftime. In the third quarter, Spain pressed high while India looked to absorb the pressure. Spain's persistence earned them back-to-back penalty corners, both expertly saved by Mohith. As the quarter wound down, Spain was reduced to 10 men following a green card for Fortuno. India nearly capitalised on the advantage in the 44th minute, but Calzado made a tight save against Jugraj Singh's penalty corner strike. The final quarter saw India being reduced to 10 men after Sanjay received a green card in the 45th minute. Spain quickly won a penalty corner, but Karkera stood tall once again. As Spain pushed desperately for an equaliser, India found spaces on the counter. Vishnukant Singh won a penalty corner in the 52nd minute, but Rohidas missed the target. Minutes later, Rajinder Singh's drag-flick also failed to find the back of the net. With India trying to run down the clock, a costly defensive lapse in the 59th minute allowed Font to strike a superb equaliser. Spain won three consecutive penalty corners in the frantic final 13 seconds, but the Indian defence held firm to end the regulation time locked at 1-1. In the ensuing shootout, misses from Abhishek and Hardik Singh proved costly as India lost 3-4, walking away with a single point from the hard-fought encounter. India will next take on Australia in the fourth game of the Hobart leg of on Wednesday. India had lost 0-2 to Spain in the first leg match here, before going down 4-5 in shoot-out against Australia following a 2-2 draw. India are currently placed eighth in the nine team competition with just two points from seven matches. 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
25 February,2026 09:11 AM IST | Hobart | PTI1 Chinese-American skier Eileen Gu was born in San Francisco on September 3, 2003 2 Her full name, Eileen Feng Gu, is a combination of the surnames of her mother (Gu) and grandmother (Feng) 3 Her mother, Yan Gu, emigrated from China to the USA in the early 1990s 4 Gu was raised in the United States by her mother and grandmother Feng Guozhen 5 She began skiing at three, near Lake Tahoe, where her mother worked part-time as a ski instructor 6 Gu also ran cross-country and studied classical piano as a kid, but focused fully on skiing when she was a teenager 7 Gu began her career with slopestyle and once she was comfortable performing acrobatic jumps, began participating in halfpipe events (see box for event descriptions) 8 Gu started competing in international events in the 2017–18 season 9 In June 2019, Gu, then 15, announced she’d represent China instead of USA internationally 10 She first caught the eye at the 2020 Lausanne Winter Youth Olympics, where she won two gold (halfpipe, big air) and one silver (slopestyle) 11 At the 2021 Aspen World Championships, she won two gold (halfpipe, slopestyle) and one bronze (big Air) 12 At the 2021 Aspen Winter X Games, she claimed two gold (superpipe, slopestyle) and one bronze (big air) 13 At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics she clinched two gold (halfpipe, big air) and one silver (slopestyle) 14 After her success at the 2022 Beijing Games, Gu took to modelling and worked with many top international brands 15 Gu is pursuing quantum physics as a full-time student at California’s Stanford University 16 She also completed a term exchange at Oxford University in 2024 17 At the 2024 Aspen Winter X Games, Gu won a gold in the superpipe event 18 In 2025, she was the fourth-highest earning female athlete in the world, with an annual income of approximately $23 million 19 At the recent 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Gu won a gold (halfpipe) and two silver medals (big air, slopestyle) to cement herself as the most decorated freeskier of all time with six Olympic medals 20 Gu’s grandmother, who was a big part of her life growing up, passed away shortly after she defended her halfpipe title at the 2026 Winter Olympics Freestyle ski events explained Slopestyle: Athletes ski down a course laden with jumps and rails, doing tricks for which they are judged based on execution, difficulty, and variety. Halfpipe: Skiers perform several tricks while traveling down and up on either side of a curved slope with steep walls. Big Air: Skiers perform a spectacular trick combination after launching off a large ramp. Superpipe: A freestyle skiing event where athletes perform tricks in an oversized U-shaped, snow-walled halfpipe.
25 February,2026 08:34 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentSerena Williams may have traded match points for meetings, but her hustle doesn’t stop. Having quit tennis after the 2022 US Open, the 23-time Grand Slam champ, business investor and producer is all set to be part of a new Prime Video docuseries, The CEO Club. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) “As a CEO, you don’t win everything. You have to make hard decisions. Just like in tennis, you have to show up every day. You might lose, but you have to show up the next day,” said Williams, who stars in the eight-episode season that follows top execs navigating big decisions, family responsibilities and personal challenges while building global brands.
24 February,2026 09:18 AM IST | Los Angeles | A CorrespondentIndia’s world champion para archer Sheetal Devi shimmered in a golden outfit at the Vogue Values: Women of Excellence event recently, where she was felicitated. Sheetal, 19, shared this picture along with a few others to her eight lakh-plus Instagram followers with the caption: “A room filled with women cheering one another… Stories shared without filters. Strength offered without conditions. Support given without seeking applause… what a privilege to belong in circles where we rise by lifting each other.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sheetal Devi (@sheetal_archery) Fans of the 2024 Paralympic Games bronze medallist were quick to hail her achievements. One user wrote: “Your confidence is your real beauty.” Another said: “You are an icon! More power to you.”
24 February,2026 09:10 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentBombay Scottish (Mahim) completed an impressive double as both their girls and boys teams won MSSA U-9 inter-school basketball titles at Azad Maidan. In the girls final, the Mahim side overpowered Bombay Scottish (Powai) 18-3 in a one-sided contest. Arya Shah top scored with 14 of her team’s total of 18 points while teammates Shanaira Bandokar and Aryana Thitira chipped in with two points each for the victorious Mahim team. Bombay Scottish’s U-9 boys team with their trophy and medals For the Powai outfit, Teigan Sequeira netted all three points. The boys final saw the Mahim team beat Don Bosco International (Matunga) 13-6. Scottish’s Pratyay Sreenivasan scored seven points while Kabir Rege added six. For Don Bosco, Tyler D’Souza scored all six points.
24 February,2026 09:04 AM IST | Mumbai | Rufus VedanayagamIt was completely against the script. When all the betting money landed on Buckingham (backed down to 10-9-on), and minority supporters of Invictor (5/1) and Lady Scarlet (9/1) were secretly hoping for a miracle, the Pesi Shroff-trained three-year-old filly Margaretta, going out friendless at 14/1, thundered onto the scene from the rear, and passed them all to win the 37th edition of the Poonawalla Breeders’s Multi-Million (Gr 1), the richest juvenile race in the country, which was run as a feature event at the Mahalaxmi racecourse on Sunday. Thundering finish The powerful gallop Margaretta (Vivek G up) unleashed to pounce on Lady Scarlet (P Trevor up), who looked all set to cause an upset with a nearly successful start-to-finish mission, was unbelievable. The win made her sole owner Mehernosh H Deboo richer by R90 lakh. The win also saw the 37th version of the PBMM almost setting a new record timing, falling short by a mere 7/100th of a second, stopping the clock at 1 minute 21.16 seconds for the trip of seven furlongs. Fifth winner for Shroff This was Shroff’s fifth PBMM winner as a trainer after Picasso (2011), Costa Del Sol (2015), Accolade (2016) and Miracle (2021); and for jockey Vivek G, this was his first ever PBMM winner. “She posted some good work before the race, but no one around me shared my view, so I was not confident. In fact, in the paddock the owner [Maharnosh] asked me what I thought. I put him off, saying, ‘hoping she runs well, but expecting will be a bit too much’,” Shroff told mid-day after the race.
23 February,2026 03:26 PM IST | Mumbai | Prakash GosaviTomas Martin Etcheverry captured his maiden ATP Tour title at the Rio Open a 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 championship-match victory against Alejandro Tabilo. After Saturday rain postponed his semi-final match, the Argentine persevered through two matches on Sunday (local time) and eventually earned the ATP 500 title. “This is a dream come true for me. I was looking for a while for my first title. I’ve been working so hard with my team and I can’t believe it," said Etcheverry, who had previously lost three ATP Tour finals. “I just tried to give my 100 per cent. It was the final, the last match of the tournament, so I gave my 100 per cent and I think at the end, I have the prize," he added. Trailing Tabilo 3-6, 1-3, Etcheverry appeared physically spent, likely from completing his three-set semi-final against Vit Kopriva earlier in the day. But the 26-year-old, who in May 2024 was one point away from his first tour-level title in Lyon (l. Mpetshi Perricard), dug into his deepest reserves to earn a career milestone, ATP reports. Etcheverry, who earned his 100th tour-level match win on Friday, defeated Tabilo last week in the Buenos Aires quarter-finals and repeated that feat to extend his ATP Head-to-Head series lead to 2-0. Tabilo was aiming for his fourth tour-level crown and first at ATP 500 level. Up 18 places to No. 33 in the ATP Live Rankings, Etcheverry will return to the Top 40 for the first time since last February. Earlier, the Brazilian double Joao Fonseca and Felipe Melo defeated the German Constantin Frantzen and the Belgian Robin Haase in the men's doubles final 4-6, 6-3, 10-8. It was the first home trophy for 19-year-old Fonseca and the second consecutive title for 41-year-old Melo. 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.
23 February,2026 12:01 PM IST | Rio de Janeiro | IANSThe United States won the men's Olympic ice hockey gold for the first time in 46 years by beating Canada 2-1 on Sunday. Jack Hughes struck 1min 41sec into overtime to hand the US their first Olympic title since the 1980 'Miracle on Ice' win over the Soviet Union in Lake Placid. The goal, scored a few minutes after Hughes' front teeth were knocked out, deprived Canada of a record 10th Olympic title and its first since the 2014 Sochi Games. With US President Donald Trump ratcheting up the tensions with his North American neighbour over the past year, the game had an added edge -- and Trump was quick to praise the new gold medallists. "Congratulations to our great U.S.A. Ice Hockey team. THEY WON THE GOLD. WOW!" he posted on Truth Social. To hammer home the point, the White House X account posted a picture of a bald eagle pouncing on a Canada goose. The tone for the final sports event of the Milan-Cortina Games was set early on when the Americans were booed as they warmed up at the Santagiulia Arena by a crowd that appeared to be two-thirds Canadian. But chants of "USA, USA" soon rang out and they got louder when Matt Boldy gave the Americans a 1-0 lead in the first period, evading the challenge of two Canadian defenders and scoring past goaltender Jordan Binnington. "I was just trying to find a way to get up the middle. Sometimes you get a good bounce and the puck follows you. It was a fortunate bounce for sure," Boldy said. Having stopped the first 24 shots he faced, USA goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was finally beaten in the second period by Cale Makar's wrist shot that squeezed over his pad and into the net. The Americans came close to re-taking the lead at the end of the second period when Brock Faber's slap shot deflected off both posts but somehow didn't go in. Hughes took a high stick to the mouth from Canada's Sam Bennett in the third period leaving him bloodied and missing some teeth. But once the game went into the three-on-three overtime, Hughes applied the golden touch to send his teammates and the US supporters into raptures. USA coach Mike Sullivan said Hellebuyck, who blocked a total of 41 Canadian shots, had been the difference between two teams packed with talent from the National Hockey League (NHL). "Connor was a hero tonight for our team, without a doubt," said Sullivan. "Just a high stakes player in a high stakes environment. I think that's when players build their legacy and Connor certainly did that tonight. "It's crazy, I came into this game, I won the biggest in my career and really wasn't that nervous," Hellebuyck said. "The second I woke up this morning, I felt like I was doing everything right, I was stepping in the right spot and every step I took, it felt right and it kind of translated." 'Lots of personalities' Sullivan said the US team "was built with personality in mind". "You know, we were loaded with personality up and down our lineup. "There are whisky drinkers and milk drinkers, and we got a lot of whisky drinkers on this team." Canada coach Jon Cooper rued a missed opportunity. "Some days it's not meant to be. And unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be today." The victorious American players skated around the rink holding up a jersey with the name Gaudreau and the number 13 on the back in memory of former NHL player Johnny Gaudreau, who was killed in August 2024 along with his brother Matthew by a drunk driver while cycling in New Jersey. Finland, the champions in Beijing four years ago, won the bronze medal on Saturday by thrashing Slovakia 6-1. 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.
23 February,2026 10:32 AM IST | Milan | AFPFormer US Open tennis champion Sloane Stephens and ex-American football star Jozy Altidore, who was capped 115 times at the national level, have ended their marriage after four years. Stephens, who won the 2017 US Open, posted a story on Instagram announcing the split. “Jozy and I have decided to end our marriage. With peace, I am navigating this transition with mutual respect and kindly ask for privacy during this time,” her post read. Stephens 32, and Altidore, 36, were childhood sweethearts, having met in middle school. They got engaged in 2019, before getting married in 2022.
23 February,2026 09:12 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentThe Indian men's hockey team dished out a much improved show but still went down to formidable Australia in the penalty shootout in their FIH Pro League match here on Sunday. The two sides were tied at 2-2 after full time with Amit Rohidas (15th) and Jugraj Singh (43rd) putting India in front before a brace from Joel Rintala (47th, 56th) helped Australia get back on level terms. In the shootout, though, Australia emerged 5-4 victorious. This was after India lost five matches in a row in the FIH Pro League this year, including four in the home leg in Rourkela. They lost to Spain 0-2 in their first match of the Hobart leg on Saturday. Australia had the lion's share of possession in the opening exchanges, pushing India back in their own half. India stayed solid at the back and grew into the game to pile some pressure back on Australia, forcing Jed Snowden into action on a couple of occasions. India were rewarded with a penalty corner late in the first quarter, and made the most of it as Rohidas scored from his drag-flick to give them a 1-0 lead. The second quarter produced end-to-end action, with both teams creating chances. Australia had 10 circle penetrations and a couple of penalty corners in the first half as they looked for a way back into the game. India had nine circle penetrations, causing problems for the opposition on the counter attack. The visitors stood firm at the back, ensuring they held onto their one-goal advantage at half time. Australia continued to dominate possession after the restart. The Indian defensive line remained resolute at the back though, keeping the hosts at bay and preventing them from creating any clear cut opportunities. India doubled their lead with Jugraj converting a powerful drag-flick from a penalty corner to close out the third quarter. The hosts managed to reduce the deficit early in the fourth quarter, with Rintala scoring from a penalty corner. With momentum on their side, Australia earned another penalty corner as they remained persistent in their pursuit for an equaliser. However, they were denied by Yashdeep Siwach's crucial block on the line. With time running out, Australia eventually found the leveller from a set-piece as Rintala netted his second goal of the night from a penalty corner four minutes from the final hooter. Australia were relentless in the search of a winning goal and had a couple of opportunities to clinch the game. However, Mohith was exceptional in goal, pulling off some brilliant saves -- including a sensational double save -- to ensure India stay in the game. With the two teams tied at 2-2 after full time, the game went into a shootout to decide the winner. It was an intense shootout with both teams converting their first four penalties, finishing their chances expertly. However, Aditya Arjun Lalage was denied by Snowden in the final penalty, giving Australia a hard-fought win in this enthralling match. India will next take on Spain in their third game of the Hobart leg on Tuesday. 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
23 February,2026 08:36 AM IST | Hobart | PTIThe Gr 1, Poonawalla Breeders’s Multi-Million, is the prime attraction of Sunday’s evening card at Mahalaxmi, in which two colts (Invictor & Enrich) and two fillies (Blue Jet & Lady Scarlet) will try to stand in the way of Buckingham, the Karthik-trained colt who will be bidding for a first hat-trick by a three-year-old this season. Buckingham It will be a no-holds-barred battle for the title of the champion juvenile of the crop of 2023, and I expect the vastly improved Invictor (David Allan up) trained by Altmash Ahmed, and the filly with the highest Dynamic Class Factor, Lady Scarlet (P Trevor up), trained by Adhirajsingh, to put up a bold show. The last-named gets my first nomination. First race at 4 pm. Selections: Kumar R Dalal Gold Trophy (Class II; 1600m)Opus Dei 1, Zafferano 2, King's Gambit 3. Mystical Trophy (Class IV; 2400m)Harrison 1, Diego Garcia 2, Caccini 3. Dr Goolam E Vahanvati Trophy (Class IV; 1600m)Warlock 1, Marius 2, Her Charge 3. Intervalve Poonawalla Ltd Trophy (For 3y, Maidens; 1200m) Pinnacle 1, Bravion 2, Organised Chaos 3. Florrie and Freddy Sopher Gold Trophy (Class III; 1200m)Challenge Accepted 1, Charlie Brown 2, Joondalup 3. Corfe Castle Trophy (Class I; 1200m)Credence 1, Irish Gold 2, Social Butterfly 3. Hong Kong Jockey Club Trophy (Class V; 1400m)Machiavellian 1, Ministry Of Time 2, Mighty Hero 3. Recommendations Best bet: Pinnacle (4-10)Upsets: Black Thunder (2-4), Gold Bar (3-13) & Saseka (8-4) Today's pools Super jackpot pool: 3,4,5,6,7,8Jackpot pool: 4,5,6,7,8Treble pools: I - 2,3,4; II - 5,6,7Tanala pool: All races.
22 February,2026 09:37 AM IST | Mumbai | Prakash GosaviADVERTISEMENT
