Finland's Valtteri Bottas took his first Formula One pole position at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday with a sizzling lap that ended Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton's bid for a seventh in a row.
With Cricket Australia repeatedly stressing on the "unrealistic" challenge of hosting the 16-team T20 World Cup in October-November, the likelihood of having the IPL has increased significantly in a year thrown haywire by the COVID-19 pandemic. The ICC recently pushed its final decision on the T20 World Cup to next month but the BCCI has already zeroed in on the September-October window for the tournament.
Lewis Hamilton broke ranks with other drivers who said they were comfortable with assurances received from the governing FIA, even as other sports cancel events and competitions around the globe.
The ISSF said there will no ranking points in the tournament scheduled to be held from March 15 to 26 as the organisers are not in a position to guarantee participation of all athletes owing to the extraordinary situation.
There have been at least 1,641 cases of the virus in the Gulf region. Dubai has postponed its March boat show until November and Abu Dhabi postponed the ITU World Triathlon event this month, after earlier cancelling a cycling event in which two riders were diagnosed with the virus.
Indian IT giants like TCS, Infosys and Wipro have decided to call back their employees from Bahrain.
Latest reports from Bahrain speak of considerable tension marked by anti-king and anti-government slogans shouted by thousands of Shia mourners.
Determined not to let Pearl Square turn into another Tahrir Square, authorities in Bahrain reacted with force on pro-reform protestors who had gathered at the main square in Bahraini capital Manama.
The race was originally set to be held in Shanghai on April 19, but the governing body FIA and Formula One said in a statement that they had jointly decided to postpone it.
Shanghai sports authorities have recommended the suspension of all sporting events in the city due to the coronavirus outbreak, casting further doubt on whether the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix will take place. This year's calendar has a record 22 races, leaving little chance of any rescheduling. Russia, whose race is in September but has previously been held in April, has already ruled out a date swap.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel won the Bahrain Grand Prix to go seven points clear at the top of the Formula One standings on Sunday, with Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton staging a late charge to finish second.
From the Gulf countries to Malaysia and the UK to the US, the multi-agency operation christened 'Vande Bharat Mission' will see the state-owned AI operate 64 flights till May 13 in the first phase to ferry around 15,000 Indian nationals from 12 countries.
Young Indian shuttler Pratul Joshi clinched his maiden international title by notching up a hard-fought win over Aditya Joshi in the $17,500 Bahrain International Challenge badminton final at Segayya in Bahrain.
India on Monday told Bahrain that terrorism emanating from Pakistan remains its most important concern and support from across the border has incited the current unrest in Jammu and Kashmir.
Demonstrators denounced the Grand Prix as a lavish stunt by a government that crushed Arab Spring protests last year and remains out of touch with popular demand for change.
Formula One cars took to the track in Bahrain on Friday, while the government, hoping for a successful Grand Prix, squared off against activists determined to mark it with "days of rage" after more than a year of Arab Spring protests.
18-year-old Aditya Choudhary successfully completed the Ironman 70.3 triathlon in six hours and five minutes.
Rediff.com presents some memorable moments from the September 27 to October 6 meet. Take a look.
The unprecedented shutdown of world sport in response to the coronavirus spread that has infected more than 134,000 people and killed around 5,000 also prompted organisers to postpone the Formula One motor races in Vietnam and Bahrain. The start of the lucrative Indian Premier League has also been postponed until April 15 as a "precautionary measure", the Board of Control for Cricket in India said.
It was just a tad slower than the 3:15.71 clocked by the Indian team while winning gold in the Asian Games last year.
Credit rating agency Moody's changed Formula One's outlook to negative from positive on Thursday to reflect the impact of the coronavirus crisis on a global sport that has yet to race in 2020.
Egypt-inspired anti-government protesters continue to throng a prominent square in Bahrain's capital on Wednesday, despite a rare apology by the king for deaths of two demonstrators in police firing in the last two days.
Kerala top the list of state-wise break-up of repatriation requests with 25,246, followed by 6,617 from Tamil Nadu and 4,341 from Maharashtra. A total of 3,715 people from Uttar Pradesh requested for evacuation, 3,320 from Rajasthan, 2,796 from Telangana and, 2,786 from Karnataka.
Charles Leclerc seized pole position for the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday ahead of team mate Sebastian Vettel who completed a front row lockout for Ferrari.
The prime minister spent about 20-25 minutes at Jaitley's residence.
Cleartrip acquired Saudi travel firm Flyin last July and it provides bilingual ground support service and itineraries for inbound tourists.
Though India is not a member of the G7 grouping, Modi has been personally invited by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Though India is not a member of the G-7 grouping, Modi has been personally invited by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Modi's visit to Bahrain is significant as it will be the first visit of an Indian prime minister to the country.
'If UAV technology is used by the adversary to target VIPs or strategic targets it would be a different ball game altogether,' says Group Captain Murli Menon (retd).
Germany's Nico Rosberg romped to his fifth win in a row for Mercedes on Sunday and ended Formula One champion team mate Lewis Hamilton's hopes of a third successive Bahrain Grand Prix victory.
Sebastian Vettel's hopes of fighting champions Mercedes for victory in Sunday's Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix went up in smoke before the start when his Ferrari's engine blew on the formation lap.
Stewards said in a statement that the Briton had escaped a more severe sanction "due to the fact that no clear instruction was given to the driver on where he should park the car after qualifying".
Triple Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton smashed the Bahrain circuit lap record on Saturday to take pole position ahead of Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg for Sunday's grand prix. The Briton's best lap of one minute 29.493 seconds was the fastest ever at the Sakhir track. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen qualified third and fourth for the second race of the season.
McLaren's Fernando Alonso has been ruled out of Sunday's Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix on medical grounds following his huge crash in the Australian season-opener on March 20. The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement that the decision had been taken after a medical examination at the Sakhir circuit on Thursday. "Two sets of chest CT scans were compared and it was decided that there was insufficient resolution of the signs to allow him to compete on safety grounds," the statement said.
Kenya's Ruth Chepngetich overcame extreme heat and humidity to win the World Championship midnight marathon on Friday, in a gruelling test of survival that saw nearly a third of the 70 starters fail to reach the finish line.
Formula One needs to change its new qualifying format after it fell flat at Saturday's Australian season-opener and tweaks can be made before the next race in Bahrain, according to the sport's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
After the spirited show against formidable Australia, India would hope to make an impact in the Asian Cup football tournament when they take on Bahrain in their second group match in Doha on Friday.
India's 4x400 mixed relay team is in line for an Asian Games gold in the event after Kemi Adekoya of Bahrain was handed a four-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for failing a dope test.
India began the year on 97 in FIFA rankings, but after two wins, four draws and seven losses, the country ended 2019 at 108