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Women’s Asia Cup: Harmanpreet-led India favourites against Pakistan
Having already qualified for the semifinals with two comfortable victories, India will be looking to continue their winning run as they face Pakistan in their final league game of the Women’s Asia Cup in Dubai.
With a lopsided head-to-head record against Pakistan, India will be turning up as favourites to win the match. India have won 14 of their 17 T20I games against Pakistan. In their last match, during the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup, India defeated Pakistan by 64 runs in Birmingham. Smriti Mandhana scored 68 off 44 balls, while Deepti Sharma, who has 14 wickets against Pakistan in T20Is, registered a five-wicket haul. forumteam.blog
In Dubai, India’s top-order batters have been in good touch. Mandhana hammered 124 off 64 balls against Hong Kong to seal India’s semifinal spot. In their previous match, India humbled Thailand, with Shafali Verma smashing 64 off 36 balls.
However, the two matches have also raised a few questions, which India need to address before facing better teams such as reigning champions Sri Lanka. The middle-order batters are yet to play to their full potential. While Smriti and Shafali are providing a good start, No. 3 Pratika Rawal is yet to click. It will be interesting to see if Richa Ghosh or Bharti Fulmali put on some fireworks against Pakistan. On the bowling front, Deepti will be the leader, but the team will need Nandani Sharma to step up alongside spearhead Kranti Gaud.
On the other hand, Pakistan need a lot of improvement. Their batters fell short against Thailand before the bowlers stepped up to get them a win. The side comes with a vast experience of playing on slower pitches. With Shawaal Zulfiqar and Muneeba Ali showing their ability, the others too have to come forward. There’s no doubt that the shortcomings in their batting department have let the team down for a number of years.
Watch: Aryna Sabalenka stops her third round match midway after unusual cannabis odour takes over in US Open 2026
Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka had an unusual interruption during her third-round match at the on-going 2026 US Open when a strong smell of cannabis ushered onto the court at the Louis Armstrong Stadium midway through the contest.
The world No. 1 was taking on Ukraine’s Kamilla Rakhimova on Friday and had made a quick start, gaining a 3-0 lead in the opening set. While serving in the fourth game, Aryna Sabalenka suddenly stopped and walked towards chair umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore to complain about a smell that was bothering her right from the start.
Sabalenka was quick to identify what the smell was all about and reported this to the umpire without any hesitation. And it was actually of Marijuana’s.
“Someone is smoking weed,” Sabalenka told the umpire. “Would you mind … because it’s so strong,”
The umpire spoke to the officials as staff members looked into the source of the smell. Play resumed soon after with Sabalenka able to put the incident behind her and continue the match.
Aryna Sabalenka frenó su partido en el US Open por un espectador que estaba fumando marihuana en la tribuna.
"Es muy fuerte".
Cosas que pasan en Nueva York. pic.twitter.com/iZ02IIyUab
— Tiempo De Tenis (@Tiempodetenis1) September 4, 2026
The Belarusian eventually completed a 6-3, 6-4 win over Rakhimova to reach the fourth round. The result also extended her winning run at the US Open to 16 matches.
Sabalenka later explained that she was not objecting to people smoking cannabis in general. Her concern was that the smell was making it difficult to concentrate while competing. It is indeed a shocking thing as to how is someone able to smoke the substance during a major sporting competition, that too, in the United States.
The world number 1 also raised this question that people have the right to do whatever they want but smoking inside a tennis court just doesn’t seem right.
“I was, like, guys, you can do whatever, you can smoke whatever, you can relax as much as you can, but please, do not do it around the tennis courts. It’s a bit tricky to handle that smell while you’re trying to compete at your best,” Sabalenka said.
Despite the stadium staff’s best efforts, the source of the smell could not be found. Sabalenka said she was unsure whether it had come from a spectator or from outside the stadium with wind possibly carrying the smell into the venue.
“I don’t know if it was, like, coming from the crowd or was from the outside because the wind blows it into the stadium,” she added.
Cannabis use by adults is legal in New York but smoking is not permitted inside the US Open grounds. The smell has nevertheless become a familiar issue around the tournament with the venue located next to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
Sabalenka was not the only player to notice the smell during this year’s tournament. British player Katie Boulter had also spoken about the smell of cannabis around the practice courts, saying she was not a huge fan of it.
Meanwhile, after beating her Ukrainian counterpart in the third round, Aryna Sabalenka will now face American Taylor Townsend in the fourth round as she continues her bid for a third straight US Open title.
Keyaa Banerji : Silver Medal Followed by Online Abuse
Keyaa Banerji: Silver Medal Followed by Online Abuse
Indian powerlifter Keyaa Banerji should have been celebrating a major career achievement. Instead, her silver medal at the 2026 IPF World Sub-Junior & Junior Classic Powerlifting Championships was followed by a disturbing wave of online abuse.
Banerji won silver in the Junior Women’s 47kg deadlift event in Sun City, South Africa. She lifted 140kg, more than three times her body weight, to secure the medal for India.
However, the attention around her performance quickly took a darker turn.
Keyaa Banerji – World Championship Achievement
Keyaa Banerji delivered one of the biggest performances of her young career at the IPF Junior Worlds.
The 21-year-old lifted 140kg in the deadlift. She finished fifth overall in the Junior Women’s 47kg category. Her silver medal also highlighted her progress from her 2025 performance.
Her performance brought her increased attention on social media.
Unfortunately, that attention came with a disturbing cost.
Online Abuse Followed Her Viral Performance
As clips and posts of Banerji’s performance spread online, she soon faced a wave of unwanted attention.
Soon after, Keyaa spoke about receiving sexual harassment and abusive messages. She also revealed that people had created fake social media accounts using her identity.
More concerningly, artificial intelligence became part of the abuse. According to Banerji, thousands of AI-generated images were created using her face and body without her consent.
Instead of celebrating her achievement, Banerji found herself dealing with a deeply personal online ordeal.
AI Abuse Adds a New Threat for Women Athletes
Banerji’s experience also highlights a growing problem for women in sport.
In recent years, athletes have faced intense scrutiny on social media. However, AI tools have made it easier to manipulate images and create fake content without consent.
As a result, women athletes can lose control over how their images are used online.
Beyond criticism and unwanted comments, this type of abuse can have a much deeper impact. It can follow athletes long after they leave the competition arena.
“I Just Want to Exist as a Girl Who Likes to Deadlift”
Despite the abuse, Banerji has made her feelings clear.
For her, the focus remains on powerlifting and improving as an athlete. She has said that she simply wants to exist as a girl who enjoys deadlifting, rather than becoming the target of unwanted online attention.
At its core, her experience shows the difficult reality many women athletes face after gaining sudden visibility online.
For Keyaa Banerji, the barbell was never the problem. The attention around it was.
A Medal That Should Have Been the Story
Above all, Banerji’s 140kg deadlift should have been the headline.
Instead, her silver medal was overshadowed by a disturbing wave of online abuse. The reaction also exposed the darker side of social media and the growing misuse of AI.
Ultimately, her sporting achievement deserves to remain at the centre of the story.
She travelled to the IPF Junior Worlds to compete.
She stepped onto the platform and lifted 140kg.
She won a world silver medal.
Most importantly, that is the achievement that should be remembered.
The post Keyaa Banerji : Silver Medal Followed by Online Abuse first appeared on India Sports News.
'We look at Vaibhav in a very serious manner...': Devajit Saikia on Sooryavanshi
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) held a review meeting on Thursday, which was attended by secretary Devajit Saikia, Team India's Test and ODI skipper Shubman Gill, T20I captain Shubman Gill, head coach Gautam Gambhir, and Centre of Excellence (CoE) head VVS Laxman and other board officials at the headquarters in Mumbai.
The chairman of the senior men's selection committee, Ajit Agarkar, missed the BCCI's review meeting of India's limited-overs tours of Ireland and England, which in turn attracted plenty of attention.
The BCCI's secretary Saikia said that the management wants teenage star batsman Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to serve the nation as legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar did in the past.
"You see, the BCCI can be proud that we are promoting a player of the age of 15 years who is already making his mark in the international scenario and we are very cautious that every right step he should take forward so that it should not be a one series or one year wonder. We want Vaibhav Sooryavanshi or any player of his stature to continue and serve like Sachin Tendulkar did for the country or other players who in the past became legends so we look at Vaibhav in a very serious manner. He's monitored from every angle and every step he is taking forward in his international career. The BCCI is taking a very close look at his future," he said.
Earlier during the T20I series against England, Sooryavanshi became India's youngest-ever player to be handed an international debut. At just 15 years of age, the left-handed batsman has impressed cricket fans by showcasing towering maximums.
Recently, at the age of just 15 years and 157 days, he became the youngest player to score a half-century in the history of the Duleep Trophy, breaking a 57-year-old record. He also delivered impressive knocks during the concluded edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's international career statistics
So far, he has played six T20I matches and has accumulated 193 runs. His top score in the format has been 81 runs, including two half-centuries.
(With Inputs from Agencies)
What Sport Has Taught Me: Lessons in Resilience, Leadership and Life
The post What Sport Has Taught Me: Lessons in Resilience, Leadership and Life appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.