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Rohit Sharma quashes retirement rumours, links up with a familiar face to regain fitness, prepare for Australia ODIs

Rohit Sharma quashes retirement rumours, links up with a familiar face to regain fitness, prepare for Australia ODIs

Rohit Sharma has resumed training after returning to India. He shared a photo of himself in the gym alongside former India batting coach Abhishek Nayar. After a brief break from cricket, he has shifted focus back on training to regain fitness ahead of the Australia ODIs in October. The 38-year-old announced his retirement from Test cricket in the middle of IPL 2025 ahead of the England tour. The decision came as a shock to many, as a few days later, Virat Kohli also bid adieu to the format. Rohit Sharma has resumed training ahead of the Australia ODIs.(Instagram/@rohitsharma45)
The last time he played for India was in the Champions Trophy, where he led the Men in Blue to the title triumph with a win over New Zealand in the final. Meanwhile, he has not officially stepped down from the ODI captaincy position, but speculations are rife that the BCCI might give him the big responsibility to Shubman Gill, who recently took over the charge of the Test team.
Meanwhile, a report in Dainik Jagran claims that Rohit could soon call time on his ODI career as well. With the Bangladesh series in August now cancelled, India's next 50-over outing will be an away series against Australia from October 19 to 25. The publication further reported that both Rohit and Virat Kohli may bring the curtains down on their ODI journeys after the Australia tour. However, Rohit's return to training suggests he has no intention of stepping away from the 50-over format anytime soon.
Rohit went on a break in the UK with his family after the completion of the IPL, where he also went to watch the fifth Test between India and England at the Oval, London. He recently returned to India and, a couple of days later, was spotted in a Mumbai gym, resuming his training with Nayar.
Rohit Sharma posted an Instagram story with Abhishek Nayar in a gym.(Instagram/@rohitsharma45)
Abhishek Nayar named head coach of WPL team
Off the field, Rohit and Nayar share a long-standing bond that has stood the test of time. The former India coach has been a constant source of support for Rohit, especially during challenging phases in his career. After being left out of the 2011 ODI World Cup squad, Rohit turned to Nayar for guidance, and even today, he continues to train with him to sharpen his skills and maintain peak fitness. In the 2025 IPL, Rohit endured a slow start but bounced back strongly, later crediting Nayar for his resurgence in a heartfelt social media post.
Nayar, who was removed as the Indian men's team assistant coach recently, less than a year into the job, recently joined UPW after the franchise parted ways with Jon Lewis, who had been in charge of the team for the last three seasons. The former Indian cricketer also re-joined the KKR camp in the middle of IPL 2025 after getting sacked by the BCCI.
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S. Rohit Krishna becomes India's 89th Grand Master
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The Hindu

time7 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

S. Rohit Krishna becomes India's 89th Grand Master

S. Rohith Krishna has always been a bright student of academics. However, Rohith felt that his pursuit of excellence in academics slowed down the pace of his becoming a chess Grandmaster. When he became the 89th Indian Grandmaster at the Almaty Masters Qonaev Cup in Kazakhstan on Tuesday (August 12, 2025), with a victory over IM Artur Davtyan of Romania in the final round, securing six points out of nine, he was on top of the world. The 19-year-old, a third year student of SSN College of Engineering, knows that his journey has just begun. Speaking to The Hindu from Dubai, where he is taking part in the Abu Dhabi International tournament beginning August 15, Rohith said: 'Finally, achieving the dream of becoming a Grandmaster—one I have pursued since 2013—has brought me immense relief and joy. I will always remember my friends, family, and mentors who stood by me in difficult times, encouraging me never to give up. This is not the end—it is just the beginning of a longer journey ahead.' Rohith acknowledged the support of his school—Sunshine (Velachery), and College—SSN College, that made the path to becoming a Grand Master relatively smooth. 'At times, I felt the pressure of not achieving the Grandmaster title as quickly as I expected, as balancing academics and chess was never easy. However, the support of The Sunshine School and SSN College kept me motivated to excel in both fields,' he emphasised while thanking the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu for its financial assistance. K. Visweswaran, head coach of Kameswaran Chess Academy (Chennai), and one who has been training with Rohith closely since 2019, said his ward wanted to achieve excellence in academics and chess, and it was a conscious decision. 'He remains a very good student. He invested two years for school (Std. XI and XII) and one year in College (SSN) to get accustomed to the environment. Rohith looks at life holistically,' said the coach. According to his coach, 'Rohith is a diligent and a patient player. He is more or less like former England cricketer David Gower, elegant and positive. Like Gower, he is always ready to punish loose balls. He is tactically sharp and quick to capitalise on the opponent's mistakes. Now with the GM pressure off his back, he can go for tournament wins.' After becoming an International Master in 2022, Rohith earned his maiden GM-norm by winning the Hotel Stockholm North GM round-robin tournament in March 2025 and he got his second norm in the 2025 Dubai Open in May. It's time to witness a new and revitalised Rohith.

Badminton: Tough draws for PV Sindhu, fellow Indians at World Championships 2025
Badminton: Tough draws for PV Sindhu, fellow Indians at World Championships 2025

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  • India Today

Badminton: Tough draws for PV Sindhu, fellow Indians at World Championships 2025

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In a significant blow to India's medal prospects, the nation's top women's doubles pairing of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly has withdrawn from the event. World No. 39 Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra, along with Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda, will fly the flag in women's doubles. Priya and Shruti open against France's Margot Lambert and Camille Pognante, while World No. 38 Rutaparna and Swetaparna will face Bulgaria's Gabriela Stoeva and Stefani Stoeva in the first round. In mixed doubles, India will field two pairs. World No. 17 Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto have received a first-round bye. The 16th seeds could meet sixth seeds Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong as early as the third round. Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde will also compete in mixed doubles. Previous Indian medallists at the World Championships: Prakash Padukone – Bronze – Men's Singles – 1983 Jwala Gutta / Ashwini Ponnappa – Bronze – Women's Doubles – 2011 PV Sindhu – Bronze – Women's Singles – 2013 PV Sindhu – Bronze – Women's Singles – 2014 Saina Nehwal – Silver – Women's Singles – 2015 Saina Nehwal – Bronze – Women's Singles – 2017 PV Sindhu – Silver – Women's Singles – 2017 PV Sindhu – Silver – Women's Singles – 2018 PV Sindhu – Gold – Women's Singles – 2019 B Sai Praneeth – Bronze – Men's Singles – 2019 Kidambi Srikanth – Silver – Men's Singles – 2021 Lakshya Sen – Bronze – Men's Singles – 2021 Chirag Shetty / Satwiksairaj Rankireddy – Bronze – Men's Doubles – 2022 HS Prannoy – Bronze – Men's Singles – 2023 India's hopes of maintaining their streak of winning at least one medal at the World Championships since 2011 may take a hit this year, as several star players have been handed challenging draws at the world meet. The doubles pair and former World No. 1 combination of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty carry much of the nation's hopes for success at the prestigious event, which will be held from 25 to 31 August at the Adidas Arena in Paris. Former bronze medallist Lakshya Sen faces the No. 1 seed Shi Yuqi in one of the most anticipated first-round clashes. Lakshya holds a 1–3 head-to-head record against the Chinese top seed. The two last met at the Indonesia Open in June, where Lakshya lost a hard-fought encounter 21–11, 20–22, 15–21. Should Lakshya overcome the tough Chinese challenge in the opening round, he is likely to meet 10th seed Christo Popov in the third round. Meanwhile, 2023 bronze medallist HS Prannoy will begin his campaign against Finland's Joakim Oldorff. The World No. 34 has endured a difficult season, often failing to progress beyond the second round in most tournaments. 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Previous Indian medallists at the World Championships: Prakash Padukone – Bronze – Men's Singles – 1983 Jwala Gutta / Ashwini Ponnappa – Bronze – Women's Doubles – 2011 PV Sindhu – Bronze – Women's Singles – 2013 PV Sindhu – Bronze – Women's Singles – 2014 Saina Nehwal – Silver – Women's Singles – 2015 Saina Nehwal – Bronze – Women's Singles – 2017 PV Sindhu – Silver – Women's Singles – 2017 PV Sindhu – Silver – Women's Singles – 2018 PV Sindhu – Gold – Women's Singles – 2019 B Sai Praneeth – Bronze – Men's Singles – 2019 Kidambi Srikanth – Silver – Men's Singles – 2021 Lakshya Sen – Bronze – Men's Singles – 2021 Chirag Shetty / Satwiksairaj Rankireddy – Bronze – Men's Doubles – 2022 HS Prannoy – Bronze – Men's Singles – 2023 Join our WhatsApp Channel

NBA star Kevin Durant sparks dating rumors after being spotted with former WNBA athlete Liz Cambage
NBA star Kevin Durant sparks dating rumors after being spotted with former WNBA athlete Liz Cambage

Time of India

time14 minutes ago

  • Time of India

NBA star Kevin Durant sparks dating rumors after being spotted with former WNBA athlete Liz Cambage

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