Jyothi Yarraji undergoes successful knee surgery to repair ACL
New Delhi, July 14: Asian champion and national record holder 100m hurdler Jyothi Yarraji has undergone a successful knee surgery which will not only rule her out of the World Championships in September but also bring curtains to her season. The 25-year-old Yarraji informed on her social media handle that she underwent surgery on Friday to repair an ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) tear on her right knee. The procedure was performed by the well known surgeon Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala. “Hello everyone, I’m happy to share that this Friday, I successfully underwent a successful surgery to repair an ACL tear on my right knee with Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala. The past few weeks have been tough for me, as this injury has stopped me from doing what I love the most,” Yarraji wrote on Instagram. An ACL tear surgery normally takes at least six months to heal. That would mean that Yarraji will be ruled out of the Tokyo World Championships (September 13-21) and she will be able to come back to action only next year. (PTI)
Former India pacer Varun Aaron joins SRH as bowling coach
Hyderabad, July 14: Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday appointed former India pacer Varun Aaron as their bowling coach for the 2026 IPL season. Aaron will take over from former New Zealand left-arm quick James Franklin. “A fiery addition to our coaching staff! Welcome Varun Aaron as our new bowling coach,” the SRH announced on their X account. Aaron had played nine Tests and as many ODIs for India between 2011 and 2015. Aaron’s last competitive match was a Vijay Hazare Trophy game for Jharkhand against Goa at Jaipur on January 5 earlier this year. However, Aaron brought curtains down on his playing career after Jharkhand failed to enter the knockout stages of the domestic 50-over competition. (PTI)
Hermann’s debut heroics lead Proteas to T20 win over Zimbabwe
Harare, July 14: South African batter Rubin Hermann made an impressive T20 debut and led Proteas to a five-wicket victory against Zimbabwe in the opening game of the tri-series on Monday. The 28-year-old Herman top-scored with 45 off 37 balls and made up for the top-order collapse before South Africa cruised to 142-5 in 15.5 overs in its first T20 this year. Dewald Brevis smashed five sixes in his belligerent 41 off just 17 balls in a strong Proteas chase. Zimbabwe was earlier limited to 141-6, despite an unbeaten 54 from its skipper Sikandar Raza, with George Linde picking up 3-10 after South Africa captain Rassie van der Dussen won the toss and elected to field. Fast bowlers Lungi Ngidi (1-15) and Nandre Burger (1-22), returning after almost 10-month absence from lower-back stress fracture, bowled well upfront before Raza and Ryan Burl (29) provided the acceleration for Zimbabwe in the second half of the innings. South Africa will take on New Zealand in the second game of the tri-series on Wednesday. (AP)
Bangladesh keeps series alive with 83-run win against SL in 2nd T20
Dambulla, July 14: Sri Lanka was skittled for 94 in 15.2 overs as Bangladesh won the second Twenty20 by 83 runs to level the three-match series at 1-1 on Sunday. It was Bangladesh’s second biggest T20 victory by runs. Bangladesh captain Litton Das scored a 50-ball 76, his first T20 half century after 13 games. He helped to lead Bangladesh to 177-7 in 20 overs after Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bowl. In-form batter Kusal Mendis was run out in the second over of Sri Lanka’s reply and the hosts slipped to 30-4 inside the powerplay against fast bowler Shoriful Islam (2-12), one of the three changes Bangladesh made after losing the opening game. Opening batter Pathum Nissanka (32) and Dasun Shanaka (20) were the only batters to cross the double-figure mark before Sri Lanka was bowled out with more than four overs to spare. All five Bangladesh bowlers were among the wickets. Legspinner Rishad Hossain (3-18) finished off the match by having No. 10 batter Binura Fernando stumped. Sri Lanka won the T20 opener by seven wickets with an over to spare on Thursday. The final T20 match is on Wednesday at Colombo. Sri Lanka won a three-match ODI series against Bangladesh 2-1 as well as a two-match test series 1-0. (AP)
No Indians golfers at 2025 Open
Portrush (N Ireland), July 14: There will be no Indian golfers at the 2025 Open, which is a pity, since Shubhankar Sharma has done well at the last two Opens – he was T-8 at Royal Liverpool for the best-ever result by an Indian, and was T-19 last year at Royal Troon. The most appearances by an Indian at the Open is six by Anirban Lahiri and the best finish is T-8 by Sharma in 2023. Eight Indians have played at the Open – Gaurav Ghei, Jyoti Randhawa, Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Atwal, Shiv Kapur, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Anirban Lahiri and Shubhankar Sharma. Though Shubhankar is not in the field, he remains the only Indian to have played the Open at Portrush, and his appearance came back in 2019. It was his second Open appearance where he made the cut and finished T-51. In all, Shubhankar has played four Opens and made the cut each time – the most by an Indian. There may be no Indians, but at least three players have an Indian connection. Two are Indian Americans, Akshay Bhatia, now 38th in the world, and Sahith Theegala, 46th in the world. The third is Indo-British Aaron Rai, who is 34th in the world. (PTI)