- Rohan Bopana, 43, of India, and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden became the oldest pair to win an ATP Masters 1000 title. They won the men’s doubles final at the Indian Wells Masters 2023 tournament in California, defeating top seeds Wesley Koolhoff and Neil Skupski. Bopana and Ebden won the first set 6-3 but fell 2-6 in the second. They did, however, win the match by winning the deciding tie-breaker 10-8.
- The FIFA Council changed the group stage structure for the 2026 World Cup from 16 to 12 four-team groups, increasing the total number of matches to 104 from 64 for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. A country’s chances of winning the FIFA World Cup have increased from seven to eight matches since 1974. The knockout stage will begin with a new set of 32 teams, with the top two teams from each group and the top eight third-placed teams advancing. Since the tournament’s expansion from 24 to 32 teams in 1998, third-place teams have been denied the opportunity to advance. The 2026 FIFA World Cup will have 104 matches, up from 80, and more than double the 52 matches of the 1994 World Cup in the United States.
- Gianni Infantino has been re-elected as FIFA president until 2027, citing his strong financial performance as the reason for his reappointment. The decision was made by the Congress of the 211 member federations, whose annual FIFA funding has increased from $250,000 to $2 million since Infantino’s first victory in 2016. FIFA now has $4 billion in reserves after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and the 2026 Men’s World Cup in North America is expected to generate at least $11 billion in revenue.
Read more: International bulletin: World news of the week
- From March 15 to 26, the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championship 2023 will be held at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi. The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has named Mahindra as the event’s title sponsor, with MC Mary Kom and Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar serving as brand ambassadors. India is the host country for the third time in history. The presence of Mary Kom and Bollywood superstar Farhan Akhtar will significantly help the BFI’s goal of increasing female boxing participation.
- The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the winners of the February 2023 ICC Player of the Month awards, with Australia’s Ashley Gardner named ICC Women’s Player of the Month and England’s Harry Brook named ICC Men’s Player of the Month. Is. The results of the ICC Player of the Month Awards in February 2022 mirror those of December 2022, when both winners received their first awards after successful months for their respective teams in both the shorter and longer formats of the game.
- Wisden has announced the team for the World Test Championship 2021-2023. Wisden chose 11 players based on their performance in the World Test Championship in 2021-2023. This time, India’s top players, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and KL Rahul, were not selected. Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rishabh Pant have been named to the team. Pant is a wicketkeeper for the team. In contrast, no players were chosen from Pakistan, Bangladesh, or New Zealand. The team included players from five different countries.
- The fourth test ended in a dull stalemate, with India winning the four-match series 2-1 and retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the next two years. India has now won four consecutive series against Australia. As a result, Rohit Sharma’s team has won their 16th consecutive Test series at home. In the World Test Championship (WTC) Final, the two teams will meet again. The World Tennis Championships will begin on June 7 at The Oval in London. With New Zealand defeating Sri Lanka on the final ball of the first Test in Christchurch, India and Australia have qualified for the WTC Final in June.
- Under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme, the Union Sports Ministry has approved the request of star wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat to train in Kyrgyzstan and Poland (TOPS). Bajrang plans to train in Kyrgyzstan for 16 days and in Spala, Poland for 11 days. Under TOPS, the players’ air travel, lodging, and food expenses will be covered. Vinesh’s partner Sangeeta Phogat, physiotherapist Ashwini Jeevan Patil, and Bajrang’s coach Sujit Mann will also be reimbursed.
- France has named star striker Kylian Mbappe as the team’s new captain. Former captain Hugo Lloris will be replaced by Embappé as captain. Hugo, 36, announced his retirement from international football following last year’s defeat in the FIFA World Cup final. At the age of 24, Mbappe will be in charge of the team. His focus will now shift to the Euro Cup next year. Mbappe plays for Paris Saint-Germain in addition to France, and he has been in excellent form recently. After discussions with France coach Didier Deschau, Mbappé accepted the captaincy offer. Hugo, the Tottenham goalkeeper, retired from international duty in January. Lloris, 36, had been captain of France for more than a decade.
- Carlos Alcarez won the BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells Masters) by defeating Russia’s Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-2. Alcarez regained his world number one ranking as well. Alcarez, 19, of Spain, has risen from second to first in the ATP rankings. He has taken the place of Serbian Novak Djokovic, who was unable to enter the United States due to a lack of COVID-19 vaccination. He had withdrawn his name from the tournament before it began. Medvedev’s 19-match winning streak was also snapped with this defeat.