Indian shuttlers endured a tough day at the Denmark Open Super 750 tournament on Wednesday, with the country’s challenge in both women’s and mixed doubles ending in heartbreaking first-round defeats.

The women's doubles pairing of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand fought valiantly but ultimately fell to Malaysia’s fifth-seeded duo, Pearly Tan and Muralitharan Thinaah, in a grueling three-game match. After taking the first game 21-19, the Indian pair couldn’t maintain their momentum, losing 17-21 and 15-21 in a battle that stretched for over an hour.

Despite their previous 1-5 head-to-head record against the world No. 7 Malaysian opponents, Treesa and Gayatri gave a strong performance, showing promise but bowing out early.

India's star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant fondly recalled his match-winning 89 not out against Australia at the Gabba during the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, a performance hailed as one of the finest in Indian Test history.

Pant shared how Rohit Sharma’s words after the memorable knock made him truly appreciate its significance. "I don’t know what to say about that. but I’m always trying to do my best. Sometimes, there are performances that you remember for a lifetime, and one of them for me is the Gabba Test. At the time, I didn’t realise how significant it was.

"Rohit bhai was there, and he told me, 'You have no idea what you've done.' I was like, 'What have I done? My aim was just to win the match.' Rohit bhai said, ' Later, you’ll understand what you’ve done.' Now, whenever I hear people talking about that Gabba match, I understand what he meant and how important it was," Pant told Star Sports.

Justin Engel, remarkable run at the Almaty Open came to an end as he fell to fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 7-6(3) in a tightly contested 90-minute Round of 16 clash on Wednesday.

The 17-year-old German wild card, made history on Monday by becoming the first player born in 2007 or later to win an ATP Tour match.

Engel, who impressed in his tour-level debut by defeating Coleman Wong, gave Cerundolo a tough battle. Despite being a set down and broken early in the second, Engel fought back to force a tie-break, showcasing his talent with 15 winners throughout the match. But Cerundolo's consistency—committing nine fewer unforced errors—ultimately helped him advance to the quarter-finals.

Day one of the first Test between India and New Zealand has been called off due to rain at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.

The persistent rain, with its stop-start nature, left not enough time for the ground to be ready for the play to begin, leading to the day being called off early. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said the toss will take place at 8:45 am on Day 2 on Thursday.

It was also announced that 15 minutes have been added to each of the first and second sessions, with 98 overs to be bowled on day two. The morning session will begin at 9:15am and conclude at 11:30 am, following which teams will take a lunch break.

Five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Mumbai Indians (MI) have appointed Paras Mhambrey as their bowling coach, said the franchise on Wednesday.

In a statement, MI said Mhambrey, who was India’s bowling coach from November 2021 till their 2024 T20 World Cup triumph in June, will work along with current bowling coach Lasith Malinga, as part of the coaching team under head coach Mahela Jayawardene.

This will be Mhambrey’s second stint at MI after previously being part of the support staff when they won IPL 2013, Champions League T20 (2011, 2013), a runner up finish (2010) and two more playoffs appearances in the IPL.

Mhambrey, who was discovered by the BCA Mafatlal Bowling scheme under English fast bowling great Frank Tyson in 1990, played two Tests and three ODIs for India from 1996 to 1998. But he had an illustrious domestic cricket career with Mumbai – where he became a member of winning the Ranji Trophy five times.

Australia skipper Pat Cummins could miss some of next year's Test series against Sri Lanka, as his wife Becky is due to give birth to their second child.

Australia are scheduled to tour early next year for a two-game series, which could be crucial for their World Test Championship Final qualification at Lord’s in June. However, the skipper has prioritised spending more time at home with his wife, who is expecting their second child in late January or early February.

"Yeah, it’s definitely a factor. We haven’t worked out exactly what that looks like – it’s pretty hard to plan exactly the day, but definitely,” Cummins told Sydney Mornig Herald.

Chinese player Zheng Qinwen withdrew from the ongoing WTA Ningbo Tennis Open due to health reasons.

As a WTA 500 event, the main draw of the Ningbo Tennis Open began on October 14, attracting several top-ranked players.

"I deeply regret having to withdraw from the Ningbo tournament. After competing in the China Open and the Wuhan Open, I have sustained some injuries and have also caught a cold. I hope to return and compete in Ningbo next year. I sincerely apologise for my withdrawal," said Paris Olympic champion Zheng in a statement, as quoted.

Lionel Messi's sensational show spurred Argentina to return to winning ways in FIFA World Cup 26 qualifying. The 37-year-old registered his 10th international hat-trick and two assists as they crushed Bolivia 6-0.

Messi produced a performance for the ages for La Albiceleste, who had taken only one point from their previous two outings. His canny, near-post finish caught goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra off guard, while his two solo goals erupted El Monumental.

Argentina now have 22 points from 10 run-outs and are close to participating at a 14th World Cup in a row.

Argentina stayed three points clear of second-placed Colombia, who thrashed rock-bottom Chile 4-0. Luis Diaz and James Rodriguez were excellent for Los Cafeteros, while 20-year-old sensation Jhon Duran rose from the bench to hike his hype.

Antonio Sanabria scored two second-half goals as Paraguay recovered from a goal down to secure a 2-1 home victory over Venezuela in their World Cup qualifier.

Jon Aramburu gave the visitors the lead in the 25th minute at Estadio Defensores del Chaco with a low finish after Yeferson Soteldo's pass.

The hosts missed a chance to equalize when Julio Enciso's penalty attempt was saved by goalkeeper Rafael Romo just before halftime, reports.

But the hosts drew level shortly after the restart through Sanabria who fired home from inside the six-yard box after combining with Junior Alonso.

French authorities have ordered PSV Eindhoven not to take supporters to the UEFA Champions League away game with Paris Saint-Germain on October 22 due to previous disturbances caused by the fans, the Dutch club said on Tuesday.

In addition, there is a total travel ban for PSV supporters to and within Paris. The club said that 2000 supporters, who have secured a ticket for this match through PSV, will have the full purchase amount refunded.

PSV also said the decision by the French came totally unexpected. "Despite the fact that PSV had no outstanding penalties, French police are citing past disturbances with supporters, particularly around the match against RC Lens a year ago. There are also some domestic security issues at play," it said.