sports.ndtv.com - South Africa To Face Mohamed Salah's Egypt In AFCON, Nigeria Draw Tunisia

South Africa To Face Mohamed Salah's Egypt In AFCON, Nigeria Draw Tunisia

South Africa will face Mohamed Salah-captained Egypt while Ademola Lookman-inspired Nigeria must tackle Tunisia after the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations group stage draw was made in Rabat on Monday. Hosts Morocco face giantkillers Comoros in the opening match of the 24-team tournament on December 21 while title-holders Ivory Coast will come up against five-time winners Cameroon. Sudan, a country ravaged by civil war, drew Algeria, and the clash of Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo is set to be another group-stage highlight.

Uzbek GM Reminded Of Handshake With Divya Deshmukh After Snubbing R Praggnanandhaas Sister Vaishali

Uzbekistan's Grandmaster Nodirbek Yakubboev triggered a huge controversy after deciding to snub a handshake offer by Indian chess star Vaishali, who is also the sister of R Praggnanandhaa. As soon as the video of the handshake snub surfaced on social media, the Uzbek GM's act saw him court plenty of criticism. Some even reminded him of his match against another Indian chess star Divya Deshmukh in 2023, where Yakubboev had shaken hands with his opponent. As the controversy spiralled on, Yakubboev decided to issue an apology and also a clarification.

Barcelona Hit Seven Past Valencia To Restore La Liga Push

Barcelona blew away a miserable Valencia 7-1 on Sunday to get back on track in La Liga with a ruthless victory. Fermin Lopez struck twice for the Catalans in the first half, along with goals from Frenkie de Jong, Ferran Torres and Raphinha which gave Barcelona a commanding five-goal lead at the break. Hugo Duro pulled one back early in the second half before Robert Lewandowski pounced for Barca, followed by a Cesar Tarrega own goal, with the third-placed hosts earning just their second win in their last nine league matches.

Belgian Footballer Radja Nainggolan Arrested In Cocaine Trafficking Probe

Former Belgian international footballer Radja Nainggolan was arrested on Monday as part of an investigation into cocaine trafficking via the port of Antwerp, the Brussels prosecutor's office said. Police arrested 16 suspects including the footballer, after carrying out a series of morning raids across the country, the office told AFP. "The investigation concerns alleged facts of importation of cocaine from South America to Europe, via the port of Antwerp, and its redistribution in Belgium," prosecutors said in a statement.

ICC To Open Champions Trophy Ticket Sales Despite Pakistan's Struggle To Meet Deadlines

The ICC said on Monday that the ticket sales for the Pakistan leg of next month's Champions Trophy will begin from Tuesday despite the stadium renovation work in the host nation is yet to be completed. The venues at Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi are still getting readied as a January 30 deadline looms for the handover of the stadiums to the ICC. This edition of the Champions Trophy is scheduled to be held across Pakistan and Dubai from February 19. India will be playing their games in Dubai and the ticket information regarding those matches will be made available in the coming days.

Rohit Sharma's Ranji Trophy Return Lasts Just 1 Match, Won't Play Mumbai's Next Game Because...

Rohit Sharma, along with several other top India stars like Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, made a return to Ranji Trophy after a considerable gap last week. The decision to play the Ranji Trophy matches, for their respective state teams, came after BCCI's directive that domestic cricket is a must. However, Rohit Sharma's return in the match against Jammu and Kashmir was not memorable. He failed to score big and Mumbai lost the match.

"AB de Villiers Played For Wrong Franchise": Sanjay Manjrekar Roasts RCB

One of the greatest cricketers of his time, AB de Villiers is a name that terrorized opponent teams' bowlers, no matter the format. Even after his international retirement, De Villiers played some extravagant knocks in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). However, the former South Africa star retired from professional cricket without winning a single IPL title. In today's times, De Villiers' style of play is often compared with India's T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav. During one such discussion, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar made a bold comment on De Villiers' career.

"You Were Supposed To Ensure Transition": Gautam Gambhir Gets 1-Year Warning, BCCI Told To...

The performances of several veteran Indian cricketers, including the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Mohamed Siraj, etc. have come under the spotlight over recent poor performances. While Rohit and Virat are even being pushed to quit Test cricket, no such verdict exists at present for head coach Gautam Gambhir. With the Champions Trophy being India's next big assignment, there are some who feel the team's poor show in the ICC event could lead to Gambhir's exit. However, former India opener Aakash Chopra feels the Test tour of England will define whether the head coach will stay or not.

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South Africa To Face Mohamed Salah's Egypt In AFCON, Nigeria Draw Tunisia

Uzbek GM Reminded Of Handshake With Divya Deshmukh After Snubbing R Praggnanandhaas Sister Vaishali

Barcelona Hit Seven Past Valencia To Restore La Liga Push

Belgian Footballer Radja Nainggolan Arrested In Cocaine Trafficking Probe

ICC To Open Champions Trophy Ticket Sales Despite Pakistan's Struggle To Meet Deadlines

Rohit Sharma's Ranji Trophy Return Lasts Just 1 Match, Won't Play Mumbai's Next Game Because...

"AB de Villiers Played For Wrong Franchise": Sanjay Manjrekar Roasts RCB

"You Were Supposed To Ensure Transition": Gautam Gambhir Gets 1-Year Warning, BCCI Told To...