'Winning a World Cup for India is a special feeling...': Rohit Sharma

The ODI World Cup 2027 is set to be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.

Ahead of the tournament, Team India's veteran opening batsman Rohit Sharma expressed his views by saying that winning a global title for India is a special feeling.

"It'll be great to win the upcoming ODI World Cup, that's all I'll say. I wouldn't think about full circle and all that now. Winning a World Cup for India is a special feeling. I have experienced that twice in the T20 format. In 2007 I was just a young kid of 20 years. Of course, it's a big tournament, you've won a World Cup in your first year, it's great," he said on JioStar. playerbros.org

The opening batsman then spoke about Team India's triumph in the T20 World Cup 2024. The right-handed batsman also said that he wants to experience the feeling yet again by winning the upcoming marquee event.

"Then we won the Champions Trophy in 2013, and after that there was a long period, almost for 11 years, where we couldn't win an ICC title. So that's why, when we won the T20 World Cup in 2024, there was a realisation of how important it was. So that feeling is still inside to a great extent. So, I know what winning a World Cup feels like. So that's why I want that feeling back. The fun we had, you can’t describe what that feeling is, because you can't match that. That's why winning that World Cup is very important to me, because I want to feel that feeling again, which we felt recently," added Rohit.

The "Men in Blue" will open their campaign against defending champions Australia at the Newlands Stadium in Cape Town on October 7, according to the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Team India will meet arch-rivals Pakistan at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on October 10.

Earlier, a grand ceremony in Johannesburg unveiled the 12 venues that will host next year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, with eight venues in South Africa, three in Zimbabwe and one in Namibia's capital Windhoek selected as tournament locations.

ODI World Cup 2027: Venues for the mega event

South Africa will host games at Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, SuperSport Park in Centurion, Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town, Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban, St George's Park in Gqeberha, Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein, Boland Park in Paarl and Buffalo Park in KuGompo City (formerly East London), according to the ICC website.

Zimbabwe will stage matches at Harare Sports Club in Harare, Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo and Fale Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium in Victoria Falls, while Namibia's capital Windhoek will host games at the Namibia Cricket Ground.

Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], October 2 (ANI): Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain celebrated her 29th birthday in memorable fashion as she defeated China’s Bao Ziyi 5-0 in the women’s 75kg final to win the gold medal at the Asian Games 2026 on Friday.

Lovlina produced a composed performance in the gold-medal bout, using her counter-punching effectively against an aggressive Bao to secure a unanimous victory, according to ESPN.

The Chinese boxer started the contest on the front foot and threw a flurry of punches in the opening round, but Lovlina remained patient and responded with effective counters. She edged the round 3-2.

Bao continued to press in the second round, but Lovlina grew in confidence and landed the cleaner punches. She took the round 4-1 to establish a 2-0 lead on the judges’ scorecards.

With the gold within reach, Lovlina maintained her strategy in the third round, allowing Bao to come forward while avoiding heavy damage and finding opportunities to counter.

The Indian was awarded the round unanimously to complete a 5-0 victory and claim the Asian Games title.

The gold caps a memorable run for Lovlina, who had earlier defeated Kazakhstan’s Natalya Bogdanova 3-2 in a split decision in the semifinal. That victory made her the first Indian woman boxer to reach consecutive Asian Games finals.

Lovlina, born on October 2, 1997, in Assam’s Golaghat district, had won silver in the women’s 75kg category at the Hangzhou Asian Games. She also won a bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and became world champion in the 75kg category in 2023.

The Indian boxer had also won gold at the 2022 Asian Championships and silver at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Her Asian Games triumph adds another major title to a career that has already earned her the Arjuna Award in 2020 and the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2021.

The victory also adds to India’s medal tally at the Aichi-Nagoya Games, with the country having 70 medals — 12 gold, 24 silver and 34 bronze. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], October 2 (ANI): India’s Kumkum Mohod and Dhiraj Bommadevara settled for silver in the mixed recurve archery team event at the Asian Games 2026 after losing 3-5 to China’s Zhu Jingyi and Li Mengqi in the gold-medal match on Friday.

The Indian pair, who had defeated Japan 5-3 in the semifinal earlier in the day, struggled to find their range in the opening two sets and fell 0-4 behind before mounting a fightback, according to ESPN.

China dominated the opening set 38-34 to take a 2-0 lead. Zhu produced two 10s, while Li added an 8 and a 10 as China established an early advantage.

India again fell short in the second set, losing 35-37. Kumkum managed only two 8s, while Dhiraj contributed a 9 and a 10, but Zhu and Li combined for 37 to put China 4-0 ahead.

Facing the prospect of the match ending in the third set, India responded strongly. Kumkum opened with an 8 before hitting a 10 with her second arrow, while Dhiraj added a 10 and a 9 to take India to 37.

China needed 18 points from their final two arrows to seal the gold, but after Zhu’s 10, Li could manage only a 7. India won the set 37-36 to stay alive at 2-4.

The fourth set went down to the final arrow. India posted 37, with Kumkum hitting a 9 and a 10 and Dhiraj adding a pair of 9s.

China needed 19 from their final two arrows to win the match. Zhu shot a 9 before Li delivered a 10 to take China to 37, which tied the set and helped the Chinese pair seal the gold medal with a 5-3 victory.

The result also meant India missed out on the automatic Los Angeles 2028 Olympic qualification quota attached to the mixed team event. China secured the quota by winning the gold.

Despite the defeat, the silver added another medal to India’s strong day in recurve archery.

Earlier, Kumkum, Ankita Bhakat and Kirti Sharma defeated South Korea 5-3 in the women’s recurve team final to win gold and claim India’s first-ever medal in the event at the Asian Games.

The victory was India’s 11th gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Games, while the mixed team’s silver took the country’s overall medal tally to 68 — 11 gold, 24 silver and 33 bronze — with India seventh on the medal table at the time of writing.

Kumkum, 17, was part of both the women’s team gold-medal-winning side and the mixed team silver-winning pair on Friday, making her one of India’s prominent performers in recurve archery at the Games. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

India’s Dhiraj Bommadevara and Kumkum Mohod win the silver medal in the mixed recurve team event at the Asian Games. The Indian pair lose to China in the final at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square on Friday.

China win the gold medal and also get the LA 2028 Olympic quota. India miss out on the quota after finishing second in the event.

This is India’s second medal in recurve archery at the Asian Games. Earlier in the day, Ankita Bhakat, Kumkum Mohod and Kirti Sharma won gold in the women’s recurve team event. They beat South Korea 5-3 to win India’s first-ever gold in this event.

China started the mixed team final well. Dhiraj scored 9 and 8 with his first two shots, while Kumkum scored 7 and 10. China then hit two 10s and won the first set. They took an early 2-0 lead.

India tried to make a comeback in the second set. Dhiraj and Kumkum scored 8 and 9. China also stayed strong with scores of 9 and 8. Dhiraj then hit the centre of the target, but China finished the set with two 10s. China won the set and moved 4-0 ahead.

India finally won a set in the third round. Kumkum scored 8 and Dhiraj hit the centre of the target. China scored 9 and 10. India stayed in the fight as Kumkum hit a 10 and Dhiraj scored 9. China then scored 10 and 7, which helped India win the set 4-2.

The fourth set was very close. India started with two 9s, while China scored 8 and 10. Kumkum then scored 10 and Dhiraj scored 9. China also scored 9 and 10, making the set 37-37.

The tied set was enough for China to win the final. China took the gold, while Dhiraj and Kumkum won silver for India.

Earlier, Dhiraj and Kumkum made a strong comeback against Japan in the semi-final. They were 3-1 behind but came back to win the match 5-3. With this win, they became the first Indian pair to reach the Asian Games mixed recurve team final.

Japan won the first set 38-37. The second set ended 36-36. India then won the third set 39-35 and the fourth set 37-35 to reach the final.

With this silver, India now have six archery medals at the Asian Games. The medals include four gold, one silver and one bronze.

India won a record nine archery medals at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou. The team won five gold, two silver and two bronze medals. Indian compound archers won all five gold medals, while the recurve teams won one silver and one bronze.

India still have more recurve events left at the Asian Games. The men’s recurve team event and the men’s and women’s individual events are yet to start. India will have more chances to add medals to their total.

Asian Games 2026, Day 13 Live: Hello everyone and welcome to Day 13 of the Asian Games 2026 as the Indian contigents are willing to add increase their medal to move forward to the events’ points table as they showed an impressive performance by winning bunch of medals in the 20th edition of the Asian Games.

On October 2, several Indian athletes will be in action at the Asian Games. The day will start with Kumkum Mohod, Ankita Bhakat and Kirti facing China in the women’s recurve team semifinal at 6:25 AM. Dipanshi will face Japan’s Yui Susaki in the women’s 50kg wrestling quarterfinal at 7:08 AM, while Rajat Ruhal will take on Kazakhstan’s Yedige Kassimbek in the men’s 125kg freestyle wrestling at 7:25 AM. Kumkum Mohod and Dhiraj Bommadevara will then compete against Japan in the mixed recurve team semifinal at 8:20 AM. Later, Dhiraj Bommadevara, Yashdeep Bhoge and Neeraj Chauhan will face Iran in the men’s recurve team semifinal at 10:55 AM.

In boxing, Lovlina Borgohain will face China’s Ziyi Bao in the women’s 75kg final at 10 AM. Parveen will take on Chinese Taipei’s Nien-Chin Chen in the women’s 65kg final at 2:15 PM, while Ankush will face Korea’s Minseong Kim in the men’s 80kg final at 2:45 PM. In wrestling, Sujeet, Rajat Ruhal, Dipanshi and Priya will also be in action in their respective medal bouts and finals, subject to qualification. India’s women’s hockey team will face China in the final at 3:30 PM. India’s men’s volleyball team will also face Korea at 6:30 AM, while the women’s rugby sevens team will play Malaysia at 8:50 AM.

ASIAN GAMES 2026, DAY 13 LIVE UPDATES HERE-