NEW DELHI: Anirban Lahiri’s tie for fifth at the PGA Championship on Sunday has not only raised hopes of India producing a first major winner, it promises to fuel the aspirations of a whole generation golfers in this cricket-crazed country of over 1.2 billion.
The 28-year-old shot a final-round 68 for a 13-under 275 to produce best ever finish by an Indian at a major, surpassing Jeev Milkha Singh’s joint-ninth at the 2008 PGA.
The Indian golf fraternity is anticipating a major boost from Lahiri’s performance, building on the efforts of Jeev, Jyoti Randhawa and Arjun Atwal who have helped the game gain recognition in India.
Lahiri’s coach, Vijay Divecha, says Lahiri’s strong finish at Whistling Straits has long been expected and will undoubtedly be “big for Indian golf.”
“We knew we were on the threshold,” Divecha told The Associated Press. “Being in the mix is the first step and then it’s knowing how to convert your chances at such big events.”
Dubai-based Indian golf writer Joy Chakravarty says performing well in high profile tournaments does much to boost golf in India.
“This performance gives immense belief to the juniors and other professionals in the country, many of whom are as talented as Anirban, that they too can achieve something like this,” Chakravarty told AP. “It will just heighten the aspiration levels, which is always good for the sport.”
Divecha says he can already see the difference at the grassroots level after Lahiri’s consistent efforts on the international circuit.
“It’s huge for Indians to see his name out there on the leaderboard. It tells young and aspiring players what they can do,” he said. “A lot of players call me up and say they want to talk to Anirban, discuss golf with him.
“His performances have not only instilled confidence in the younger lot, many parents now want their children to take up golf as a profession. This includes players whose parents are not golfers, which did not happen earlier,” Divecha said.
India has close to 200 golf courses, but most of them are restricted by exclusive memberships that make access difficult for aspiring players.
“Things are changing with some clubs taking on non-members for their training schemes, but opportunities are still limited. The facilities need to be more widespread and accessible to expect golf to become a bigger sport in India,” Divecha said.
Lahiri has won four times on the Asian Tour, including two events co-sanctioned by the European Tour.
Asian Tour chairman Kyi Hla Han says he’s confident Lahiri can emulate South Korea’s Yang Yong-eun, the only Asian to win a major.
“I believe Anirban will achieve more success internationally and he has the right credentials to lift a major title in the very near future,” he said in a statement. “He has the ability, the right work ethics and self-confidence to achieve this dream.”
Jeev, India’s most successful golfer with three European Tour titles, four on the Japan Golf Tour and six on the Asian Tour, also has high hopes for a major win by Lahiri and a boost for golf in the country.
“This performance will also be a massive boost to other Indian players,” Jeev said. “What Anirban has done should be the launching pad for many such success stories from our country. I wish Anirban all the best in the future and hope he will soon be hoisting a major trophy on a Sunday evening.”
Lahiri’s tie for fifth at PGA expected to boost Indian golf
Lahiri’s tie for fifth at PGA expected to boost Indian golf
Forest tame Wolves to maintain unlikely Premier League title challenge
- Forest remain third in the table but move level on points with Arsenal
WOLVERHAMPTON, United Kingdom: Nottingham Forest’s stunning season continued with a 3-0 victory at Wolves on Monday to give manager Nuno Espirito Santo a winning return to Molineux.
England international Morgan Gibbs-White and the in-form Chris Wood struck before half-time to take Forest to within six points of leaders Liverpool, who they host in their next Premier League game.
Substitute Taiwo Awoniyi rounded off the scoring and a sixth consecutive win for Forest in stoppage time.
Defeat leaves Wolves outside the relegation zone only thanks to goal difference as they suffered a first defeat under new boss Vitor Pereira.
Forest remain third in the table but move level on points with Arsenal.
Even if a shock title challenge proves beyond Espirito Santo’s men, they are building up an impressive cushion in the race for Champions League football next season.
They are five points clear of fifth-placed Newcastle and six in front of struggling champions Manchester City in sixth.
A top-four finish would guarantee a return to the continent’s elite competition for the first time in 45 years for the two-time European champions.
However, fifth could also be good enough depending on how English club fare in European competition this season.
“We need to stay humble. We haven’t achieved anything yet, we need to work until the end and this can lead us to good moments,” said Espirito Santo.
Gibbs-White savoured his return to the club where he spent the early part of his career.
In front of the watching new England manager Thomas Tuchel, the midfielder did his case for further international recognition no harm with a cool finish from Antony Elanga’s pass.
Forest’s unexpected rise from battling relegation until the final day of last season into Champions League contenders has been build on a solid defense and Wood’s purple patch.
The New Zealand international turned in Callum Hudson-Odoi’s low cross for his 12th goal of the season to double the visitors’ lead just before half-time.
Wolves pressed and probed for a way back into the game after the break but were toothless in the absence of talisman Matheus Cunha through suspension.
Mats Sels was forced into one brilliant save to deny Jorgen Strand Larsen to preserve a ninth clean sheet of the season and fourth in a row.
That solidity is familiar to Wolves fans from Espirito Santo’s time in charge of their club between 2017 and 2021.
The Portuguese coach led Wanderers from the Championship into Europe for the first time in 39 years.
Now after troubled spells at Tottenham and Saudi club Al-Ittihad, he is recreating that magic to leave Forest fans in dreamland.
“As coaching staff we have this natural ambition of improving the players, this is what we are obsessed with,” he added.
“If we improve the players then the team will improve and if the team improves then the club will improve and the city will be happy.”
WWE Royal Rumble coming to Saudi Arabia in 2026
- The event in Riyadh next January will be the first time it has taken place outside North America
- It is being organized in partnership with Kingdom’s General Entertainment Authority as part of Riyadh Season
RIYADH: Royal Rumble is coming Saudi Arabia early next year, when the WWE’s flagship annual show will make its first appearance outside North America.
The 39th Royal Rumble will be hosted by the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in January 2026, organizers announced on Monday. It will be staged in partnership with the Kingdom’s General Entertainment Authority, as part of the annual cultural and sports program known as Riyadh Season.
Turki Alalshikh, the authority’s chairperson, said: “Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the Royal Rumble for the first time outside North America reflects the General Entertainment Authority’s ongoing commitment to bringing the world’s largest and most important entertainment events to the Kingdom.
“Through this partnership with WWE, we aim to enhance the entertainment sector and deliver a transformative experience that attracts a wide audience.”
The announcement came during the debut episode of Monday Night RAW on Netflix, broadcast from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
Royal Rumble is an annual WWE Premium Live Event that includes both men’s and women’s bouts, with fighters battling to eliminate all their opponents and secure a shot at the championship at WrestleMania.
Nick Khan, WWE’s president, said: “WWE is a global enterprise and it only made sense to expand our relationship with the Kingdom by bringing one of our biggest annual events to Riyadh in January of 2026.”
Leao, Pulisic and Abraham inspire AC Milan comeback in 3-2 win over Inter in Italian Super Cup final
Leao, Pulisic and Abraham inspire AC Milan comeback in 3-2 win over Inter in Italian Super Cup final
- It was the fifth time in the last seven years that the competition was played in Saudi Arabia
RIYADH: It took exactly one week on the job for Sergio Conceicao to earn his first trophy as AC Milan’s coach — with two comeback wins no less.
Milan came back from two goals down to beat city rivals Inter Milan 3-2 and win the Italian Super Cup on Monday.
Rafael Leao came off the bench and played a part in all three of Milan’s goals from Theo Hernandez, Christian Pulisic and Tammy Abraham.
Conceicao was hired to replace the fired Paulo Fonseca last Monday and also led the Rossoneri to a comeback win over Juventus in the semifinals.
This time, Lautaro Martinez and Mehdi Taremi put Inter ahead with goals on either side of halftime.
Leao then earned a foul that resulted in a free kick which Hernandez curled in around Inter’s wall.
Then Pulisic finished off a counterattack by shooting through Augusto’s legs on a play that began with Leao.
For the third goal, Leao provided a through ball for Pulisic, who crossed to Abraham, who tapped into an empty net in stoppage time.
It was the fifth time in the last seven years that the competition was played in Saudi Arabia, and the second year of an expanded four-team format.
A throw-in led to Inter’s opener as Taremi fed the ball inside the area to Lautaro, who cut back before shooting through Hernandez’s legs on Inter’s only real chance of the half.
Taremi, who was playing in place of the injured Marcus Thuram, finished off a counterattack right after the break.
Milan play their first Serie A match under Conceicao against Cagliari on Saturday. The Rossoneri are in eighth place but will return to league action with much more confidence.
Al-Rajhi, Sanders win 48-hour stages at Dakar Rally
- For this long stage, which started on Sunday, the competitors had to bivouac in the desert
BISHA, Saudi Arabia: Saudi driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi held on to his overnight lead to win the second stage of the Dakar 2025 rally on Monday, the fearsome “48-hour Chrono” while defending champion Carlos Sainz limped in 1h 30min behind.
The 43-year-old racing in his home country completed the 967km special stage, spread over two days, in 10h 56min 54sec, despite a 2min penalty for speeding.
He was followed by South African Henk Lategan at 4min 16sec with Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah, who overtook Al-Rahji briefly to hold the lead for 142k, finishing third.
“It was really, really hard. I feel like this is our tenth day on the Dakar,” said Al Rajhi on his arrival at the bivouac of the rally, which began on Friday.
“The navigation was very, very difficult in some places, due to the divots and dust. You needed a rocket, not a car to pass through them. It wasn’t easy.”
For this long stage, which started on Sunday, the competitors had to bivouac in the desert and did not benefit from the assistance of their teams at the night stop.
Sainz seriously damaged his Ford Raptor when he rolled it on Sunday but managed to finish the stage although the Spaniard is now 26th in the standings.
Nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb, who is still looking for his first Dakar victory, was half an hour behind at the camp on Sunday evening, after a fan problem caused his engine to overheat.
But the Frenchman had a better Monday, making up much of the deficit to finish seventh, 13min 10sec behind the leader.
South African Lategan tops the provisional standings, 4min 45sec ahead of Al Rajhi with Al Attiyah in third. Loeb is sixth, 18min 56sec off the lead.
“We looked after the car for the stage because we knew it was really, really long,” said Lategan.
“If you don’t look after the car, it won’t look after you. It’s actually a big surprise to be first because we haven’t been really focusing on it. But I’m happy with that.”
Australian Daniel Sanders continues to dominate on the bikes, his victory in their “48-hour Chrono” making it three in a row after he also won the prologue and first stage.
It is the first time any rider has taken the first three stages since Spaniard Joan Barreda in 2017 between Bolivia and Argentina.
“It wasn’t too bad, pretty hard in the soft dunes, it was very tough for a lot of us,” said Sanders.
“When opening, you didn’t know if it was going to be a soft dune or a hard dune. It was pretty tough. The dust kind of ruined it a lot. Everyone was bunched up fighting in the dust for the opening bonuses. It was a bit tough on that side.”
Sanders took victory on his KTM in a time of 11hr 12min 13sec, 6min 45sec ahead of Frenchman Adrien van Beveren (Honda) with American Skyler Howes (Honda) in third.
Sanders, who is aiming to become the second Australian to win the Dakar on a bike after Toby Price, holds a 12min 36sec lead over Howes in the provisional overall standings.
Botswana’s Ross Branch (Hero) lies third, 4sec behind the American.
Tammy Abraham says it would mean everything to win first trophy for AC Milan in Saudi Arabia
- AC Milan play city rivals Inter in Riyadh on Monday night in Italian Super Cup final
- Abraham says victory would be ‘amazing’
RIYADH: Tammy Abraham said it “would mean everything” to win his first trophy for AC Milan.
The former Chelsea striker, on loan at the San Siro from Roma, played a key role in AC Milan qualifying for the Italian Super Cup final against city rivals Inter in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Monday night.
England striker Abraham came off the bench for the final half-hour against Juventus in Thursday’s semifinal with AC Milan 1-0 down. But his forward play helped the Rossoneri overturn the deficit to win 2-1, with the equalizer netted by fellow former Chelsea player Christian Pulisic.
Having won trophies at both Stamford Bridge and Roma — who loaned him out to AC Milan at the start of the season — the 27-year-old, 11-times capped England striker dearly wants to add to his medal collection in Riyadh.
“It would mean everything to me to win my first trophy in a Milan shirt. I’m a player who always wants to win. I’ve won a few trophies in the past, and I want to keep building the cabinet. It would be amazing to lift my first trophy for Milan,” Abraham said.
“I’m a player that always wants to win. I want to help my team as much as possible. Against Juventus in the second half, I had to bring my energy and bring some belief to my team. I’m proud of my team but the job is not finished, and we have a really big job in the final.
“We played Inter earlier in the season and we won. We are ready and we have to be ready. They had a day extra to recover and prepare, but that’s no excuse for us. We want to go back home with the trophy.”
Inter beat Atalanta 2-0 on Thursday with a double from Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries to qualify for the final. All matches are taking place at Al-Awwal Park — the home of Cristiano Ronaldo and his Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr. Inter are going for three Super Cups in a row in Riyadh and a record four wins in succession.
The Italian Super Cup is being staged in Saudi Arabia — where some 80 percent of the population either play, attend, or follow football — for the fifth time.
