New Zealand captain Glenn Wilson said the inexperience of his team on grass would be the biggest problem in the Davis Cup tie in Kolkata.
Pole vault world record holder Renaud Lavillenie and Olympic shot put champion Valerie Adams were named World Athletes of the Year at an IAAF gala in Monaco on Friday.
As well as UEFA, the continental confederations representing South America (Conmebol), North and Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), and Asia (AFC) have all reportedly told Platini they would back his candidacy for FIFA president. The other two confederations are Africa's CAF and Oceania's OFC.
The ace doubles pair beat Thomas Shimada and Takahiro Terachi in the doubles rubber of the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie.
Leander Paes beat Takao Suzuki after Prakash Amritraj lost to Gouichi Motomura in the opening singles of the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group I tennis match.
Former Davis Cup captain Jaidip Mukerjea on Thursday termed Leander Paes' unceremonious ouster as sad but said it is a step in the right direction.
Leander Paes beat Simon Rea to guide India to a 3-2 win over New Zealand in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group 1 first round.
An outstanding performance from Gabriel Jesus helped Brazil to a 2-0 win over Peru on Tuesday and moved the five times World Cup winners four points clear at the top of the South American qualifying group for Russia 2018.
Chinese officials have refuted allegations of the country's army assisting militants in northeast India, saying such charges are "absurd" and such a linkage is "impossible".
India entered the Davis Cup World Group play-offs after a historic away triumph over South Korea following Somdev Devvarman's victory over Yong-Kyu Lim in the reverse singles of the Group I Asia/Oceania second round tie, in Busan, on Sunday. Somdev won the first reverse singles 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 to make the overall scoreline 3-1 in favour of India, rendering the second reverse singles inconsequential, leading to its cancellation.
India went down to Taiwan in the third-fourth place play-off, in the Asia-Oceania junior girls' Fed Cup tennis.
Mark Nielsen and Alistair Hunt are raring to go in the Davis Cup Asia Oceania tie against India.
India's top tennis pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi on Saturday beat Japan's Thomas Shimada and Jun Kato 6-2 6-2 6-3.
Leander Paes beat Takao Suzuki in the second match to enable India draw level in the Asia-Oceania Group-1 tie.
Nikhat from Telengana was handed the fourth spot in the 51 kg category which already has the six-time World Champion MC Mary Kom, RSPB's Jyoti Gulia and Haryana's Ritu Grewal as other contenders.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Leander Paes makes a return to the country's Davis Cup team as India named a four-member squad for the World Group play-off tie at home against top seeds Czech Republic from September 18-20.
Australian wrestler Vinod Kumar failed a doping test during an Olympic qualification event in Algeria in April and is set to be dropped from the team for the Rio Games.
Summary of the South American World Cup qualifiers played on Thursday
India was left to battle it out in the Asian zone yet again after Ramkumar Ramanathan's defeat in the must-win fourth rubber of the Davis Cup match against Canada's Denis Shapovalov in Edmonton, on Sunday.
Yuki Bhambri rescued India with an impressive win following Somdev Devvarman's shock defeat, leaving the visitors locked 1-1 with New Zealand on day one of the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group I tie, in Christchurch on Friday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
'It seems a wiser decision to pull out at the right moment than regret after joining the pact,' explains Dr Rahul Mishra.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics torch lighting ceremony in ancient Olympia will be the first in more 35 years to be held without spectators after organisers introduced tighter measures to protect against the coronavirus. Here is a list of international sports events hit by the coronavirus outbreak.
The captain may be loathe to the idea, but the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association defended the decision to slot the Davis Cup tie against Spain in the evening, saying the aim is to make the event more accessible to tennis fans and save Indian players from cramping.
Rafael Nadal came to the party just when it mattered most as he partnered Marc Lopez scripting a decisive win against Leander Paes and Saketh Myneni giving Spain an unassailable 3-0 lead in the Davis Cup Play-off tie against India in New Delhi on Saturday. Paes and Saketh Myneni, combining for the first time in Davis Cup, lost 6-4 6-7(2) 4-6 4-6 but not without a brave fight that tested the Rio Olympic gold medallist pair for three hours and 23 minutes in the must-win rubber. The defeat also prolonged the Indian legend's wait for the world record wins Davis Cup.
Media reports suggest Sevilla's Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli, who has never disguised his ambition to take charge of the national team and steered neighbouring Chile to the Copa America title in 2015, will step into the vacancy.
Keen to start their Rio Olympic Games campaign on a winning note, Indian hockey men's captain PR Sreejesh said that his team would not be taking unpredictable Ireland lightly when they face-off on Saturday.
First half goals from Philippe Coutinho and Neymar were followed by a third from Paulinho after 58 minutes to sink the Argentines and extend their winless run to four games.
Kerala Catholic Bishop Conference president Archbishop Soosa Paikam said the verdict was "painful" and would have disastrous consequences.
A fired up Yuki Bhambri recorded his first ever victory in a live fifth rubber after Somdev Devvarman levelled the scores as India advanced to World Group Play-offs.
World No 15 India will now compete in the Zone Group action later this year.
Karman struggled to contain her unforced errors but prevailed 6-3 6-4 win over Eudice Chong to give India a 1-0 lead in the Asia/Oceania Group I tie.
India's Davis Cup captain Mahesh Bhupathi refused to reveal the doubles combination for the Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan, asserting that focus should be on winning all the matches instead of obsessing over one.
Double Davis Cup winner Tomas Berdych has called for the annual competition to be played every two years, warning the current format was destroying tennis's top team prize.
Sepp Blatter's shock resignation as FIFA president should allow people to now focus on events on the pitch .
eander Paes will make yet another attempt to set a Davis Cup record for the most doubles victories when India takes on China in a new two-day format for a place in the World Group Play-offs, in Tianjin, China, on Friday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
Brazil hammered Bolivia 5-0 in World Cup qualifiers on Thursday, giving coach Tite his third successive win in the most convincing performance from the five-time world champions for some time. Bolivia had not won a World Cup qualifier away from home since 1993 but Brazil were still excellent, particularly in the first half, when they scored four of their five goals.
