SPORTS – LOCAL/ NATIONAL/ INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Cristiano Ronaldo got on the scoresheet as Portugal edged out Ghana 3-2 in a Group H match in Doha on Thursday. After a goalless first half, Ronaldo opened the scoring with a penalty to become the first man to score at five World Cups.

Switzerland edged past Cameroon 1-0 courtesy of a goal against the run of play by Cameroon-born Breel Embolo on Thursday for an opening win in World Cup Group G. The Swiss goal came after Cameroon, without a win in the World Cup for 20 years, had dominated the first half, missing several good chances to take the lead.

Michy Batshuayi struck a first-half goal as Belgium opened their FIFA World Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory over Canada in Doha late on Wednesday. The 29-year-old striker gave the European side the lead on the stroke of halftime when he thumped a first- time effort into the far corner following counterattack.

Uruguay and South Korea played out a goalless draw in their Group H opener in Al Rayyan on Thursday. First half ended without a score with Uruguay guilty of wasting many opportunities, but South Korea got the best chance in the 34th minute as Moon-Hwan Kim found Ui-Jo Hwang in space in the box, but he could only fire over the crossbar.

Former U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic led Croatia into the Davis Cup semifinals after defeating 13th-ranked Pablo Carreno Busta 5-7, 6- 3. 7-6(5) In Spain’s Malaga on Wednesday.

A new chapter in South African cricket will be written when the SA20 League begins in South Africa from January 10 to February 11, 2023 with the newest franchise T20 league in the world becoming one of the bigger events in the T20 franchise cricket world, stated South Africa's wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock.

Australia's all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who broke his leg in a freak accident recently, is the latest addition to the list of Suryakumar's admirers, terming him as "batting on a different planet". Maxwell was expressing his admiration for Suryakumar citing his knock of 111 not out off 51 balls, which gave India a 65- run win over New Zealand.

Supercross India Pvt Ltd under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India on Thursday announced the handing over of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the commercial rights to launch the world's first of its kind Supercross racing league, titled 'Indian Supercross Racing League'.

Hockey India on Thursday announced the commencement of ticket sales for the FIH World Cup Bhubaneswar-Rourkela, marking the 50-day countdown milestone and giving the sport's fans around the world an opportunity to secure their seats to witness the action in Odisha scheduled to be held from January 13-29 next year.

A 96th-minute goal by Nandhakumar Sekar clinched a dramatic 3-2 win for Odisha FC against Chennaiyin FC in the ISL match at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. The win lifts Odisha FC from fifth to third, level on 15 points with Mumbai City FC.

With a few medallists from the Commonwealth Games including Jeremy Lalrinnunga still to recover from their injuries, India will field a five-member team led by Olympic Silver Medalist Mirabai Chanu at the World Weightlifting Championships 2022 to be held in Bogota, Colombia next month.

India will face Uzbekistan, while China will play Spain in the semifinals of the 2022 Men's World Team Chess Championship in Jerusalem. The final match of the competition, organized by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), will be played on Friday.