Magnus and Dictator impressed when the horses were exercised here on Monday morning (May 18)

Inner sand: 600m: Sicyon (Shreyas) 40. Strode out well.

Grass track: 1400m: Magnus (Neeraj) 1-33, 1,200/1-28.5, 1,000/1-5, 600/37. A fine display.

Outer sand: 600m: Fine Silver (R. Pradeep) 43.5. In fine trim. Astraeus (Akshay) 45. Easy. Thessalian (rb), Ravishing Beauty (Girish) 45. They moved freely. Friedrich (S. Sachin) 44.5. Moved on the bit. Paradoxical (Antony) 46. Easy. Scarlette Lady (G. Vivek) 46. Moved freely.

1000m: Kolar Gold (rb) 1-15, 600/45. Moved well.

1200m: Storm Shadow (A. Prakash), Stud Poker (Antony) 1-30, 1,000/1-14.5, 600/44.5. Latter started five lengths behind and finished level.

1400m: Buckingham (Bharath S) 1-39.5, (1,400-600) 51.5. Eased up.

The prestigious fifth Asia Cup Bridge Championships will be held from June 21-27 at the Taj Cidade de Goa Horizon, Goa, the Bridge Federation of India (BFI), the apex governing body for the game of contract bridge in the country, announced on Monday (May 18, 2026).

Held once in four years, the Asia Cup ranks among the most distinguished continental Bridge Championships, conducted under the aegis of the Asia Bridge fraternity, with participation from leading nations across Asia and Oceania.

This year, the championship is expected to welcome participants from over 20 countries, including India, China, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong China, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Prasad Keni, president of BFI, said, “This is the second time India has been honoured to host the prestigious Asia Cup Bridge Championship. It highlights India’s growing stature as a premier destination for global mind sports and intellectual sporting events.

“Furthermore, it significantly boosts Goa’s positioning as a dynamic hub for international sporting tourism, proving that the state can seamlessly merge world-class leisure with competitive, high-intellect global tournaments.”

Participation is limited to 16 teams per category, with the top teams from across Asia, West Asia, and the South Pacific competing. A major highlight of this tournament will be a special “Friendship Pairs Event” open to all registered players, scheduled for June 27.

The continental championship will feature men’s, women’s, mixed, and senior team events, alongside open and mixed Pairs competitions.

India holds a proud, decorated legacy in this championship, having secured an impressive tally of 20 medals — including eight gold medals in previous editions.

The home contingent will strive to raise this tally further, led by top-tier Indian pairs including Subhash Gupta–Sandeep Thakral and Rajeshwar Tewari–Sumit Mukherjee.

“This year the championship will bring together some of Asia-Pacific’s most accomplished bridge players, national champions and international medal winners” said Keni.

The Central Information Commission on Monday (May 18, 2026) said the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) in India is not a “public authority” under the RTI Act as it is neither owned, controlled nor substantially financed by the government.

The Commission dismissed an appeal seeking information regarding the provisions and authority under which BCCI represents India and selects players for national and international cricket tournaments.

The CIC said BCCI is a private autonomous body registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act and was not established by the Constitution, Parliament, State legislature or through a government notification.

“The BCCI cannot be classified as a ‘Public Authority’ within the meaning of Section 2(h) of the RTI Act and the provisions of the Act are therefore inapplicable to it in the facts and circumstances of the present case,” Information Commissioner P R Ramesh said in his order.

Iran’s national football team was headed to Turkiye on Monday (May 18, 2026) to play a final friendly match and apply for visas to fly to the United States for the 2026 World Cup, Iranian media reported.

The team plan to participate in the tournament despite co-host Washington having launched a war against Iran with a massive wave of attacks alongside ally Israel on February 28.

The fighting has been on hold for weeks thanks to a ceasefire, but peace talks have failed to make a breakthrough and new drone attacks against Gulf countries at the weekend combined with threats from US President Donald Trump raising fears of a return to fighting.

The team “departed this morning for Antalya, Turkey to play its final friendly match before flying to the United States for the 2026 World Cup,” the Tasnim news agency reported.

It said the squad consisted of 22 domestic-based players alongside their coaching staff.

On Saturday (May 16, 2026), head coach Amir Ghalenoei said they would also be completing visa applications for the US while in Turkey.

‘Let ‘em play’
Iran secured their spot at the World Cup in March 2025, but since then the United States has twice launched attacks on the country.

U.S. officials have insisted that Iran is welcome at the tournament, while organiser FIFA has said it will go ahead as planned and rejected Iranian suggestions that their games be moved to co-hosts Mexico or Canada.

“I think let ‘em play,” Mr. Trump said in late April.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said any problem would not be with Iranian players but “some of the other people (they) would want to bring with them”, suggesting they may have ties to the Revolutionary Guards, which Washington has branded a terrorist organisation.

Last month, officials from Iran’s football federation abandoned a trip to the FIFA congress in Canada, saying they had been “insulted” by Canadian immigration officers.

One of their delegation, Mehdi Taj, is a former member of the Revolutionary Guards, which Canada has also designated a terror group.

The Iranian football team hope to play two friendlies in Antalya.

They have already confirmed one match, against The Gambia, on May 29, said Sam Mehdizadeh, an Iranian-Canadian who heads a company that sets up friendlies for the team.

“No visas have been issued yet,” Taj, the head of Iran’s football federation, told Iranian media on Thursday.

On Saturday (May 16, 2026), FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom held a meeting in Turkey with the federation, describing it as constructive, as did Taj.

When the squad reaches the United States, Iran will set up their base camp in Tucson, Arizona.

The team, who are in Group G, are due to kick off their campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, before facing Belgium in the same city and then Egypt in Seattle.

Indian Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa played out a draw with Dutchman Jorden Van Foreest even as Germany’s Vincent Keymer surged ahead following a facile victory in the fourth round of Super Chess Classic in Bucharest.

With a sole win over Alireza Firouzja of France and three draws, Praggnanandhaa inched to 2.5 points out of a possible four while Vincent moved to sole lead on three points after beating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France.

On a day when Anish Giri also got an easy draw against World Championships challenger Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan, Wesley So was also held to a draw by Deac Bogdan-Daniel of Romania.

Firouzja abstained from playing the fourth round citing health issues.

Praggnanandhaa faced an irregular opening as black and did not have any trouble equalising.

Van Foreest, who is slowly gaining ground and is already in top 20 of world rankings, pushed harder for a win among the two. As it happened, the players decided to repeat and the truce was called in just 35 moves.

Keymer was a class act as Vachier-Lagrave was outdone in the middle game.

After an English attack against the Najdorf Sicilian, Keymer sensed his chances with white pieces and launched a central attack that worked well given that the Frenchman had clear weaknesses on the king side.

Keymer pounced on an opportunity that gave him a rook for a Bishop and just moments later, Vachier-Lagrave erred decisively to lose further material. It was all over in just 38 moves.

Results round 4: Jorden Van Foreest (Ned, 2.5) drew with R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 2.5); Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 1.5) vs Aiireza Firouzja (Fra, 0.5) game postponed; Wesley So (Usa, 2) drew with Deac Bogdan Daniel (Rou, 1); Javokhir Sindarov (Uzb, 1.5) drew with Anish Giri (Ned, 2.5); Vincent Keymer (Ger, 3) beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 2).

A fresh India-versus-France battle awaits in the men’s singles competition and the Indian shuttlers will look to avenge their recent Thomas Cup semifinal defeat when the Malaysia Masters Super 500 tournament begins in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday (May 19, 2026).

India had won a bronze medal after suffering a 0-3 loss to France in the Thomas Cup semifinals in Horsens, Denmark earlier this month, losing all three singles matches.

This week, three Indian singles players will once again face French opponents and will be eager to turn the tables.

While star Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen, who had missed the Thomas Cup tie due to an elbow injury, will open against Indonesia’s Moh Zaki Ubaidillah, Tharun Mannepalli will take on France’s Toma Junior Popov, Kiran George will face seventh seed Alex Lanier, and H.S. Prannoy will meet Christo Popov.

S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian will have to come through the qualifying rounds.

In men’s doubles, Hariharan Amsakarunan and M.R. Arjun, who did not get an opportunity in the Thomas Cup semifinal, will be keen to make a statement when they face the seventh-seeded French pair of Christo Popov and Toma Junior Popov.

Among Indian women singles players, Tanvi Sharma will take on Thailand’s Pitchamon Opatniputh, sixth seed Unnati Hooda will face China’s Han Qian Xi, Malvika Bansod will clash with Germany’s Yvonne Li, and Anmol Kharb will meet eighth seed Denmark’s Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt.

Rakshitha Sree Santhosh Ram will face Japan’s Natsuki Nidaira, while Isharani Baruah has a difficult opening-round match against fifth seed Denmark’s Line Christophersen. Devika Sihag will feature in the qualifiers.

In women’s doubles, Ashwini Bhat K and Shikha Gautam will meet Canada’s Jackie Dent and Crystal Lai, while Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda will face second seeds Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi of Japan.

In mixed doubles, Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh will face Indonesia’s Bobby Setiabudi and Melati Daeva Oktavianti, while Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde will take on Indonesia’s Amri Syahnawi and Nita Violina Marwah.

Scott Hastings, the Scotland rugby great who played alongside his older brother Gavin for the national team and the British and Irish Lions, has died. He was 61.

The Scottish Rugby Union announced his death on Sunday (May 17, 2026). In 2022, Hastings said he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and the SRU referenced a family statement that said he “deteriorated extremely quickly” due to complications with his treatment.

“He passed away peacefully and pain free,” the family statement read.

The most-capped centre in the history of Scotland’s men’s team after making 65 appearances from 1986-97, Hastings was a member of the Grand Slam-winning team in the 1990 Five Nations and scored 10 tries for his country.

He and Gavin, who was three years his elder, made their first Scotland starts together in the 1986 Five Nations in a win against France. The teams shared that title.

Both were picked for the 1989 Lions tour of Australia. The Wallabies won the first test comfortably and, thanks to a midweek comeback win over ACT, Scott was brought into the centers along with Jeremy Guscott among five changes for the second test. Scott and Gavin were the first Lions test brothers since 1910.

In what became known as the Battle of Ballymore, the Lions stood up to Australia but trailed 12-9 with five minutes to go.

“We got a break out … and I realized there was a huge gap on the outside,” Scott told the Lions website. “Being a left-handed player I thought I could fire this pass out but it was more like a big loop that bounced and my brother Gavin went over and scored.

“As he ran back he said, That was fantastic, what’s the score?’ and he hadn’t realized he’d put the Lions into the lead.”

The Lions prevailed to set up a series decider in Sydney, where they won again 19-18 and became the first Lions to win a series from 1-0 down.

“I pulled off a tackle in midfield against David Campese that I really enjoyed but when that final whistle went, [it was] that sheer joy of winning a test series,” Scott said.

He also went to New Zealand in 1993 but his Lions tour was cut short before the tests when he broke his cheekbone on Josh Kronfeld’s knee.

“I couldn’t even close my mouth so I knew my tour was over and I was gutted, it was devastating,” Scott said.

Former Scotland and Lions coach Ian McGeechan told the Scottish Rugby website: “I remember Scott on the Lions tours taking an absolute lead. He was so single-minded and determined about winning.

“He was very much your right hand man, given what he did on the field. I still remember the Grand Slam game against England in 1990. There was his Lions teammate from the previous year, Jerry Guscott, in the England team, but Scott gave nothing away to him whatsoever.

“Whatever jersey Scott wore, he just made it better.” He played his last test for Scotland in 1997 with current national coach Gregor Townsend.

“Like many other schoolboys throughout Scotland at the time, I wanted to emulate Scott’s approach to the game and how he took the game to the opposition,” Townsend told Scottish Rugby.

“A few years later I was fortunate to play alongside him on a number of occasions for Scotland, as he became our most-capped player.”

“His influence on his teammates was still very strong towards the end of his career as he helped us come very close to winning another Grand Slam game against England at Murrayfield in 1996.”

“Scott always brought positivity and energy into everything he did from his playing career then into the past couple of decades as a widely traveled and respected commentator.”

Ducati rider Fabio Di Giannantonio triumphed in a crash-hit Catalunya MotoGP on Sunday (May 17, 2026), during which Alex Marquez was taken to hospital injured after being flipped off his bike.

The race was red-flagged twice, the first time after Pedro Acosta’s bike cut out and Marquez made contact with him, with his Ducati-Gresini destroyed in a horrific crash.

On the first corner after the restart, French rider Johann Zarco crashed and the race was red-flagged again, and restarted with 12 laps remaining.

Marquez’s team Gresini later confirmed he had suffered fractures to a cervical vertebra and his right clavicle.

“He will undergo surgery today by the team at Hospital General de Catalunya,” said Gresini in a statement on social media.

Acosta started on pole and was out in front until Di Giannantonio snatched the lead with two laps remaining.

Joan Mir and Fermin Aldeguer also edged ahead of Acosta, who then came to grief shortly before the end after being wiped out by Ai Ogura, who was hit with a time penalty and dropped to ninth.

Mir, who came in second, was later demoted to 13th with a 16-second penalty for low tyre pressure — one of five riders to be penalised long after the race finished.

As a result, Fermin Aldeguer moved from third to second, and Francesco Bagnaia climbed onto the podium.

Overall leader Marco Bezzecchi struggled but was able to extend his advantage after his closest contender Jorge Martin suffered his fifth crash of the weekend.

Raul Fernandez took out Martin after trying an aggressive move down the inside while they were challenging for the lead, leaving Bezzecchi, who finished fourth after the results were adjusted for penalties, 15 points ahead.

‘We are in danger’

Di Giannantonio hurt his hand in the first terrifying crash when the Italian was hit by a wheel from Marquez’s ruined bike, but the VR46 man recovered to claim his first MotoGP win in three years.

“I’m so happy. But first of all I was really worried about all the riders who crashed,” said Di Giannantonio.

“Today has not been an easy day for everybody. I really hope that Alex (Marquez) is fine. We’ve been really lucky.

“We know that our sport is amazing. We try to give an amazing show, we are humans, we are in danger.”

Di Giannantonio’s victory moved him up to third overall on 116 points, followed by Acosta on 92.

Marquez, who triumphed at last year’s Catalan Grand Prix and also won the sprint on Saturday (May 16, 2026), was pushing leader Acosta when the accident happened.

Acosta lost speed because of a technical issue and Marquez hit his bike, veering off the track into a terrible crash before being taken to hospital, conscious.

Last weekend, Alex Marquez’s older brother Marc, the reigning champion, was injured after another violent crash at Le Mans.

The second major incident was a collision involving Zarco, Luca Marini and Bagnaia.

Zarco was taken by ambulance to hospital for checks after he was caught up with Bagnaia’s bike.

LCR MotoGP team boss Lucio Cecchinello said Zarco had pain in “the femur area”, his left leg and knee.