FIFA president Gianni Infantino (AP Photo) Gianni Infantino has received public backing from a small group of national football associations as pressure continues to mount over his future as FIFA president following the collapse of the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal.While several major football nations and governing bodies have withdrawn their support after the…

World chess champion D Gukesh found an amusing way to deal with an online troll after a playful exchange on social media took an unexpected turn.On Wednesday, the Indian grandmaster, who has faced increased scrutiny following a difficult run of results in recent times, shared a screenshot of the conversation on his Instagram story with…

India’s Mohammed Siraj (PTI Photo) Chennai: The Duleep Trophy final got a boost of stardom with paceman Mohammed Siraj and left-hander Devdutt Padikkal joining the South Zone squad. For Siraj, the domestic assignment comes at a time when questions over his form, wicket-taking impact and workload have begun to gather momentum.TOI understands that Siraj’s place…

Indian Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa Until this summer, no Indian had won the elite Norway Chess title. There was no Indian name alongside the Grand Chess Tour finale either. R Praggnanandhaa, that shy and super-sharp boy from Chennai, a Viswanathan Anand mentee like many from the city, now has both crowns to call his own.Late on Thursday,…