Sports Highlights

The following are the top/expected stories at 2100 hours: EXPECTED STORIES: *Report of first ODI between India and South Africa in Paarl.

*Reports of U-19 World Cup matches in the West Indies.

*ISL match between FC Goa and SC East Bengal in Bambolim.

STORIES ON THE WIRE: SPO-FOOT-AFC-VIRUS-LD IND Asian Cup: Two members of Indian team test COVID positive on eve of tournament (Eds: Adds details) Mumbai, Jan 19 (PTI) COVID-19 breached the Indian women's football team's bio-security bubble here on Wednesday ahead of the AFC Asian Cup with two members testing positive for the virus, forcing the organisers to shift them to a medical facility for isolation.

SPO-TENNIS-SANIA-LD RETIREMENT Sania to end career after 2022 season, says body is wearing down (Eds: Adds details and more quotes) Melbourne, Jan 19 (PTI) Trailblazing India tennis star Sania Mirza on Wednesday announced that she will hang up her racquet at the end of 2022 season as her body is ''wearing down'' and the motivation and energy for everyday grind is not the same anymore.

SPO-ATH-IND-DOPE Top javelin thrower under dope scanner: sources New Delhi, Jan 19 (PTI) A top Indian javelin thrower has been provisionally suspended after failing an out-of-competition dope test and is awaiting a hearing by the National Anti-Doping Agency's Disciplinary Panel.

SPO-CRI-ICC-RANKINGS Kohli, Pant and Bumrah move up in latest ICC Test rankings Dubai, Jan 19 (PTI) Indian star Virat Kohli on Wednesday moved up two places to seventh after scores of 79 and 29 in his last Test as captain in the latest ICC rankings for batters in the five-day format.

SPO-FOOT-WOM-ASIAN-IND-PREVIEW With eye on quarterfinals spot, India seek winning start against Iran in women's Asian Cup opener By Nikhil Bapat Navi Mumbai, Jan 19 (PTI) A FIFA World Cup play-offs spot within their grasp, hosts India would seek a winning start against an under-prepared and lower-ranked Iran in their women's AFC Asian Cup campaign opener here on Thursday.

SPO-BOX-IND-NIEVA Will look to rebuild, several aspects need improvement: Nieva after being retained as India men's boxing's HPD By Poonam Mehra New Delhi, Jan 19 (PTI) Retained as Indian men's boxing's High Performance Director after few months of deliberation and discussion, Santiago Nieva says the immediate focus in his second stint would be to rebuild the team which hit a low by ending medal-less in the Tokyo Olympics.

SPO-BAD-LD IND Sindhu cruises into second round of Syed Modi International (Eds: Updating with latest results) Lucknow, Jan 19 (PTI) Two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu stormed into the second round of the Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament with a dominating win over compatriot Tanya Hemanth in the women' singles competition, here on Wednesday.

SPO-TENNIS-OPEN-LD IND Bopanna and Mirza out of Australia Open men's and women's doubles (Eds: Adds Sania Mirza's result) Melbourne, Jan 19 (PTI) Veteran Indian players Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza were knocked out of the men's and women's doubles events of the Australian Open respectively, after losing their first round matches, here on Wednesday.

SPO-CRI-ICC-T20-TEAMS Mandhana named in ICC T20I women's Team of the Year, no Indian in the men's side Dubai, Jan 19 (PTI) Star India opener Smriti Mandhana was on Wednesday named in the ICC T20 women's Team of the Year for her superlative show in the format in 2021 but no Indian made the men's side.

The stylish Southpaw, who is the Indian team's vice-captain in the format, was the country's highest scorer in the format in 2021 with 255 runs at an average of 31.87.

SPO-FOOT-ISL-BAGAN-BLASTERS Bagan ready to re-launch top-four ambitions with Blasters encounter Vasco da Gama, Jan 19 (PTI) ATK Mohun Bagan will look to stretch their unbeaten run when they take on table-toppers Kerala Blasters FC in the Indian Super League here on Thursday.

SPO-CRI-MORGAN Laughable to blame The Hundred for England's Ashes defeat, says limited overs skipper Morgan Barbados, Jan 19 (PTI) Limited overs skipper Eoin Morgan feels it's ''laughable'' to use The Hundred as an excuse for England's recent Ashes debacle and insisted that Test cricket has ''always been the priority.'' SPO-FOOT-WOM-ASIAN-MESSAGE Attention of footballing world shifts to India: AFC chief ahead of women's Asian Cup Mumbai, Jan 19 (PTI) The attention of the footballing world shifts to India, the games Asian chief Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said on Wednesday in a message ahead of the women's continental showpiece here. SPO-GOLF-SINGAPORE-IND A dozen Indians gun for British Open spot at Singapore Open Singapore, Jan 19 (PTI) Eyeing British Open spots, a dozen Indians made up of veterans, experienced and young professionals will tee up at this week's SMBC Singapore Open at Sentosa Golf Club.