Afghanistan is an unlikely home for the sport of cricket. But its national team has proudly clawed its way to the game’s upper echelons. Afghanistan’s captain Gulbadin Naib celebrates during a Cricket World Cup match against Bangladesh, Southampton, England, 24...
By Veronica Allan Caster Semenya will have to take hormone-reducing drugs if she wants to continue her stellar international track career. The South African sprinter, a double Olympic champion in the 800 meters, lost her case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport...
Soon, even breakdancing may be an Olympic sport. My reflections on how the inclusiveness of sport may help to counter rising populism. A member of Japanese team ‘The Flooriorz’ competes in a breakdancing match during the ‘Battle of the Year World Finale 2017’ in...
Ireland’s rugby team has a history of persevering through conflict. As Brexit reopens old wounds, rugby unites players and fans across borders. Ireland’s Devin Toner is held aloft during the most recent rugby game between Ireland and England, Dublin, Ireland, 2...
Cricket-star-turned-prime-minister Imran Khan says he wants to lift up the poor in Pakistan. But his renegade political drive faces economic headwinds. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan at a campaign rally in Karachi, Pakistan, 22 July 2018 (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)...
By Paul Radford After three decades of reporting on an endless succession of scandals in international sport, I sometimes feel the need to ask myself two obvious questions. “Why do you still watch sport obsessively? And why, oh why, do you love it so much?” The...
Pakistan’s Imran Khan was a cricket star with glamorous women on his arm. Now he is poised to become prime minister of the South Asian nation. Pakistan captain Imran Khan, left, raises his arms in triumph as England’s last batsman Richard Illingworth walks away...
By John Mehaffey Soccer, the world’s leading football sport that stages its 21st World Cup in Russia over the next month, owes its global dominance to an essential simplicity. As in basketball, a flat surface plus a ball are the only requirements. The game initially...
More than just a game, sport reflected wrenching changes in the 1960s — racial tension, the U.S. antiwar movement, women’s rights, decolonialization. This article is part of a series by our correspondents and guest writers reflecting on the 1960s — a...
By John Mehaffey The timeless magic of the mile, the only non-metric track distance still recognized as an official world record, prompted a spate of nostalgic headlines this month with the death of the first man to run four 440-yard laps in under four minutes. The...