Magnus Carlsen and Ella Victoria Malone tied the knot at a ceremony in the Holmenkollen Chapel in Norway's Oslo.

Magnus Carlsen and his girlfriend Ella Victoria Malone at Singapore recently where the World No 1 was playing against Fabiano Caruana in the Freestyle Chess Exhibition match. (Photos courtesy: Magnus Carlsen Instagram)

Former world champion Magnus Carlsen is now married. The World No 1 chess player got married to his girlfriend Ella Victoria Malone in a ceremony over the weekend.

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Magnus Carlsen and Ella Victoria Malone tied the knot at a ceremony in the Holmenkollen Chapel in Norway’s Oslo. Magnus Carlsen then hosted a reception at Oslo’s iconic 5-star Grand Hotel. Local media reports from Oslo said that the couple got married while the city was experiencing temperatures of -7 degrees C.

Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet reported that a crew from Netflix was also present at the ceremony. Netflix is reportedly shooting a chess-related TV show, which is said to have a release date in 2025. However, Dagbladet added that it “has not been able to confirm whether they are on assignment for Netflix.”

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Chess.com reported that the 26-year-old Ella Victoria Malone will now be known as Ella Victoria Carlsen. A report on the portal added that Ella Victoria, born to a Norwegian mother and an American father, grew up partly in Oslo and studied in the US. Ella Victoria has spent years living in Singapore, where she is a permanent resident.

Norway’s VG newspaper stated that Ella Victoria is now expected to have a “more central role” in Magnus Carlsen’s career. The report in VG also stated that Ella Victoria played a role in getting Magnus Carlsen a deal with fashion brand G-Star Raw.

Magnus Carlsen is expected to make his debut for St Pauli in the German Bundesliga on Friday, when he’ll face Dusseldorf, which will have current world champion Gukesh Dommaraju in their ranks.

Magnus Carlsen recently made headlines at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship, first for wearing jeans at a game and then withdrawing from the event when fined for it. Carlsen then copped flak for convincing Ian Nepomniachtchi to share the World Blitz title.

Magnus Carlsen married to Ella Victoria Malone with Netflix crew in attendance

Biden reminds Americans of Capitol attack, assures peaceful transition of power

"Had No Right...": Gautam Gambhir's Explosive Verdict On Jasprit Bumrah-Sam Konstas Controversy

 

Gautam Gambhir criticised Australian debutant Sam Konstas for his involvement in a heated verbal exchange with Jasprit Bumrah on the opening day of the Sydney Test.

Asian News International

Updated: January 05, 2025 02:12 pm IST

Read Time: 2 min

Sam Konstas (L) and Jasprit Bumrah

© AFP

India head coach Gautam Gambhir criticised Australian debutant Sam Konstas for his involvement in a heated verbal exchange with Jasprit Bumrah on the opening day of the Sydney Test, calling it inappropriate. The final moments of the opening day became tense when the 19-year-old Konstas engaged in a verbal spat with the Indian pace spearhead, leaving Bumrah visibly agitated. As Bumrah was fired up, the consequences were felt by Usman Khawaja, who, on the next delivery, gave away a thick outside edge to KL Rahul at second slip.

"Tough sport played by tough men. He had no right to be talking to Jasprit Bumrah when Usman Khawaja was taking time. He had no right and no business to be involved with Jasprit Bumrah. That was the job of the umpire and the guy who is batting at the other end," Gambhir said in the post-match press conference.

Throughout the series, Konstas had altercations with Indian players. His first major incident occurred at the iconic MCG during the Boxing Day Test when he was involved in a bumping exchange with Virat Kohli. Usman Khawaja, who was batting at the other end, was seen trying to calm things down.

Following the incident, Virat Kohli was fined 20 percent of his match fee and handed one demerit point.

"It is a tough sport played by tough men. These things happen. A lot of Australian players have done that in the past," Gambhir said.

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When asked about Konstas' future, Gambhir felt the young opener needed to keep improving, stating, "I am sure that is why he is playing Test cricket. Sometimes, you can't go on and keep smashing from the first ball. You have to respect red-ball cricket. You have to learn from your experiences. Test cricket is about improving every day."

Sacrilege: But is An Sai Long better than even Lin Dan – after the 2024 Olympics gold?

 

The Great Dane Viktor Axelsen, who pulled on a Chinese mane and got himself a Chinese name after learning Mandarin at 22, has snuck up into the GOAT debate after his second Olympic title.

You might not have heard of An Sai Long, the double Olympic champion, but China has. And he could stake claim to being better than the great Lin Dan, and even the Chinese won’t mind a ponder over that debate. It’s the Mandarin name adopted by Viktor Axelsen when he was 22 and became proficient in the language, proficient enough to charm the Chinese speaking to them in their tongue, after losing the Rio Olympics semifinal to Chen Long.

The next day, he had earned their ungrudging respect beating Lin Dan for the 2016 Olympics bronze. Over the next 8 years, by the time he turned 30, Axelsen had equalled Super Dan to two Olympic titles, though his total Games medal count was one more than Dan – thanks to himself, for Axelsen had denied the greatest Chinese his third possible medal at Rio, after golds at Beijing and London.

Rafael Nadal — serial winner, racquet-wielding philosopher and an invincible spirit

For two decades, the Spanish legend thrilled audiences worldwide and was part of two era-defining rivalries with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic 

 Whenever a favourite sportsperson retires, there is a part of us that dies inside. It did when Sachin Tendulkar bid adieu and it did when Roger Federer waved goodbye. As Julian Barnes wrote in Levels of Life, “What is taken away is greater than the sum of what was there. This may not be mathematically possible; but it is emotionally possible.”

Rafael Nadal’s exit from competitive tennis is sure to leave a similar feeling. For two decades, the Spaniard – winner of 22 Majors, 92 Tour titles, a ludicrously high 14 French Opens, two Olympic Gold medals and five Davis Cups – did not just occupy the court but pervaded every inch of our collective minds. Now, this long-lasting love story will be a thing of the past.

Pakistan unwilling to move Champions Trophy games out, questions India refusal to play there

 

Height-team Champions Trophy begins in Pakistan on February 19 with the final on March 9, with Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi being the designated host cities.

The Pakistan government is learnt to have asked its cricket board not to give in to India’s demand of moving the Champions Trophy games to Dubai.

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Earlier, the International Cricket Council (ICC) had informed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) about the refusal of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to cross the border for the 50-overs tournament next year. The BCCI was reported to have asked for India’s games to be shifted to a neutral venue like Dubai.

“We have been told by our government not to move any game out of Pakistan, and that will be our stand when the time comes. Right now, the ICC has just informed us about India’s decision. We have the hosting rights for the Champions Trophy so there is no way we can move the games outside Pakistan,” said a PCB official on condition of anonymity.

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The official also touched upon the contents of PCB’s reply to the ICC. “We have responded to last week’s ICC letter, seeking clarifications for the BCCI’s decision not to travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. In reply, we have sent them a questionnaire asking them the reasons for the BCCI’s decision. We are keen to know that. So right now, there is no talk of moving games,” he said.

The eight-team Champions Trophy begins on February 19 with the final on March 9, with Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi being the designated host cities.

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The Champions Trophy stand-off is a throwback to the days before last year’s Asia Cup that Pakistan hosted. In the lead-up to the continental event in September 2023, India had stuck to its stand of not travelling to Pakistan, while the PCB too had been steadfast in its stand of being the sole host of the event. However, close to the start of the Asia Cup, Pakistan relented and India’s games were moved to Sri Lanka.

Cricketing ties between India and Pakistan have been impacted by their thorny political relationship. The two countries haven’t played each other in a non-ICC event since 2013, and India last travelled to Pakistan more than 16 years ago.

Hopes were raised about cricket normalcy returning to the region following last month’s meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Islamabad. This was the first direct conversation between the two nations at this level since 2015.

However, since the Jaishankar visit on October 16, there have been a string of terror incidents in Jammu and Kashmir.

Sports

Sport includes all forms of competitive physical activity or games which,through casual or organized participation, at least in part aim to use, maintain or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants, and in some cases, entertainment for spectators.Sports can bring positive results to one's physical health. Hundreds of sports exist, from those between single contestants, through to those with hundreds of simultaneous participants, either in teams or competing as individuals. In certain sports such as racing, many contestants may compete, simultaneously or consecutively, with one winner; in others, the contest (a match) is between two sides, each attempting to exceed the other. Some sports allow a "tie" or "draw", in which there is no single winner; others provide tie-breaking methods to ensure one winner and one loser. A number of contests may be arranged in a tournament producing a champion. Many sports leagues make an annual champion by arranging games in a regular sports season, followed in some cases by playoffs.

Sport is generally recognised as system of activities which are based in physical athleticism or physical dexterity, with the largest major competitions such as the Olympic Games admitting only sports meeting this definition,and other organisations such as the Council of Europe using definitions precluding activities without a physical element from classification as sports.However, a number of competitive, but non-physical, activities claim recognition as mind sports. The International Olympic Committee (through ARISF) recognises both chess and bridge as bona fide sports, and SportAccord, the international sports federation association, recognises five non-physical sports: bridge, chess, draughts (checkers), Go and xiangqi,and limits the number of mind games which can be admitted as sports.

Sport is usually governed by a set of rules or customs, which serve to ensure fair competition, and allow consistent adjudication of the winner. Winning can be determined by physical events such as scoring goals or crossing a line first. It can also be determined by judges who are scoring elements of the sporting performance, including objective or subjective measures such as technical performance or artistic impression.

Records of performance are often kept, and for popular sports, this information may be widely announced or reported in sport news. Sport is also a major source of entertainment for non-participants, with spectator sport drawing large crowds to sport venues, and reaching wider audiences through broadcasting. Sport betting is in some cases severely regulated, and in some cases is central to the sport.

According to A.T. Kearney, a consultancy, the global sporting industry is worth up to $620 billion as of 2013.The world's most accessible and practised sport is running, while association football is the most popular spectator sport.