Sports
New UCI race fuels India’s pedal-to-medal dreams | The Express Tribune
Naveen John is feeling both excited and wistful ahead of The Pune Grand Tour. Photo: AFP/File
NEW DELHI:
Naveen John cannot help feeling both excited and wistful ahead of what he calls the “biggest opportunity” for an Indian rider.
Excited, because he will be racing in the first-ever multi-stage road race in India, a UCI 2.2 classified international cycling event. Sad, because it did not come when he was younger and not pushing 40 as he is now.
“Older men always wish they were younger,” John told Reuters in an online discussion. “One of the main reasons I remained in this sport for so long is because I knew something like this was round the corner.”
Spread across 437 kilometres and four stages, the Pune Grand Tour (PGT), which begins on Monday, will feature around 170 riders from 35 countries, including 12 locals.
Organisers hope the race will unlock cycling’s potential in the world’s most populous nation and put cycling at the centre of India’s Olympic planning.
“It’s not rocket science,” Maninder Pal Singh, secretary general of the Cycling Federation of India (CFI), told Reuters by phone.
“Cycling is the low-hanging fruit of all sports. All you need is a clear roadmap. The more events you host, the better cycling nation you become – as simple as that.
“We need more events, more exposure for our riders. Olympic medals will follow.”
Right now, with UCI events scarce in Asia and expensive in Europe, Olympic participation has remained a distant dream for John’s generation.
With Maharashtra committing long-term to it, however, the Pune race could mark a shift, especially as at least four other states have expressed interest in hosting similar events.
John remembers the countless emails and calls he made in 2016 before landing a contract with an Australian team, which made him the first Indian to join a professional outfit.
Home benefits
More home races would make it easier for younger riders to win professional contracts, he said.
“I see it happening. Earlier, you had to reach out to some European director, who’s never seen you race against other professionals. Now, if a rider finishes a stage race, he can reach out to a director in Australia or Spain, and say ‘I’ve done this race and I’m 21. Can you give me a contract?'”
Given the number of medals available, CFI’s Singh said, cycling should be central to India’s Olympic planning.
“Cycling offers the third highest number of medals in the Olympics. You prepare one rider for multiple medals. Look at the money you need to spend in certain team sports where you target just two medals.”
With India bidding for the 2036 Olympics, John said the timing was ideal.
“Ten years is sort of a perfect time where there’s a sense of urgency and also enough time to make things happen,” he added.
“Seeing the first Indian winner of a UCI stage race, I think, will happen in eight to 10 years and that aligns with the Olympic goal also because that’s the level we need to be at.”
Pune District Collector Jitendra Dudi said they wanted to market the city as a global tourism hub through the event.
“It’s going to be an annual event and our preparation is of the ProSeries level,” Dudi told Reuters.
“UCI is looking at new markets and India is a huge untapped market for cycling.”
Sports
Tiger Woods involved in rollover crash in Florida less than 2 weeks before Masters: reports
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Tiger Woods was involved in a car crash in Florida on Friday, according to multiple reports.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office told ESPN that the crash happened on Jupiter Island on Friday afternoon. Woods’ condition was not immediately known.
Woods competed in the TGL championship earlier this week with his girlfriend, Vanessa Trump, and her daughter, Kai, in the stands. It was his return to competitive golf after rupturing his Achilles last year, just ahead of the Masters.
Tiger Woods of Jupiter Links Golf Club looks on before the match against the Los Angeles Golf Club at SoFi Center on March 23, 2026, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. (Adam Glanzman/TGL/TGL Golf via Getty Images)
The 15-time major winner, five of which have come at Augusta, was noncommittal about playing at this year’s Masters. President Donald Trump said on “The Five” on Thursday that he would be at Augusta but not play.
Woods has had trouble behind the wheel in the past. In 2021, he got into a wreck that resulted in serious leg injuries that kept him off the golf course for months.
This is a breaking story. Check back for more updates.
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Sports
Illinois defense gets tough, ousts Houston to reach Elite Eight
HOUSTON — David Mirkovic had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and third-seeded Illinois flexed its defensive muscles to eliminate last year’s national runner-up from the NCAA tournament, beating Houston 65-55 in the South Region semifinals on Thursday night.
Next up is a meeting Saturday with ninth-seeded Iowa to see which Big Ten team will advance to the Final Four. It will be the 11th Elite Eight appearance for Illinois (27-8) and its second in three seasons under Brad Underwood.
In the Sweet 16 for a seventh consecutive time, the second-seeded Cougars (30-7) were thrilled to be playing just over two miles from their campus. But their poor shooting gave Houston fans little to cheer about and delighted the orange-clad Illini faithful who made the long trip to Texas.
“At the beginning of the game Houston fans were a little louder, but as game was going, [our fans] started being louder in their city,” Mirkovic said. “So it’s just really important for us, I would say just like a wind to our back. They pushed us, and thanks for them.”
Star freshman point guard Kingston Flemings, who is expected to be an NBA lottery pick, had 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting. Milos Uzan made just 2 of 11 shots.
But they were far from the only Cougars who struggled offensively. The team shot just 34% in its lowest-scoring game of the season.
Underwood was asked about his team’s defensive performance.
“I think it’s a mental focus,” he said. “We’ve been very good at times defensively. It’s just sustaining it. We’ve got very capable defenders, we’ve got size and length, and we just got to make shots difficult.”
Illinois finished well under the 84.7 points a game it averaged entering Thursday. But its offense was still plenty powerful enough to send Houston back to its nearby campus. Keaton Wagler had 13 points and a team-high 12 rebounds for the Illini; he and Mirkovic became the first pair of freshman teammates to each have a double-double in the same NCAA tournament game since freshmen became fully eligible in 1972-73, according to ESPN Research.
“Coaches were telling us before the game: ‘It’s going to be a guard game to get rebounds. We need 10-plus out of the guards,'” he said. “So I took that challenge on. I went in there, tried to play as tough as I could, not let them get any second-chance rebounds. I went in there and tried to get every rebound I could.”
Andrej Stojakovic — with his dad, three-time NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic, in the stands — also scored 13.
By the time the final seconds ticked off the clock, many Houston fans had cleared out and the Illinois supporters stood and cheered as their team celebrated.
“I was proud of our kids’ effort,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “We just didn’t play good enough.”
The Illini were up by one early in the second half when they broke it open with a 17-0 run for a 44-26 lead with about 12 minutes left. Jake Davis scored five points during the burst, including a 3-pointer, and Mirkovic and Ben Humrichous capped it with consecutive 3s.
The Cougars missed seven consecutive shots as Illinois built its lead. When Uzan finally ended Houston’s drought with a 3-pointer with 11:20 left, it had been almost seven minutes since the team had scored.
“We were getting stops and we were limiting them to one shot, and to tough shots as well,” Wagler said. “Making them shoot tough middies or contested at the rim, 3-pointers, all of that, and then we were going in and grabbing the rebound and offensively we were getting the shots that we wanted, we were knocking them down.”
Consecutive 3-pointers by Chase McCarty got Houston within nine with about six minutes left. But Wagler and Tomislav Ivisic made 3-pointers to fuel an 8-0 run that extended the lead to 58-41.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Trey Kaufman-Renn’s controversial tip-in gives Boilermakers spot in Elite Eight, ends Texas’ Cinderella story
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The No. 11 Texas Longhorns’ Cinderella story in the NCAA Tournament came to a heartbreaking end on Thursday night, as Trey Kaufman-Renn’s tip with 0.7 seconds left on the clock gave No. 2 Purdue a 79-77 lead to advance to the Elite Eight.
It was a thriller to the end in this Sweet 16 matchup between a team that needed to play in the First Four to kick off the tournament, and one of the higher seeds in March Madness.
The Longhorns’ Dailyn Swain made a clutch and-one layup with 11 seconds left that allowed him the opportunity to tie the game at 77 apiece if he made his free throw. He nailed it with the pressure on, but the Boilermakers had 11 seconds to get up court and potentially win the game.
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Trey Kaufman-Renn of the Purdue Boilermakers dribbles the ball against the Texas Longhorns during the first half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026, in San Jose, California. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
It was Braden Smith finding his way to the lane and putting up his own layup. However, the ball didn’t have the correct English off the glass, as it started to roll off the rim.
But Kaufman-Renn, who positioned himself underneath the basket, tipped home the game-winning bucket, giving himself 20 total points to help Purdue move on and keep their tournament dreams alive.
8TH-GRADER STANDS ALONE WITH LAST PERFECT WOMEN’S NCAA BASKETBALL BRACKET
There was some discourse on social media, though, as an overhead shot of Kaufman-Renn’s tip showed a potential foul, as he was hooking the arm of the Longhorns player jostling for the rebound.
Either way, no whistle blew, and the Boilermakers were celebrating, while the Longhorns couldn’t believe their season came to a close in that fashion.

Trey Kaufman-Renn of the Purdue Boilermakers shoots the game-winning shot against the Texas Longhorns during the second half during the second half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026, in San Jose, California. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
This was a back-and-forth game throughout the 40 minutes on the court, as both teams traded the lead, especially in the second half. The largest lead any team had was Purdue at only seven points, while Texas’ lead never got higher than four.
But it’s because both teams were shooting well, with Texas making 52% of its shots (29-of-56), while Purdue poured in 48% (30-of-62).
Looking more into the box score, every Boilermakers starter had at least 10 points, while Fletcher Loyer (18), and Braden Smith (16) doing crucial work in the backcourt to help the winning cause.
Meanwhile, Texas’ Tramon Mark left it all out on the court, shooting 11-of-15 for 29 points, including 5-of-7 made from beyond the arc. Swain also just missed a double-double with nine rebounds, while tallying five assists.

Trey Kaufman-Renn of the Purdue Boilermakers celebrates with teammates after making the game-winning shot against the Texas Longhorns during the second half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 26, 2026, in San Jose, California. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
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Purdue now awaits the winner of Arkansas and Arizona to see who they must play to earn a spot in this year’s Final Four, which will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
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