Browsing: comeback

Vinesh Phogat (Getty Images) NEW DELHI: India’s trailblazing wrestler Vinesh Phogat has officially reignited her Olympic journey. On Friday, the 31-year-old announced her return to competitive wrestling — ending her 18-month retirement with a powerful declaration that her “fire never left,†and that she is ready to chase her dream of stepping onto the Olympic podium at Los Angeles 2028.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Vinesh, who had retired in the aftermath of the Paris Olympics controversy, shared an emotional and introspective post on Instagram confirming her comeback. Her retirement had followed one of the most heartbreaking episodes in Indian sporting history: she reached the gold-medal bout in Paris, but was disqualified hours before the final for being 100 grams overweight, losing the opportunity to become the first Indian woman to fight for an Olympic wrestling gold.

Inside a championâ€s mind | ft. Shafali, Deepti and Saiyami | TOIâ€s Ideas for India

“For the first time in years, I allowed myself to breathe,†Vinesh wrote, describing how stepping away from the sport helped her confront the highs, heartbreaks and sacrifices of the past decade. “And somewhere in that reflection, I found the truth — I still love this sport. I still want to compete.â€She revealed the emotional reconstruction that happened during her time off the mat. “In that silence, I found something I’d forgotten — the fire never left. It was only buried under exhaustion and noise.†Vinesh’s comeback is also intertwined with a new chapter in her personal life. The Olympian, who won the Julana Assembly seat in 2024 before taking maternity leave, welcomed a baby boy in July 2025. This time, she says, she returns with her “biggest motivation†by her side. “My son is joining my team — my little cheerleader on this road to the LA Olympics.â€Her Olympic journey has been turbulent: forced withdrawal due to injury in Rio 2016, a shock early exit at Tokyo 2021 despite being world No. 1, and the devastating disqualification in Paris after defeating three continental champions en route to the final. Her appeal to UWW was rejected, and even her escalated plea to the Court of Arbitration for Sport could not overturn the decision.The emotional toll pushed her into retirement — but today marks a new beginning.With her comeback officially underway, Vinesh Phogat is set to rejoin the elite cadre of Indian athletes who have returned stronger after motherhood.

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Revenge is sweet, when it’s on your side.

The Nashville Predatorsavoided a sweep by the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Pantherswith a 2-1 come-from-behind thriller in overtime on a goal that was allowed after the net had come off its moorings.

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Sound familiar?

The Preds lost a controversial game in overtime earlier this season to the Minnesota Wildafter the goal was allowed when goalie Justus Annunen knocked the net loose.

Thursday at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, the Preds tasted the benefit of a loose net and sent Panthers fans home disappointed.

Carter Verhaeghe scored for the Cats’ lone goal, while Ryan O’Reilly and Steven Stamkos got the Preds’ two hard-fought goals.

The win avenges an 8-3 loss to the Cats in late November, and Florida has now dropped four straight, languishing in last place in the Eastern Conference.

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After Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky robbed Matthew Wood on a breakout, Carter Verhaeghe faked out Juuse Saros on the other end after a nice setup by Sam Bennett for a 1-0 lead at 16:26 of the opening frame.

Both teams had numerous chances to change the scoreboard, but it wasn’t until the third period that the Preds finally knotted the game.

Ryan O’Reilly put in a rebound off a Michael Bunting shot at the 13:41 mark to make it a 1-1 game, spoiling Bobrovsky’s shutout bid and requiring overtime.

Then, Steven Stamkos fired in the golden goal at 4:01 of the extra frame from O’Reilly, and the Preds come away with an unbelievable win.

The net came off its moorings, but upon further review, the goal was allowed.

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Earlier in the game, the Preds thought they had a power-play goal, but the officials determined the puck never crossed the goal line. Stamkos’ goal made certain the no-goal wouldn’t come back to haunt them.

The Predators have won four of their last five games, their best stretch of the season thus far. The Panthers haven’t won since beating Nashville at Bridgestone Arena Nov. 24.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Saros Outduels Bobrovsky.

After a rocky stretch, Preds goalie Juuse Saros appears to have found his form. He stopped 27 of 28 shots in the Preds’ 5-1 victory over the Calgary Flames Tuesday, and passed almost every test against Florida.

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Saros and Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky put on quite a show, but Saros outdueled the Stanley Cup Champion, stopping 30 of the 31 shots fired his way.

His biggest test came in the second period, as the Panthers held a 16-5 shot advantage in the frame. The only blemish came on Verhaeghe’s goal to put the Cats ahead 1-0.

Verhaeghe deked Saros out of position after being fed by Sam Bennett. This came just moments after Bobrovsky robbed Matthew Wood on a breakaway at the other end.

For the game, Florida outshot the Preds 31-29, but Saros earned his money on this night.

The Preds†penalty kill was heavily tested.

As good as the Predators†penalty kill has been most of the season, it had allowed a goal in three of its last four games coming into Thursday.

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In all fairness, the unit was without Cole Smith and Michael McCarron, two of their best penalty killers, both fighting injuries. McCarron was back in the lineup against Florida, and the kill was back in form.

There were some close calls. Nick Blankenburg went to the sin bin for a high-sticking double minor, sending Anton Lundell to the locker room briefly. The Cats had several great chances, including one sequence when Saros lost his stick. Disaster was averted, and the Preds killed off the double minor.

Florida was 17-for-89 (19.8%) on the power play, 18th in the league heading into Thursday. The Preds shut down the Cats’ power play, killing all six penalties. The Preds’ own power play failed to score on all five of its chances.

Ozzy Wiesblatt exited early.

Nov 26, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Nashville Predators right wing Michael McCarron (47), right wing Ozzy Wiesblatt (89), and Detroit Red Wings center Marco Kasper (92) are broken up during the game at Little Caesars Arena. Tim Fuller-Imagn Images

Wiesblatt has been a bright spot in Nashvilleâ€s lineup this season. He scored his first NHL goal Tuesday against Calgary, and celebrated by pointing to the sky in honor of his late brother, Orca.

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Early in Thursdayâ€s contest, Wiesblatt lost a glove and appeared to injure his hand. He left for the tunnel and didnâ€t return. He’s currently listed as having an upper-body injury.

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The Golden State Warriors were on the verge of an improbable comeback win against the Philadelphia 76ers while down their top three players. Then VJ Edgecombe got involved.

Down 98-97 after blowing a lead that maxed out at 24 points, the Sixers rookie saved the game with a putback lay-up after catching a blocked fadeaway from Tyrese Maxey. The game wasn’t over, though, as Golden State quickly inbounded the ball with 0.9 seconds left and had DeAnthony Melton free on a breakaway.

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Maxey recovered quickly enough to reach the paint and block a would-be buzzer-beater.

Edgecombe finished the game with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting, plus 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks and 5 turnovers. Maxey led all scorers, by far, with 35 points on 13-of-27 shooting.

The putback was another highlight in what has been a standout rookie season for Edgecombe. The third overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft began his campaign with a record and still ranks fourth among rookies at 14.4 points per game. His 4.2 assists per game ranks first.

The Warriors entered the fourth quarter down 80-66. Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler were both out for the game, and Draymond Green joined them in the second quarter when he limped to the locker room with a foot injury. He was later ruled out for the rest of the game.

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Green finished with three points on 1-of-3 shooting and three rebounds in nine minutes.

Without the three veterans they built their team around, the Warriors turned to Pat Spencer. And Buddy Hield. And Melton. And Quinten Post. And quite a few others. This is the second straight game the team nearly pulled off a shocking comeback after losing an All-Star, and that perhaps count for something with the team still in play-in territory with an 11-12 record.

The severity of Green’s injury is unknown. It’s quite possible the decision to rule him out was entirely precautionary with the team down 22 points at halftime, but it still underscores Golden State’s current struggles to stay healthy.

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Curry missed his third straight game Thursday with a quad injury and is guaranteed to miss at least two more. Butler exited Wednesday’s game with a knee injury and was questionable for Thursday before being ruled out. The Warriors bet their 2025-26 season on the trio of Curry, Green and Butler, all of them 35 years or older. It might not be a surprise they’re now encountering injury issues.

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Golden State Warriors star Jimmy Butler exited a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder early on Tuesday night due to an apparent knee injury. It didn’t stop his team from nearly mounting an incredible comeback.

Butler left the game briefly midway through he second quarter after tripping slightly and losing his shoe on the baseline. As the play went the other way, Butler slowly got his shoe back on and started limping off the floor. He went back to the locker room during the next timeout, but returned to the game a few minutes later.

Butler came up limping again in the final stretch of the first half, however, and went back to the locker room early. He stayed there for good, and did not start in the third quarter. The Warriors then ruled him out with a sore left knee before the start of the fourth quarter.

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Further specifics are not yet known.

Butler had six points and three rebounds in 15 minutes on Tuesday night. He shot 2-of-7 from the field. The 36-year-old entered the contest averaging 20.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game this season while shooting nearly 53% from the field.

Without him, the Warriors fell into a hole that hit a maximum of 22 points in the third quarter, but a furious comeback erased that lead over the course of the second half. The Warriors briefly led in the fourth quarter, but one last OKC run ended any hope of handing them their second loss of the season. Final score: 124-112.

The team did it all without both Curry and Stephen Curry, who remains out with a quad injury. Four different players — Buddy Hield, Gary Payton II, Pat Spencer and Seth Curry — posted double digits off the bench.

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The loss drops the Warriors’ record to 11-11. They have now lost five of their past seven games and will hold their breath on Butler’s condition. The Thunder, meanwhile, improved their record to 21-1 despite the absence of key players in Isaiah Hartenstein, Lu Dort and Alex Caruso.

They remain on pace to take something even bigger from the Warriors.

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Jalen Brunson didn’t have it on Tuesday night against the Celtics.

The Knicksguard scored a season-low 15 points on 6-for-21 shooting (1-of-8 from three) in New York’s 123-117 loss in Boston.

Brunson’s performance was indicative of the team’s overall poor performance against the rival Celtics.

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After getting out to a fast start, going up by 11 points after the first quarter, the Celtics outscored the Knicks 73-44 in the second and third quarters. And although the Knicks had a furious comeback in the fourth, it wasn’t enough as Brunson scored just four points on 2-of-7 shooting in the final frame.

Despite the poor performance, Knicks coach Mike Brown wasn’t discouraged by what he saw from the team’s captain.

“I felt he got the normal looks that he normally takes,” he said after the game. “Heâ€s gotta keep shooting ’em and heâ€s gotta keep getting to his spots. I thought he got to his spots and I thought he took good threes too, they just didnâ€t go in. And that happens sometimes. So, a guy like him, he’s got to keep letting it fly if he’s open. Or if he gets to the spots.”

With Brunson struggling, the Knicks leaned on Mikal Bridges for the offensive scoring.

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The forward scored 17 of his season-high 35 points (12-of-17 shooting) in the fourth quarter, hitting four of his eight threes to help cut the Celtics’ lead to as low as three points in the final minutes of the game.

Brown was impressed with Bridges’ performance and credited him for almost completing the comeback.

“He was feeling it and he was aggressive and I thought our guys did a good job trying to find him, and he hit some big shots for us,” Brown said of Bridges. “He was one of the guys trying to will us back into the game offensively.”

Bridges’ Knicks tenure has been a rocky one. After the team traded five first-round picks for him ahead of last season, the forward didn’t necessarily live up to that package. He averaged 17.6 points a game in his first season with New York, a far cry from the 20 points per game he put up in his two years with the Nets.

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And while Bridges entered Tuesday averaging 16.1 points per game, there have been sparks of offensive explosions from the Villanova product among his all-world defense this season. Perhaps Tuesday’s performance will carry over 24 hours later when the Knicks take on the Hornets at home in the second of a back-to-back.

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Williams was never a fan of the word retirement, preferring instead to say she was “evolving away” from the sport in 2022.

Bill Clinton, Billie Jean King, Tiger Woods and Mike Tyson were among the crowd in New York three years ago as Williams won her first two singles matches at her final US Open.

Her career was eventually brought to an end by Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round, but only after Williams had saved five match points in an electric night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Every retired player must make themselves available for out-of-competition testing for six months before they are eligible to compete professionally again.

It is not known exactly when Williams asked for her name to be re-added to the list, but, even if she had to wait six months from 6 October, it would make a return possible from April.

Williams spoke about using weight-loss drugs in August when she appeared on the Today Show on TV in the United States.

She said that, despite “training five hours a day” and “running, walking, biking, stair climbing,” she struggled to lose weight and had to “try something different”.

Only Margaret Court and Novak Djokovic have won more Grand Slam singles titles than Williams.

Her haul of seven Australian Open titles, three French Opens, seven Wimbledons and six US Opens is the most major singles titles by any woman in the Open era.

Serenaâ€s older sister Venus made a comeback after 16 months off the tour earlier this year.

Seven-time major singles champion Venus competed in the singles and doubles at the US Open aged 45, reaching the last eight of the women’s doubles alongside Leylah Fernandez.

Serena and Venus won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and three Olympic gold medals together, and the prospect of a Williams sisters reunion in 2026 remains an enticing one.

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CHICAGO — Connor Bedard scored the tie-breaking goal at 9:55 of the third period, added an empty-net score and had two assists as the Chicago Blackhawks rallied from an early three-goal deficit to top the Anaheim Ducks 5-3 on Sunday and snap a five-game slide.

Tyler Bertuzzi, Ryan Greene and Colton Dach also scored as Chicago tied it 3 by 12:34 of the second. Chicago converted two of four power-play chances and killed all three Anaheim advantages.

Bedard beat Ville Husso with a nifty move from the front of the crease to put Chicago ahead 4-3 following a turnover by Alex Killorn. Husso had entered the game 44 seconds earlier after starter Petr Mrazek exited with an undisclosed injury.

Bedard fired into an empty net with 1:55 remaining to seal it.

Spencer Knight rebounded from a shaky start to finish with 23 saves.

Cutter Gauthier had a goal and an assist as the Ducks jumped out a 3-0 lead midway through the first period.

Chris Kreider scored for the second straight game to give him 600 career points. Olen Zellweger also scored and Troy Terry set up two goals to extend his point streak to seven games.

Mrazek made stopped 13 of 16 of shots before exiting in his first start against the Blackhawks since they traded him to Detroit in March. Anaheim No. 1 goalie Lukas Dostal missed his third game with an upper-body injury.

Gauthier and Zellweger beat Knight on two of Anaheimâ€s first three shots, giving the Ducks a 2-0 lead 47 seconds in. Kreiderâ€s off-the-skate deflection upped it to 3-0 at 10:25

Bertuzzi cut it to 3-1 with 2:03 left in the first, deflecting in a power-play score. Greene made it 3-2 at 6:43 of the second, finishing a 2-on-1 break with Bedard.

Dach tied it 3-all during a power-play at 12:34 of the second.

Ducks: Visit St. Louis on Monday

Blackhawks: Start a four-game trip at Vegas on Tuesday.

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The Chicago Blackhawks took on the Anaheim Ducks at the United Center on Sunday afternoon. After losing five in a row, the Blackhawks were looking for a big performance to get out of their funk.

This plan did not get off to a good start, however, as the Ducks had a 3-0 lead about halfway through the first period. It was as sloppy a start as the Blackhawks have had this season.

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At 17:57 of the opening period, on the power play, Connor Bedard hit Frank Nazar for a shot that was deflected in by Tyler Bertuzzi to get the Blackhawks on the board. That 3-1 Ducks lead bled into the first intermission.

In the second period, which has been the bad period for Chicago this year, they were magnificent. It could be their best middle frame of the season. While outplaying Anaheim, they scored two goals compliments of Ryan Greene and Colton Dach to tie the game. At the second break, the game was tied 3-3.

Early in the third period, the Blackhawks were awarded a power play thanks to some good work by Artyom Levshunov, but Alex Killorn scored a short-handed goal for the Ducks. Jeff Blashill then successfully challenged the play for offside, so the goal did not count, and the game remained tied.

Ducks goalie and former Blackhawks Petr Mrazek left the game with an injury midway through the third, which forced them to put in Ville Husso.

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Quickly after that, Connor Bedard made a magical play to give the Blackhawks a 4-3 lead. He found the puck all alone in front of Husso and put a brilliant move on him to score. Itâ€s a tough break for Husso, fresh in the game, but Bedard alone with the puck is difficult for any goalie.

Bedard wasn’t done there. He made it a four-point game with his empty net goal. Now, Bedard has 37 points in 25 games played.

That 5-3 score stood as the final. They scored five unanswered goals to earn the comeback win and end their five-game losing streak.

Teuvo Teravainen Update

Ahead of the game, the Blackhawks had Teuvo Teravainen listed as a game-time decision. He needed to take warmups to decide if he was good to go. It turned out that he was fine, and he had an assist in the win.

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What’s Next For Chicago?

Up next for the Blackhawks is a long road trip. That will begin on Tuesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights.

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CHICAGO – The Chicago Blackhawks were defeated at the United Center by the red-hot Minnesota Wild. This win came after holding a 2-0 lead with one minute remaining in the second period.

Goals scored by Jason Dickinson and Connor Bedard gave Chicago the 2-0 lead, but they eventually let it slip away as the game went along.

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With under 14 seconds remaining in the middle frame, a Brock Faber shot found its way through traffic to beat Spencer Knight. That 2-1 lead for the Blackhawks went to the intermission, but the Wild tied it just 2:17 into the third period. Nico Sturm’s first of the season knotted things up at one.

At 5:31, Artyom Levshunov scored his first career NHL goal to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead. He put a beautiful move on Minnesota goaltender Filip Gustavsson after receiving a perfect pass from Connor Bedard.

The lead, once again, couldn’t hold. Matt Boldy tied the game at 10:35, which would eventually lead to overtime. The 3-on-3 didn’t last very long as Ilya Mikheyev took a controversial penalty to give the Wild a power play.

Connor Bedard was flattened by Joel Eriksson Ek, who was then hit hard by Mikheyev. The officials gave Mikheyev an interference penalty.

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After the game, Bedard didn’t have a problem with the hit or the call. He said the hit on him was “super clean”. He also admitted that he didn’t believe there was an issue with the officials, saying that their job is not always easy.

Jeff Blashill, on the other hand, didn’t have the same mindset. Despite Mikheyev making the hit because he hit Bedard, Blashill believes that it was the wrong call.

“Right before Eriksson Ek got hit, he had the puck,” said Blashill. “It’s not a penalty.” Chicago’s new head coach has no problem critiquing the officiating if he feels it was a wrong call.

The Blackhawks had no answers when asked about lead protection, and that’s just something that they are going to have to keep working on if they want to earn more points in the standings. Although Blashill may be right with the penalty, it wasn’t the officials who blew a 2-0 lead.

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What’s Next For Chicago?

The Chicago Blackhawks will have a home game on the evening of Black Friday. The Nashville Predators will be in town as Chicago debuts their newly remodeled black sweaters. All fans in attendance are encouraged to dress in all black in order to create a blackout environment.

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Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

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India’s Parveen Hooda (PTI Photo/Gurinder Osan) New Delhi: For Parveen Hooda, the road back to the ring was far lonelier than any bout she has ever fought. The young boxer had spent nearly two years on the outside — suspended after three whereabouts failures, grappling with the stigma, the self-doubt and the slow grind of proving she hadnâ€t given up on herself or her sport. On Thursday in Greater Noida, she finally stepped back into the light. With a gritty 3-2 split verdict over Japanâ€s Ayaka Taguchi, Parveen claimed the 60kg gold at the World Boxing Cup Finals, turning a period defined by silence and uncertainty into a statement of revival. “This gold means everything,†Parveen told TOI during an interaction. “For me, itâ€s not just about winning a tournament, itâ€s about proving to myself that I could come back after everything I went through. I wanted to show that I never stopped fighting, even when I wasnâ€t inside the ring.â€The 25-year-old from Rurki village in Rohtak, Haryana, who had once proudly clinched bronze at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, found herself stripped of both her Asiad medal and the consequent 2024 Paris Olympics quota spot. Her world collapsed when the International Testing Agency (ITA) announced in May 2024 that she had committed three whereabouts failures between April 2022 and March 2023 — a violation under WADAâ€s (World Anti-Doping Agency) anti-doping rules. Her punishment: a 22-month suspension, later backdated to 14 months. Her loss: an Olympic dream she had fought to earn. “It broke me at first,†she said. “I wonâ€t lie about that. When the ban was announced, I kept thinking — how did I let something like this happen? It felt like everything I had worked for was slipping away. For months, I struggled with guilt and frustration.†“It was my responsibility, and I should have managed it better,†she said. “I was travelling a lot for training, shifting bases, dealing with injuries… and somewhere the paperwork slipped. But in sport, there are no excuses. It taught me a harsh lesson,†she added. Cut off from competition and team environments, she retreated into what she calls “a tunnel of introspectionâ€. The silence was deafening but eventually healing. “There were days I didnâ€t feel like training at all,†Parveen recalled. “But then I reminded myself — this is not how my story ends. I told myself that when I return, I have to return stronger, mentally and physically.†She turned the forced break into a period of rebuilding. Training became simpler, more disciplined. She worked on strength, mobility and endurance — things that didnâ€t need tournaments or camps. More importantly, she worked on her mindset. “I kept telling myself that I still belonged at the top,†she said. “Every session was like a message to myself that I wasnâ€t done.†Her comeback in Greater Noida, the first international event she entered since the 2023 Asian Games, was the culmination of that silent grind. Her route to the gold wasnâ€t easy either. In the semis, she beat Polandâ€s Aneta Rygielska, the 2025 World Championships silver-medallist, in what was arguably her sharpest performance of the week. “Just stepping back into an international arena felt emotional. I felt like I was home again,†Parveen said. “This medal is special because it represents everything I survived. The pressure, the doubt, the long months of not knowing when I would return.†And the return truly has been emphatic.

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