Firstpost Spodcast Episode 12: Mirabai Chanu's back injury, Ben Stokes' trial and more on our daily sports podcast

Welcome to Spodcast, the sports update on Firstpost, where we do a quick run through of the big sports news of Sunday. First we talk about World Championship gold medallist and Commonwealth Games champion Mirabai Chanu. We had reported a while ago that the weightlifter had spoken to the media about her fitness. She had mentioned that her health was improving and she expected to be fit and ready for the Asian Games that start on 18th August in Jakarta, Indonesia. Chanu, who is a strong contender for a first place finish and a gold medal at the Asian Games, has a lower back problem that has been difficult to identify and treat accurately. Now, comes news that chief coach Vijay Sharma has asked the World Champion to sit out the Asian Games and focus on recuperating properly so she can be fit for the Olympic qualifiers. Turkmenistan is hosting the World Championship in November which will serve as the first Olympic qualifying event this year. Meanwhile, Sahdev Yadav, Secretary General of the Indian Weightlifting Federation, said a final decision on Chanu’s participation in the Asian Games will be taken by Thursday. The other topic of discussion on the podcast is English all-rounder Ben Stokes’ appearance in a Bristol Crown Court to stand trial in a case where he is accused of assaulting two men. The official charge against Stokes is affray — defined as “a public order offence consisting of the fighting of one or more persons in a public place to the terror of ordinary people.” Stokes, who will miss the second Test between India and England because of this court appearance, is accused of knocking out two men, Ryan Ali and Ryan Hale in a brawl. The prosecutor said the fight took place outside a Bristol nightclub on 25 September last year, just hours after Stokes played in a one-day international against the West Indies. The trial is expected to last between five and seven days. We also discuss Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar’s comments on the constant comparisons between all-rounder Hardik Pandya and Kapil Dev besides the shoulder injury to South African skipper Faf du Plessis. South Africa are up 3-0 in the 5-match ODI series and will also play a one-off T20 match against the Sri Lankans.