CRICKET

TG20: Karimnagar Diamonds navigate game of extremes to seal win over Medak Falcons

HYDERABAD: The costliest over of the tournament. The highest partnership of the campaign. The lowest total of the season. Tuesday’s TG20 clash at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium had everything – and at the heart of it was Rahul Radesh’s breathtaking century, which powered Karimnagar Diamonds to a 133-run victory over Medak Falcons.

Satwik Reddy and Tanmay Agarwal gave Diamonds a brisk start, before Kartikeya Kak dismissed Tanmay. R. Sai Sharan also fell inside the PowerPlay, which ended at 54 for two. Rahul and Chandan Sahani then steadied the innings, taking Diamonds to 85 for three at the halfway mark before shifting through the gears spectacularly.

The turning point came in the 15th over when they hammered Ahwinan Ram for 35 runs – the tournament’s most expensive over. Rahul brought up his fifty off 30 balls with back-to-back sixes and never looked back, racing to a 46-ball century with a towering maximum over midwicket. Chandan completed his 30-ball fifty as the pair stitched together the season’s highest partnership (76-ball 163). By the time Rahul fell in the final over, the damage had been done.

Falcons never found their footing in the chase. Wickets fell with relentless regularity, and the innings unravelled almost as quickly as it had begun. T. Ravi Teja’s 28-ball 37 was the only notable resistance. All seven Diamonds bowlers struck as Falcons were bowled out for the tournament’s lowest total.

Diamonds (four points) climb to fourth in the table, while Falcons (two points) slide to rock bottom. Unbeaten Hyderabad e-Champions, meanwhile, remains top with eight points following the win against Khammam Aces on Monday.

-Anirudh Velamuri

OTHER SPORTS

Indians secure two podium finishes at Czech Disabled Golf Masters

BENGALURU: Indian golfers Vishnu Vardhan Bhati and Ankush Saha, secured podium finishes in Nett Stroke Play at the Czech Disabled Golf Masters at Golf Resort Black Bridge in Prague.

Noida’s Bhati finished second with an overall two-under par. He led the field at six-under after round 1 but faced energy-sapping heat during the final round to secure the runner-up position.

Bengaluru’s Saha clinched the third place with a level par total. Saha was placed 10th after round 1 with a three-over 75 but carded a net three-under in round 2 to finish strong. He secured the third place based on a better round 2 score.

Home player Teresa Srsnova from the Czech Republic won the event with a total of two-under, also decided on a better round 2 score.

Bhati, an amputee, took up golf three years ago after representing India in para cricket at the Para Cricket World Cup 2019 in England. He previously played the English Open for Disabled Golfers in Durham in 2025 and the Daikin Madrid Cup in Spain. He held a World Ranking for Golfers with Disability of 182 in Stableford before this event.

For Saha, this was his debut in an EDGA calendar tournament. A marathoner with intellectual disability, Saha is a Special Olympics gold medallist from 2014, silver medallist from 2015, and won gold in individual skills at the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin. He also participated in the Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi in 2025.

-PTI

SQUASH

Shameena Riaz stuns top seed in HCL Challenger squash in Mumbai

MUMBAI: India’s Shameena Riaz and Om Semwal produced stunning upsets to storm into the quarterfinals of the USD 15,000 HCL-SRFI PSA Challenger squash tournament, knocking out top seed Hayley Ward of South Africa and third seed Diego Gobbi of Brazil respectively here on Tuesday.

Shameena, who grabbed the last spot on the Indian team for the Asian Games, rallied from the loss of the first game to outwit Hayley 8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9. She will meet Japans’ sixth seed Akari Midorikawa who scored a straight game win over Korean opponent Bo Ram Ryoo.

The 22-year-old Semwal notched up a 6-11, 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9 victory over Gobbi to set up a meeting with Egypt’s eighth seed Ziad Ibrahim who took out India’s fifth seed Suraj Kumar Chand 11-4, 11-6, 11-5.

In other matches featuring Indians, third seed Tanvi Khanna outplayed Pooja Arthi Raghu 3-0, while fifth seed Suraj Kumar Chand lost in three games to Egypt’s Ziad Ibrahim.

Results Men’s (Round-2): Salah Eltorgman (Egypt) bt A Altamimi 3-0 (11-4, 11-2, 11-1; M Syafiq Kamal (Malaysia) bt Viktor Byrtus (Czech Republic) 3-0 (11-6, 11-7, 11-7); Om Semwal bt Diego Gobbi (Brazil) 3-2 (6-11, 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9); Ziad Ibrahim (Egypt) bt Suraj Kumar Chand 3-0 (11-4, 11-6, 11-5).

Women’s (Round-2): Shameena Riaz (India) bt Hayley Ward (RSA) 3-1 (8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9); Akari Midorikawa (Japan) bt Bo Ram Ryoo (Republic of Korea) 3-0 (11-9, 11-2, 11-9); Zoe Foo (Japan) bt Rathika Suthanthira Seelan (India) 3-1 (7-11, 11-6, 11-2, 11-3); Tanvi Khanna (India) bt Pooja Arthi Raghu (India) 3-0 (11-5, 11-6, 11-6).

-Amol Karhadkar

HOCKEY

Anmol Ekka to lead India India junior hockey team in Belgium exposure tour

Defender Anmol Ekka will lead a 22-member Indian Junior (U-21) men’s hockey team at the upcoming exposure tour of Belgium, scheduled from July 5 to 18.

The tour will be the team’s first assignment under coach Frederic Soyez of France and will serve as a key preparatory phase ahead of the Junior Asia Cup later this year.

The young Indian side will face some of Europe’s strongest hockey nations during the tour, playing two matches each against Austria and Belgium, and one match each against Germany and the Netherlands.

The exposure tour is expected to provide valuable international match experience while helping the team test its combinations and playing style ahead of the continental tournament.

The goalkeeping unit comprises Vivek Lakra and Kunal Tewatia, while Anmol leads the backline that also has Rohit Kullu, Chirag, Ravinder, Prasant Barla, Sanjit Tirkey and V Manimaran.

The midfield will manned by Adrohit Ekka, Harpal, Jeetpal, Mukesh Toppo, Mannu Malik and Ritik Lakra.

The forward line consists of Ajeet Yadav, Prabhdeep Singh, Arjun Hargude, Aryan Xess, Lovenoor Singh, Mohd Konain Dad and Gurusewak Singh.

Four members of the squad — Anmol, Adrohit, Yadav and Kullu — were also part of the Indian team who secured a bronze medal at the Junior World Cup in Tamil Nadu last year.

“I expect this tour to help us progress on several levels. First, in terms of our game, by improving our connections, our tactical discipline and our efficiency in key moments. Then on the human side, by strengthening unity and confidence within the group,” coach Soyez said.

“Finally, I hope this tour will give the players a better understanding of the demands of top-level international hockey and of what we need to put in place to perform consistently over time.” India will face Austria on July 7 and 8 before taking on hosts Belgium on July 10 July.

They will next take on Germany on July 13, Belgium again on July 14 and conclude the tour against the Netherlands on July 17.

CHESS

Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa lead Indian challenge at Zagreb Rapid and Blitz

ZAGREB: World champion D Gukesh might have taken a sabbatical from classical chess but his commitment to major events remains intact and he will be up against some of the world’s best players in the Zagreb Rapid and Blitz Tournament beginning here on Wednesday.

The event is part of the Grand Chess Tour or GCT, which is the biggest platform to bring together top players. This will be the third event under the GCT brand this year with three more to come.

This event will also feature Indian star R Praggnanandhaa, who is fresh from his victory at the Norway Chess ahead of none other than world number one Magnus Carlsen.

The event will feature nine rounds of rapid and 18 rounds of blitz chess.

Each rapid victory will be worth two points and a draw will fetch one point while in blitz, one point will be awarded for a win and a half for a draw.

Gukesh had surprisingly walked out of the GCT citing his recent performances.

The reigning world champion has to defend his title against Javokhir SIndarov later this year and opinions are split as to who would come out on top.

Despite saying no to main events, Gukesh has committed to playing the rapid and blitz sections as wild card.

For Praggnanandhaa what remains to be seen is his proficiency in the faster version as he won the Norway chess with sheer will and perfectly executed plans. He also became the first Indian to do so.

Vincent Keymer of Germany has been in high demand along side Anish Giri of Holland and Alireza Firoujza of France for mainstream events and these three will start as the rating favourite.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France is another dangerous opponent and complementing him is Jorden van Foreest who was included as a last minute participant on the tour.

Nodribek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan, Ivan Saric of Serbia and Deac Bogdan-Daniel of Romania complete the line up of this impressive field that will have the chess world glued to the screens over the next week.

-PTI

E-SPORTS

India’s VALORANT team qualifies for Esports Nations Cup 2026

RIYADH: India have booked their place in the VALORANT main event at the Esports Nations Cup (ENC) 2026 following a resilient campaign in the Asia regional qualifiers.

The team emerged as one of only two sides from the region to qualify for the global esports competition, which will be held here from November 2 to 29.

VALORANT at ENC 2026 features 32 teams competing for a prize pool of USD 1.5 million. Sixteen countries and territories received direct invitations from the Esports Foundation through the ENC Rankings, which are based on performances in official Riot Games competitions.

The remaining 14 qualification spots were decided through regional online qualifiers across Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Middle East and North Africa, North America, South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia and Oceania.

The Asia regional qualifier featured nine teams competing in a double-elimination bracket. All matches before the Upper Bracket (UB) Final and Lower Bracket (LB) Final were played as best-of-one, while both bracket finals were contested as best-of-three series.

India’s roster, led by in-game leader (IGL) Sagnik Roy (Hellf), featured Abhirup Choudhury (Lightningfast), Aman Yadav (Hoax), Venkatesh Sharma (Venky), and Daivik Chauhan (Dc), with Norbu Tsering (Karam1L) and Shravana Sahoo (Techno) serving as substitutes.

Abhishek Bajaj (GodspeedxD) was as the team’s coach, appointed by NODWIN Gaming, India’s National Team Partner (NTP) for ENC 2026.

India began their campaign with a dominant 13-2 victory over Nepal in the UB quarterfinals before falling 5-13 to eventual qualifier Japan in the UB semifinals.

Facing elimination, the team responded with composure, defeating Pakistan 13-9 in the LB quarterfinals and overcoming Mongolia 13-10 to reach the LB Final.

With qualification on the line, India delivered their strongest performance of the tournament against Hong Kong, winning the opening map 13-10 before closing out the series with a 13-6 victory to secure a 2-0 win and their place at ENC 2026.

The first stage of VALORANT at ENC 2026 will begin with all 32 qualified teams competing in a round-robin group stage, featuring four groups of eight teams.

The top four teams from each group will advance to a 16-team single-elimination playoff bracket. All group stage matches will be best-of-one. All playoff matches (excluding the Grand Final) will be best-of-three. The Grand Final will be played in a best-of-five format.

-PTI

FOOTBALL

Punjab FC sign Mohammad Inam on a two-year deal

Punjab FC are delighted to announce the signing of midfielder Mohammad Inam on a two-year contract, with the deal set to keep him at the club until May 31, 2028.

The Jammu & Kashmir native joins the Shers from Real Kashmir FC, where he captained the side during the 2025-26 Indian Football League season. Across two spells with the Srinagar-based outfit, Inam made 53 appearances, scoring six goals and providing two assists.

Born and raised in Srinagar, Inam began playing football at the age of 10 and was invited by the All India Football Federation for the AFC U-16 national team trials after impressing in Real Kashmir’s youth ranks.

He began his senior career with Lonestar Kashmir before joining Delhi FC in 2021, where he featured in the I-League Qualifiers and the Durand Cup. Following spells with Real Kashmir and Downtown Heroes, Inam returned to Real Kashmir and established himself as one of the club’s key midfielders, eventually earning the captain’s armband for the 2025-26 Indian Football League campaign.

-Team Sportstar

Published on Jun 30, 2026