SQUASH
Senthilkumar stuns World No. 18 Eain Yow Ng in Budapest
Eighth seed Velavan Senthilkumar stunned Malaysian World No. 18 and top seed Eain Yow Ng 11-2, 11-9, 11-8 in the quarterfinals of the Budapest Open squash, a USD 43,500 PSA Copper event in the Hungarian capital.
World No. 54 Senthilkumar will meet compatriot Veer Chotrani in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, third seed Chotrani, ranked 38 in the world, defeated Egyptian sixth seed and World No. 51 Mohamed Elsherbini 14-12, 12-14, 11-6, 11-8 in the quarterfinals.
-Team Sportstar
MOTORSPORT
JK Tyre signs Atiqa Mir
JK Tyre on Thursday signed 11-year-old karting sensation Atiqa Mir.
One of India’s most promising young motorsport talents, Atiqa has already made a strong mark on the international circuit. She has competed in leading championships in Europe and the Middle East and is the World No. 1 female karter as per FIA’s International Karting Ranking OKNJ.
Earlier this year, she became the first Indian to secure a podium in the European leg of the Champions of the Future Academy before going on to deliver a dominant victory in Greece, where she became only the third driver in the series’ history to sweep qualifying, heats and the final.
Just recently Atiqa added another feather to her cap by becoming the youngest Indian to record two top 10 finishes in the FIA European Karting Championship.
Atiqa was the first Indian and Asian female racer selected for Formula 1 Academy’s Discover Your Drive programme. Expressing her excitement about the association, Atiqa said, “It is a very special feeling to join JK Tyre. My dad was also supported by JK Tyre during his racing days. I have always admired the company’s contribution to Indian motorsport and the opportunities it has created for young racers. I’m excited for this journey and look forward to learning, improving and representing India and JK Tyre on the international stage.”
-Team Sportstar
GOLF
Angad Cheema maintains two-shot lead at Telangana Open
Angad Cheema stayed on course for his fifth DP World PGTI title and sixth win overall after shooting a seven-under 65 to retain his two-shot lead following the third round of the Telangana Open in Vikarabad on Thursday.
The 36-year-old Chandigarh golfer Cheema (70-61-65), who began the day two shots ahead after producing a career-low 11-under 61 on Wednesday, moved to 20-under 196.
Delhi’s Rashid Khan (66-67-65) matched Cheema’s 65 while playing alongside the leader to remain second at 18-under 198. Rashid kept the pressure on throughout the day with eight birdies against a solitary bogey on the par-four 17th.
Cheema’s eventful round featured an eagle on the par-five 16th, eight birdies and three bogeys. With Rashid repeatedly closing the gap, Cheema responded with enough birdies of his own to preserve the overnight advantage.
The leader made four birdies over the front-nine. He then added four more birdies and the crucial eagle on the 16th but also conceded three bogeys on the back-nine.
On the 16th, Cheema struck his second shot with a six-iron to about five feet before converting the eagle putt.
Despite two three-putts on the back nine, Cheema was encouraged by his work on the greens and the overall state of his game heading into the final round.
Jairaj Singh Sandhu (71-68-63) made the biggest move of the day, firing the tournament’s lowest third-round score of nine-under 63. He climbed 17 places from tied 20th to third at 14-under 202, six shots behind Cheema.
Delhi’s Honey Baisoya (72-65-66), currently seventh in the DP World PGTI Rankings, shared fourth place at 13-under 203 with Greater Noida’s Arjun Sharma (70-66-67).
First-round co-leader Akshay Sharma (65-70-69) of Chandigarh was tied sixth at 12-under 204 alongside Gurugram’s Veer Ahlawat (68-68-68), the 2024 DP World PGTI Rankings champion.
Gurugram’s Manu Gandas (65-71-69) shared eighth place at 11-under 205 with Nepal’s Subash Tamang (74-65-66), Uganda’s Joshua Seale (70-66-69) and Gurugram’s Dhruv Sheoran (68-67-70).
Current DP World PGTI Rankings leader Saptak Talwar (72-68-71) was tied 29th at five-under 211.
– PTI
CRICKET
Kerala Cricket League: Pavan Raj’s spell clinches the win for Kollam Sailors against Kochi Blue Tigers
Defending champion Kochi Blue Tigers’ cup of woes overflowed at the Sports Hub Greenfield Stadium on Thursday as it succumbed to its fifth consecutive defeat in the KCL 2026.
Aries Kollam Sailors snatched a thrilling three-run win to register its third win and moved into second place in the Kerala Cricket League points table. Medium pacer KG. Akhil successfully defended 19 runs in the final over, and the Tigers, despite Alfi Francis’ (23 not out off 10 balls) late charge, fell agonisingly short.
However, it was left-arm medium pacer Pavan Raj’s spell (three for 32) at the death that turned the tide in favour of the Sailors. Pavan ended the threatening fourth-wicket stand between Saly Samson and U. Manukrishnan, and in the penultimate over dismissed dangerous power hitters Sachin Suresh (3) and Joby Jobin (0) off consecutive deliveries to put Tigers under pressure.
The Tigers stuttered early in the chase, but captain Samson (44) and Manukrishnan (37) added 77 runs off 54 balls for the fourth wicket to keep their side in the contest.
Earlier, Vathsal Govind and Abhishek J. Nair put on 99 runs for the first wicket in 10 overs, but the Sailors lost momentum after Abhishek (46) was caught in the deep. The fall of regular wickets, including the calamitous run-out of Vathsal Govind for 77, in the final 10 overs saw Sailors finish at 158 for nine in 20 overs.
-M.R.Praveen Chandran
TENNIS
KSLTA World Tennis Junior J30 Bengaluru to feature top-tanked Indians
The Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association is set to host the KSLTA World Tennis Junior J30 Bengaluru from August 29 at the S.M. Krishna Tennis Stadium.
The tournament will commence with the qualifying rounds on August 29 and 30, while the main draw will be played from August 31 to September 5 with the formal inauguration to be held on Monday.
The boys’ main draw is headed by India’s Prakaash Sarran, ranked No. 477 in the ITF Junior rankings, followed by Tejas Ravi (1049), Ahan Shetty (1282), Pradnyesh Shelke (1384) and Niyanth Badrinarayanan of the USA (1510).
The girls’ main draw will be led by Shaivi Gaurav Dalal of India, ranked No. 867, with Disha Kumar (1011), Shreeniti Chowdhury (1158), Aahida Singh (1280), Vasundra Balajee (1341) and Tejaswi Manneni (1433) among the leading entries.
-Team Sportstar
BADMINITON
Vijaya beats Lakshya to make quarterfinals in India Junior International badminton GP
Unseeded Vijaya Lakshmi Boddu upset the top-seeded Lakshya Rajesh to enter the quarterfinals of the Indian Junior International badminton Grand Prix in Pune on Thursday.
Vijaya produced a remarkable comeback in the final set to win the contest 21-19, 14-21, 21-18 to cause the biggest upset of the tournament being organised in the memory of late Sushant Chipalkatti.
In the girls’ event, Thailand’s Pattanun Thiannaparpornchok accounted for eighth-seeded Bala Manvitha Reddy Allam 21-19 21-13 to enter the last eight.
In boys pre-quarterfinals, three big upsets were recorded on Thursday.
The unseeded Lakshmi Swetan Tamatamala toppled third seed Sai Bhatraju 21-17 21-19, 16th seed Nishchal Chand recorded a win over the fourth seeded Samuel Tamang 21-13 21-07, while Arjun Reddy Aluguvelli overcame 10th seeded Kavin Balaji 15-21 21-06 21-13 to enter the last eight stage.
-PTI
Published on Aug 27, 2026
