HOCKEY
Women’s Junior Asia Cup Hockey: India to open campaign against Korea
Led by midfielder Khaidem Shileima Chanu, the Indian women’s hockey team will open its campaign against South Korea in the AHF Women’s Junior Asia Cup, to be held in Moqi, China, from September 4 to 13.
The 18-member squad has undergone extensive preparations under newly appointed coach Tim White, including an exposure tour of the United Kingdom earlier this summer.
India has been drawn in the Elite Pool alongside host China, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia. The teams will battle for the top positions before the tournament moves into the knockout stage, culminating in the gold-medal match on September 13.
White said the team’s preparations in Bengaluru had gone according to plan, with the players gaining valuable match experience against a combined India A side.
“The team is very excited to leave for China tomorrow for the Asia Cup. Our preparation has been good, including important matches against a combined India A team, which came to Bangalore for four matches. We will go to China confident that we have built a game plan which can be hard to play against, and we are very excited to test that against the best teams in Asia,” said White.
India had toured the UK from July 5 to 14, training and playing matches in Edinburgh and Lilleshall. The side played seven games against Scotland’s senior women’s team as well as the junior teams of the United States, England, and Belgium.
India registered a commanding 6-0 win over the United States and followed it with back-to-back 2-0 victories against England. It also edged the USA in a shootout after a 1-1 draw, winning 3-2 on penalties in a closely contested rematch.
The tour also provided the young Indian side with valuable experience against Scotland’s more seasoned senior team and a strong Belgium Under-21 outfit.
After facing South Korea, India will take on Malaysia on September 6, Japan on September 8, and host China on September 9 in the Junior Asia Cup.
– PTI
SQUASH
Velavan Senthilkumar wins Budapest Open squash title
Velavan Senthilkumar won his maiden PSA Copper-level crown at the Budapest Open squash in the Hungarian capital on Friday.
The world No 54 and eighth seed beat local favourite Balazs Farkas 11-4, 11-2, 11-3 in the final of the USD 43,500 prize money tournament for his 11th PSA Tour crown.
– Team Sportstar
Top seed Om Semwal records easy win in Maharashtra State Open Squash
Top seed Om Semwal outplayed Vir Beri 11-6 11-6 11-7 in their men’s round of 64 match of the 49th Bombay Gymkhana Maharashtra State Open Squash Tournament in Mumbai on Saturday.
Semwal maintained firm control throughout the match, leaving Beri little room to mount a comeback.
Meanwhile, Aarav Rathi also enjoyed an easy outing agains Hemang Gupta in their boys’ U-17 round of 64 encounter. Aarav posted a 11-1 11-5 11-4 win and advance to the round of 32.
– PTI
TENNIS
Karnataka youngsters make their mark at J30 Bengaluru qualifiers
Top seed Riya Gangamma about to execute a forehand shot against Sara Patil of Australia.
| Photo Credit:
KSLTA
Top seed Riya Gangamma about to execute a forehand shot against Sara Patil of Australia.
| Photo Credit:
KSLTA
Karnataka’s young brigade made its presence felt as the KSLTA World Tennis Junior J30 Bengaluru got underway with the first round of qualifying at the SM Krishna Tennis Stadium on Saturday.
Bengaluru lass and girls’ top seed Riya Gangamma Pudiyokkada led the charge as she opened her campaign with a confident 6-4, 7-5 victory over Australia’s Sara Patil. Pooja Nagaraj ousted sixth Heera Niharika V in straight sets 6-1, 6-1. Avni Punaganti led Anasuya Hari Shastri 6-0, 4-0 when rain interrupted play, while Veena Sivaraman went down to No. 3 seed Nalyaazhini Krishnaprabhu 1-6, 0-6.
In the boys’ section, Sidhant Wodeyar staged a spirited comeback to defeat Abhiram Maurya Maturi 2-6, 7-6(5), 10-3, while Arjun Soori Puttegowda advanced with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Aarav Galwa. Jeevith Sathish fought hard before narrowly losing to Nikunj Khurana 6-4, 4-6, 10-8.
The opening day also produced a number of upsets, with Raghav Sarode knocking out No. 5 seed Kabir Parmar 6-4, 6-1, while Rishi Yadav stunned No. 3 seed Madhav Dadhich 6-3, 6-2. Mahijeet Pradhan added another major upset, defeating No. 4 seed Jagruth Kasireddy 6-2, 6-2 in the boys category.
In the girls section, Saanvi Mohan produced a notable upset, recovering from a first-set bagel to defeat No. 5 seed Rishita Patil 0-6, 6-1, 10-6. Avipsha Dehury also survived a dramatic contest against USA’s Khushi Budhya, winning 2-6, 6-1, 13-11.
– Team Sportstar
GOLF
Telangana Golconda Masters to tee off on September 1 in Hyderabad
Top Indian professionals, including Saptak Talwar, Veer Ahlawat and Rashid Khan, will be in action when the Telangana Golconda Masters is held at the Hyderabad Golf Association (HGA) from September 1 to 4.
The prize purse for the event is Rs. 1 crore.
This competition will determine the top-24 players from the DP World PGTI Order of Merit who will earn their spots at the season-ending DP World India Championship.
The 132 field will include DP World PGTI Order of Merit leader Saptak, Honey Baisoya, Veer , Rashid, Akshay Sharma and Om Prakash Chouhan, to name a few.
The prominent foreign players in the field are defending champion Jamal Hossain of Bangladesh, Badal Hossain also from Bangladesh, Czech Republic’s Stepan Danek, Sri Lankans N Thangaraja and Mithun Perera, Nepal’s Subash Tamang, Uganda’s Joshua Seale and the Japanese duo of Koichiro Ishika and Taiga Tanaka.
The local challenge will be led by Hyderabad-based professionals Mohd Azhar, Vishesh Sharma and Rupinder Singh Gill.
– PTI
Shubhankar Sharma makes cut comfortably at British Masters
India’s Shubhankar Sharma put up a solid performance in gruelling conditions to comfortably make the cut at the weather-hit Husqvarna British Masters at The Belfry.
Showing immense composure amidst multiple rain disruptions, the Indian golfer carded solid rounds of 69 and 71 to finish the halfway stage tied at the 13th position.
Sharma navigated the stormy English weather well to aggregate a 4-under total.
However, it was a disappointing week for the other Indian contender, Yuvraj Sandhu, who missed the cut after recording scores of 71 and 77.
– PTI
Pranavi lone Indian to make cut in Irish Open, lies tied-8th
Rising Indian golf sensation Pranavi Urs emerged as the sole Indian to qualify for the weekend rounds at the prestigious KPMG Women’s Irish Open.
Delivering a resilient performance at the Palmer South course at The K Club, Urs carded a solid two-under-par 70 in her second round to secure a spot tied for eighth place.
While her steady play kept Indian hopes alive in the tournament, a highly competitive global field means she faces a steep uphill battle.
Urs currently sits ten strokes adrift of the runaway tournament leader, South Africa’s Casandra Alexander, who continues to dominate the leaderboard.
– PTI
BADMINTON
Nishchal Chand in men’s singles final of Indian Junior International badminton GP
Nishchal Chand defeated the second seeded Jagsher Singh Khangurra to enter the men’s singles final of the Indian Junior International badminton Grand Prix in Pune on Saturday.
Chand, seeded 16th in the tournament, defeated Khangurra 18-21, 21-18, 21-16.
Chand will face the top seeded Dev Ruparelia, who was given a fight by seventh seeded Pranav Manjunath before winning 15-21, 21-17, 21-13.
In women’s singles, India’s Gatha Suryawanshi ended the challenge of Thailand’s Pattanun Thiannaparpornchok 15-21, 21-15, 21-18 to enter the final.
Suryawanshi will take on second seed Ishita Negi, who recorded a 21-14, 22-20 win over Rishika Nandi in the other semifinal.
– PTI
CRICKET
Karthik inspires Kochi Blue Tigers to thrilling one-run win over Thrissur Titans
The cornered Kochi Blue Tigers, watched by co-owner Chris Gayle, clawed back to force a thrilling one-run win against Thrissur Titans in a KCL 2026 match at the Sports Hub, Greenfield Stadium, here on Saturday.
The Tigers ended a sequence of five consecutive losses and registered their second win while Titans suffered their third consecutive loss.
Titans appeared to be on course for victory when Shoun Roger and A.K. Arjun seized control in the middle overs with their rapid 41-run stand for the fourth wicket.
However, leg-spinner Karthik B. Nair’s two wickets in the 15th over turned the contest on its head. The first four balls from Karthik were uneventful to signpost the tumult to follow. Two magical leg-breaks trapped Shoun Roger (41) and Mohammed Enaan (golden duck) in front as Titans slipped to 112 for five.
A.K. Arjun (32) perished to a catch in the deep in the next over to dent Titans further. Basil Thampi came back and snared S. Akhil in his second spell to brighten the Tigers’ chances.
However, Suresh Sharon counterattacked to give Titans hope. But Mohammed Ashique kept his nerve to defend 11 runs in the final over to give Tigers the win.
Earlier, U. Manukrishnan relished batting up the order to smash his first KCL fifty (50) to help Tigers overcome a slow start. Manukrishnan and Sachin Suresh (46) added 90 runs off 41 balls for the fifth wicket as Tigers reached 160 for four at the end of the 16th over.
But Titans medium-pacer J.T. Sarath (four for 18) cut a swathe through the Tigers’ lower order and it was bowled out for 171.
The scores
Kochi Blue Tigers 171 in 19.1 overs (U,Manukrishnan 50, Sachin Suresh 46, J.T. Sarath 4/18) bt Thrissur Titans 170 in 20 overs (Shoun Roger, T.Nikhil 31, A.K. Arjun 32, Karthik B.Nair 3/21, Basil Thampi 2/32. M. Ashique 2/35).
Friday’s match: The scores
Trivandrum Royals 185/9 in 20 overs (Krishna Prasad 62, Govind Dev Pai 33, Aditya Vinod 3/27, Abdul Ramees, 3/29, Adithya Vinod 2/32) bt Thrissur Titans 180/7 in 20 overs (Ahammed Imran 114 n.o., N.P. Basil 3/30, M. Nikhil 3/37).
Published on Aug 29, 2026
