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Three-time Olympian Manika Batra registered a gritty 3-2 win over USA's Lily Zhang to stay in contention for a place in the knockouts of the ITTF Table Tennis World Cup in Macau on Tuesday. The 30-year-old Batra rallied past Zhang 11-7, 11-2, 14-16, 5-11, 11-6 in a 43-minute Group 4 clash, bouncing back from her opening match defeat to Japan's Miwa Harimoto. In another match, world No. 43 Sreeja Akula suffered a 1-3 (11-8, 9-11, 13-15, 8-11) loss to Portugal's Fu Yu in her Group 2 opener. She will next face China's world No. 2 Wang Manyu on Wednesday. In the men's draw, Manav Thakkar faces a must-win situation against Sweden's Olympic silver medallist Truls Moregard in Group 2 after going down 0-3 to Korea's Park Ganghyeon in his opening match.
India's Sheetal Devi has been named 'Para Archer of the Year 2025' by World Archery, adding to her extraordinary achievements, which also include a historic world championship crown. The 19-year-old from Jammu & Kashmir became the first and only female armless archer to win gold at the World Para Archery Championships by claiming the top honours in the women's compound individual event in Gwangju, South Korea last year. Born without arms, Sheetal skilfully uses her feet, legs, and shoulder to draw the bow and shoot. She also secured a complete set of medals at the World Championships, winning the women's team silver and mixed team bronze. "India's Sheetal Devi took the honour in the para archer of the year category after another breakthrough season that included a world title in Gwangju," said World Archery. Beyond her World Championship gold, Sheetal also boasts of a Paris Paralympics bronze in the mixed team event, along with individual silvers from the 2022 Asian Para Games and
Grinding it out is the only way forward, and out-of-favour Indian archer Komalika Bari has learnt it the hard way. Once seen as the next big thing in Indian archery after Deepika Kumari, the 24-year-old has slipped to a lowly 498 in world rankings and is currently out of the national team since 2024. From a career-best rank of 51 in September 2022, it has been a steep fall. But Komalika is not giving up. With a packed season ahead, culminating in the Asian Games in Japan later this year, she is hoping to fight her way back and revive her 2028 LA Olympics dream. "I am currently in the Top 16 (among Indians) and part of the training camp and I am preparing seriously for the Asian Games selection," Komalika told SAI Media on the sidelines of the inaugural Khelo India Triba Games here. "I am also looking to participate in as many competitions to gain experience while maintaining our training schedule." Her journey had once mirrored that of the five-time Olympian and former world No.
India's men's 4x400m and mixed 4x100m relay teams took a major step toward qualification to the World Athletics Relays in Botswana in May, delivering standout performances at the International Invitation Relay Competition here on Saturday. The men's 4x400m squad, featuring Manu TS, Amoj Jacob, D Chaudhary, and Rajesh Ramesh, secured gold with a time of 3:01.43 seconds. The performance significantly bolsters their standing as they push for a spot in the World Athletics Relays, scheduled for May 23 in Gaborone, Botswana. In the mixed 4x100m relay, the National B team stole the show by shattering the national record. The quartet clocked 42.30 seconds, erasing the previous mark of 43.44 seconds set by Tamil Nadu in 2025. The India A team followed closely in second at 42.34 seconds, while the Maldives took third. Chief athletics coach Radhakrishnan Nair praised the depth of the field, noting that both Indian entries performed "exceedingly well. However, the day was marked by "heartbrea
Iran has banned its sports teams from traveling to countries it considers "hostile," Iranian state TV reported Thursday ahead of Tractor FC's scheduled soccer game in Saudi Arabia. The ban announced by Iran's Ministry of Sports in Tehran didn't mention the World Cup which starts June 11 in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The ministry's statement singled out the Tractor game against Shabab Al Ahli of Dubai that was set to be played in Saudi Arabia. It's a playoff game in the Asian Champions League Elite. "The presence of national and club teams in countries that are considered hostile and are unable to ensure the security of Iranian athletes and team members is prohibited until further notice," it said. The Iran war has impacted the region, with nearly every country in the Middle East sustaining damage from missile hits, drone strikes or shrapnel. Tractor's playoff game in Saudi Arabia was the result of the Asian Football Confederation's draw Wednesday to determine the ...
India's Anahat Singh will face off against Egypt's Hana Moataz in the women's final while in the men's category Abhay Singh and Veer Chotrani booked their respective spots in the Indian Open squash, here on Saturday. Anahat got the better of compatriot Tanvi 3-1 (11-6 9-11 11-8 11-2) to make it to the summit clash. After dictating the early exchanges, the Indian ace took the opening game following which Tanvi bounced back to level the contest. However, despite Tanvi's strong start in the third game, Anahat grew in confidence and control. Her consistent shot-making and movement around the court helped her to win the third as well as the fourth. In the other women's semifinal, Moataz defeated compatriot Nadien Elhammamy 3-1 (11-8 5-11 11-5 11-7) in an all-Egyptian contest. After edging a closely fought opening game, Moataz lost the second before raising her intensity in the final two games to secure her spot in the final. In the men's event, Abhay overcame a strong challenge from ..
Former India No. 1 Saurav Ghosal termed squash's inclusion in the 2028 Olympics a watershed moment and emphasised the need to expand access, improve coaching, and strengthen the ecosystem to sustain the sport's growth. Recently appointed Sports Commissioner of World Premier Squash, Ghosal said the role is a culmination of his journey in the sport. "I played professional squash and for India for more than 20 years... it's been a blessing. This phase is a coming together of all those experiences and I'm excited to hopefully make a contribution at the global level and democratise the sport," he said. "I've always viewed pressure situations as opportunities... this is an opportunity to do something substantial in the sport," he added. On India's rise in squash, Ghosal underlined the importance of participation. "Strength lies in numbers... if you have more players playing, the probability is that you will produce champions," he said. "The upward trajectory is very heartening... and t
Olympic and world champion swimmer Cameron McEvoy has broken the men's 50-meter freestyle world record which had stood for 17 years. The 31-year-old Australian posted a time of 20.88 seconds on Friday at the China Open in Shenzhen, taking 0.03 second off Brazilian Cesar Cielo's previous mark. Cielo set his world record of 20.91 during swimming's so-called "super suit" era in 2009. Those suits were later banned because they increased buoyancy and reduced drag, resulting in nearly 150 world records falling in 2009 before being prohibited in 2010. "I knew I had a chance to do a PB (personal best)," McEvoy said. "My old PB was 21.06, so maybe 20.99? But doing ?20.88 is unreal. It's crazy." Cielo was quick to congratulate McEvoy on social media, tweeting: "Congrats, Cam.
Top seed Anahat Singh and unseeded compatriot Tanvi Khanna ensured a strong Indian presence in the women's singles semifinals of the JSW Indian Open after winning their respective quarterfinal matches here on Friday. However, veteran Joshna Chinappa bowed out of the competition following a 13 defeat to Egypt's Nadien El Hammamy. In another quarterfinal clash, second seed Hana Moataz fought hard to edge past eighth seed Yasshmita Jadishkumar of Malaysia in a five-game thriller, 32 (11-8, 8-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-8). In the semifinals on Saturday, Anahat will face Tanvi, while Moataz will square off against El Hammamy. Later, India enjoyed an impressive outing in the men's quarterfinals as well after second seed Abhay Singh and fourth seed Veer Chotrani produced dominant performances to storm into the semifinals. In the last four stage, Singh will take on Malaysia's Ameeshenraj Chandaran, while Chotrani is set to face another Malaysian challenger, Sanjay Jeeva. Abhay was in excellent t
India will host the prestigious World Indoor Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar as the international body on Thursday awarded the hosting rights of the event to the country at its council meeting in Torun, Poland. The decision was taken at the World Athletics Council meeting a day before the start of 2025 World Indoor Athletics Championships in the Polish city. "India has been awarded the World Indoor Athletics Championships for year 2028," World Athletics vice president Adille Sumariwalla told PTI from Poland. AFI had revealed its bid for the World Indoor Championships, earlier this year. A two-member team from World Athletics had visited the state-of-the-art indoor facility at the Kalinga Stadium Complex in Bhubaneswar in January.
Rising star Anahat Singh continued her dominant run with a straight game win while Egypt's Ibrahim Elkabbani defeated men's top seed Yahya Elnawasany to pull off one of the biggest upsets at the Indian Open squash tournament here on Thursday. Anahat, the women's top seed, maintained control throughout her singles match, blending precision and consistency to defeat Farida Walid of Egypt 3-0. The standout clashes, however, came from the Egyptian duo of Elkabbani and Mohamed Sharaf, both of whom emerged victorious in gripping five-game matches. Elkabbani pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, defeating Elnawasany 3-2 in a 66-minute battle. Sharaf edged past Hong Kong's Chi Him Wong in another pulsating five-setter. India's Abhay Singh produced a clinical performance to overcome Matthew Lai of Hong Kong. Despite a tight start, Abhay found his rhythm and dominated proceedings to secure a commanding 3-0 win. Tanvi Khanna impressed with a composed and confident display .
The World Anti-Doping Agency put off a decision about barring government officials from major sporting events if their countries voluntarily withhold dues, pushing a potential conflict with President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials until at least after this summer's World Cup. The WADA executive committee met and said it would consider the new rule in September, two months after the end of the World Cup, which the U.S. is hosting along with Canada and Mexico. If such a rule is adopted later this year, it would presumably go into effect before the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. The U.S. hasn't paid its dues since 2023. If that continues, the new rule could place Trump and U.S. lawmakers on a banned list for Games in their own country, though there are doubts about whether an anti-doping regulator could keep any of them from attending the Olympics. Conflict with WADA has not been a particularly partisan issue in the U.S., which withheld the payments in 2024 and 2025 - once durin