India has unveiled its “Rising Together” vision for hosting the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games, placing Ahmedabad, Gujarat, at the centre of its plans. The Indian Olympic Association released the vision on October 7, following engagement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over the previous 18 months. India is among seven countries in preliminary discussions with the IOC about hosting the Games. The others are Germany, Qatar, Hungary, Turkey, South Africa and South Korea. The process is still at an early stage, and no host has been selected. The IOC is expected to fina
Danish shuttler claims women’s singles title in straight games in Finland Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt defeated Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon 21-17, 21-13 to win the women’s singles title at the Arctic Open in Vantaa, Finland, on October 11. Blichfeldt, ranked 15th in the world, overcame the fifth-ranked Intanon at the BWF World Tour Super 500 tournament. The victory marked a significant result for the Danish shuttler against an opponent ranked ten places above her. Blichfeldt secured her place in the final by defeating Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara in the semi-finals. She had earlier
Sharma reached the milestone in 1,024 deliveries, surpassing the previous record held by Suryakumar Yadav, who had required 1,164 balls. The achievement came during an aggressive innings at the Holkar Stadium, where Sharma continued his reputation as one of India’s most attacking batters in the shortest international format. Abhishek Sharma set a new record for the fewest balls needed to score 2,000 runs in T20 Internationals. He achieved the feat against the West Indies in Indore on October 11. Sharma reached the milestone in 1,024 deliveries, surpassing the previous record held by S
American tennis player Ben Shelton defeated Germany’s Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 7-6(6) at the Shanghai Masters on October 9 to advance to the next round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament. Shelton, the third seed, took the opening set 6-3 before facing a stronger challenge in the second. Altmaier kept the set on serve and forced a tie-break, where Shelton secured an 8-6 win to complete the match in straight sets. The American’s serve proved important in the contest. He struck seven aces and won 84 per cent of points on his first serve. He also saved four of the five break points he faced
Max Verstappen won the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix at Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit on October 4, claiming his first Formula One victory of the season in a race disrupted by heavy rain. The start was delayed by more than 90 minutes as teams waited for conditions to improve. The race eventually began on intermediate tyres, with changing track conditions forcing teams to make strategic decisions about when to switch to slicks. Verstappen started from pole position but lost places to Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell during the opening exchanges. He recovered the lea
Argentina defeated Benin 3-0 in Buenos Aires on October 6 as Lionel Messi made his final appearance for the national team. More than 85,000 supporters gathered at the Monumental Stadium for the match, with Messi marking the occasion with a goal and two assists. Argentina went into half-time without a goal before Nicolás Otamendi opened the scoring after the break. Nicolás Paz then doubled the lead, with Messi completing the victory from the penalty spot. The win brought Messi’s international career to a close with 126 goals for Argentina. He made his debut for the national team i
Athletes from the Army Sports Institute (ASI) in Pune won 12 medals at the 2026 Asian Games, accounting for 60 per cent of the 20 medals won by Indian Army athletes. A total of 25 ASI athletes competed for India at the Games, with medals coming across athletics, boxing, archery and wrestling. Athletics was the biggest contributor, with six medals. Gulveer Singh won three, taking silver in the 1,500 metres and 10,000 metres and bronze in the 5,000 metres. Sawan Barwal added a silver in the marathon, while Sarvesh Kushare won silver in the high jump. Dharmveer was part of India’s bronze
India finished fourth in the medal standings at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya with 85 medals. The tally comprised 21 gold, 27 silver and 37 bronze medals. China topped the standings with 341 medals, including 169 golds. Japan finished second with 83 gold medals, while South Korea placed third. India’s 85-medal haul was its second-highest total at the Asian Games. The country’s record remains 106 medals at the Hangzhou Games in 2023, when it won 28 gold, 38 silver and 40 bronze medals. The 2026 campaign included gold medals in both men’s and women’s cricket and hockey.
Rohit Sharma became the second-fastest batter to reach 12,000 runs in men’s One Day Internationals during India’s second ODI against the West Indies in Guwahati on September 30. He reached the milestone in 282 innings, moving past Sachin Tendulkar’s previous mark. Virat Kohli remains the fastest player to reach 12,000 ODI runs, achieving the feat in 242 innings. Tendulkar reached the milestone in 300 innings, meaning Rohit moved ahead of his former India teammate in the rankings for the milestone. Rohit needed 73 runs before the match to enter the 12,000-run club. He r
India won the women’s 4x400-metre relay gold at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on September 29, finishing ahead of Bahrain and China in the final. The victory gave the country its first athletics gold of the Games. The Indian quartet of Kiran Pahal, Machettira Poovamma, Prachi and Vithya Ramraj clocked 3:29.69 at the Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium. Bahrain finished second in 3:30.21, while China took bronze in 3:31.02. The team stayed in contention through the early legs before Vithya Ramraj anchored the final stretch. The final-leg runner pulled away from Bahrain to secure the gold. T