Oksana Chusovitina of Uzbekistan, one of the most iconic figures in gymnastics, celebrated her 50th birthday with a stunning performance at the Gymnastics World Challenge Cup in Tashkent. She won a silver medal in the vault event, adding to her already impressive career. Valentina Georgieva, an 18-year-old Bulgarian gymnast, won the event's gold medal. Shakhinabonu Yusufova, another Uzbek gymnast, finished third, rounding out the podium. Chusovitina first made news at the age of 13 when she won the Soviet all-around championship. Her career gained additional momentum when she won the floor
Neeraj Chopra won the javelin throw title in the Paris Diamond League 2025 with an impressive first-round throw of 88.16m. The Indian Olympic and world champion took the lead early and maintained it throughout the competition. His second try measured 85.10 m, followed by three fouls and a final throw of 82.89. Julian Weber of Germany finished second with a best of 87.88 m, after defeating Chopra previously this season in Doha. Brazil's Luiz Mauricio da Silva finished third with an attempt of 86.62 meters. The tournament featured five throwers from the restricted 90-metre club, demon
Indian archers finished the second phase of the Asia Cup in Singapore with nine medals, including two golds, six silvers, and one bronze. While the medal count was encouraging, the overall performance generated new concerns, notably in the Olympic recurve event. Indian athletes competed in seven out of ten finals in both recurve and compound categories, but won only two gold medals. The remaining five finals saw Indian archers fall short, suffering with precision and calm under pressure. Top-seeded archers fell to lower-ranked opponents, with vital arrows falling in the outer zones. The re
Divya Deshmukh, an Indian chess prodigy, made a huge milestone by defeating World No. 1 Hou Yifan in the second leg of the blitz semifinal at the FIDE World Team Blitz Championships in London. The 18-year-old represented Hexamind Chess Club against Hou, who played for the WR Chess Team. The match, which lasted 74 intense moves, ended with Yifan blundering her bishop in a rook vs. bishop endgame, allowing Divya to score a historic win. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Divya on social media platform X. He praised her resilience and determination, calling her win motivating to young
Kazakhstan's Compound Mixed Team advanced to the semifinals of the Asia Cup Series in Singapore, but missed out on the gold medal match by a single point. The Kazakhstani trio—Adel Zhexenbinova, Roxana Yunussova, and Viktoriya Lyan—were defeated by India in a closely contested semifinal, 229-230. Despite the loss, the team demonstrated tenacity by winning the bronze medal. They outperformed Bangladesh in the bronze medal match, winning with a score of 230-224. India and Malaysia will now compete for the gold medal in the Compound Mixed Team event. Both sides have performed well thro
Hillang Yajik of Arunachal Pradesh made history by capturing both the gold and silver medals at the 15th South Asian Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championships 2025 in Thimphu, Bhutan. This is the first time a female athlete from Arunachal Pradesh has achieved success in international physique sports. Yajik represented India, winning gold in the Women's Model Physique category (up to 155 cm) and silver in another. Her victory places her among South Asia's best physique athletes and raises India's profile in the sport. Participants from all around South Asia competed in the event, wh
Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis of Sweden shattered his own pole vault world record by leaping 6.28 meters during the Stockholm Diamond League competition, exciting the home crowd. The 25-year-old Olympic champion won before attempting the record, and he did so on his first try, surpassing his previous mark of 6.27 meters set in France in February. Celebrating with visible emotion, Duplantis ripped off his shirt and ran along the track, cheered by an electrified audience at Stockholm’s historic 1912 Olympic Stadium. It was his first time breaking the record on Swedish territory, and he marked t
The year 2025 saw a slew of first-time successes in global sports. In cricket, South Africa won their first ICC trophy in 27 years by defeating Australia in the World Test Championship final at Lord's. Aiden Markram's century and Temba Bavuma's leadership were key in their five-wicket victory. Royal Challengers Bengaluru won their first Indian Premier League title after 18 seasons. Under Rajat Patidar's captaincy, they defeated the Rajasthan Royals in the final in Ahmedabad. The victory was especially emotional for Virat Kohli. Paris Saint-Germain won their first-ever UEFA Champions Lea
Mitchell Starc of Australia made history at Lord's by taking the most wickets in ICC tournament finals, overtaking India's Mohammed Shami. Starc now has 11 wickets in six innings in the ICC finals, surpassing Shami's total of 10 wickets from four appearances. This milestone was reached during the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) Final against South Africa, where Starc was crucial in Australia's spirited bowling comeback. His overall record in five ICC finals is 11 wickets at an average of 26.63 and an economy rate of 5.17. His best numbers of 3 for 55 were against India in the 2023 Wo
India's women's ice hockey team won a historic bronze medal at the 2025 IIHF Women's Asia Cup, which was held in Al-Ain, UAE. This is the country's first podium result in international women's ice hockey. Of the 20-member squad, 19 were from Ladakh and one from Himachal Pradesh. India won three of five matches against six competing countries, defeating Malaysia, the UAE, and Kyrgyzstan. The tournament's evolution mirrors the sport's expanding popularity, having progressed from the Women's Asian Challenge Cup to the Asia-Oceania Championship and now the Ice Hockey Asia Games. Captain Tsewan