Chess prodigy and Grandmaster Dommaraju Gukesh has now become India’s top-ranked chess player, overtaking India’s first GM Viswanathan Anand in live ratings. Gukesh’s ranking improved after he qualified for the third round of the FIDE Chess World Cup, a major single-elimination tournament going on in Baku, Azerbaijan. The 17-year-old GM beat the home turf’s GM Misratdin Iskandaro to secure a live rating of 2755.9, narrowly beating Anand’s 2754.0. Anand has been India’s top chess player in the published rankings for the last 36 years. That is also expected to change when FIDE
Saudi Arabia has been drawn in Group G of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 alongside Jordan, Tajikistan, and the winners of the Round 1 clash between Cambodia and Pakistan. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) held the draw for the Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 27. The draw saw 36 national teams divided into nine groups of four, competing against each other in home-and-away matches. Round 1 will see each team playing
Indian men’s and women’s football teams can now compete at Asian Games, as the government has relaxed rules to facilitate participation. The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports had earlier mandated that only teams that have been in the top eight in Asia in its sport can represent India in Hangzhou, People's Republic of China, from September 23 to October 8. The previous rule, which was relayed to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and other national sports federations by the ministry, said that “for team events, only those sports teams which have achieved a ranking up to eig
The Indian badminton pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty upstaged Indonesia’s world No.1 pair of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto in the final of men's doubles Korea Open final at the Jinnam Stadium in Yeosu, South Korea on July 23. The Indian pair won 17-21 21-13 21-14 in 62 minutes to claim the BWF World Tour Super 500 event. Former world champion PV Sindhu is the only other Indian to clinch the Korea Open title, clinching the title in 2017. The win on Sunday was the fourth title for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in 2023, three on the BWF World Tour
World number one Carlos Alcaraz defeated world number two Novak Djokovic 1-6, 7-6(8-6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in the Wimbledon 2023 men’s singles final on July 16. The 20-year-old Spaniard won his maiden Wimbledon title and his second Grand Slam title. The match lasted four hours and 42 minutes. Djokovic had won the previous four editions of the tournament. In women’s doubles, 2019 champions Su-Wei Hsieh of Chinese Taipei and Czech Republic’s Barbora Strycova beat the third-seeded Belgian-Australian pair of Elise Mertens and Storm Hunter 7-5, 6-4 in the final. In the women’s final on Ju
ICC on July 13 announced equal prize money for men’s and women’s teams at all its events. The decision was taken at the ICC Annual Conference in Durban, South Africa. Teams will receive the same prize money for equivalent finishing position at comparable events and winning a match at those events. The ICC Board said that the decision fulfills its commitment to reaching prize money equity by 2030 well ahead of schedule. The ICC Board also confirmed the largest ever investment into cricket after the distribution model for the next four years was agreed. Every ICC Member will receive c
India’s Lakshya Sen won the men's badminton singles title of Canada Open 2023 on July 10. The 21-year-old shuttler defeated reigning All England Open champion Li Shi Feng of China 21-18, 22-20 in the final. Sen’s victory in the tournament marks his second BWF World Tour title, following his previous win at the India Open in January 2022. Ranked 19th currently, he defeated Kunlavut Vitidsarn, the fourth-ranked player in the world, in the Round of 32. In the semifinals, he overcame Japan’s Kento Nishimoto, to advance to his second Super 500 final and his first BWF summit clash in ov
The Indian men’s football team beat Kuwait 5-4 in a penalty shootout to win the SAFF Championship 2023 title at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on July 4. With the win, India has won its ninth SAFF Championship in 14 editions. This was India’s second silverware on the trot after winning the Intercontinental Cup in June. The Indian team is ranked 100th in the latest FIFA rankings. In regulation time, the newly-crowned AIFF Player of the Year Lallianzuala Chhangte (39’) had equalised for India after Shabaib Al Khaldi (14’) had given the Kuwait football team the early lead
Olympic gold medal-winning javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has won the Lausanne Diamond League posting a throw of 87.66 metres. This was his second Diamond League title win of this year after the Doha Diamond League in May, when he registered a throw of 88.67 metres. At the Lausanne Diamond League, Chopra opened his account with a throw of 83.52 m in his second attempt. The Indian ace player took the lead with a throw of 87.66 m in the fifth round. Germany’s Julian Weber clinched the second spot with a throw of 87.03 m and Tokyo Olympics Silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch took the third spot
India defeated Iran in the final of the Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023 to win its eighth title in nine editions. In a stunning performance, India overcame Iran 42-32 at the Dong-Eui Institute of Technology Seokdang Cultural Center in Busan, Republic of Korea, on June 30. India, the defending champions, allowed Iran a few easy bonus points, but caused a second all-out in the 19th minute. The Indian side quickly built on their lead with an impressive all-round display. Pawan Sehrawat led from the front with a super 10. Earlier in the day, India had beaten Hong Kong 64-20 to end the leagu