Sport

Aryna Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva and Coco Gauff advanced to the fourth round of the 2026 Cincinnati Open. Sabalenka defeated Wang Xinyu in 54 minutes, while Andreeva and Gauff also secured straight-set victories to progress at the WTA 1000 tournament.

Indian martial artist Grandmaster Hanshi Shaswat Kumar has achieved his eighth world record by holding a 100-kg dumbbell with one hand for one minute. The feat was recognised by the Asian Book of World Records on August 18, 2026.

Champion shooter Dhanush Srikanth has been nominated for the prestigious Arjuna Award after winning gold with a world record at the 2025 Deaflympics. The 24-year-old shooter is now preparing for the senior World Cup and targeting the 2028 Olympics

Yash Satwalekar and A Vignesh Reddy struck centuries as Sporting XI posted a formidable 424 for five against Deccan Wanderers on the opening day of the A-Division two-day league cricket championship in Hyderabad on Tuesday

Karnataka sprinter P Roopa Rao won gold in the women’s 100m and 200m events at the 13th leg of the Indian Athletics Series in Warangal. Maharashtra’s Ajay Khade emerged as the fastest male athlete after winning the 100m

Kumaran Charan of Chennai won the Brilliant Trophy Open online chess tournament with 11 points from 12 rounds. B Naga Akhilcharan finished second with 10.5 points, while J Malleswara Rao secured third place with 10 points.

West Indies all-rounder Justin Greaves and captain Hayley Matthews have won the ICC Player of the Month awards for July. Their victories mark the first time West Indies players have claimed both monthly awards and only the fifth such instance overall.

Arunim Agarwal, Ariv Dutta, Rajdeep Biswas and Gem Mahalanabish reached the Under-13 boys’ semifinals at the UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships in Kanour. The girls’ section also saw Divija Paul, Ishani Gogoi, Mahika Susvirkar and Khyati Pande advance.

Former India T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav has been named Brand Ambassador of the inaugural JITO Premier League. The community cricket league will feature 12 franchise teams and nearly 250 Jain cricketers from across India in Colombo from August 24.

An eight-member Indian team from Hyderabad and Telangana delivered a historic performance at the International Cadet Class World Under-17 Championships in Italy, securing 16 medals across individual races and an overall Silver in the Silver Fleet.

East Bengal FC have been drawn alongside Al Hussein SC, Al Shorta SC and Al Seeb Club in Group D of the AFC Champions League Two 2026-27. The Indian Super League champions will begin their group-stage campaign on September 15.

Ravichandran Ashwin recalled his admiration for Harbhajan Singh’s bowling action, his journey shaped by constructive criticism from Sanjay Manjrekar, and his reaction to James Anderson’s remarks on Virat Kohli’s double hundred. Harbhajan Singh added that sledging has reduced since the IPL era.

Chess World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh, decathlete Tejaswin Shankar and badminton player Gayatri Gopichand are among 17 sportspersons named for the Arjuna Award. The Sports Ministry did not nominate anyone for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award this year

Serena and Venus Williams reunited for doubles at the Cincinnati Open, their first such appearance since 2022, but lost a thrilling match tiebreak to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns. Despite defeat, the sisters celebrated their return, highlighting its special and nostalgic significance

India dominated the opening day of the Asian Junior Chess Championship 2026 Blitz events in Mumbai as Vignesh Vermula won the Open title and Saranya Devi claimed the Girls' crown, with Indian players sweeping all three podium places in the Open section

Alaaeddine Ajaraie scored a superb hat-trick as NorthEast United came from behind to defeat Shillong Lajong 5-2 in the Durand Cup quarterfinal. The Highlanders produced a dominant second-half display to book a fourth successive semifinal appearance

Ayush Shetty stunned world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi to produce the biggest upset of the BWF World Championships and reach the second round. PV Sindhu, Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand, Kavipriya-Simran and Hariharan-Arjun also advanced with impressive victories

India suffered a 2-4 defeat to England in their second Pool D match of the Hockey World Cup after defensive lapses proved costly. The loss leaves Harmanpreet Singh's side needing at least a draw against Pakistan to reach the second round

The Hyderabad Cricket Association has announced the Women's Open Selection Trials and Men's Districts Talent Hunt/Open Selection Trials for the 2026-27 season. Eligible and aspiring cricketers can register online through the official HCA websites to participate in the selection process

World junior squash champion Anahat Singh is aiming to upgrade her Asian Games medal colour at Aichi-Nagoya next month. The 18-year-old says she will work harder while focusing on senior-level challenges and her ultimate dream of winning an Olympic medal for India

Hyderabad Black Hawks have rebranded as Telugu Black Hawks, aiming to connect with communities across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and the global Telugu diaspora. The franchise also strengthened its squad at the PVL 2026 auction ahead of Season 5

Harbhajan Singh recalled a 2005 April Fool prank in which he and Yuvraj Singh tricked India captain Sourav Ganguly with fake newspaper clippings. The prank became so convincing that Ganguly offered to quit captaincy before teammates revealed the joke

Shameemudheen was the biggest buy at the Prime Volleyball League Season 5 auction, with Kochi Blue Spikers securing him for ₹20 lakh. Muhammad Nihal C K fetched ₹19 lakh, while Shon T John and Jasjodh Singh went for ₹15.5 lakh each

Eastern Naval Command defeated Visakhapatnam City Police by 96 runs to win the VDCA Institution League Cricket Championship. Sanath Kelath and Bhankti S. Nayak hit half-centuries before Sumith Yadav and S. H. Deepak claimed three wickets each