Sport

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma return to the Vijay Hazare Trophy, adding star power to the domestic one-day championship. With Gill, Pant and other top names also in action, selectors will keenly watch performances of rising talents and bowlers

India defeated Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20I at Visakhapatnam, taking a 2-0 lead in the series. Shafali Verma’s unbeaten 69 and strong spin bowling from Sneh Rana, Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani sealed the win

Alpine SG Pipers defeated Triveni Continental Kings to win the Global Chess League title in Mumbai. Anish Giri and R Praggnanandhaa starred in the final, while Firouzja and Hou Yifan earned individual honours. PBG Alaskan Knights finished third

Haryana’s Ramita Jindal and Himanshu Dhillon won the 10m air rifle mixed team gold at the National Shooting Championship in Bhopal

M K Tharshan of Chennai won the Brilliant Trophy Open online chess tournament with 10.5 points from 12 rounds. Arvind Iyer and A Vishwaa finished second and third, while Shivanya and Sankaran were named best woman and veteran players respectively

Indian coaches Rutuja Gunwant and Sudha Rani have successfully completed the AFC A Diploma Course in coaching through the FIFA Coach Education Scholarship

The 36th South Zone Aquatic Swimming Championship for sub-junior and junior boys and girls will be held at the GMC Balayogi Stadium in Hyderabad from December 27 to 29, with events conducted under World Aquatics rules and regulations

Ranga Reddy Risers edged Medchal Mavericks 83-81 in the Telangana Pro Basketball League at Yousufguda. Warangal Warriors beat Nizam Nawabs 85-69, while Hyderabad Honey Badgers cruised past Khammam Knights 97-68 in Tuesday’s matches

B Gowtham Reddy’s unbeaten 122 guided Crescent High School (Baba Nagar) to a 10-wicket win over Suchitra Academy in the HCA Inter-schools under-14 one-day knock-out tournament

Aditya Vardhan’s century guided Hyderabad to 353 for four against Delhi on the opening day of the Vijay Merchant Trophy under-16 fourth-round match in Vijayawada. C Sai Tanishq and Prince also made valuable contributions with the bat

The 52nd Institutional Table Tennis Championships began in Indore with PSPB favourites in both men’s and women’s sections. Railways and RBI are expected to challenge strongly, while reduced participation highlights waning institutional interest in the tournament

India’s Deepti Sharma has reached the top of the ICC Women’s T20I Bowling Rankings, while South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt reclaimed the No 1 spot in ODI batting. Jemimah Rodrigues and several other players also made notable gains in the latest update

Formula 1’s popularity in India has surged to 78.8 million fans, boosted by stellar performances from Kush Maini and Arvid Lindblad. With record global engagement, successful F1® The Movie, and upcoming 2026 regulations, Indian motorsport excitement is at an all-time high

A Telangana swimmer from Nizamabad Rithvika is making waves literally. The young swimmer is promising talent from a rural area of the State, currently training in Sports Authority of India Bengaluru campus

Iniyan from Chennai won the Ekagra International Open Rapid Chess Tournament in Hyderabad, taking home Rs 5 lakh. Mitroba Guha and Harikrishna finished second and third. The event honored young talents and announced plans for future FIDE-rated competitions

India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav and all-rounder Shivam Dube will play two Vijay Hazare Trophy matches for Mumbai on January 6 and 8. Rohit Sharma is also set to feature, as BCCI pushes for greater domestic participation

Krishnappa Gowtham, former India all-rounder, has retired from all formats of cricket at 37. He played one ODI for India, featured in 36 IPL matches, and delivered a memorable all-round performance in the 2019 Karnataka Premier League

Punjab named Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma and Arshdeep Singh in their 18-man Vijay Hazare Trophy squad. Quarterfinalists last season, Punjab begin against Maharashtra on December 24 in Jaipur. Gill’s availability remains uncertain due to India’s upcoming ODI and T20I series

India will face Sri Lanka in the second WT20I in Visakhapatnam after an eight-wicket win in the opener. Harmanpreet Kaur stressed on improving fielding, while Jemimah Rodrigues and Vaishnavi Sharma impressed as India aim to continue their dominance

Telangana defeated Chhattisgarh 2-1 in the Santosh Trophy National Football Championship league phase at Nairanpur. Syed Imtiyaz Ahmed and Imran Ali scored for Telangana, while Ashok Kunjur netted a consolation goal for Chhattisgarh in the 80th minute

Warangal Warriors defeated Nizam Nawabs 85-69 in the Telangana Pro Basketball League at Yousufguda, Hyderabad. After a close start, the Warriors pulled away with disciplined teamwork and strong defense to secure a convincing victory in the championship clash

K Sunil Goud will captain the Telangana High Court team in the All India Lawyers Cricket Tournament to be held in Cochin, Kerala, from December 23 to 28. The squad includes 16 players with P Balagopendernath as coach

Ganges Grandmasters defeated Fyers American Gambits 12-3 in the Global Chess League, keeping their final hopes alive. Anand drew with Nakamura, while Keymer, Sadhwani and Tsolakidou won their games. Mumba Masters lost 10-9 to Continental Kings and exited the race

Kiran Ankush Jadhav won gold in the 10m Air Rifle Men’s final at the National Shooting Championship in Bhopal. Mohammed Murtaza Vania took junior gold, while Onkar Waghamare claimed youth gold. Arjun Babuta and Aishwary Tomar also finished on the podium