Sport

Shubman Gill will undergo a fitness test at Bengaluru’s Centre of Excellence to decide his availability for the South Africa T20Is. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya has been cleared to return and will play Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches for Baroda

Kuldeep Yadav hailed Virat Kohli’s 135-run knock against South Africa in Ranchi, saying it reminded him of Kohli’s peak years between 2016 and 2019. Kohli’s innings powered India to a 17-run win in the series opener

India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak dismissed speculation over Virat Kohli’s ODI future, saying his fitness, form and impact make him indispensable. Kohli’s century powered India to a 17-run win over South Africa in the Ranchi ODI

Hyderabad made a strong reply to Kerala’s first-innings total of 268, reaching 71/1 at stumps on the opening day of the Cooch Behar Trophy under-19 third-round match at NFC Ground. Aaron George remained unbeaten on 42

Hyderabad women defeated Goa by seven wickets in the BCCI under-23 T20 cricket championship at Nagpur. Chasing 111, Hyderabad reached 114/3 in 17.5 overs, with Mamatha scoring an unbeaten 38. Goa had earlier posted 110/6 in 20 overs

Telangana swimmers M Suhas Preetham and A Kashish Srivastava bagged silver medals at the ninth SGFI National Swimming Championship in Delhi. Suhas finished second in the under-19 boys 100m butterfly, while Kashish won silver in the under-14 200m breaststroke

Olympian Sift Kaur Samra expressed confidence that shooting will be included when India hosts the 2030 Commonwealth Games. Fresh from medals at KIUG and Asian Championships, she said the event will inspire youth and boost sports culture in the country

Pranav Susarla and K Nageshwari emerged champions in the boys and girls under-15 categories of the 56th Telangana State-ranking Chess Tournament at LB Stadium, Hyderabad. The event also saw winners across under-7, under-9, under-11 and under-13 categories

Adilabad bagged a double, winning the boys and girls titles in the 44th Telangana State junior inter-district kho kho championship at Patancheru. They beat Ranga Reddy and Mahabubnagar in the finals, while Hyderabad and Karimnagar settled for bronze medals

Royal United FC won the TFA B-Division Shivkumar Lal Football League Championship at Gymkhana Ground, finishing with 24 points. They beat Maisram Stars 2-1 in the final league match. Maisram Stars finished second, while BHEL won the discipline award

Veteran hockey umpire M A Jaleel passed away in Hyderabad after a prolonged illness. Aged 75, he was a former national player for the Postal and Telegraphs Department and officiated in many national tournaments. He is survived by his family

SSGF Hyderabad finished third in the 17th Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junior National T20 Cricket Championship in Goa, defeating Delhi by 35 runs. Goteti Sravan starred with 30 runs and 3/17, while Haryana beat Punjab to win the title

IM Dhruva Thota, rated 2411, won the under-19 Telangana State Chess Championship in Wanaparthy. He will represent Telangana at the under-19 National Chess Championship in Jamshedpur from December 16 to 24. Top performers were felicitated by Dr Murali

Former India captain Shabbir Ali met his ‘Guru’, Olympian Arun Ghosh, in Kolkata. Ali recalled the 1974 Indian Youth Team’s unbeaten run under Ghosh, which made them Asian-level champions. He said the reunion was nostalgic and truly special

Sri Saanvi of SPARS Academy bagged a double, winning the under-14 and under-17 girls titles at the 12th Stag Telangana State and Inter-district Table Tennis Championship in Moinabad. Varun Shanker and Varuni Jaiswal won the men’s and women’s titles

The 68th National Shooting Championship began at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in Hyderabad with over 16,000 shooters qualifying across rifle, pistol and shotgun events. The scores will help select India’s team for the 2026 international season

Overcoming early health complications through water therapy, 23-year-old Pratyasa Ray has become one of India’s top swimmers, winning multiple KIUG medals. Despite a shoulder fracture, she returned strong and now aims for the 2026 Asian Games after continued national and international success

Abhishek Sharma smashed a 12-ball fifty, equalling Yuvraj Singh’s record, during Punjab’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy clash against Bengal in Hyderabad. He scored an unbeaten 148 with 16 sixes, joining an elite list of fastest T20 half-centuries

Rohit Sharma broke Shahid Afridi’s record to become the batter with most sixes in ODI history. He smashed his 352nd six during the first ODI against South Africa in Ranchi, achieving the feat in his 270th innings

Belgium defeated India 1-0 in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup final in Malaysia. Thibeau Stockbroekx scored the decisive goal in the 34th minute as India failed to convert penalty corners and settled for silver in the prestigious hockey tournament

India defeated South Africa by 17 runs in the first ODI at Ranchi. Virat Kohli’s century, Rohit Sharma’s record-breaking knock, and Kuldeep Yadav’s four wickets powered India to a 1-0 lead in the three-match series

Chirec International School (Kondapur), representing Telangana, finished runner-up in the GDCA Inter-States Schools under-13 cricket tournament at Gulbarga, Karnataka. Captain K Srivanth was named Best Fielder, while teammate Akshat Goyal won the Best Wicketkeeper-Batter award

St Anthony’s Church (Venkatapuram) defeated St Anthony’s (Mettuguda) 4-0 in the United Christmas Celebrating Committee Twin Cities Parish football tournament at Government Bolarum High School Ground, Hyderabad. The event was inaugurated by Rev Fr Dion Issac and former India captain Victor Amalraj

World champion archer Aditi Gopichand Swami credited the Khelo India Games for her rise in the sport, saying they strengthened her growth and stability. She won gold at the KIUG 2025 and now aims for Olympic success in Los Angeles 2028