Sport

Travis Head (163) and Steven Smith (129 not out) powered Australia to 518/7 at stumps on Day 3 of the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney. England trail by 134 runs after Joe Root’s 160 lifted them to 384 in the first innings

SBI Hyderabad Circle defeated SBI Maharashtra Circle 1-0 in the All India SBI Inter-circle Football Tournament at Bhubaneswar. Former international Mohd Qizar scored the winner in the 15th minute, while Roch Xavier was named player of the match

Pooja Rani and Jadumani Singh registered dominant wins at the Elite National Boxing Championships in Greater Noida. Lovlina Borgohain and Amit Panghal faced tough challenges, advancing through split decisions against Saweety and Priyanshu respectively in closely fought bouts

Nizamabad defeated Warangal by 29 runs in the Kaka Venkataswamy Memorial Inter-district T20 League at Godavarikhani, with Sai Pratheek scoring 65. Ranga Reddy beat Mahabubnagar by three wickets, chasing 209 with contributions from Sathvik and Vaishnav

Hyderabad and Hyderabad-A emerged champions in the boys and girls categories of the Slum Soccer Telangana State Championship at Madhapur. Hyderabad beat Ranga Reddy 6-1 in the boys’ final, while Hyderabad-A defeated Hyderabad-B 3-1 in the girls’ final

M Ritesh and K Aadyareddy won the boys and girls under-15 titles at the Pragathi Chess Academy All India Sub-Junior Chess Championship in Hyderabad. Winners were also declared in under-12, under-10 and under-8 categories for both boys and girls

Telangana shooters bagged four gold, one silver and three bronze medals at the National Shooting Championship. Gusti Noria, Darius Chenai, Yuvek Battula, Venkat Lakshmi Lakku and Mohd Abdul Khalique led the medal tally, with juniors also making a mark

Nalgonda District defeated Sportive CC by 36 runs to win the HCA B-Division T20 knock-out tournament. Adi Manikiran starred with 86 runs. In other league matches, Sec’bad Club, Amberpet, Nizam CC and Southern Stars recorded victories

Sai Vikas Reddy, A Avanish Rao and Sanchit Binjrajka struck centuries on the opening day of the A-Division two-day league semifinals. Evergreen posted 395/8 against Deccan Wanderers, while East Marredpally piled up 540/9 against Gemini Friends

Baroda defeated Hyderabad by nine wickets in the BCCI Women’s Under-15 cricket tournament third-round match. Hyderabad posted 137/6, with Shanvi scoring 44 and Reddy 41, but Baroda chased down the target in 24.2 overs, led by Vanar’s 66

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur climbed to 13th in ICC Women’s T20I batting rankings after her match-winning knock against Sri Lanka, while Deepti Sharma slipped to second in bowling. Amanjot Kaur and Sri Lanka players also made notable gains

The 21-year-old Rao, who was signed by Rajasthan Royals at the IPL auction, smashed 12 fours and 13 sixes en route to his 200 not out from 109 balls

Suresh Kalmadi, former IOA President and towering Indian sports administrator, passed away in Pune. A former Air Force officer and politician, he organised major events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games and revived the National Games. His legacy blends sporting achievements with the controversy of CWG corruption allegations

Cricketer Mohammed Shami and his brother were asked to appear for SIR verification in Kolkata due to errors in their voter forms. Shami, representing Bengal in Rajkot, has requested new dates, rescheduled between January 9–11 by the Election Commission

Shreyas Iyer has been named captain of Mumbai for the remainder of their Vijay Hazare Trophy Group C matches, replacing injured skipper Shardul Thakur. Iyer’s fitness will also determine his participation in India’s ODI series against New Zealand

Real Madrid beat Real Betis 5-1 with Gonzalo Garcia scoring a hat-trick, keeping pace with Barcelona in La Liga. Atletico Madrid drew 1-1 with Real Sociedad, while Levante, Girona and Oviedo also featured in key weekend results

Travis Head’s unbeaten 91 guided Australia to 166/2 at stumps on Day 2 of the Ashes Test in Sydney, replying to England’s 384 built on Joe Root’s 160. Australia trail by 218 runs with Head and Neser unbeaten

India’s Anahat Singh advanced to the semifinals of the British Junior U-19 Open squash in Birmingham after beating Egypt’s Barb Sameh. Aryaveer Dewan also reached the boys’ U-17 semifinals. Anahat’s strong 2025 season highlights her rise as a global squash talent

Stasya Pandya and Taarini Lodha delivered standout performances at the Junior National Equestrian Championship in Bengaluru. Stasya’s team won silver, while Taarini’s team secured bronze. Both riders, trained at the Amateur Riders’ Club under Bobin Tshering, showcased skill and teamwork

Teen racers Arjun Chheda, Ishaan Madesh and Sai Shiva Sankaran starred in the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship 2025 at Chennai. Sankaran won three races in Formula 1600, while Chheda and Madesh triumphed in Formula 2000

Kane Russell scored a hat-trick, including a last-minute penalty corner, to power HIL GC to a thrilling 3-2 win over SG Pipers in their opening Men’s Hockey India League 2025-26 match in Chennai. Ky Willott and Dilraj Singh scored for Pipers

SBI Hyderabad Circle defeated host Bhubaneswar Circle 3-1 in the Inter Circle football tournament at Bhubaneswar. Captain Prakash Rao scored the opener, while Syed Zaki Raza netted twice and assisted once to earn Player of the Match honours

World champion Minakshi, two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen and Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain began their campaigns with easy wins at the Elite Men and Women National Boxing Championships in Greater Noida. Several male boxers also registered dominant victories in their categories

Mumbai Indians launched its Women’s Team campaign for the 2026 season, Aali Re… Hi Pori Mumbaichi, celebrating Mumbai’s daughters and their resilience. Rooted in city culture and a reimagined folk anthem, the film honours fearless young women who play with pride