Sport

Lionel Messi is set to play his final game for Argentina against Benin at Buenos Aires’ Estadio Monumental on October 6. The Argentine captain recently announced his international retirement after a career featuring a World Cup triumph and two Copa America titles.

Sanju Samson said he has learned to accept the scrutiny that comes with playing for India and focus on his process. After scoring 57 off 22 balls against Afghanistan, he backed the team’s fearless approach and stressed preparation over results.

P. Charan Tej and S. Guru Vidhwan struck unbeaten centuries as the HCA Under-19 One-Day Super League produced several notable performances. The day’s results also featured strong displays in senior, Under-23, C-Division and inter-schools and colleges cricket

Ganges Grandmasters defeated defending champions Alpine APL Pipers 7-5 in the two-leg final to win their maiden Global Chess League title. Ian Nepomniachtchi capitalised on Magnus Carlsen’s positional error, while Stavroula Tsolakidou sealed the victory for the Grandmasters

Hyderabad tennis player Hruthik Katakam has been selected to represent India at the Junior Davis Cup Finals in Cairo from November 2 to 8. The Under-16 event will feature 16 teams, with Hruthik joining Ribhav Saroha and Tavish Pahwa

Pawan Sehrawat says representing India at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games is a matter of immense pride and responsibility. The star raider believes the team’s expectation of winning gold will serve as motivation as India prepares for the kabaddi competition

Telangana’s M. Advik Reddy won bronze at the National Under-13 Chess Championship in Puducherry, scoring nine points from 11 rounds. The 12-year-old, who trains at Velocity Chess Academy, has an Elo rating of 2141 and gained 94 FIDE rating points in Chennai

Five young footballers from Hyderabad represented India at an international youth football tournament in Carolina, USA. Representing Grasshopper Sports India, Akshaan, Aditya, Arjun, Jasim Nawaz Khan and Saif Qureshi gained valuable experience competing against youth teams from leading footballing nations

Hyderabad Globe FC won the CCOB Cup Under-21 football championship by defeating Hyderabad Sporting 1-0 in the final. Syed Imtiyaz Ahmed scored the decisive goal in the 55th minute as Globe completed a successful knockout campaign

The Telangana Cricket Association has demanded a comprehensive white paper on the Hyderabad Cricket Association’s legal expenditure, seeking year-wise details of payments to advocates, court fees and litigation costs, citing transparency requirements under HCA governance rules and a Telangana High Court judgment

Vijayawada's Leeladitya Vardhan won the Brilliant Trophy Juniors online chess tournament with 10 points from 12 rounds. M. Adithya finished second with 9.5 points, while Thamizh Amudhan Yugender secured third place with nine points

Indian players made major gains in the ICC Women’s T20I rankings after winning a record eighth Asia Cup title. Shree Charani reached a career-best 804 points, while Shafali Verma climbed to sixth among batters and Deepti Sharma rose to second

Nikhil Singh and Stanzin Dolkar won the men’s and women’s 42K titles at the 13th Ladakh Marathon, while Tsetan Namgyal and Gargi Sharma claimed Half Marathon honours. More than 7,800 runners registered, with over 5,300 completing their respective races.

Former Ranji cricketer and Sports Coaching Foundation founder-secretary Saibaba has been honoured with the Best Social Activist award at the National CSR Leadership Congress & Awards in Bengaluru. He has worked for 35 years to promote sports among children and youth.

Visakhapatnam chess player Sahithi Varshini has earned her third and final WGM norm, completing the requirements for the Woman Grandmaster title. She has made steady progress through strong international performances and now aims to achieve the prestigious Grandmaster title.

The official countdown to the Chess Olympiad 2026 was marked in Hyderabad with the ceremonial torch being handed over to Uzbek star Javokhir Sindarov by FIDE Interim President Viswanathan Anand and AICF president Nitin Narang ahead of the Samarkand event.

Ganges Grandmasters advanced to the Global Chess League final despite losing to PBG Alaskan Knights in Bengaluru. Alpine APL Pipers must wait for the final league result, while FYERS American Knights can pip them with a strong win

Railway Sports Promotion Board defeated All India Police Sports Control Board 4-1 to win the Hockey India Senior Men Inter-Department National Championship 2026 at Gachibowli. Amandeep Lakra scored twice, while Atul Deep and Rohit Rohit also found the net

Young equestrian Aizah Mir emerged as the star of the Hyderabad Horse Show 2026, winning gold in the 110–115 cm Under-14 Show Jumping competition. Riding Quibelle, she also finished second in the corresponding Open category

Olympian Pranati Nayak has been selected as India’s sole gymnast for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. She will compete in the women’s vault and all-around events after winning silver at the FIG World Challenge Cup in Tashkent

India player Kranti Gaud was fined 10 per cent of her match fee and handed one demerit point for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the Women’s Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka in Dubai on Sunday

Delhi Toofans have appointed internationally experienced coach Fabio Menta as their head coach ahead of the fifth Prime Volleyball League season. Menta brings over two decades of experience across clubs, national teams and development programmes in Europe, Asia and Oceania

Lakshya FA defeated Hyderabad FA 6-1 in the final of the Hyderabad Golden Cup 2026 women’s football tournament at Jubilee Hills. Renuka, Aruna and Poojitha scored two goals each, while Poojitha also won the Best Scorer award

Elena Rybakina became the first Kazakh player to reach No. 1 in the WTA singles rankings after winning her maiden US Open title. She replaced Aryna Sabalenka at the top after beating the Belarusian 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.