SQUASH
Rahul Baitha, Rathika Seelan are Southern Slam champions
Rahul Baitha and Rathika Seelan emerged as the men’s and women’s champions, respectively, in the Southern Slam, which concluded at the Indian Squash Academy in Chennai on Saturday.
In the finals, second seed Baitha snapped unseeded Gurveer Singh’s impressive run with an 11-3, 13-11, 11-8 victory, while unseeded Rathika beat second seed Pooja Arthi R. 11-4, 11-9, 11-3.
In the boys’ U-17 final, second seed Lokesh Subramani edged out top seed Shreyansh Jha in a five-game thriller.
RESULTS (FINALS; INDIANS UNLESS SPECIFIED)
Men: 2-Rahul Baitha bt Gurveer Singh 11-3, 13-11, 11-8; Women: Rathika Seelan bt 2-Pooja Arthi R 11-4, 11-9, 11-3.
Boys — U-19: 1-Purav Rambhia bt Shravin Jain 11-5, 11-4, 8-11, 11-4; U-17: 2-Lokesh Subramani bt 1-Shreyansh Jha 11-8, 11-1, 8-11, 8-11, 11-7; U-15: Dhruv Johri bt 2-Fareed Andrabi 11-8, 4-11, 11-5, 11-2; U-13: 1-Kaelen Evan Low (SGP) bt 2-Ridaan Gupta 11-2, 11-7, 11-5; U-11: 1-Yuchen Mason Han (SGP) bt Vedant Shinde 11-7, 11-7, 11-9.
Girls — U-19: 1-Akanksha Gupta bt 2-Eesha Shrivastava 11-8, 11-5, 11-3; U-17: Yushan Jacintha Han (SGP) bt Aarika Mishra 11-9, 11-4, 12-10; U-15: 2-Goushika M bt Diva Parasrampuria 11-6, 9-11, 11-7, 12-10; U-13: 1-Keerti Bala (MAS) bt 2-Riyaa Dalal 11-7, 6-11, 12-10, 11-6; U-11: 1-Meera Ruthiran (MAS) bt 2-Gaurvi Ajmera 11-3, 11-8, 11-8.
-Team Sportstar
TENNIS
Hyderabad to host eighth season of TPL
The eighth season of the Tennis Premier League will be held at the Lal Bahadur Stadium tennis complex in Hyderabad from December 8 to 13. This is the first time the event will be held in the City of Pearls.
“After hosting the tournament in Ahmedabad last year, Hyderabad is the next big step in the journey for us. We’re able to scale the league the way we always envisioned and we can’t wait for tennis fans in Hyderabad to experience it firsthand,” Mrunal Jain, TPL co-founder said.
“TPL’s interest in bringing professional tennis to Hyderabad aligns well with our vision of promoting the city as a hub for national and international sporting events. We look forward to supporting TPL and creating a strong platform for the growth of tennis in Telangana,” Jayesh Ranjan, Special Chief Secretary, Metropolitan Area and Urban Development, added.
– Team Sportstar
Om Verma, Deepshika Vinayagamurthy lift UNIFI-ITF Junior Tennis Cup title
(L-R): Om Patel; Raena Reddy, representative of Unifi Capital; and Deepshika Vinayagamurthy.
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
(L-R): Om Patel; Raena Reddy, representative of Unifi Capital; and Deepshika Vinayagamurthy.
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Fifth seed Om Verma and last week’s junior national champion Deepshika Vinayagamurthy lifted the boys’ and girls’ singles titles of the UNIFI-ITF Junior Tennis Cup 2026 at the SDAT Tennis Stadium in Chennai on Saturday.
While Om Patel had to battle hard for almost 2 hours to overcome Verma in three sets in the boy’s singles final, top seed Deepshika outplayed Savitha in the girl‘s singles final.
Both ‘Om’s played with high intensity and composure throughout the match, displaying a variety of tennis shots – drops and lobs, volleys and smashes, strong and steady serves and forehands. Patel started well in the first set when Verma steadied down to take six games in a row and win the first set.
In the second set, Patel gained a break in the eighth game to finish 6-3. Patel broke Verma twice in the fourth and sixth games of the final set to be named the deserving winner.
In the girls’ singles, both Deepshika and Savitha held their serve till 4-4, and Deepshika broke Savitha’s ninth game to lead 5-4. In the second set, Deepshika was 4-1 ahead when Savitha bounced back and broke Deepshika’s seventh game.
But Deepshika came back strongly to finish the match 6-3.
RESULTS
Boys’ Singles Finals: S5-Om Patel bt S3-Om Verma 1-6 6-3 6-1.
Girls’ Singles Finals: S1-Deepshika Vinayagamurthy bt S8-Savitha Bhuvaneswaran 6-4 6-3.
-Team Sportstar
WRESTLING
U-20 World Championships: Mansi claims silver, Tanvi, Komal secure bronze
The Indian women’s wrestling contingent added three more medals to their Under-20 World Championships tally in Slovakia, securing one silver and two bronze medals.
In the 68kg category, Mansi Lather fought a tightly contested gold medal match against China’s Chenling Song. Mansi narrowly lost the defensive bout 1-2, earning a well-deserved silver medal for India.
India found further success in the bronze medal playoffs. In the 57kg division, Tanvi Gundesh Magdum delivered a strong performance to defeat Canada’s Agnia Krakovska 10-4. Shortly after, Komal secured a 5-2 victory over Hungary’s Eda Balazs in the 59kg category, ensuring both wrestlers took home bronze.
The Indian contingent will next be in action in the remaining Men’s Freestyle (FS) categories: 57kg, 65kg, 79kg, and 92kg.
– Team Sportstar
CRICKET
Kerala Cricket League: Arun’s vintage knock sets up Sailors’ first win
The experienced Arun Poulose set fire to the Trivandrum Royals’ plans.
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The experienced Arun Poulose set fire to the Trivandrum Royals’ plans.
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The grand old man of the tournament, Arun Poulose, turned back the clock to pulverise the Trivandrum Royals attack to set up Aries Kollam Sailors’ first win of KCL 2026 at the Sports Hub Greenfield stadium on Saturday.
The 40-year-old Arun, who smashed 62 off 32 balls, set up a 67-run second-wicket stand with skipper Vathsal Govind (43), which laid the foundation for a huge total of 202.
Trivandrum Royals appeared to be on course when it reached 129 for two at the start of the 14th over. However, skipper Krishna Prasad’s (53) dismissal against the run of play flipped the script.
The Royals’ innings lost its momentum, accentuated by the fall of wickets at regular intervals. Medium pacer K.G. Akhil’s twin strike in the 17th over effectively ended the contest. Akhil yorked the dangerous Govind Dev Pai (32) and trapped K. Ajeesh (1) in front as Royals slumped to 157 for six.
A late charge from Akshay Manohar (22) and Sijomon (20 not out) wasn’t enough, as Royals fell short of the target by 12 runs.
Earlier, opener Arun’s calculated assault on Royals’ spinners saw the Sailors overcome a poor start. Vathsal scored at a healthy pace too, as the Sailors cantered at a good run rate in the middle overs before Arun was dismissed. Vathsal found a good ally in Anand Krishnan (35) as the duo added a quick 61 for the third wicket.
Arun Venugopal’s cameo (17 not out off six balls) saw the Sailors breach the 200-run mark.
BRIEF SCORES
Aries Kollam Sailors 202/6 in 20 overs (Arun Poulose 62. Vathsal Govind 43, Anand Krishnan 35, Nikhil Muraleedhran 2/27, Rahul Chandran 2/33) bt Trivandrum Royals 191/7 in 20 overs (Krishna Prasad 53, Govind Dev Pai 32, Abhishek P.Nair 25, K.G. Akhi 3/18).
Friday’s match: Calicut Globstars 148/5 in 20 overs (Salman Nizar 47 n.o., Kishna Devan 40 n.o, Akhil Scaria 26, Basil Thampi 3/29) bt Kochi Blue Tigers 145 in 19 overs (Sachin Suresh 32, Athif Bin Ashraf 2/22, M.U. Harikrishnan 2/22, Ibnul Afthab 2/38).
-M. R. Praveen Chandran
GOLF
Shubhankar makes cut after spectacular ace at Nexo Championship
Shubhankar Sharma ended his streak of four missed cuts as he made the weekend rounds at the Nexo Championship here.
He produced the shot of the day with a spectacular hole-in-one on the sixth hole during an even-par second round.
Shubhankar, who opened with a 73 on Thursday, followed it with a 72 to reach one-over 145 after 36 holes and was tied 22 and comfortably made the weekend rounds at Trump International Golf Links.
The other Indian in the field, Yuvraj Sandhu (75-79), missed the cut.
– Press Trust of India
ARCHERY
Olympic medallist Casey Kaufhold to debut as 12 international stars join APL-2
Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist Casey Kaufhold of the USA will make her debut as part of a star-studded line-up of 12 overseas archers from 10 countries in the second edition of the Archery Premier League (APL), scheduled to be held in Hyderabad from October 8.
The league, an initiative of the Archery Association of India, will have 48 archers slotted into six region-based franchises.
Reigning World Games individual champions Mike Schloesser and Andrea Becerra will return after competing in the inaugural season. Season 1 standout and 2025 World Championship silver medallist Mathias Fullerton will also return, alongside Mexico’s 22-year-old Matias Grande, the current World No. 3, and Spain’s Elia Canales for the 11-day tournament.
-Team Sportstar
MOTORSPORT
Indian National Racing Challenge 4W: Saishiva, Gyan top in MRF Formula races
Winners Saishiva Sankaran (left, MRF F2000) and S. Gyan (MRF F1600).
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Winners Saishiva Sankaran (left, MRF F2000) and S. Gyan (MRF F1600).
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Saishiva Sankaran from Pune and Chennai’s S. Gyan scored last-gasp victories in the MRF Formula 2000 and Formula 1600 classes, respectively, to provide a thrilling start to the first round of the MRF Indian National Racing Challenge 4W at the Madras International Circuit on Saturday.
In contrast, Nellore’s Viswas Vijayaraj was in a league of his own as he led a podium sweep for DTS Racing in the Formula LGB 1300 race while Sri Lankan Kaveen Diyyan Rajapaksa (Momentum Motorsports) topped the Junior category.
Pole-sitter Saishiva, winner of the F1600 title last year, had a poor start and was running second behind Navi Mumbai’s Aditya Patnaik with two of the 10 laps to go when they ran into a backmarker. Aditya lost precious tenths of a second negotiating the backmarker, and Saishiva closed the gap. Aditya lost more time when he ran into a backmarker again on the last lap. Saishiva needed no second invitation as he passed Aditya for a win. Aditya had to be content with second place, ahead of Pune’s Swarnav Das.
In the F1600 class that was run concurrently, Gyan too was in P2 for much of the race, trailing Bhuvan Bonu (Visakhapatnam) with Bengaluru’s Priyanka Vijay in P3. Towards close, Bhuvan suffered from a drop in power, which saw both Gyan and Priyanka pass him, while the Vizag driver finished third.
Vijayaraj had no challengers once he snatched the lead at Turn-1 and then gradually increased the lead for a commanding win. Vijayaraj was followed home by his DTS Racing teammates Vinith Kumar (Tirupur) and Liron Jaden Samuels (Tirunelveli).
Earlier, former National champion Arjun Narendran from Coimbatore, driving an Arka Motorsports-prepared Volkswagen Polo and returning to active racing after several years, expectedly qualified for pole position in the Indian Super Touring Cars class, with a hot lap of 01 minute, 49.033 seconds. Starting tomorrow’s race behind him will be the trio of Buzzing Hornet Motorsports drivers, Ritesh Rai (Chennai), Aman Nagdev (Noida) and Jeet Jhabakh (Hyderabad).
Veteran Diljith TS from Thrissur led a 1-2-3 sweep of the top three qualifying spots in the Super Stock class for DTS Racing, clocking a best lap of 02:02.678.
Mumbai’s Neel Shah was the quickest in the Volkswagen Polo Cup qualifying session with a best lap of 01:55.377, followed by his Buzzing Hornet Motorsports teammates Pratik Sonawane (Mumbai), Hitrath Bhat (Ahmedabad), Sidharth Desai (Mumbai) and Dushyant Nagesh (Bengaluru).
Provisional results (all 10 laps unless mentioned):
MRF F2000 (Race-1): 1. Saishiva Sankaran (Pune) (14 mins, 47.457 secs); 2. Aditya Patnaik (Navi Mumbai) (14:48.121); 3. Swarnav Das (Pune) (14:53.134).
MRF F1600 (Race-1): 1. Gyan S (Chennai) (16:28.952); 2. Priyanka Vijay (Bengaluru) (14:52.355+1 lap); 3. Bhuvan Bonu (Visakhapatnam) (14:59.959+1 lap).
Formula LGB 1300 (Race-1) Open: 1. Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore, DTS Racing) (18:53.431); 2. Vinithkumar (Tirupur, DTS Racing) (18:58.267); 3. Liron Jaden Samuels (Tirunelveli) (19:03.051). Junior: 1. Kaveen Diyyan Rajapaksa (Sri Lanka, Momentum Motorsports) (19:21.510); 2. Abhijit Vadavalli (Bengaluru, Momentum Motorsports) (19:39.205); 3. Yash Vikram Singh (Agra, Delta Speeds) (19:39596).
-Team Sportstar
Published on Aug 22, 2026