Time flies. It has been two years since those beautiful images from Budapest caught India’s imagination — the country’s young chess players, men and women, posing for photographs after their twin success at the Chess Olympiad. It was one of the country’s greatest days in its sporting history.

Chess Olympiad is an event as huge and competitive as the name suggests. It is even huger this time.

The 46th edition of the biggest team event in chess — it is like tennis’ Davis Cup or badminton’s Thomas Cup — starts in Samarkand on Wednesday.

In the fray are 208 in the open section and 191 in the women’s.

India is certainly among the favourites in both categories, despite some changes in the squads and the big dip in form of one of the key players.

There is no denying the fact that the way D. Gukesh has struggled after becoming the youngest World champion has raised concerns. That, however, doesn’t mean he cannot regain his form.

Remember, he was an absolute beast for India in the last two Olympiads. He was brilliant against some of the world’s strongest players and won the individual gold medal.

Gukesh may not be going into the Olympiad in perfect shape, but R. Praggnanandhaa is. He has been winning just about everything. India also banks heavily on Arjun Erigaisi. Nihal Sarin and Vidit Gujrathi complete the team.

The host Uzbekistan, which features two of the world’s best young players in Javokhir Sindarov (Gukesh’s opponent in the upcoming World title match), and the United States, the top seed, could be India’s strongest rivals. The Indian men are seeded second.

The women are seeded first. The return of Koneru Humpy, one of the best players of all time in the women’s game, has strengthened the team. Her class and experience should help. She hadn’t played in Budapest, and told The Hindu how excited she was to play in this Olympiad and help her team defend the title.

India needs Divya Deshmukh and R. Vaishali, two young women who have been gaining in strength, to perform well, too. Vantika Agrawal should be hoping for another solid show for India while the 19-year-old B. Savitha Shri is making her debut.

India could face strong challenges from the likes of Georgia, Kazakhstan and China.

The tournament, to be played over 11 rounds in the Swiss system, concludes on September 27.

The Indian hockey teams’ experiment with a change in jersey colour has been partially rolled back and the players will now don the traditional blue at the upcoming Asian Games.

The saffron kit, which led to allegations of politicisation and internal tussle within Hockey India, will be the second option.

“The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had asked us our preferred choice and HI has given blue as the first choice. Saffron will be the second colour,” HI president Dilip Tirkey said.

Meanwhile, almost two months after the sports ministry asked the Indian Olympic Association to conduct an independent inquiry into former captain Asunta Lakra’s allegations of harassment and intimidation against Hockey India secretary Bholanath Singh, a four-member committee has been constituted for the same.

The committee

The committee, headed by Justice (retd.) Deepa Sharma, also includes former India striker and 2002 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Mamta Kharab and former sprinter Vandana Rao.

Supreme Court advocate Sitwat Nabi is the fourth member of the committee which is expected to begin work later this week.

Vishesh Sharma held his ​nerve through a dramatic final round to secure his maiden professional title at the Telangana Golconda Masters at the Hyderabad Golf Club here on Friday. He closed with a one-under 69 to finish at 21-under 259, one stroke ahead of Amardeep Malik in the tournament’s 12th edition.

With the win, the 19-year-old (60-66-64-69) rose from 25th to 14th on the 2026 Order of Merit, taking his season earnings to ₹30,93,550, and secured his place in the DP World India Championship.

Vishesh began the day with a four-shot advantage, but his route to victory was far from straightforward. His 69 featured seven birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey as Amardeep reduced the margin to one. The crucial response came after his double bogey on the par-four 13th. He then made consecutive birdies on the 14th and 15th to retain the lead.

“The double bogey came down to nerves. I hit one poor shot and then attempted a recovery that wasn’t really available, so I paid the price. But the two birdies that followed helped me hold the lead. The lag putt on the 18th was particularly important and helped me finish the job,” Vishesh later explained.

The victory completed a journey that began when Vishesh attended a DP World PGTI event here as a junior in 2021.

“I remember watching many top players that week. To have watched the professionals here as a youngster, then compete on the same course and now win a title is difficult to put into perspective,” he stated.

Amardeep (61-65-68-66) mounted a strong challenge with a closing four-under 66 but had to settle for a runner-up finish at 20-under 260. His eventful round contained an eagle on the par-five sixth, six birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey.

Akshay Sharma (69-69-63-60) matched the course record with the lowest round of the day, a 10-under 60. His round featured an eagle, 10 birdies and two bogeys, including four successive birdies from the third through the sixth. He climbed into a share of third at 19-under 261. Honey Baisoya (64-64-68-65) joined Akshay in third after making seven birdies and two bogeys in a 65.

Angad Cheema (66-67-66-66) finished fifth at 15-under 265, followed by Ajeetesh Sandhu (65-69-67-65) in sixth at 14-under 266. Rashid Khan (68-69-63-67) and Kshitij Naveed Kaul (68-66-65-68) shared seventh at 13-under 267. Defending champion Jamal Hossain (72-66-72-68) of Bangladesh finished tied 30th at two-under 278. His final round featured a hole-in-one on the par-three third, marking a fourth ace of the week.

​P. Gopi Chand is one of those rare athletes whose coaching legacy has eclipsed their playing career.

A former All England champion, he has been instrumental in establishing a system that produced India’s modern badminton stars, including Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu.

A few years after his now-renowned academy opened its doors, India hosted the World championships for the first time, in his backyard — Hyderabad, in 2009. India was just one of many countries taking part that year, still finding its feet on badminton’s biggest individual stage.

Seventeen years on, the tournament returns to Indian soil, with New Delhi playing host this time.

In those years, the country has bagged 15 medals at the Worlds, including Sindhu’s historic gold in 2019.

Ahead of the showpiece that gets underway on Monday, a conversation with Gopi Chand kept circling back to a question he has fielded for years, in one form or another: how do you measure today’s generation against his own? His answer was unambiguous: you don’t.

“I think it would be very unfair to compare or even think of comparisons. Today’s challenges are today’s, and today’s opportunities are today’s. Back in the day, our aspirations and our outlook were limited. Today, the kids are a lot more aware and their horizons are much bigger. They step in with an ‘I want to be a World champion’ kind of attitude,” he told The Hindu.

For Gopi Chand, it’s a shift shaped as much by opportunity as by ambition.

“Back in the day, we wanted to play well, avoid injuries and get a job. That is all we thought about.” That is not the case today. Across generations, there are very different mindsets and aspirations.”

For the 52-year-old, that revelation has also been personal. His daughter, Gayatri, has carved out her own career — and he was careful to draw a line between his achievements and hers.

“She’s done well. She’s a (double) Commonwealth Games medallist, got to two All England semifinals and is the highest-ranked women’s doubles player the country has ever produced. Forget about what I have done. As a parent, that makes me happy and proud. I’m rejoicing at what she’s doing and I don’t want my All England (triumph) to overshadow the phenomenal job she is doing.”

For all the generational gaps he pointed to, Gopi Chand was clear about where Indian badminton goes from here.

“I’m looking forward to the next generation of champions. And India hosting the World championships again should catapult that jump and there’s a huge opportunity for us to propel further”.

Winning an Ultimate Table Tennis title is special. Defending it, Lilian Bardet believes, is even more satisfying.

The Frenchman, one of only two surviving players from U Mumba TT’s maiden triumph in 2025 alongside reserve paddler Akash Pal, felt Sunday’s victory over Dempo Goa Challengers, unbeaten in the seventh season until then, was a testament to the team’s resilience after a shaky start.

“The first time is always something new for the team, for the players. But to achieve it a second time in a row is even bigger,” Bardet said after lifting the trophy at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Panaji on Sunday.

“Teamwork from the first day until today [Sunday]… we are really proud of this victory.”

Coach John Murphy, who continued alongside Jay Modak after last year’s title-winning campaign, believed this triumph was markedly different from the first. “We lost the first two matches. We didn’t panic. We built our way back into the league. We qualified and then hit the ground running in the playoffs,” Murphy said.

“Last year, we ran on adrenaline and had some really big individual performances. This year was more calculated. I felt that the longer the tournament went on, the better we became.”

That measured approach was exemplified by Manush Shah. Returning to UTT after missing the 2025 season due to international commitments, the ace Indian paddler grew into the tournament before producing decisive performances in the semifinal and final.

Manush’s impact increased with every passing tie.
| Photo Credit:
BUTTERFLY UTT

“When we saw that Manush was available in the auction, he was one of the players we wanted,” Murphy said. “We were lucky enough to get him. Coming back after missing last season, he had to adapt again because UTT is a different format. But good players find their way.”

Murphy felt Manush’s impact increased with every passing tie. “He never backed down. He was probably the one player who just got better and better as the tournament went on. In the end, he was probably the key.”

Even so, Murphy insisted the title was built on collective consistency rather than individual brilliance. “But the team is a team. We wouldn’t have got there if we weren’t stable all the way through the league”.

As a truncated 2026 Commonwealth Games kicks off on Thursday, most of the stakeholders admit the medal rush may not be as prolific but insist there is no lack of incentive for those participating.

“I think it’s going to be a very different Commonwealth Games because a lot of our medal-winning sports are missing. Last two CWG, we won 12 medals in wrestling, six in badminton, seven in table tennis, two each in hockey and squash — none of them is there. So it’s 100% going to affect our medal tally.

“(But) in terms of position on the table, I think it’ll still be Australia and England at the top, by far the strongest at this level. For the third place, which India ideally should be aiming for, it’s always a battle with New Zealand and Canada. What’s going to be really important is, can we win those gold medals?” former India captain and CEO of Olympic Gold Quest Viren Rasquinha said in an interaction on Wednesday.

He admitted it was disappointing but added that most sports have other important events ongoing, ensuring there was no drop in terms of competitive exposure ahead of the Asian Games.

“Currently, all our top shooters are at the Rifle & Pistol World Cup in Hangzhou. In table tennis the UTT is on, there will be the hockey World Cup and the badminton World Championships.

“For those participating, I totally disagree with the notion that the Commonwealth Games is not of value. As athletes and coaches, you always respect every competition and as an opportunity to participate and do well for younger players, the Commonwealth Games is a great platform to make a name for yourself.”

Asked about his medal expectations, Rasquinha refused to put a number. “I’m never one for making predictions. If you look at what’s happened in Indian athletics recently, there have been about 26 National records in the last 6-12 months. So, I think athletics is one sport where we can look at 8-10 medals. The women’s boxing squad is so strong this time, all seven participants are capable of winning medals. Weightlifting, again, we can expect 8-10.”

(The interaction was facilitated by Sony Sports Network, the official broadcasters of the Commonwealth Games 2026. Tune-In: Day 1, July 24 from 1 PM IST live on Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD)

In his “best physical condition ever”, long jumper M. Sreeshankar, who missed the 2022 Commonwealth Games gold in Birmingham on countback, cannot wait to “change the colour of the metal” when the athletics competition gets underway at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games on July 27.

“This time, the chances are looking really good. We have a good opportunity to win two medals (Lokesh Sathyanathan and I),” the 27-year-old said during a virtual media interaction on Tuesday.

Sreeshankar says that the 2023 World Championships silver medallist and Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist Wayne Pinnock might not compete in Glasgow because he is in the process of switching his sporting allegiance from Jamaica to Turkiye.

“Pinnock is switching his allegiance to Turkiye. So, he won’t be competing. But I think the 2019 world champion Tajay Gayle is competing. I think there will be two Jamaicans and two Australians in Glasgow. Competition in athletics in general, especially in long jump, has always been very strong. I’m pretty excited,” he said.

Sreeshankar said he has been training in Spała, Poland, for the past three weeks to acclimatise to the weather conditions expected in Glasgow.

“Spała is the best place to train right now. Not just in terms of the weather but also in terms of the tracks. Because the track we have in Spała is Mondo, which is the same surface that we will have in Glasgow”.

Three dozen years is a long time in any sphere of life, not just sport. Yet, on a scorching Wednesday morning last week, on the most famous lawns in the world, it took just 52 minutes for Arnav Paparkar to script a chapter in Indian tennis history.

With a clinical 6-2, 6-1 demolition of Japan’s Ryo Tabata in the boys’ round of 16, the 18-year-old stormed into the Wimbledon quarterfinals and became the first Indian since the legendary Leander Paes in 1990 to achieve the feat. For Indian tennis, the long wait was finally over.

In a virtual interaction with The Hindu, Arnav revealed that meticulous preparation did the trick. “I trained on grass in Spain for two weeks before Wimbledon and also played a tournament in Roehampton. I was comfortable with the way I moved, served and returned… I didn’t miss too many returns,” Arnav said.

The confidence also stemmed from the lessons learnt during the course of the year. “I was a bit nervous because the Australian Open was my first Grand Slam. There were so many people watching. By the time French Open arrived, I wasn’t thinking about the crowd anymore. I just played my natural game,” said the Pune teenager, who idolises Roger Federer and football icon Cristiano Ronaldo.

Arnav’s self-belief came to the fore at The Championships. He brushed aside British wildcard Joshua Craze before causing a flutter by taking out third seed Keaton Hance. He then went on to avenge the two losses against Tabata in their earlier meetings.

“I knew playing the third seed was going to be tough, but wasn’t impossible. My serve clicked, and I handled the pressure well. Only after the match did it sink in that I had beaten a higher-ranked player,” Arnav recalled.

Behind the teenager’s rise lies the unwavering support of his family.

nnis“My mother is a doctor, but she closed her clinic as she had to travel with me regularly. My elder brother sacrificed a lot because he often stayed home alone while my parents travelled for tournaments. Everyone in my family has sacrificed in some way or the other. I want to do something special for them one day”.

As the Indian women’s team gears up for the under-18 Asia Cup in Japan, there is both anticipation and belief that this group can announce itself on the continental stage.

Months of preparation, including gruelling training camps, and hard-fought exposure matches against Australia in Bhopal have helped fuel that faith. At the centre of the movement is former India captain Rani Rampal, now tasked with guiding the next generation through their first steps in international hockey. “My focus is not on the opponent, we are our own opponent. It doesn’t matter what the other teams are doing or not doing,” head coach Rani told The Hindu.

Placed in Pool A, India will open its campaign against Malaysia on Saturday before taking on South Korea on Sunday and Singapore on Tuesday. The top-two teams from the group will advance to the semifinals on June 5, with the final to be played on June 6. “If we stick to our plan and improve day by day, results will come automatically. For example, we need to have a good penalty corner conversion rate… we need to defend well too.”

Rani backed her side to put on a good show and said the nerves of the big stage were actually a good sign. “Nerves are welcome. They show that you care. I have taught my players that if we prepare well, we can draw confidence from it in the tournament. We can believe that we did our very best. We don’t focus on the result, we focus on the process of what we have to do for the result.”

The Asia Cup will be a special one for many — maiden international event and the first flight journey — making the excitement in the squad impossible to miss. Even a no-nonsense coach like Rani is not oblivious to these humane elements. “I told them to make good memories. So, maybe 10 years later, they will have incredible stories to look back on”.