ARCHERY
Indian archers confirm another medal at Asia Cup Stage-1
Chikitha Taniparthi and Rajat Chauhan reached the compound mixed team final to secure another medal for India at the Asia Cup Stage-1 archery tournament in Bangkok on Thursday.
The top-seeded pair of Chikitha and Rajat got a first-round bye before knocking out Chinese Taipei 159-155 and Kazakhstan 157-153 to set up a summit clash with Malaysia.
India’s recurve mixed team, comprising Ridhi Phor and Devaang Gupta, got a first-round bye before losing 0-6 to Vietnam.
-Team Sportstar
SHOOTING
Tough outing awaits Indian skeet shooters
India’s skeet shooters will have their task cut out as they face a strong line-up of participants on the first day of the season-opening ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Tangier on Friday.
The event will feature some of the world’s most accomplished athletes competing in a strong field at the Club Tangérois de Tir.
Day one of the competition will start with 75 targets for both men and women, which will be followed by 50 targets and the finals on Sunday.
India has entered the maximum quota of six athletes in both the men’s and women’s categories.
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
India has entered the maximum quota of six athletes in both the men’s and women’s categories.
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
A highly competitive field consisting of Olympic and world champions have entered the competition.
India has entered the maximum quota of six athletes in both the men’s and women’s categories, along with two shooters each in both the men’s and women’s sections who will be competing for ranking points.
The women’s field is packed with stars, with reigning Olympic champion Francisca Crovetto Chadid of Chile, who is returning to international competition after maternity leave, headlining the competition along with world champion Samantha Simonton of the United States.
Diana Bacosi of Italy, a double Olympic and double world champion, also starts, and former world champion Dania Jo Vizzi of the USA, Kazakhstan’s world championship medallist Assem Orynbay, are amongst the other shooters in the fray.
The Indian team comprises Olympian Maheshwari Chauhan and siblings Darshana Rathore and Yashasvi Rathore.
Yashasvi, the youngest of the two, was placed second in the 68th Nationals and also won silver in the junior category at the Asian Championships in Shymkent last year.
Areeba Khan and Mansi Raghuwanshi will also be competing, but only for ranking points.
In the men’s event, an 82-strong field entered the competition, with 2025 World Championship bronze medallist Emil Kjeldgaard Petersen of Denmark headlining the list.
Last season’s World Cup finals winner Christian Elliot of the USA, Italy’s double Olympic champion Gabriele Rossetti, Tokyo silver medallist Jesper Hansen, also of Denmark, and former world champion and Asian Games champion Masoud Saleh Al-Athba of Qatar are among the top names in the competition.
Representing Canada for the first time will be Angad Vir Singh Bajwa, who was in India colours till last year.
India’s hopes will rest on the experienced Man Singh and Parampal Singh Guron, along with Jyotiraditya Singh Sisodiya, who is making his senior international debut.
Man, a former Asian champion, is making a comeback into the team after three years while Parampal last represented India in 2022.
Jyotiraditya won a junior bronze in his last international outing at the Shymkent Asian Championships last year and will be raring to go on his senior India debut.
Sukhbir Singh Harika and junior national champion Harmehar Singh Lally will be competing for ranking points.
With Olympic champions, world champions, experienced finalists and emerging talents all competing, the tournament promises a compelling start to the season.
As athletes begin their journey towards Olympic qualification pathways, all eyes will be on Tangier to see who sets the early benchmark for the year ahead.
-PTI
ATHLETICS
Gulveer to lead Indian elite field at 18th TCS World 10K in Bengaluru
Reigning Asian champion and national record holder, Gulveer Singh, will spearhead India’s challenge at the 18th edition of the TCS World 10K Run Bengaluru, which is a World Athletics Gold Label race, on Sunday.
Gulveer heads into the race in red-hot form, having finished third at the New York City Half Marathon earlier this month, where he clocked 59:42, which is the best timing for any Indian half-marathon runner.
The TCS World 10K carries a total prize purse of USD 210,000, with USD 26,000 awarded to the winners in the men’s and women’s categories.
The national record holder in both the 10,000m (27:00.22) and 5000m (12:59.77), Gulveer enjoyed a standout 2025 season, winning both events at the Asian Athletics Championships. He also set an event record of 1:12:06 at the Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata 2025.
Earlier in the month, organisers also announced a strong international elite line-up for the 18th edition of the race, including the likes of Harbert Kibet of Uganda, Kenya’s Vincent Langat, Ethiopia’s Gemechu Dida and Eritrea’s Samuel Habte.
Indian elite athletes will also compete for top honours, with Rs. 3 lakh on offer for the top finishers, with an additional Rs. 1 lakh awarded for setting an event record.
-PTI
MOTORSPORT
Racing prodigy Atiqa finishes stellar WSK stint as highest-ranked female
Indian racing prodigy Atiqa Mir capped off a stellar stint in the WSK Super Masters with a commendable eighth-place finish out of 53 drivers in the final of Round 5, ending her campaign in the premier karting series as the highest-ranked female.
Making a big voluntary switch from the mini (age 8-12) to junior category (12-14) at the start of 2026, the 11-year-old demonstrated her special talent all through the five-round series.
FILE PHOTO: Indian racer Atiqa Mir (extreme right on the podium.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
FILE PHOTO: Indian racer Atiqa Mir (extreme right on the podium.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
Racing in the OK-NJ class, the first Indian to be supported by Formula 1 Academy, Atiqa collected one podium, two fastest laps, eight top-6 finishes and a sizzling P2 finish in one of the qualifying sessions over the course of the WSK championship and European leg of the COTFA series.
Besides being the highest-ranked female in the WSK series, she was also the best Indian driver.
The racer from Jammu and Kashmir had her fair share of bad luck along the way that robbed her of more podium finishes.
In her final weekend of the series, Atiqa set the seventh-fastest time in qualifying, which was just a 10th of a second away from P3, highlighting the fierce competition.
In the heat races, she finished P5, P4 and P5, showing remarkable speed and consistency against the best drivers in the world.
Atiqa was ranked sixth out of 53 drivers and started P3 for the pre-final. She made a remarkable start to move to the second spot, but going into Turn 4, she was pushed off the track by a driver, denying her a front row start for the finals.
She was 13th on the grid for the final but charged through the field to be P7 at one stage before finishing a creditable eighth.
The race weekend reaffirmed Atiqa’s status as the leading driver in the world of karting who can go up against the best and even beat them.
She had made her OK-NJ debut at La Conca Round in January. At only 11 years of age, Atiqa was amongst the youngest and least experienced driver in Italian conditions.
Despite the challenges, she showed her raw speed, out-qualifying the likes of Mercedes Junior Nicolo Perico.
The last round at Franciacorta showed that Atiqa had come of age as she put together a clean weekend with top-five finishes in all heats.
-PTI
HOCKEY
It’s SMPK vs VOCP
Host Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata (SMPK) rode on Ricky Tonjam’s five goals to beat Mumbai Port 8-4 in the semifinals and set up a title clash with V.O. Chidambaranar Port (VOCP), Thoothukudi, in the 47th all-India Major Ports hockey championship at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) astro-turf ground in Kolkata on Thursday.
VOCP defeated Chennai Port 3-1 in the other semifinal.
– Team Sportstar
Published on Mar 26, 2026
