Nikhat, who recently won a silver medal at the Elite Women's Boxing Tournament 2025, is bolstering her preparations and hopes to make India proud by clinching a medal.
Indian shuttlers Tanvi Sharma and Isharani Baruah were defeated in the women's singles semifinals of the Orleans Masters Super 300 badminton tournament.
Unseeded in the draw, Nikhat overcame a scrappy women's 51kg round of 16 contest to secure a unanimous decision, though the scoreline did not reflect the stiff resistance from her 21-year-old opponent.
Young Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin emerged champion at the Tata Steel Chess India tournament on Friday, clinching the Rapid title just a day after the passing of his maternal grandfather, who had introduced him to the sport.
That Bhaker couldn't feature among the 13 Indian medallists in the just-concluded tournament has come as a bit of a surprise to many in the shooting fraternity.
Indian shuttler Tanvi Sharma lost to Nozomi Okuhara in the women's singles semifinals of the Orleans Masters Super 300 tournament.
P V Sindhu knows how to win big tournaments, but as she enters her 30s, the two-time Olympic medallist must be selective about which competitions she chooses to go "all out" in, feels London Games bronze winner Saina Nehwal.
With the victory, the two-time Asian champion joined Jaismine Lamboria (57kg) and Nupur Sheoran (80+kg) in assuring India of medals at this edition of the tournament.
The country also mounted bids on some high-profile continental and global events, including the 2031 World Athletics Championships with Ahmedabad as the proposed venue.
The two Koreas will field a combined women's team at the table tennis world championships after the nations decided not to compete against each other in the quarter-finals, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) said on Thursday.
Former champion Lakshya Sen produced a composed and tactical performance to advance to the quarterfinals of the $950,000 India Open Super 750 badminton tournament but Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy bowed out after a spirited show, in New Delhi, on Thursday.
Amanpreet Singh wins 25m centre fire gold as India sweep the podium and finish with 33 medals at the Asian Championship in New Delhi. Sift Kaur Samra and Tejaswini Sawant also shine.
In women's singles, Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist and 2019 world champion, will have to recover from the shock defeat against fellow Indian Unnati Hooda at the China Open.
HS Prannoy started his campaign at the World Championship in style beating New Zealand's Abhinav Manota in straight games to enter the second round.
The Indians will have another chance on Sunday to make the cut for the Tokyo World Championships.
'There are a lot of questions in your mind where you are answerable to it, like you yourself are answerable to it. It helped me to get back much more stronger and better.'
Teenager Jonathan steals limelight with gold, Rashmika claims silver
Disheartened but not broken after the Olympic loss, Jaismine returned to the Army Sports Institute (ASI) in Pune after a short break. She had made up her mind to stay in the 57kg division, a category that complemented her rangy frame and natural speed.
Koneru Humpy effortlessly defeated Denise Frick of South Africa while D Harika outplayed compatriot Soumya Swaminathan to move to the second round of the women's World Chess Championship, in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia.
The AFI added that it has got involved in the matter and Shirse should get his visa within the next 24 hours.
Women's World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh, who has also qualified for the Women's Candidates, has opted out of the women's section to compete with the best in business.
The Indian men ruled white-ball cricket, while South Africa ended decades of hurt by winning the World Test Championship at Lord's. Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally lifted their maiden IPL title, though the celebrations were dimmed by a deadly stampede. Above all, it was India's women who won a billion hearts by finally adding an ICC World Cup trophy to the cabinet.
New Delhi has been chosen as the host city of the next Badminton World Championships in August 2026, the sport's global governing body BWF announced on Monday.
Shooter Dhanush Srikanth continued to excel and evolve on the global stage, winning the men's 10m air rifle gold medal to open India's account in the Deaflympics in Tokyo on Sunday.
Sarina Bolden headed the winner as the Philippines spoiled co-hosts New Zealand's party
Wrestler Neha Sangwan, who was disqualified from the recent Under-20 World Championships for being overweight, was on Monday dropped from the senior World Championships squad.
The Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh blamed the organisers for the country's dismal show at the World Championships, saying the lack of facilities in Paris resulted in wrestlers losing out on 15 days of training ahead of the mega-event.
Tata Steel Chess: Anand, Niemann in joint lead after three rounds of Rapid
Vinesh Phogat announced her return to wrestling after an 18-month hiatus to chase her Olympic dream.
India's No 1 Sreeja Akula crashed out in the first round of the Table Tennis World Championships in Doha on Saturday.
Shrugging off his controversial semi-final defeat, Bajrang Punia bagged his third World Wrestling Championships medal while Ravi Dahiya made his debut memorable by grabbing a bronze.
Nishad Kumar and Simran Sharma won their maiden World Para Athletics Championships gold in high jump and 100m race respectively, as India clinched four medals to jump to fourth spot on the most productive day, in New Delhi, on Friday.
Hockey star Hardik Singh lone recommendation for Khel Ratna; Divya, TJ & Mehuli for Arjuna
Chanu, who is employed with the Indian Railways, lifted 85kg in snatch and 109kg in clean and jerk to total an impressive 194kg in the women's 48kg, setting a new national record in the process.
Indonesian coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama, who trains P V Sindhu, had a narrow escape after an explosion occurred close to where they were stationed at Dubai Airport while travelling to Birmingham for the All England Championships.
Ayush stuns Naraoka to join Satwik-Chirag, Lakshya in quarterfinals at Hong Kong Open
Indonesian coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama, who trains P V Sindhu, had a narrow escape after an explosion occurred close to where they were stationed at Dubai Airport while travelling to Birmingham for the All England Championships.
England-born Richard Pybus has been appointed as the head coach of the Afghanistan cricket team, replacing Jonathan Trott.
Pramod Bhagat, Sukant Kadam claim two gold a piece in Egypt
The two-day World Blitz Championship in both the Open and Women's categories commences in Doha, on Monday, December 29.
