Looking to assert his supremacy across formats, reigning world champion D Gukesh of India began his campaign in the FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, with a crushing victory over France's Etienne Bacrot in the first round.
The women's recurve team of Deepika Kumari, Gatha Khadake and Ankita Bhakat entered the bronze medal play-offs at the World Archery Championships in Gwangju, South Korea.
Verma beat his Taiwanese opponent 21-18, 21-14.
The Czech Republic won a heavyweight clash against the United States with a deciding doubles victory sending them through to the Billie Jean King Cup semi-finals in Seville.
India were on Thursday drawn in group G along with Slovenia and the Netherlands as Karnataka will host the prestigious Billie Jean King Cup playoffs in Bengaluru from November 14 where India will strive to qualify for the finals.
The delegation will now head to Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia, where they are expected to arrive on Sunday. Member of the delegation, Brijesh Chowta left earlier for Ljubljana.
India's compound mixed team of Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Rishabh Yadav secured a spot in the final at the Archery World Cup Stage 1, guaranteeing a third medal for the country.
A recent World Bank report placing India among the most equal countries globally may present a limited view of inequality, with economists suggesting that broader data sets could tell a different story. According to the report, India's Gini index (or coefficient/ratio), a key measure of inequality, stood at 25.5 in 2022-23, placing the country fourth globally in terms of equality, behind only the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, and Belarus.
It was the 27-year-old Japanese player's first WTA title since she became a mother in July 2023.
19-year-old joins Slovenian Club NK Radomlje
The Kanimozhi Karunanidhi-led delegation is visiting five European nations to garner support for India's campaign against cross-border terrorism.
According to the 2021 England and Wales Census data, of the 915,855 citizens born in India, 49 per cent (444,500) said English was their main language, followed by 41 per cent (373,583) who said another language was their main language but that they spoke English very well or well.
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa bounced back from a poor start in the rapid section to climb to second place in the overall standings at the end of the first half of the blitz section in the Superbet Rapid & Blitz tournament.
Their only loss came against group toppers China, the most successful team in the tournament with 13 titles, in their second group tie on the opening day of the tournament.
As the 2025 French Open looms, all eyes may be on reigning champions and top seeds - but lurking just beneath the surface are several players quietly building momentum, ready to crash the party in Paris. From seasoned champions finding renewed form to rising stars with something to prove, here are four dark horses who could shake up the women's singles draw at Roland Garros.
The UN Security Council will hold closed consultations on Monday on the situation between India and Pakistan after Islamabad sought an emergency meeting on the issue. Pakistan, which currently sits as a non-permanent member of the council, requested the meeting in light of rising tensions between the two countries following a terror attack in India. The meeting comes after India's foreign minister spoke with all council members except China and Pakistan, emphasizing the need to bring perpetrators of the attack to justice. The Pakistani envoy has argued that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir poses a threat to regional and international peace and security, justifying the need for a council discussion.
India has accused Pakistan of violating the spirit of the Indus Waters Treaty by engaging in acts of terrorism and refusing to modify the treaty. India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, addressed the UN Security Council, highlighting Pakistan's disinformation regarding the treaty and its continued support for cross-border terrorism. He stated that India has always acted responsibly as an upper riparian state and that Pakistan's actions have jeopardized civilian lives, religious harmony, and economic prosperity. India has suspended the treaty until Pakistan ends its support for terrorism.
Indian GM Aravindh Chithambaram did not see any change in his fortunes in the blitz section and had to be content with a tie for seventh place in his maiden outing in the GCT.
India has reached out to Denmark and other non-permanent members of the UN Security Council to apprise them of the Pahalgam terror attack and its cross-border linkages. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has spoken to his counterparts from several nations, conveying India's resolve to bring the perpetrators to justice. The outreach comes as India mulls options for responding to the attack, with Prime Minister Modi assuring the harshest response for the "perpetrators and conspirators." India has also received condolences and condemnations from world leaders, including US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron.
UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres expressed concern over the heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, calling for maximum restraint and urging both countries to step back from the brink. Guterres offered his "good offices" to both governments in the service of peace and condemned the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, emphasizing the need to bring those responsible to justice. He also stressed that a military confrontation would be detrimental and could easily spin out of control. His remarks came hours before a closed consultation of the UN Security Council on the matter, requested by Pakistan. The UN Secretary-General highlighted the need for de-escalation, diplomacy, and a renewed commitment to peace.
World Champion D Gukesh suffered a rare setback in normal time control, losing to USA's Fabiano Caruana in the first game of the quarterfinals of the Freestyle Grand Slam chess tournament.
Indian table tennis legend A Sharath Kamal has announced that the WTT Contender Chennai, scheduled for March 25-30, will be his last tournament as a professional athlete.
The delegations led by Baijayant Panda, Ravi Shankar Prasad (both Bharatiya Janata Party), Sanjay Kumar Jha (Janata Dal-United), Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena), Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Kanimozhi (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) and Supriya Sule (Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar) will visit a total of 32 countries and the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
World champion D Gukesh will take on Fabiano Caruana of the United States in the two-game quarter-final after the latter picked the Indian in a unique format typical of Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, in Hamburg, Germany.
Germany's Linda Dallmann came off the bench to score one goal and fashion another as her side hammered neighbours Austria 4-1 to move top of Women's Nations League A1, with group rivals the Netherlands coming from behind to win 2-1 away to Scotland.
The United Nations Security Council held closed-door consultations on rising tensions between India and Pakistan, with envoys calling for restraint and dialogue. The consultations, requested by Pakistan, lasted for about an hour and a half. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern over the tensions, urging both countries to avoid a military confrontation. India's former Permanent Representative to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin, said that no consequential outcome could be expected from the discussion.
Ukraine came from behind to beat visitors Belgium 3-1 in the first leg of their Nations League playoff on Thursday
Mondo Duplantis was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, while American gymnast Simone Biles bagged the top women's honour at the Laureus World Sports Awards.
Emulates mentor Visvanathan Anand, who had won the tournament back in 1986.
Gukesh draws with Wei Yi; Praaggnandhaa outwits Caruana
American Hikaru Nakamura also finished with 5.5 points, 1.5 points ahead of local representative Vincent Keymer, who placed sixth.
Interestingly, all of R Praggnanandhaa's victories have come at the expense of the Indians so far in the tournament.
Images from Saturday's events at the World Athletics Indoor Championships, at Nanjing Youth Olympic Sports Park, Nanjing, China.
World number one Dinara Safina sailed through to the Slovenia Open quarter-finals when she beat fellow Russian Ksenija Pervak 6-1, 6-2 on Wednesday.
India just about managed to cling to men's second division berth at the World Table Tennis championship.
D Gukesh defeated Dutch Grandmaster Max Warmerdam to stay in sole lead on 7.5 points at the end of the 10th round of Tata Steel Chess tournament
Grandmaster R Praggnanadhaa played out a solid draw with World champion D Gukesh in the eighth round of the Tata Steel Masters.
Erling Haaland had a night to remember as he broke Norway's all-time scoring record and announced that he and his girlfriend, Isabel Haugseng Johansen, are expecting their first child.
Aleksander Ceferin, the president of Slovenia's football federation, was overwhelmingly elected as the new head of European soccer's governing body UEFA at an extraordinary Congress on Wednesday.
R Praggnanandhaa, who drew with Wei Yi of China in the sixth round, is the joint leader in the Tata Steel chess tournament.
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