World Boxing Cup Finals to begin from Nov 14 in Greater Noida
NEW DELHI, Oct 16: The world’s top pugilists will battle for glory at the World Boxing Cup Finals 2025, scheduled to take place at Greater Noida’s Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex from November 14 to 21.Hosted by India for the first time, the week-long spectacle will bring together elite boxers, including 2025 stage winners, as they compete for the coveted World Boxing Cup trophy. The competition will see male and female contenders across ten weight categories vie for top honours in Olympic-style boxing.Building on the success of the inaugural 2024 edition–which featured stages in England, the USA, and Mongolia, followed by the Finals in England, India enters this year’s finals ranked inside the top five in the global medal standings with 17 medals, including four golds, six silvers, and seven bronzes.The 2025 World Boxing Cup held its first stage in Brazil’s Foz do Iguacu, where the Indian men’s contingent finished with six medals, the highlight being Hitesh Gulia’s gold in the 70kg category. Abhinash Jamwal (65kg) finished with a silver medal, while Jadumani Singh (50kg), Manish Rathore (55kg), Sachin Siwach (60kg), and Vishal (90kg) picked up a bronze medal each.Stage two of the Cup moved to Poland, while stage three was held in Astana, Kazakhstan, where India’s top national elite women’s boxers joined the fray. Sakshi Chaudhary (54kg), Jasmine Lamboria (57kg), and Nupur Sheoran (80+kg) made waves by winning a gold medal each, while the experienced Pooja Rani (80kg) and rising star Minakshi Hooda (48kg) picked up a silver each; Sanju Khatri (60kg) was the recipient of the bronze. (IANS)
Khelo India University Games to be held in Rajasthan from Nov 24
NEW DELHI, Oct 16: The fifth Khelo India University Games will be held in seven cities of Rajasthan from November 24 to December 5. Competition will be held in 23 medal sports and one demonstration sport (kho-kho).Like the Khelo India Youth Games in Bihar earlier this year, the University Games too will be spread across seven cities in Rajasthan– Jaipur, Ajmer, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Kota, and Bharatpur. More than 5,000 athletes are expected in the 12-day University meet.In KIUG 2025, there will be 23 medal sports and one demonstration discipline. The medal sports include archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, fencing, football, hockey, judo, kabaddi, mallakhamb, rugby, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling, yogasana, cycling, beach volleyball, canoeing and kayaking.Kho-kho will be a demonstration event. For the first time, beach volleyball, canoeing and kayaking, and cycling are being introduced in the KIUG programme. (IANS)
Cops release youth who breached security to meet Babar Azam
LAHORE, Oct 16: The teenager, who attempted to break into the Pakistan dressing room balcony after breaching the security barriers at the Gaddafi stadium in a bid to meet with his hero Babar Azam, has been released from custody by the police after a reprimand.The youngster, identified as Ovais, caught the attention on social media when he was seen climbing onto the balcony of the Pakistan dressing room after getting through security barriers on Wednesday, when the hosts beat World Champions South Africa in the first Test.Ovais’ appearance on the balcony left the Pakistan team officials, including head coach Azhar Mahmood surprised. Mahmood then signalled to security personnel to handle the situation.The youngster was then escorted out by an official as he pleading with him to meet with Babar on his birthday.He was later taken to the Gulberg police station for questioning but released after a reprimand after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said it didn’t want to file any case against him. The craze for Babar remains a phenomenan in Pakistan cricket as despite his recent failures his appearance on the field lead to wild cheering and applause from his fans who keep on chanting his name.On the first day of the first Test against South Africa at the Gaddafi stadium Pakistan captain, Shan Masood’s dismissal was cheered by the crowd as Babar was the next man into bat. Later a negative remark by commentator, Ramiz Raja on air about Babar also led to widespread trolling of him on social media by Babar fans. (PTI)
