Haryana dominate women’s wrestling, freestyle
New Delhi, April 30: Haryana stamped their authority at the U-17 National Wrestling Championships 2026, topping both women’s Wrestling and Freestyle events, while Services Sports Control Board led the way in Greco-Roman format in the three-day meet that concluded on Thursday. Haryana secured the Women’s Wrestling title with 215 points and added the Freestyle crown with 205 points. The SSCB, dominated Greco-Roman, finishing on top with 136 points in the meet held at the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (Aurangabad). Kerala registered a significant win in the 71 kg category over a Delhi opponent, while Telangana, Karnataka, and Jammu & Kashmir also featured among the medallists. In Women’s Wrestling, Kasturi Sahadev (MAH) won gold in 40 kg, with Diksha (HAR), Rohini (MAH), and Nikita (HAR) taking top honours in 43 kg, 46 kg, and 49 kg. Haryana’s depth showed through multiple gold medals from Sakshi (57 kg), Manisha (61 kg), Taniya (69 kg), and Garima (73 kg). Akshara (DEL, 53kg) and Srushti (MAH, 65kg) were among the other champions. Freestyle saw a similar script, with Haryana leading the medal count. Abhinav (45 kg), Sahil (55 kg), Anuj (71 kg), and Arush Rana (110 kg) secured gold for the state. In Greco-Roman, SSCB’s consistency across weights powered them to the top. Gold medallists included Sumit Kumar (45 kg), Yash Kashinath Kamanna (48 kg), Dhiraj Shashikant Daphale (51 kg), Prathmesh Suryakant Patil (55 kg), and Krishnraj Ingve (60 kg). (PTI)
56-member Indian squad to compete at Asian U-15 & U-17 boxing C’ships
New Delhi, April 30: A 56-member Indian boxing contingent is all set to begin its campaign at the Asian Boxing U-15 & U-17 Championships 2026, which gets underway on Friday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. India heads into the prestigious age-group tournament with a strong and well-rounded squad across both boys’ and girls’ categories. The Indian U-17 teams will feature 13 boxers each in the boys’ and girls’ categories, competing across weight divisions ranging from 44kg-46kg to +80kg, supported by four coaches and a physiotherapist per squad. Meanwhile, the U-15 teams feature 15 boxers each in both boys’ and girls’ divisions, competing across 30-33kg to +70kg categories, with five coaches and a physiotherapist accompanying each side. The championships serve as a crucial platform for identifying and developing the next generation of elite boxers, with many of these young athletes expected to progress through the national pathway and represent India at major international competitions in the years to come. (PTI)
SAI extends financial support to cueists for World Billiards C’ship
New Delhi, April 30: The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has sanctioned financial assistance for India’s participation in the just-concluded IBSF World Men’s Billiards Championship in Ireland, backing the 2026 edition World Champion Sourav Kothari, multiple-time world champion Pankaj Advani and coach Ashok Shandilya. The championship, which concluded on Wednesday, saw the trio take part in the competition with funding from the government under the Assistance to National Sports Federations (ANSFs) scheme. SAI approved a total expenditure of approximately Rs 6.46 lakh to the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI) towards the team’s participation, covering key components such as travel, boarding, lodging and other competition-related expenses. Kothari retained his IBSF World Billiards Championship title in Carlow, Ireland with a dominant 1133-477 win over country-mate Advani. The Kolkata cueist produced massive breaks, including 485 and 241, and dedicated the victory to his late father. (PTI)
TNCA invites applications for men’s senior head coach roles
Chennai, April 30: Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) on Thursday invited applications for the men’s senior state team head coach roles, seeking successors to M Senthilnathan and M Venkataramana. The Association has also invited applications for the men’s and women’s state senior and junior selection committees. The deadline for all the applications is set on May 10. It may be recalled that Cricket Association of Bengal too recently adopted a similar method to find a successor to state head coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla. The applicants for the coaches’ role – separate for multi-day and white ball formats – should be below the age of 60, and should hold a BCCI Level 2 or higher coaching certification, or any other equivalent certification. The shake-up in coaching structure was expected after the TN teams’ modest outings in the last domestic season. Senthilnathan took over from L Balaji ahead of the previous season, and, rather abruptly, Venkataramana was brought in as the white-ball coach in November last year ahead of the white ball competitions. In Ranji Trophy, Tamil Nadu finished sixth in Group A with 14 points from seven matches and could only win one match in the 2025-26 season, losing two and drawing four. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Tamil Nadu failed to enter the Super League after finishing fourth in Elite Group D. The story repeated in the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well with TN failing to advance to the knockouts as they ended up fifth in Elite Group A. (PTI)
Rhodes, Klaasen, Faf jointly buy Rotterdam franchise of ETPL
Rotterdam (The Netherlands), April 30: Former South African cricketers Jonty Rhodes, Faf du Plessis and Heinrich Klaasen have jointly bought a franchise of the European T20 Premier League (ETPL) based in Rotterdam. The Rotterdam franchise will compete in the inaugural season scheduled from August 26 to September 20. The other city-based franchises are Glasgow, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Dublin and Belfast. “It’s special to join Jonty and Klassy in acquiring a franchise in the ETPL. This is my first step into team ownership, and the timing couldn’t be better with European cricket gaining real momentum,” said du Plessis. (PTI)
Unfancied Guns-N-Rose lead
Kolkata, April 30: Unfancied Guns-N-Rose led the field in the team event, collecting 64.92 victory points after round fourth of the All India Bridge Championship here on Thursday. Guns-N-Rose are followed by Shri Rade (60.79), Challengers (55.30), Miracle (54.89), Team Kabra (54.79) and Maharaja (54.27). Defending champions Formidable are lying in 9th spot with 53.29 VPs with four more rounds to go. (PTI)
