World Boxing Cup: Prachi stuns Paris Olympic medallist Shih Yi Wu
Guiyang (China), June 19: India delivered a commanding performance at the World Boxing Cup 2026 (Stage 2), with Prachi leading the charge as the country confirmed six medals following a strong showing in the quarterfinals here on Friday. Prachi (57kg) defeated Paris Olympics bronze medallist Shih Yi Wu of Chinese Taipei in a hard-fought 4-1 verdict to secure her place in the semifinals and guarantee a podium finish. World No. 1 in 48kg Minakshi, competing in the 51kg category, continued her dominant run with a clinical 5-0 victory over Kazakhstan’s Alua Balkibekova, the reigning world champion (2025) and world No. 3. In the men’s category, Deepak (70kg) delivered a composed performance to outclass Azerbaijan’s Nabi Isgandarov with a unanimous 5-0 decision, while Nikhil (55kg) also impressed with a dominant 5-0 win over Azerbaijan’s Amin Mammadzada to progress to the semifinals. With these results, India has secured six medals at the tournament, continuing its strong run on the international stage. (PTI)
Macau Open: Ashmita storms into semifinals, Anmol out
Macau, June 19: Indian shuttler Ashmita Chaliha continued her impressive comeback from injury, defeating Korea’s Kim Min Sun in straight games to enter the women’s singles semifinals, but compatriot Anmol Kharb bowed out after a quarterfinal defeat at the Macau Open Super 300 tournament here on Friday. The 26-year-old from Assam, who returned to competition in May after a three-month injury layoff, took 37 minutes to see off world No.99 Kim 21-16, 21-18 to continue her impressive run. In the other match, world No. 51 Anmol, however, failed to capitalise on a strong start, going down 21-14, 15-21, 13-21 to fourth seed Han Qian Xi, ranked 36th in the world, in a 60-minute clash. (PTI)
Tanishi Gupta rewrites 100m butterfly national record twice
Ahmedabad, June 19: Karnataka swimmer Tanishi Gupta rewrote the 100m butterfly national record twice in a single day, while state-mate Thanya Shadakshari and Tamil Nadu’s mixed medley relay team also etched their names in the record books at the National Aquatics Championships here on Thursday. Tanishi first broke the national mark of 1:02.51s, held by Nina Venkatesh, when she clocked 1:01.97s in the heats. Tanishi then bettered her own effort in the final, touching the wall in 1:00.07s to set not only a new national record as well as the Best Indian Time. She also won a silver in the women’s 100m backstroke event. (PTI)
Vanshika misses sure-shot gold after bizarre 10m air pistol mix-up
New Delhi, June 19: In a bizarre and heartbreaking twist, junior women’s shooter Vanshika Chaudgary got confused while preparing to fire her final shot despite being on course for a gold medal, and potentially a world record, at the prestigious ISSF Junior World Championship in Suhl, leaving everyone in disbelief. Vanshika, competing in her maiden Junior World Championship, was comfortably leading and was all set for her final shot — one that would have secured her the gold medal even with a poor score. But in a stunning turn of events, the 21-year-old Vanshika remained motionless and failed to take her final shot, leaving the jury and range officials stunned. The announcer announced all the scores and said that, given the closeness of the contest, there could be a shoot-off, which Vanshika mistakenly interpreted as a command for a shoot-off, even though she still had to fire her final shot. National Rifle Association of India secretary-general Pawankumar Singh termed the incident “very unfortunate” and said a misunderstanding over the announcement led to Vanshika’s confusion. (PTI)
