Anmol Ekka to lead India jr hockey team in Belgium exposure tour
New Delhi, June 30: Defender Anmol Ekka will lead a 22-member Indian Junior (U-21) men’s hockey team at the upcoming exposure tour of Belgium, scheduled from July 5 to 18. The tour will be the team’s first assignment under coach Frederic Soyez of France and will serve as a key preparatory phase ahead of the Junior Asia Cup later this year. The exposure tour is expected to provide valuable international match experience while helping the team test its combinations and playing style ahead of the continental tournament. India will face Austria on July 7 and 8 before taking on hosts Belgium on July 10 July. They will next take on Germany on July 13, Belgium again on July 14 and conclude the tour against the Netherlands on July 17. (PTI)
Men’s T20 WC 2027: Bermuda qualify for Americas Qualifiers
Bermuda, June 30: Bermuda have secured qualification for the Americas Qualifier 2027 for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after finishing first at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Americas Qualifier A on home soil. After a no-result due to weather on the opening day, Bermuda showcased their talent by overcoming every opponent convincingly and completing a flawless campaign that earned them a spot in the regional qualifier. Delray Rawlins was crucial in Bermuda’s win, picking up the Player of the Tournament trophy after an exceptional campaign, which was capped by an historic 121 against Brazil. The Bahamas finished in second place, followed by Panama in third, Belize in fourth, and Brazil finishing bottom of the five-team table, according to a report on the ICC website. (IANS)
Shameena, Semwal enter quarters in Mumbai PSA Challenger
Mumbai, June 30: India’s Shameena Riaz and Om Semwal produced stunning upsets to storm into the quarterfinals of the USD 15,000 HCL-SRFI PSA Challenger squash tournament, knocking out top seed Hayley Ward of South Africa and third seed Diego Gobbi of Brazil respectively here on Tuesday. Shameena, who grabbed the last spot on the Indian team for the Asian Games, rallied from the loss of the first game to outwit Hayley 8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9. She will meet Japans’ sixth seed Akari Midorikawa who scored a straight game win over Korean opponent Bo Ram Ryoo. The 22-year-old Semwal notched up a 6-11, 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9 victory over Gobbi to set up a meeting with Egypt’s eighth seed Ziad Ibrahim who took out India’s fifth seed Suraj Kumar Chand 11-4, 11-6, 11-5. In other matches featuring Indians, third seed Tanvi Khanna outplayed Pooja Arthi Raghu 3-0, while fifth seed Suraj Kumar Chand lost in three games to Egypt’s Ziad Ibrahim. (PTI)
India’s VALORANT team qualifies for Esports Nations Cup 2026
Riyadh, June 30: India have booked their place in the VALORANT main event at the Esports Nations Cup (ENC) 2026 following a resilient campaign in the Asia regional qualifiers. The team emerged as one of only two sides from the region to qualify for the global esports competition, which will be held here from November 2 to 29. VALORANT at ENC 2026 features 32 teams competing for a prize pool of USD 1.5 million. Sixteen countries and territories received direct invitations from the Esports Foundation through the ENC Rankings, which are based on performances in official Riot Games competitions. The remaining 14 qualification spots were decided through regional online qualifiers across Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Middle East and North Africa, North America, South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia and Oceania. The first stage of VALORANT at ENC 2026 will begin with all 32 qualified teams competing in a round-robin group stage, featuring four groups of eight teams. The top four teams from each group will advance to a 16-team single-elimination playoff bracket. All group stage matches will be best-of-one. All playoff matches (excluding the Grand Final) will be best-of-three. The Grand Final will be played in a best-of-five format. (PTI)
