Author: Abhishek Mishra

After a disappointing Day 1 at the BWF World Championships in Paris, there was something to smile for the Indian contingent on Tuesday. PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy and Rohan Kapoor/Ruthvika Gadde won their opening matches to march into the Round of 32. It was a bad Monday for badminton lovers of the country a day earlier, as Lakshya Sen, Swetaparna Panda/Rutuparna Panda and Priya Konjengbam/Shruti Mishra bowed out in the opening round. Women’s Singles Sindhu, facing the lower-ranked Kaloyana Nalbantova of Bulgaria, won 23-21, 21-6. As the scoreline suggests, Nalbantova played out of her skin in the first game and…

By Abhishek Mishra in Chennai After a challenging phase following the Asian Games gold medal in 2023, India’s most successful women’s javelin thrower, Annu Rani has rediscovered her. From struggling to edge past the 60m mark, to clearing it like a routine practice in competitions, it tells the story of her redemption. On Saturday at the National Senior Interstate Athletics Championship in Chennai, she stamped her authority with a first throw of 61.05m. That was enough for the Uttar Pradesh athlete to clinch gold. Deepika, a 19-year-old from Haryana, clinched the silver with an impressive throw of 57.19m, breaking the…

By Abhishek Mishra in Chennai On a rain-affected third day at the National Senior Inter-State Athletics Championship in Chennai, the focus was on the 110m hurdles final. Under a gloomy sky and persistent evening showers, India’s national record holder aimed for a strong performance to gain crucial ranking points at this B-category meet – a last chance to qualify for the World Championship in Tokyo. Tejas Shirse sailed past every hurdle to claim gold. Despite the win, the Maharashtra athlete walked away with a hint of dissatisfaction. The slippery track and tricky conditions proved to be a real hurdle for…

Abhishek Mishra in Chennai On a warm evening at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai, Vishal TK ran a blistering 45.12s in the men’s 400m final at the National Senior Interstate Athletics Championship. He crossed the line well ahead of his state mate Rajesh Ramesh (46.04s) and Vikrant Panchal of Haryana (46.17s). The 21-year-old from Tamil Nadu not only bagged gold but also shattered the national record. The previous mark of 45.21s stood for six long years in the name of Kerala’s Muhammed Anas Yahiya. Vishal bettered it by 0.09 seconds, a significant margin in a 400m. As the…

Abhishek Mishra in Chennai The highlight of Day 2 at the National Senior Interstate Athletics Championship was Vishal TK’s blistering golden run in the men’s 400m. Spurred on by local crowd support, the 21-year-old quarter-miler from Tamil Nadu wrote a new national record, clocking an impressive 45.12s. This marked Vishal’s fifth sub-46s time of the season. The earlier record was in the name of Mohammed Anas of Kerala and was unbeaten for six long years. Local knowledge played a part in the result and the subsequent record. “This is my home ground,” said Vishal after the record-breaking run. “I have…

Abhishek Mishra in Chennai Every athletics meet has its highlight, and for track and field fans, it’s generally always the explosive 100m sprint that creates most excitement. In humid conditions on Day 1 of the National Senior Interstate Athletics Championship at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai, S Tamilarasu, a 23-year-old young local boy, blazed the track in style, outpacing a stacked field to claim the 100m gold medal. When the result flashed on the scoreboard, everyone was in awe. He had clocked 10.22 seconds, his personal best and the joint fourth-fastest timing by an Indian ever. Tamilarasu edged past…

Indian javelin star Neeraj Chopra has secured his spot in the 2025 Diamond League Final in Zurich, Switzerland, as per the latest rankings updated on the Diamond League website, on Sunday. The final is scheduled from August 26 to 28 in the Swiss capital. The reigning World Champion will take part in his fourth Diamond League final of his career. He earlier qualified in 2022, 2023 and 2024, winning the title in 2022 and finishing as runner-up in the last two finals. Incidentally, his 2022 title came in Zurich; the city that is going to host this year’s tournament. The…

The draws for the BWF World Championships 2025 are officially out. The badminton competition will be held in Paris from August 25-31. A total of 382 players will take part. The men’s singles draw has 64 players, and for the first time, the women’s singles will also feature 64 players instead of 48. Each event has 16 seeded players according to the world rankings published on August 5. For India, it will be a tough challenge, given the current form of the shuttlers and the draws. The challenge will be led by PV Sindhu, India’s most successful player at the…

Under the floodlights at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Murali Sreeshankar stepped onto the run-up for his final attempt at the World Athletics Continental Tour bronze meet. He saved his best for that jump. He sprinted forward, taking 18-19 strides before hitting the take-off board, and soared through the air crossing almost 90% of the sandpit. The scoreboard flashed 8.13 metres. It was the long-jumper’s best performance of the season. Sreeshankar overshadowed the impressive effort of Shahnawaz Khan. The 17-year-old from Uttar Pradesh had led for most of the event with a career-best leap of 8.04m. The athlete from Palakkad, Kerala…

Abhishek Mishra The 1st Indian Open, World Athletics bronze meet concluded successfully, on Sunday (August 10). The one-day meet saw amazing support from the crowd. Kalinga Stadium was turned into a cauldron of energy, an almost packed stadium buzzing with school kids and local sports fans. The event witnessed standout performances from Murali Sreeshankar, Annu Rani, Animesh Kujur, Malaysia’s Muhammad Fahimi, and Sri Lanka’s javelin star, Rumesh Pathirage. Long Jump The highlight of the meet was Muarli Sreeshankar’s stunning leap of 8.13m in the long jump event, leaving the crowd in awe. Murali, before the last attempt, was at the…