At a time when Indian football is grappling with administrative uncertainty, inconsistent senior results, and shrinking professional opportunities, the AIFF Elite Youth League has quietly emerged as the most stable and meaningful pillar of the domestic ecosystem. Often described by coaches and academy heads as “the only thing working properly,” the 2025–26 edition of the…
The Women’s Hero Hockey India League (WHHIL) is set to return for its second season with growing confidence and heightened expectations, as Ranchi prepares to host 13 days of elite women’s hockey from December 28, 2025, to January 10, 2026. Following a successful inaugural edition that drew strong crowds and delivered competitive, high-quality hockey, the…
Sujeet Kalkal’s emergence in the Year of 2025 represents more than an individual breakthrough. It marks a turning point in Indian freestyle wrestling one shaped by institutional reform, technical evolution, and the gradual restoration of meritocracy after years of administrative instability. Kalkal’s rise in the 65kg category has coincided with a critical reset within the…
The commissioning of the Spituk Open Stadium near Leh marks one of the most significant infrastructure milestones in Indian sport outside the traditional metropolitan centres. Built under the Khelo India programme at an altitude of around 11,000 feet above mean sea level, the facility is now India’s highest football stadium and one of the highest…
After a difficult inaugural campaign in the Women’s Hero Hockey India League, SG Pipers head into the 2025–26 season with clear intent to reset and rebuild. Finishing at the bottom of the table last season with just two wins one coming via a shootout and scoring only four goals across six league matches, the Pipers…
As Indian men’s hockey prepares for one of its most demanding international cycles in recent years, Harmanpreet Singh and Hardik Singh see the Men’s Hero Hockey India League, HIL 2026 as far more than a domestic competition. For the two pillars of the national side, the upcoming HIL season represents a decisive phase in shaping…
Borja Herrera’s departure from FC Goa on December 26, 2025, is not an isolated personnel change but a telling reflection of the institutional paralysis gripping Indian professional football. The Spanish midfielder, a key figure in FC Goa’s recent domestic success and the only player to win three consecutive Super Cups, terminated his contract citing an…
The Senior National Badminton Championships in Vijayawada produced one of its most dramatic days on Friday as the women’s singles draw was thrown wide open following the exits of the top two seeds. Local favourite Surya Charishma Tamiri and seasoned campaigner Shruti Mundada delivered composed, straight-game victories to book their places in the semifinals, underlining…
Indian football stands at a critical juncture where long-term sustainability, investor confidence, and competitive integrity must coexist. The All India Football Federation’s proposed financial and participation framework for its top-tier league presents a detailed attempt to address these challenges through a structured revenue-sharing model, defined operational budgets, and investment protection mechanisms. At its core, the…
The 2025 BWF season’s prize money rankings offer a revealing snapshot of world badminton not just of who is winning the biggest titles, but also of who is consistently going deep into tournaments across the calendar. While China, Korea, Japan and Europe dominate the top end of the list, Indian Badminton presence across both men’s…
India’s next generation of badminton talent continued to make a strong impression at the Senior Nationals Badminton Championships in Vijayawada on Thursday, as Tanvi Sharma, Rounak Chauhan, and Tanvi Patri produced composed performances to advance to the quarterfinal stage. Competing against more experienced opposition, the trio underlined why they are regarded among the most promising…
India’s growing presence on the professional tennis circuit received a timely boost as Dhakshineswar Suresh was awarded a wild card entry into the singles main draw of the Bengaluru Open 2026, marking a significant milestone in the career of one of the country’s most promising emerging players. The landmark 10th edition of the Bengaluru Open,…
The Tata Open 2025 marks a symbolic and sporting high point for Indian professional golf. Returning to its original name after six years, the tournament once again takes centre stage as the season-ending event on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), bringing together history, high stakes, and a rapidly evolving domestic circuit in Jamshedpur….
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is shaping up to be the most commercially ambitious tournament in the history of global sport. Expanded to 48 teams and hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the event represents FIFA’s clearest attempt yet to fuse scale, geography, and revenue into a single mega-sporting product. At the centre…
The Senior National Badminton Championships witnessed a compelling mix of experience, resilience and emerging talent on Thursday as several lower-ranked players scripted notable upsets to reach the pre-quarterfinal stage in Vijayawada. In a tournament that traditionally rewards consistency and pedigree, the women’s singles draw saw seasoned campaigners and rising stars alike disrupt the established order,…
The Arjuna Award has always been more than a medal and a citation. Instituted in 1961, it is India’s most consistent barometer of sustained sporting excellence. But the 2024–25 cycle of National Sports Awards, culminating in the recently finalised Arjuna Award 2025 nominations, marks a deeper shift one that reveals how India now defines success,…
FC Goa’s AFC Champions League 2 journey ended the way it had unfolded for most of the group stage with promise early on, resistance for phases, and familiar disappointment at the final whistle. The 2–1 home defeat to Tajik champions Istiklol at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao did more than just close the…
For more than a century, the Mahalaxmi Racecourse has occupied a unique place in Mumbai’s geography and imagination. An expansive open tract in the heart of South Mumbai, it has been at once a sporting landmark, a colonial relic, and a rare visual relief in a city choking for space. Now, with the Mumbai Central…
The opening round of the Indian Women’s League IWL 2025–26 delivered exactly what the competition has promised over the years tight title-defining margins, emphatic statements from contenders, and early clues about who looks prepared for the long haul. Across two venues in West Bengal, defending champions East Bengal FC edged past a stubborn Sethu FC,…
The year 2025 will be remembered as one of the most defining and contradictory phases in Indian wrestling’s modern history. It was a season that exposed the stagnation of the senior elite on the world stage, even as a powerful new generation of junior and Under-23 wrestlers announced itself with authority. Layered beneath the competitive…
India’s leading women’s singles contenders and a clutch of emerging men’s players made an emphatic start to their campaigns at the 87th Senior Nationals 2025 Badminton Championships, as the early rounds in Vijayawada produced a mix of dominant performances, promising youth displays, and one notable upset. Top seed Unnati Hooda led the charge in the…
The withdrawal of City Football Group (CFG) from Mumbai City FC is not just the end of a high-profile partnership; it is the clearest indictment yet of the systemic failures that have engulfed Indian professional football. When one of the world’s most sophisticated multi-club ownership models decides that an ecosystem is no longer viable, the…
For the first time in few years, Indian tennis will have no representation in the single competition of the Australian Open, underlining the growing challenge faced by the country’s singles players on the global circuit. The entry cut-offs for the 2026 Australian Open qualifiers have effectively closed the door on Indian participation, with neither the…
Between 2023 and 2025, Indian archery has undergone a transformation that goes well beyond medals and headlines. What the sport has witnessed is a structural shift from occasional brilliance to sustained, system-driven dominance across recurve, compound, and para disciplines. India is no longer a challenger disrupting the established order; it is now shaping that order,…
The Inter-State Badminton Championships in Vijayawada delivered a compelling snapshot of Indian badminton’s present and future, as youth trumped experience in the women’s team event while depth and resilience defined the men’s final. Haryana, powered by a fearless trio of Unnati Hooda, Devika Sihag and Anmol Kharb, successfully defended their women’s team title, while Tamil…
Indian sport has spent the last decade trying to widen its competitive base beyond traditional disciplines, and few developments illustrate that shift better than the country being awarded the hosting rights for the Senior Asian Fencing Championship 2026. Scheduled to be held from June 18 to 26 at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi,…
Indian sports stands at a decisive inflection point, where long-standing governance structures are being tested against modern economic realities. The ongoing friction between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the Indian Super League (ISL) is not an isolated dispute over commercial rights or calendar control. It is a broader “BAR” test Bottlenecks, Accountability, and…
The professional breakthrough of Aashir Salim Vazhappilli at Al-Sailiya SC is more than a personal milestone for a 19-year-old midfielder. It is a case study in how Indian-origin footballers are finding stability, development and elite exposure outside a faltering domestic system, and how Gulf football particularly Qatar has emerged as a viable professional pathway rather…
The launch of the Kabaddi Champions League (KCL) has taken a significant step forward with Adroit Sports Ventures LLP announcing the acquisition of the Rohtak Royals franchise for the league’s inaugural season. Representing the city of Rohtak in Haryana one of kabaddi’s most fertile heartlands the franchise also revealed KMC Constructions Limited as its Strategic…
Indian sports ecosystem took a decisive step forward on December 22, 2025, when the Governing Body of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) cleared a wide-ranging set of infrastructure and technology upgrades across multiple national centers. Chaired by Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya, the meeting reflected a clear shift in philosophy…
Indian tennis received an encouraging boost ahead of the 2026 season with the release of the Australian Open junior singles main draw entry lists. The entry cut-offs, published on December 22, 2025, confirm direct main draw berths for two Indian players Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi in the girls’ singles and Arnav Paparkar in the boys’ singles…
As 2025 draws to a close, Indian football finds itself in one of the bleakest phases of its modern history. The convergence of competitive failure on the pitch, administrative paralysis off it, and an unresolved legal battle has pushed the sport into what can only be described as a structural crisis. The December 22, 2025…
The 79th Senior Men’s National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy marks one of the most consequential chapters in the competition’s long history. Established in 1941 as the bedrock of state-level football in India, the Santosh Trophy has often mirrored the health of the domestic ecosystem. The 2025–26 edition, however, goes a step further reflecting…
Alpine SG Pipers produced a performance of composure and clarity under pressure to dethrone two-time defending champions Triveni Continental Kings and lift the title at the third edition of the Global Chess League (GCL), a joint initiative of Tech Mahindra and FIDE. In a final that mirrored the unpredictability of the league stage, the Pipers…
Aryan Roopa Anand produced a career-best professional round to seize the opening-day lead at the IGPL Invitational Sri Lanka, firing a sensational 9-under 62 at the historic Royal Colombo Golf Club. Competing at the iconic venue for the first time, the two-time All India Amateur champion delivered a near-flawless performance to set the early pace…
As the second season of the Women’s Hero Hockey India League (HIL) approaches, Ranchi Royals find themselves in a familiar yet promising position building on continuity, strengthening key areas, and preparing to harness the energy of a passionate home crowd. With the tournament set to begin on December 28, the Royals will open their campaign…
Delhi Capitals have turned to continuity and character as they named India star Jemimah Rodrigues as captain ahead of the 2026 Women’s Premier League season. The 25-year-old, a core member of the Capitals setup since the league’s inception, takes over leadership duties as the franchise looks to finally go one step further after finishing runners-up…
For the first time in decades, Indian men’s hockey heads into a Hockey World Cup cycle not burdened by history, but buoyed by credibility. As the sport builds towards the 2026 FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup, to be held from August 14 to 30 across Wavre in Belgium and Amstelveen in the Netherlands, the conversation…
Hockey India’s announcement of free tickets for all matches of the Hockey India League (HIL) 2025–26, starting December 28, has been welcomed in many quarters as a step towards accessibility. At one level, the intent is noble. Stadiums look better when they are full, television visuals improve, and a sport that has struggled for sustained…
Continuity, clarity and confidence form the backbone of Soorma Hockey Club’s vision heading into the upcoming editions of the Hockey India League, and the franchise has underlined that intent by retaining its established on-field leadership. On December 23, Soorma Hockey Club (SHC) confirmed that Harmanpreet Singh will continue to lead the men’s team, while senior…
The final leg of the inaugural Indian Golf Premier League, IGPL Tour is set to deliver a fitting crescendo when the circuit heads to Colombo, Sri Lanka, later this month. Headlining the event will be history-maker Pranavi Urs, who will tee off alongside Indian golfing icon Jeev Milkha Singh in what promises to be a…
The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by Grand Slam Track (GST) in December 2025 marked the abrupt end of one of the most ambitious experiments in modern professional athletics. Conceived by four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson, the league promised to “fix” track and field by offering massive prize money, simplified formats, and star-driven storytelling outside the…
Indian sport is quietly undergoing its most significant transformation since liberalization. For decades, the ecosystem outside cricket functioned largely on emotion driven by individual passion, sporadic government grants, or corporate CSR support. Leagues were launched with enthusiasm but folded just as quickly, federations struggled with governance issues, and athletes operated in uncertain professional environments. That…
Padel’s formal inclusion as a medal sport at the Aichi–Nagoya 2026 Asian Games marks a turning point not just for the sport itself, but for the way emerging disciplines are being integrated into the global sporting ecosystem. Ratified by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) in November 2025, the decision signals that padel has crossed…
Indian football’s current crisis is not about the absence of money it is about where belief, trust, and perceived value truly lie. The contrast could not be starker. In late 2025, promoters and sponsors were willing to mobilize ₹150–200 crore to bring Lionel Messi to India for a short, high-profile promotional tour. At the same…
Indian sport has entered a decisive phase of institutional reform, with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports formally deferring Sports elections of all National Sports Federations (NSFs) until December 31, 2026. The decision, notified on December 22, 2025, is not an administrative delay but a deliberate structural pause designed to enable the full implementation…
The confirmation that Ahmedabad will host the 2026 AVC Men’s Nations Cup from June 20 to 28 marks a watershed moment for Indian volleyball, both symbolically and structurally. Far from being just another continental tournament, the event represents India’s re-entry into the serious competitive and administrative ecosystem of Asian volleyball at a time when the…
Experience and pedigree prevailed at the historic Cricket Club of India (CCI) courts on Sunday as top seeds Joshna Chinappa and Veer Chotrani clinched the women’s and men’s singles titles respectively at the 80th CCI Western India Squash Tournament, one of the most prestigious events on the domestic squash calendar. For Chinappa, the victory carried…
The sound of sticks on turf has returned to Ranchi, and with it, the familiar sense of anticipation that accompanies the Hero Hockey India League. For the SG Pipers women, the early days of training in Jharkhand mark more than a routine pre-season assembly. With the league scheduled to run from December 28, 2025 to…
When Sanskar Saraswat lifted the men’s singles title at the Guwahati Masters Super 100 earlier this season, the headline numbers told only part of the story. A 19-year-old qualifier, ranked outside the world’s top 350 at the start of the week, beating opponents ranked 44, 76, 107 and 188 to claim his maiden BWF World…
