All posts tagged: Indian Sports

Indian athletes who could be dark horses

Indian athletes who could be dark horses

Published by Webster

The highly anticipated 22nd edition of the Commonwealth Games is less than 10 days away. India will send contingent of 125 athletes to compete across 13 sports, including 5 para sports, at this exciting 10-day multi-sport extravaganza. The Indian contingent is a healthy blend of experienced campaigners and promising young talents, challenging a few of the world’s best athletes for the title. It features multiple Olympic medallists, including Neeraj Chopra, Mirabai Chanu, and Lovlina Borgohain, alongside rising stars such as Jadumani Singh, Gyaneshwari Yadav, and Pooja Singh. Here, The Bridge takes a look at some Indian athletes who could emerge as dark horses at Glasgow 2026. Rohit Yadav – Men’s Javelin Throw The 25-year-old enjoyed one of his most consistent seasons yet, being the only Indian to breach the 82m mark three times this year, highlighted by a personal best throw of 87.05m. He currently sits second in the 2026 world standings behind Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage (92.62m) and can challenge for a medal in Glasgow. However, he faces an exceptionally tough field featuring the …

World Boxing Cup China: India to test its bench strength in Guiyang city

World Boxing Cup China: India to test its bench strength in Guiyang city

Published by Webster

World No. 1 Minakshi and former World Cup champion Abhinash Jamwal will spearhead India’s challenge at the World Boxing Cup 2026 (Stage 2), scheduled to take place in Guiyang, China, from June 15 to June 21. India enters the tournament on the back of an impressive run in the previous World Cup cycle, where the team consistently secured multiple medals across stages and delivered a strong overall tally in the finals, underlining its growing stature on the global stage. The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has named a well-rounded squad featuring a blend of established performers and emerging talent across both men’s and women’s categories. India is sending their second strong team to the competition as the main team is currently preparing for the coming Commonwealth Games 2026. India currently stands third globally in terms of overall Top 10 ranked athletes, including a second-place position in the women’s category and fourth in the men’s. Notably, India leads the world in the women’s division when it comes to the Top 3 ranked athletes, highlighting its dominance …

Roy Kapur Films reveals Jaspal Rana biopic was in the works as Indian shooting legend dies at 49: ‘A true champion’

Roy Kapur Films reveals Jaspal Rana biopic was in the works as Indian shooting legend dies at 49: ‘A true champion’

Published by Webster

The Indian sports community is in deep mourning following the sudden passing of celebrated shooter and coach Jaspal Rana, who died at the age of 49 due to cardiac complications. Jaspal, an Asian Games gold medalist and the legendary mentor behind top Indian athletes like Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker, fell ill on his journey back to India from the ISSF World Cup in Munich. After experiencing chest discomfort, he was admitted to a Delhi hospital, where he underwent medical treatment, including a stent procedure, but tragically passed away on Friday. FILE IMAGE: Jaspal Rana is seen during the 4th Sajjan Singh Sethi Masters Shooting Championship, in Jalandhar, Punjab, (PTI) As heartfelt tributes poured in from across the nation, production house Roy Kapur Films shared a particularly moving message, revealing that they had been actively collaborating with the shooting icon on an upcoming biopic to bring his incredible journey to the silver screen. Roy Kapur Films shares an emotional tribute Roy Kapur Films took to Instagram to honor Jaspal Rana, paying a heartfelt tribute to his …

NRAI announces Indian shooting squad for the 2026 Asian Games

NRAI announces Indian shooting squad for the 2026 Asian Games

Published by Webster

National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), on Thursday, announced the 18-member Indian Rifle and Pistol contingent for the shooting programme of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. They combined with the 12-member Indian shotgun squad will form a strong Indian shooting team that will be fighting for medals across 28 events in Japan. After a gruelling 5-day final selection trials in Dehradun earlier this week, the Indian team has witnessed some surprising entries and big exits. One of the major decisions is that India will send only one athlete in the men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol event due to the limited quota of 30 athletes. Due to the quota restriction, India has also selected several shooters with lower national rankings who are capable of competing in two events. Two-time Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker is one of the shooters selected for two events, the women’s 25m pistol and the women’s 10m air pistol. Meanwhile, the other two Paris Olympic medalists, Sarabjot Singh and Swapnil Kusale, missed out on the team after finishing 9th and 29th, respectively, in the …

Manisha Bhanwala, Neha Sangwan clinch gold medals

Manisha Bhanwala, Neha Sangwan clinch gold medals

Published by Webster

Indian wrestlers continued their good showing to clinch two more gold medals on the second day of the Ulaanbaatar Ranking Series in Mongolia on Friday. Former Asian Champion Manisha Bhanwala (57Kg) and defending champion Neha Sangwan (59Kg) bagged the titles in the women’s freestyle wrestling. Manisha defeated senior world and Asian medalist Sim Son Il of North Korea in the final on a victory by fall to bag her second Ranking Series title of the year. Meanwhile, Neha defeated 5-3 Pyol Hong of North Korea in a close final to bag her second consecutive gold in Mongolia, following last year’s 57kg title. On the other hand, Neelam Sirohi and Sahil Kadyan bagged bronze medals in the women’s 50 kg category and men’s 60 kg Greco-Roman category, respectively. Neelam defeated Kazakhstan’s Maral Tangirbergenova while Sahil received a walkover against fellow compatriot Sumit Dalal, who suffered an injury in semis. In women’s 53kg, Meenakshi Goyat, who defeated Vinesh Phogat at Asian Games trials, failed to medal, losing to the home favourite Namuuntsetseg Ochir in repechage. The final …

PV Sindhu, Ayush Shetty exit in second round

PV Sindhu, Ayush Shetty exit in second round

Published by Webster

India’s singles campaign ended in the second round of the 2026 Indonesia Open as both PV Sindhu and Ayush Shetty lost in Jakarta on Thursday. Sindhu put up a good fight but still lost in straight games 17-21, 15-21 to the world no.1 An Se Young of South Korea in a gruelling 44-minute match. This was their 10th meeting, but Sindhu has still not found an answer to the powerful game of the most consistent player on the circuit right now. On the other hand, the youngster Ayush Shetty lost in three games, 21-16, 13-21, 14-21, to Lee Chiek Yiu of Hong Kong despite winning the first game. After a comfortable first game, the 21-year-old Indian failed to continue the momentum and was outclassed by Lee in an hour-long match. This is the third consecutive tournament where Ayush has failed to reach the quarterfinals, raising some concerns about his form ahead of the long season. India will have two more matches later in the day, where Hariharan Amsakarunan/ MR Arjun in men’s and Dhruv Kapila/ …

PV Sindhu enters BWF World Top 10 rankings after 31 months

PV Sindhu enters BWF World Top 10 rankings after 31 months

Published by Webster

Two-time Olympic medalist shuttler PV Sindhu on Tuesday returned to the BWF top 10 world rankings in the women’s singles after 31 months. After a couple of good performances in the last two weeks, she climbed up one position to now be placed 10th in the world rankings for this week. She had two quarterfinal finishes back-to-back this month at the Thailand Open and Singapore Open to achieve this feat for the first time since October 2023. She is currently competing at the Indonesia Open Super 1000 tournament, where she will look to build on her momentum and climb further up the world rankings. With this, India now has three entries in the BWF world top 10 rankings, followed by Satwiksairaj Rankireddy /Chirag Shetty in men’s doubles and Lakshya Sen (10th) in men’s singles. The dynamic men’s doubles pair remain the highest-ranked Indians, holding steady at world No. 4 after winning the Singapore Open title last week. Meanwhile, the young Indian women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand fell to 41st rank after …

Wrestler Deepak Punia turns accidental weight change to a golden opportunity

Wrestler Deepak Punia turns accidental weight change to a golden opportunity

Published by Webster

Lucknow: Olympian Deepak Punia returned to the Indian national wrestling team after a year by winning the Asian Games Trials here at SAI Lucknow on Sunday. Punia, who has been battling injuries for the past two years, suffered another setback recently when he was unable to cut weight for his usual 86kg category due to an injury. As a result, he was forced to switch to the 97kg weight class. However, the change didn’t affect him much, as he powered through the trials with some impressive victories. “I was only training for the 86kg category and had no plans to switch,” said Punia after his win. “But 5-6 days ago, I suffered a muscle tear that didn’t allow me to cut weight. So, I had no option but to move up to 97kg,” he added. The injury might have forced him to compete in 97kg, but Punia didn’t want to put on extra weight beyond his body’s tolerance and was only 95kg at the weigh-in. Despite that, he continued to dominate on the mat, especially …

Vinesh Phogat vs wrestling system, and sadly the champion is on the mat

Vinesh Phogat vs wrestling system, and sadly the champion is on the mat

Published by Webster

On that traumatic night before her gold-medal bout at the 2024 Olympics, a desperate Vinesh Phogat pleaded with the doctor to draw some blood out of her body. She had spent half an hour inside a 98 degree Celsius sauna, but sweat beads hadn’t surfaced on her severely dehydrated body. The coaches had cut her hair, even shortened her singlet, but still she weighed 57.1 kg — the stubborn extra 100 grams that eventually led to her disqualification weren’t being shed. Blood, sweat, a potential medical complication and even the possibility of permanent internal organ damage — Vinesh had risked everything to have a shot at a gold medal and history. She wasn’t going to let her country down. She would get sympathy and praise. The all-time great American wrestler Jordan Burroughs said Vinesh deserved a silver medal and that the weight rule needed to change. India’s top table tennis star Manika Batra would get emotional. “You’ve shown us what it means to chase dreams with passion and grace. India is proud to call you …

What does Vinesh Phogat’s first whereabouts failure mean?

What does Vinesh Phogat’s first whereabouts failure mean?

Published by Webster

The International Testing Agency (ITA) issued a warning to wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Monday for her first whereabouts failure related to out-of-competition dope testing. Under the World Anti-Doping Code, any athlete who accumulates three whereabouts failures within 12 months will receive a minimum two-year suspension from professional sport. Vinesh, who has announced her comeback to wrestling recently, has just received her first warning and hence will not be banned or provisionally suspended at the moment. She can compete at the Senior Open Ranking Tournament in Gonda from 10-12 May, which is the final chance for the athletes to get an entry in the national camp for Asian Games trials. It will mark her return to the competitive fold, having reversed her retirement in December last year. Although there is speculation that this news has been timed to divert attention from Vinesh’s recent social media statement, it must be noted that the ITA warning has no relation to it. In her post, Vinesh had identified herself as a victim of sexual harassment by former Wrestling Federation …