SQUASH
Senthilkumar, Chotrani advance in Washington
Reigning males’s nationwide champion Velavan Senthilkumar and Veer Chotrani superior within the Squash on Fireplace Open in Washington with hard-fought first-round wins within the PSA Bronze-level occasion.
World no. 46 Senthilkumar rallied to beat England’s Tom Walsh 12-14, 11-8, 11-8, 11-6, and can subsequent meet Mexican World no. 11 and second seed Leonel Cardenas.
Chotrani edged out Hungary’s Balazs Farkas 6-11, Sep 11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-3. The World no. 49 will tackle French World no. 19 and fourth seed Baptiste Masotti subsequent.
Girls’s Nationwide champion and seventh seed Anahat Singh obtained a first-round bye.
-Staff Sportstar
CRICKET
India begins on a excessive in combined incapacity England sequence
India bought off to a robust begin within the historic five-match combined incapacity T20I sequence in opposition to England, registering a convincing seven-wicket victory over England within the opening match on the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Stadium, Higher Noida, on Thursday.
Batting first after dropping the toss, England placed on a aggressive 173 for five in its allotted 20 overs. England captain Callum Flynn set the early tempo with an aggressive 26 off 16 balls, whereas Lian O’Brien anchored the innings with a composed 55 off 41 deliveries, placing 4 boundaries and three sixes.
Wicketkeeper-batter Angus Grant Brown added useful runs within the latter half, scoring a fluent 53 off 34 balls to make sure England crossed the 170-run mark.
India’s bowlers maintained self-discipline throughout key phases of the innings. Akash Singh and Vivek Kumar picked up vital wickets at essential moments, stopping England from constructing sustained partnerships and holding the goal inside attain.
In response, India chased down the whole with confidence, reaching 175 for 3 in 18.5 overs. The chase was spearheaded by wicketkeeper-batter Yogendra Bhadoria, who delivered a match-winning efficiency with an impressive 94 off 59 balls. Bhadoria’s innings, which included six fours and 5 sixes, offered stability and momentum all through the run chase.
Bhadoria obtained ready help from Akash Singh, who performed a quickfire knock of 36 off simply 15 balls, placing at a formidable fee and placing stress again on the English bowlers.
The win provides India a 1–0 lead within the sequence. The second T20I can even be performed in Higher Noida.
-Staff Sportstar
GOLF
Sharma closes with 4 birdies in spherical of 66 to lie third in Bahrain
Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma fired 4 closing birdies for a stable 6-under 66 to be tied third on the opening day of the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship.
Sharma, who appears to have lastly develop into snug along with his new set of golf equipment, was behind co-leaders Alejandro del Rey of Spain and German Alexander Schott, who carded 7-under 65 every.
India’s different participant within the area, Yuvraj Sandhu, additionally had a very good begin with 2-under 70 and was Tied-Thirty first.
Patrick Reed winner of the Dubai Desert Traditional final week, who introduced he was leaving LIV, shot 1-under 71 and was Tied-59th.
Sharma, a two-time winner who misplaced his card on the finish of 2025, additionally regained his rights quickly after by ending tied second within the Qualifying Faculty.
Sharma’s first occasion of 2026 was the Hero Dubai Desert Traditional, the place he missed the minimize. Additionally lacking the minimize was Yuvraj Sandhu, who earned a Tour card by topping the Order of Benefit on the home PGTI Tour in India.
In Bahrain, Sharma had a fantastic day with the putter. Ranging from the tenth, birdied the twelfth and the 14th, however he dropped a shot on the fifteenth. A birdie on the sixteenth ensured he turned in 2-under.
On the second 9, the entrance facet of the Royal Golf Membership in Bahrain, Sharma parred the primary 5 holes after which caught hearth. He birdied the sixth from 17 ft, the seventh from 14 ft and the eighth and ninth from nearly seven ft every. On the primary 9, he birdied the twelfth from slightly below 30 ft.
Sandhu, additionally ranging from the tenth, birdied the tenth however gave it again on the subsequent gap. Three birdies in a row from the fifteenth to the seventeenth noticed him flip in 3-under. On the second 9, he birdied the third, however dropped pictures on the sixth and the eighth to complete at 2-under 70.
Co-leader Del Rey was bogey-free in his spherical of 65, whereas Schott had six birdies in his first seven holes from the tenth. He had two birdies, an eagle, a bogey, and a double bogey on his second 9 for a complete of 65 for the day.
-PTI
FOOTBALL
23-member Indian squad go away for Pokhara to play SAFF U19 Girls’s C’ship
A 23-member Indian workforce have set out for Pokhara, Nepal, to take part within the SAFF U19 Girls’s Championship 2026, scheduled from January 31 to February 7.
India will take part within the event with its U17 squad, which is getting ready for the AFC U17 Girls’s Asian Cup China 2026.
Earlier than the event, the Younger Tigresses had camped in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, and travelled to Nepal on Thursday.
The four-team SAFF U19 Girls’s Championship will probably be performed in a round-robin format, adopted by a ultimate between the highest two groups on February 7.
India will face Nepal (January 31), Bangladesh (February 2), and Bhutan (February 4).
All matches will probably be performed on the Pokhara Stadium and streamed stay on the Sportzworkz YouTube Channel.
India’s 23-member squad for the SAFF U19 Girls’s Championship
Goalkeepers: Munni, Shelna Maria Sajit, Surajmuni Kumari.
Defenders: Akashi Naik, Alena Devi Sarangthem, Alisha Lyngdoh, Binita Horo, Divyani Linda, Elizabed Lakra, Joyshini Chanu Huidrom, Taniya Devi Tonambam.
Midfielders: Abhista Basnett, Alva Devi Senjam, Anita Dungdung, Julan Nongmaithem, Pritika Barman, Redima Devi Chingkhamayum, Shveta Rani, Thandamoni Baskey.
Forwards: Anushka Kumari, Anwita Raghuraman, Pearl Fernandes, Valaina Fernandes.
Head coach: Pamela Conti
India Match schedule
India vs Nepal – 14:45 IST, January 31
Bangladesh vs India – 11:45 IST, February 2
India vs Bhutan – 11:45 IST, February 4
-Staff Sportstar
BADMINTON
Isharani Baruah stuns second seed to enter Thailand Masters quarters
India’s Isharani Baruah upset second seed Sung Shuo Yun of South Korea to enter the ladies’s singles quarterfinals of the Thailand Masters badminton occasion right here on Thursday.
The world quantity 48 from India performed exceptionally to down thirty fourth ranked Sung 21-13, 14-21, 21-14 in a hard-fought spherical of 16 contest.
Baruah’s compatriot Devika Shaig too knocked out a seeded participant, Taipei’s Tung Ciou-Tong with a 21-14, 21-14 victory to enter the final eight stage.
Nonetheless, seventh seen Kiran George from India went down in opposition to Indonesia’s Prahdiska Bagas Shujiwo 16-21, 11-21 in one other ladies’s singles spherical of 16 conflict to exit the event.
Within the males’s singles, Tharun Mannepalli narrowly bought previous Taipei’s Ting Yen-Chen 21-17, 14-21, 24-22 to enter the quarterfinals.
His compatriot Mithun Manjunath got here up quick in opposition to Lee Zii Jia, dropping 21-11, 16-21, 12-21 within the spherical of 16.
-PTI
Revealed on Jan 29, 2026