Indian sports activities wrap, February 23: Senior Nationals Kabaddi Championship to be held from February 24-27

KABADDI

As many as 31 groups from throughout the nation with round 400 gamers will likely be competing when the 72nd Senior Nationals Males’s Kabaddi Championship is held on the Sama Indoor Complicated in Vadodara from February 24 to 27.

Organised below the aegis of the Newbie Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI), the match will function a mixture of seasoned veterans in addition to rising stars.

Gamers who carried out exceptionally within the Professional Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 12 will even be seen in motion.

Among the many standout names to look at are the highest three raiders from PKL Season 12—Ayan Lohchab (Haryana), Devank Dalal and Bharat Hooda (Providers).

Ashu Malik, who led Dabang Delhi to a title-winning marketing campaign final season, will characterize Railways, whereas Arjun Deshwal will as soon as once more shoulder management duties as he leads Uttar Pradesh.

The match will even put the highlight on rising skills equivalent to Deepak Sankar (Tamil Nadu), who recorded 64 deal with factors for Bengaluru Bulls and was named the New Younger Participant of the Season in PKL 12.

Maharashtra will likely be represented by Puneri Paltan raider Aditya Shinde, who accrued 159 raid factors, together with 5 tremendous raids.

Haryana defender Nitesh Kumar, one other breakout performer with 65 deal with factors and 5 Excessive 5s, will even be a part of the championship, together with promising gamers Anil (Himachal Pradesh) and Uday Parte (Madhya Pradesh).

Defending champion Providers, boasting a star-studded lineup together with Devank Dalal, Naveen Kumar, Bharat Hooda, Ankit Jaglan and Jaideep Dahiya, will enter the match aiming to retain their title.

Railways, Haryana and Maharashtra, backed by equally formidable squads, are anticipated to current sturdy challenges, setting the stage for a fiercely contested championship.

The match will even function a significant platform for elite and rising gamers, with constant performances usually paving the best way for choice into nationwide camps, the Indian staff {and professional} leagues.

-PTI

TENNIS

Maha Open: Two Indian hopefuls exit in last qualifying spherical

Belarus’ former top-50 star Ilya Ivashka brought on a significant upset, ousting prime seed Federico Agustin Gomez in an exhilarating three-set opener on the Maha Open ATP Challenger 75 on Monday.

Ivashka, set to show 32 on Tuesday, held his nerve to say a 6-1, 1-6, 7-6(7) win in 2 hours and 25 minutes, securing his spot within the second spherical at Balewadi Tennis Stadium in Pune.

Ivashka in motion.
| Photograph Credit score:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Japan’s Yuta Shimizu produced a medical efficiency to defeat Italy’s Lorenzo Carboni 6-4, 6-4. Britain’s Alastair Grey battled previous Poland’s Daniel Michalski 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in a hard-fought contest, whereas Croatia’s Duje Ajdukovic additionally superior comfortably with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Korea’s Shin San-hui.

Two Indian hopefuls exited as Takuya Kumasaka of Japan beat S. D. Prajwal Dev 6-4, 6-2, and Tung-Lin Wu of Chinese language Taipei edged previous Digvijaypratap Singh 7-5, 6-4 within the last qualifying spherical.

Japan’s Maks Kasnikowski, Masamichi Imamura, YusukeTakahashi and Malaysian Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong have been the opposite qualifiers.

-PTI

GOLF

Indian Golf Premier League secures USD 100 million franchise dedication, unveils staff homeowners

The Indian Golf Premier League on Monday introduced a USD 100 million capital dedication from 10 franchise companions throughout the nation, with every investor pledging roughly USD 10 million over a 10-year interval, signalling a long-term push to professionalise and increase the game.

The IGPL staged its inaugural professional tour final 12 months, comprising 11 occasions performed in a 54-hole, mixed-gender, no-cut format with a prize purse of Rs. 1.5 crore per match. The tour included occasions in India, Dubai and Colombo.

The physique had, in July final 12 months, introduced plans for a city-based franchise league, initially slated for a January-February window. Whereas the occasion didn’t materialise as scheduled, IGPL on Monday confirmed the franchise possession particulars for the upcoming version.

The franchise rights have been awarded to Hyderabad (Phoenix), Mumbai (Atri), Kolkata (Flyingman Academy), Delhi (RVR Infra), Chennai (Vimtra Ventures), Visakhapatnam (Inexperienced Fuels), Goa (Auro Realty), Bengaluru (GolfKonnekt), Punjab (Krishna Auto) and Gurugram (Honer Properties Consortium).

“This isn’t a conventional sports activities funding, it’s a strategic platform for enterprise amplification and nation-building by means of sports activities,” Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO of IGPL, mentioned.

“Our franchise companions come from Pharma, Infrastructure, Actual Property, and Enterprise Capital, and so they see IGPL as a multi-decade alternative to construct a sports activities tradition whereas leveraging the platform for his or her core companies. The USD 100 million dedication displays their conviction in our imaginative and prescient.”

The IGPL mentioned the league format, match schedule, and participant public sale particulars will likely be introduced within the coming weeks.

Past league operations, the franchise companions have collectively dedicated USD 250 million in direction of infrastructure improvement, together with plans to construct compact eight to 10-acre golf services in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and rural areas.

The IGPL additionally launched its 2026 calendar for the primary leg of its tour, which is able to start with the IGPL Invitational at Chandigarh Golf Membership from March 11 to 13, adopted by the IGPL Invitational Mauritius from April 9 to 11 at Heritage Golf Membership, hosted by Leander Paes.

The tour will then transfer to Royal Johannesburg Golf Membership in South Africa from April 15 to 17, earlier than heading to Golf Membership Lubumbashi in Congo from April 20 to 22.

One other IGPL Invitational is scheduled from Could 27 to 29 at a venue but to be introduced, whereas the Bharath Basic 2026 will likely be staged from June 4 to 7, with the venue but to be confirmed.

The IGPL additionally outlined a world enlargement roadmap, focusing on a presence throughout India, Africa and the Center East in its inaugural 12 months, with plans to function in 5 international locations throughout the subsequent three to 4 years.

“We’re not simply making a league, we’re constructing an ecosystem. From village programs to international tournaments, IGPL will make golf accessible, aggressive, and commercially viable,” Mundy mentioned.

“Our three-continent launch technique and infrastructure mandate place us as a transformative drive in international golf, not simply Indian golf.”

Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh is co-founder and model ambassador of the IGPL, which has the backing of the Sports activities Ministry, the Indian Golf Union, the Ladies’s Golf Affiliation of India and the Asian Tour.

Jeev Milkha Singh, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Jyoti Randhhawa, Shiv Kapur, SSP Chawrasia and Gaurav Ghei are related to the league as mentors, opponents and ambassadors.

Apparently, the Skilled Golf Tour of India (PGTI) has additionally launched its inaugural version of ‘72 The League’ with the primary day of play scheduled for Tuesday on the ITC Basic Golf & Nation Membership in Gurugram.

The league, which is able to rotate throughout three premier Delhi-NCR programs, is a fast-paced match-play staff format that includes singles, four-ball, and foursomes.

-PTI

Shubhankar finishes Forty eighth, Veer is 53rd in Kenya

Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma carded a advantageous three-under 67 to complete Tied-Forty eighth on the Magical Kenya Open in Nairobi.

Veer Ahlawat (69) completed T-53rd. India’s third participant within the area, Yuvraj Sandhu, had missed the reduce.

Sharma, ranging from tenth, had 4 birdies towards one bogey in his first 9 and turned in three-under, and on his second 9 he had an eagle but additionally had three bogeys and one other birdie.

Veer had six birdies but additionally gave away 5 bogeys.

-PTI

WINTER SPORTS

Khelo India Winter Video games inaugurated

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday inaugurated the sixth version of Khelo India Winter Video games at a well-known ski resort in Gulmarg.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was additionally current on the event.

Sinha mentioned the Khelo India Winter Video games at Gulmarg has developed from a easy sporting occasion into a real nationwide competition.

“Khelo India Winter Video games revive the sporting spirit’s beliefs of peace, equality, and camaraderie. In our vibrant, various nation of myriad languages, cultures, and traditions, the Winter Video games at Gulmarg is serving as a common language and shared heritage,” he mentioned.

The four-day occasion at India’s premier winter sports activities vacation spot will witness the participation of round 1,000 athletes and officers from varied states and UTs in numerous disciplines.

-PTI

KIWG: Military makes rousing begin; Himachal Pradesh, CRPF additionally win gold

Military made an emphatic begin to the Gulmarg leg of the Khelo India Winter Video games, profitable three of the 5 gold medals at stake on Monday.

CRPF and Himachal Pradesh additionally completed among the many gold medals on the primary day.

It was not a day for the favourites as veterans like Bhavani Thekkada Nanjunda of Karnataka and Aanchal Thakur of Himachal Pradesh have been usurped by skiers who’ve been doing effectively within the nationwide circuit.

Younger Jiah Aryan, all of 17 and one in every of India’s upcoming skills in Alpine snowboarding from Karnataka, gained a bronze in her second Khelo India Winter Video games (KIWG).

Jiah lined up towards seniors like Aanchal and Sandhya Thakur, who’ve represented India on the Asian Winter Video games in Harbin, China, final February. Himachal Pradesh’s Sandhya beat Aanchal in a good race on the Kongdoori slopes.

It was an emotional day for CRPF’s Kajal Kumari Rai, who gained the gold within the 15km Nordic snowboarding (cross-country) for girls on the Gulmarg Golf Course. Kajal relegated hot-favourite Bhavani to the bronze in a superb end.

The Meghalaya-born Kajal devoted her gold to her father, who died final 12 months in February. CRPF’s Renu Danu gained the silver. Bhavani had gained a hat-trick of gold medals in KIWG 2025.

Military’s Sunny Singh gained the day’s first gold medal within the males’s dash in Nordic snowboarding. Sunny has been profitable medals for the Military on the KIWGs commonly, and on Monday, the Kathua skier, who has educated on the Excessive Altitude Warfare College in Gulmarg, led an Military 1-2-3 within the opening occasion earlier than the inauguration ceremony happened on the Golf Course.

-PTI

MORE SPORTS

Kanyakumari claims avenue cricket title at Chief Minister’s Youth Sports activities Pageant

Chengalpattu district clinched the ladies’s kabaddi title, with Tiruchirappalli ending second and Karur third, within the State-level competitions of the Chief Minister’s Youth Sports activities Pageant – Idhu Namma Aatam 2026.

In males’s tug-of-war, Tiruvannamalai emerged champion, forward of Erode and Salem, whereas Thanjavur topped the ladies’s tug-of-war occasion, with Krishnagiri and Tenkasi ending second and third, respectively. In males’s avenue cricket, Kanyakumari claimed the title, adopted by Villupuram and Ramanathapuram.

The State-level competitions have been held on the Nehru Park Sports activities Complicated in Chennai, the place 1,221 athletes participated, and 99 gained medals. The Tamil Nadu authorities has allotted Rs. 42.87 crore to conduct the competition on the block, district and State ranges, with Rs 20.75 crore earmarked as prize cash.

Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin introduced the medals and cheques for prize cash to the winners on the venue on Monday.

-Staff Sportstar

Revealed on Feb 23, 2026