BADMINTON
Devika wins Azerbaijan International
India’s promising women’s singles player Devika Sihag bagged her second consecutive title on the international circuit while Sathwik Reddy K and Radhika Sharma clinched the mixed doubles title in the Azerbaijan International badminton tournament in Baku.
Devika, who had become only the third Indian women’s singles player to win a BWF World Tour Super 300 title at the Thailand Masters last week, continued her title winning streak by beating compatriot Navya Kanderi 21-10, 21-13 in the final.
Speaking to BAI Media after the title triumph, Devika said she was happy with the way she played these two weeks despite not training a lot. “I will now have almost a month to train before I play my next tournament and I am looking forward to it,” said Devika, who is hoping to get entry in the Swiss Open with her improved ranking.
Earlier, national champions Sathwik and Radhika kept their nerves under pressure to upset third seeds Mihajlo Tomic and Andjela Vitman 24-22, 10-21, 24-22 in an hour and two minutes.
– Team Sportstar
CHESS
Esports Nations Cup 2026 adds chess to its lineup
Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) on Sunday announced chess as the latest of 16 titles that national teams and players will compete in at the inaugural Esports Nations Cup 2026 (ENC), set to debut in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 2 through 29.
The chess tournament at ENC will begin on November 2 and will conclude with the playoff final on November 8.
The opening portion of the tournament will consist of 128 players competing in a round-robin group stage, featuring 16 groups of eight players. The top four players from each group will advance to the next stage.
The second stage will consist of 64 players competing in a single-elimination playoff bracket.
All group stage matches will be best-of-two. All Round of 64 and 32 matches will be best-of-two, while the quarterfinals and beyond will be best-of-four. Armageddon games will be used as tie-breakers.
The event will be played in a Rapid 10+0 time control format.
A total of 64 players from 64 nations will be directly invited based on the official Champions Chess Tour (CCT) rankings, 56 players will qualify through regional qualifiers and players will receive wildcards.
Chess will feature two regional qualifiers in each region, taking place on June 6-7 and June 13-14. Each Qualifier will consist of two stages; a Swiss stage and a double-elimination stage, with four players from each qualifier making it to ENC, giving a total of eight players per region. Qualifiers will be operated by Chess.com, and hosted in North America (8 slots), South America (8), Africa (8), Western Europe (8), Eastern Europe (8), Middle East + India + Central Asia (8), and East Asia + Southeast Asia + Oceania (8).
Every nation can have up to two representatives at the event.
“Playing for Gen. G at the Esports World Cup was a great experience for me. The energy there was amazing and unlike any chess tournament I’ve played before. It’s really exciting to see chess becoming part of the esports world and reaching so many new people. I’m looking forward to the Esports Nation Cup and can’t wait to start competing again.” said India No. 1 Arjun Erigaisi.
– Team Sportstar
KICKBOXING
India’s first kickboxing league launched
The Kickboxing Super League (KSL) was unveiled on the sidelines of the WAKO India National Championship in New Delhi.
The launch on Saturday took place in the presence of senior government representatives, national sports officials, athletes, coaches, and stakeholders from across the Indian sporting ecosystem.
“KSL aims to professionalise kickboxing in India by introducing structured competition, athlete contracts, performance-linked rewards, and a clear pathway from grassroots to elite competition,” said the organisers in a release.
Season one will feature eight franchise teams, each comprising 34 fighters.
“The league has committed to a 60:40 men-to-women participation ratio, reinforcing its focus on inclusivity and women’s participation,” the release added.
The league will also confer a Mega Performance Award of up to Rs 1 crore on the best-performing fighters, said the organisers.
Co-founder Ajay Adlakha emphasised the league’s institutional approach.
“KSL is being developed with strong governance, transparent systems, and sustainable economics. Our vision is to build a league that benefits athletes, partners, and the larger sports ecosystem, while standing up to global benchmarks,” he noted.
– PTI
TENNIS
Strong start for Indians in Coromandel Chennai Open ATP Challenger qualifying
Indian players enjoyed a strong start at the Coromandel Chennai Open ATP Challenger Men’s International Tennis Championship 2026, as nine local players won their first-round qualifying matches at the SDAT Tennis Stadium, Nungambakkam, on Sunday.
Fourth seed Nitin Kumar Sinha had a comfortable outing against compatriot Oges Theyjo Jaya Prakash, winning 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and three minutes, while sixth seed Ishaque Eqbal registered a dominant 6-2, 6-0 victory over Great Britain’s Carl Holder in exactly one hour.
Indian players also produced notable upsets. Sai Karteek Reddy Ganta, who entered the draw as an alternate, knocked out fifth seed Grigoriy Lomakin of Kazakhstan 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, while 20-year-old left-hander Aryan Lakshmanan eased past eighth seed Vadym Konovchuk of Ukraine 6-2, 6-1.
In the closest match of the day, 12th seed Aditya Vishal Balsekar battled for close to three hours before edging past fellow Indian Lohithaksha Bathrinath 7-6, 4-6, 6-4. Tenth seed Adil Kalyanpur also came through a three-set contest, defeating compatriot Atharva Sharma 7-5, 4-6, 6-1.
Third seed Timofei Derepasko avoided an upset as he beat Indian wildcard Aniketh Venkataraman 6-1, 6-4.
The top two seeds in the qualifying draw — India’s S.D. Prajwal Dev and Malaysia’s Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong received byes into the final round of qualifying, which will be played on Monday.
A total of 12 players will compete for six qualifying spots in the 32-player main draw of the ATP Challenger 50 event.
Great Britain’s Jay Clarke is the top seed in the singles main draw, followed by Argentina’s Federico Agustin Gomez, Great Britain’s Oliver Crawford, and Ilia Simakin. Seven Indian players, led by top-ranked Sumit Nagal, Karan Singh, and 18-year-old Manas Dhamne, are already in the main draw.
With four all-Indian final-round qualifying matches scheduled for Monday, India is set to have a strong presence, with the total number of Indian players in the main draw expected to rise to 11.
-Team Sportstar
MOTORSPORT
Basil Sunny wins maiden National Supercross title
Ernakulam rider Basil Sunny clinched his maiden national crown at the finale of the MRF MoGrip FMSCI Indian National Supercross Championship in Visakhapatnam.
The premier SX1 class belonged to Pune’s Rugved Barguje, who reclaimed the national crown after the challenge from Ikshan Shanbagh ended midway through the last moto.
Barguje, a five-time national champion, relied on consistency and race craft rather than risky heroics, to win his sixth national title.
It was another TVS rider, Prajwal Vishwanath who won the ‘Rider of the Day’ in the final round but was not in contention for the crown.
In the novice category, Coimbatore’s Shailesh Kumar of TVS Racing emerged as a standout performer to secure the national title.
The Indian Experts class saw Banteilang Jyrwa of Shillong stamp his authority on the championship with commanding rides through the season, while the Private Experts division crown went to Abhi S Nath, also from Coimbatore.
Jinendra Sangave dominated the Junior SX1 category, while Pune’s Chaitanya Joshi claimed the 85cc Junior SX2 title.
In the youngest championship class, Junior SX3, Vismay Ram Y topped the standings to bag the national title.
– PTI
Published on Feb 08, 2026
