Current Affairs - Sports

India emerged victorious in the Men’s Asia Cup Hockey, defeating South Korea 4-1 to secure its 4th title. The goals came from Sukhjeet, Amit Rohidas, and Dilpreet Singh, who scored twice, giving India a commanding win. This triumph also earned India a direct qualification spot for the 2026 Men’s Hockey World Cup to be held in the Netherlands and Belgium. After an 8-year gap, India reclaimed continental hockey supremacy, reflecting its strong preparation, teamwork, and resilience. To celebrate the achievement, Hockey India announced cash rewards of ₹3 lakh for players and ₹1.5 lakh for the support staff.

The ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 is scheduled to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka from September 30 to November 2, 2025. Matches will be played across five venues, with Pakistan’s fixtures specifically set to take place in Colombo. The tournament will feature eight teams—India, Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan—competing in 28 league matches under a round-robin format. The knockout stage venues will be finalised depending on Pakistan’s qualification. Australia enters the tournament as the defending champion, having already secured seven titles, making them the most successful team in Women’s World Cup history.

The North Eastern Zone Badminton Championship was inaugurated in Tripura by Chief Minister Manik Saha. The event brought together more than 200 players from different northeastern states including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Sikkim. Tripura has recently invested heavily in sports infrastructure, building eight synthetic turfs, two tracks, and two indoor halls. In addition, floodlights were installed at Agartala’s Avananta football ground to allow night play. Future plans include constructing two more indoor halls, setting up a 200-bed hostel, and creating 50 open gyms across the state to encourage wider sports participation and nurture local talent.

The World Boxing Championships is scheduled to commence in Liverpool, United Kingdom, marking the first edition under the newly formed governing body, World Boxing. This tournament is notable for bringing both men and women together in the same championship structure. India, coming off a strong 2023 performance with four women’s gold medals in Delhi and three men’s bronzes in Tashkent, is fielding a balanced team. Star boxers like Nikhat Zareen in the 51kg category and Lovlina Borgohain in the 75kg category will headline India’s campaign. Hosting the championships in Liverpool underscores the city’s growing profile in international sporting events.

New Delhi has been selected to host the prestigious Badminton World Championships in August 2026. This marks a significant event for India, as the country will organise the tournament after a gap of 17 years, the last time being in Hyderabad in 2009. The official announcement was made during the closing ceremony of the 2025 Paris championships, where the symbolic handover took place involving the BWF president, the French federation chief, and the Badminton Association of India’s general secretary. Hosting this championship highlights India’s growing stature in global badminton and showcases New Delhi as a major international sports destination.