Current Affairs - Sports

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.

India is set to make history by sending its first official pickleball team to the World Cup in Florida, scheduled from October 27 to November 2. The Indian Pickleball Association (IPA) organised two-day national selection trials in Ahmedabad, with more than 140 players competing across Open, U-16, and 50+ categories. Following the trials, the selected players will undergo specialised high-performance training to prepare for the international challenge. The tournament is sanctioned by the Global Pickleball Federation, marking a significant step in India’s growing engagement with this fast-emerging sport.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has entered into a strategic partnership with Google to enhance the global visibility and accessibility of women’s cricket. This collaboration leverages Google’s wide range of products, including Android, Google Gemini, Google Pay, and Google Pixel, to provide fans with live updates, highlights, personalised content, and localised experiences. With the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 in India and Sri Lanka, and the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in England and Wales approaching, this alliance is expected to significantly boost fan engagement, inspire younger audiences, and foster greater participation in women’s cricket worldwide.