Recent 6 months news in Sports

Harshita Jakhar, a 19-year-old cyclist from Rajasthan, becomes the first Indian woman to feature in the Tour de France Femmes.

She was selected by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) as one of only 8 riders worldwide for the UCI World Cycling Talent Programme.

India finished 4th in the medal tally at the 23rd Commonwealth Games (CWG) held in Glasgow, Scotland, with a total of 39 medals (13 gold, 17 silver, and 9 bronze). Australia topped the medal table with 171 medals (70 gold), followed by England and Canada, while Scotland finished 5th.

India secured 13 gold medals across boxing (7), para-athletics and athletics (3), judo (2), and weightlifting (1). In boxing, India set a record for the most gold medals by any nation at a single CWG with 7 wins by Preeti Pawar, Sakshi Chaudhary, Jaismine Lamboria (closing flag-bearer), Priya Ghanghas, Arundhati Choudhary, Sachin Siwach, and Ankush Panghal.

In Judo, Asmita Dey and Harsh Singh captured the nation's first-ever gold medals in the sport. Saikhom Mirabai Chanu won gold in the women's 48kg weightlifting category, achieving a historic hat-trick of CWG titles and becoming the second Indian athlete after Vinesh Phogat to accomplish this.

In para-athletics and athletics, Sharmila Dhankar (Women's Shot Put F57), Soman Rana (Men's Shot Put F57), and Dilip Gavit (Men's 100m T47) won gold, with Gavit setting a new CWG record.

The 23rd CWG, held under the patronage of King Charles III, featured 10 sports and 6 integrated para-sports, with Gabon and Togo making their debut, and 'Finnie' serving as the official mascot. Scotland's Melanie Woods (Para-athletics) was honoured with the David Dixon Award.

It is to be noted that the 2030 CWG (Centenary Edition) will be hosted in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, marking India's second time hosting the event following the 2010 edition in New Delhi.

India secured the 3rd position with a total of 4 medals, including 1 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze medals at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup, held at the Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre in Hangzhou, China.

Esha Singh has won the gold medal in the Women's 25m Pistol event. China topped the medal tally with 18 medals (7 gold), followed by the USA.

Viswanathan Anand, a 5-time World Chess Champion and the Deputy President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), has assumed charge as the Interim President of FIDE.

He takes over following the voluntary suspension of duties by the incumbent President, Arkady Dvorkovich.

Nicolas Otamendi, an Argentine footballer, has announced his retirement from international football at the age of 38, concluding a 17-year-long career.

He made 139 appearances for the national team. He will continue his professional club career, having joined Club Atletico River Plate.

The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) and the Cerebral Palsy Sports Federation of India (CPSFI) have signed an MoU in New Delhi, to jointly pursue the bid to host the 2029 World Abilitysport Games in India.

Chennai and Bhubaneswar (Odisha) are under consideration as potential host cities for the event.

Grandmaster (GM) S Rohith Krishna from Tamil Nadu has won the gold medal at the inaugural Menuires International Chess Championship 2026, held at Le Break des Menuires, France.

GM Raja Rithvik from Telangana secured the silver medal at the event.

Pakistan is set to host the 14th edition of the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games in March 2027. The multi-sport event is expected to feature athletes from 8 South Asian nations.

It is to be noted that the SAF Games were established in 1981 in New Delhi to promote friendship and goodwill among the member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The SAARC member countries include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Iya Krish, an 8-year-old mountaineer from Kerala, has become the youngest person from Asia to scale Mount Toubkal (4,167 m), the highest peak in North Africa located in the Atlas Mountains.

She completed the 42 km trek during a 3-day expedition organized by Greenway Adventures Travel & Tourism LLC.

India secured 29 medals including 5 gold, 13 silver, and 11 bronze at the inaugural Asian Under-19 (U-19) & U-23 Boxing Championships 2026 held in Jakarta, Indonesia. India finished third in the medal tally, while Uzbekistan topped the table with 33 medals (21 gold), followed by Kazakhstan.

The gold medalists for India include Chandrika Bhoresh Pujari (U-19, 51 kg), Prachi (U-19, 57 kg), Nisha (U-23, 54 kg), Vishvanath Suresh (U-23, 50 kg), and Ganga (U-23, 55 kg).

Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Badminton Association of India (BAI) President and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma have unveiled the official mascot 'Peacko' and the championship anthem for the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships 2026 in New Delhi.

The mascot 'Peacko' is inspired by the Indian Peafowl. The 30th edition of the BWF World Championships will be hosted at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.

The Indian Deaf Women’s Cricket Team has won the inaugural Women’s Twenty20 International (T20I) series against the Sri Lanka Deaf Women’s Cricket Team with a 5–0 victory. The series was held at the De Soysa International Cricket Stadium in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.

Shradda Vaishnav was named the 'Player of the Final', while Reddy Jyoshna was adjudged the 'Player of the Series'.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved format changes for the Men's One Day International (ODI) World Cup and the Men's Twenty20 (T20) World Cup during its annual board meetings held in Edinburgh, Scotland.

From 2027, the 14-team ICC Men's ODI World Cup will transition to a 4-stage format, increasing the total number of matches from 48 to 57 and introducing a 'Super 7' round-robin stage. The 20-team ICC Men's T20 World Cup will feature 5 groups of 4 teams, followed by a 'Super 10' stage (replacing the Super 8) and Eliminators.

PV Sindhu has won the women's singles title at the Japan Open 2026, becoming the first Indian player to win this tournament. She defeated the 3-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the final held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. She received a prize money of $66,500 for this victory.

In the men's singles category, Christo Popov of France claimed the title by defeating Koki Watanabe of Japan.

The Spain football team, captained by Rodri, has won the 2026 FIFA World Cup, defeating Argentina by 1-0 in the final held at the New York New Jersey Stadium (MetLife Stadium), USA. The tournament, which featured 48 participating teams, was co-hosted by the USA, Canada, and Mexico.

Ferran Torres scored the match-winning goal in the 106th minute and was named the Man of the Match, while Luis de la Fuente became the oldest manager to win a FIFA World Cup.

Individual tournament awards: Golden Ball - Rodri (Spain); Golden Glove - Unai Simon (Spain); Best Young Player - Pau Cubarsi (Spain); Golden Boot - Kylian Mbappe (France) with 10 goals (first back-to-back winner); and FIFA Fair Play Award - Netherlands. The tournament prize money structure awarded $51 million to the champions.

India finished 4th in the medal tally with 16 medals (3 gold, 4 silver, and 9 bronze) at the inaugural Asian Under-23 (U23) Athletics Championships held at the Ordos Sports Development Center Stadium in Ordos, China. The championship was organized by Asian Athletics.

China topped the medal standings with 52 medals, including 23 gold, followed by Japan and Uzbekistan. The gold medals for India were secured by the Mixed 4x400m Relay team, the Women's 4x400m Relay team, and Anand Singh in the Men's Javelin Throw event.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) has granted conditional recognition to the Judo Federation of India (JFI), allowing the body to resume governance of the sport and participate in national and international competitions.

It is to be noted that the JFI had been operating under the supervision of a court-appointed administrator since 2022. An interim Executive Committee has been elected to lead the federation, with Mukesh Kumar as President, Banee Brata Das as Secretary General, and Shailesh Shrikant Tilak as Treasurer.

The Indian Women Cricket Team, captained by Harmanpreet Kaur, defeated England by 270 runs in the first ever Women Test match held at the Lord's Cricket Ground in London.

Yastika Bhatia (113 runs) became the first woman to record a Test century at this venue. Debutant Kranti Gaud was awarded the Player of the Match for her performance, taking 12 wickets in the match, including a five-wicket haul.

Charles Leclerc, a Monacan national racing for Ferrari, has won the Formula One (F1) British Grand Prix (GP) 2026.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has inducted former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly into the ICC Hall of Fame during its Annual Conference held in Edinburgh, Scotland. He becomes the 12th Indian overall and the 10th Indian male cricketer to be inducted.

Kevin Pietersen (England) and Anjum Chopra were also inducted into the Hall of Fame. Anjum Chopra, the former captain of the women cricket team of India, is the first female player from India to play 100 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and score 1,000 runs in the format. It is to be noted that the total count of ICC Hall of Fame members has reached 125.