Recent 6 months news in Sports

The union government has constituted a Search-cum Selection Committee for the National Sports Board. The committee is established under the National Sports Board (Search-cum Selection Committee) Rules, 2026, framed in accordance with the National Sports Governance Act, 2025.

The committee is chaired by Dr TV Somanathan. Its members include Hari Ranjan Rao, Lt General (Retd) Harpal Singh, and two National Sports Awardees, Gagan Narang and N Kunjurani Devi.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, an Italian driver representing the Mercedes Formula 1 (F1) team, has won the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix (GP). He becomes the youngest winner in the history of the event.

Savitha Baskar, a 19-year-old Indian International Master (IM), has won the gold medal on tie-breaks at the Women’s Asian Individual Chess Championship 2026, held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Afruza Khamdamova of Uzbekistan secured the silver medal, while Song Yuxin of China claimed the bronze. In the Open section of the championship, Kong Xiangrui of China won the gold medal.

The 125th edition of the French Open 2026 was held at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France.

Alexander Zverev (Germany) won the men’s singles title by defeating Flavio Cobolli (Italy), while Mirra Andreeva (Russia) won the women’s singles title by defeating Maja Chwalinska (Poland). The men's and women's singles champions was awarded €2.8 million.

Marcel Granollers (Spain) and Horacio Zeballos (Argentina) retained the men’s doubles title (Jacques-Brugnon Cup). Katerina Siniakova (Czechia) and Taylor Townsend (USA) won the women’s doubles title (Simonne-Mathieu Cup), while Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori (Italy) won the mixed doubles title (Marcel-Bernard Cup).

The World Yogasana Championship 2026 was held at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The championship was organized by World Yogasana, Yogasana Bharat, and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The official mascot of the event was ‘Veer the Lion’.

India dominated the medal tally by securing 114 medals (102 gold, 9 silver, and 3 bronze) with a 122-member contingent. Abhay Burman secured the first gold medal for India. Japan ranked second with 3 gold medals, followed by Argentina in the third position.

India, captained by Ketan Kushwaha, clinched the gold medal at the Hockey U18 Asia Cup 2026 by defeating Japan 4–1 in the final of the men's category. The tournament, organized by the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF), was held in Kakamigahara, Japan.

Ashish Purti was named Player of the Match in the final and finished as the tournament’s top scorer with 13 goals, while Ayush Rajak was adjudged the Best Goalkeeper.

The Indian Women’s U18 Hockey Team, led by captain Sweety Kujur, secured the bronze medal after a 3–0 victory over South Korea. China claimed the gold medal in the women’s category by defeating Japan 2–1, while Nousheen Naz of India emerged as the top scorer with 12 goals.

The 22nd edition of the Asian U20 Athletics Championships 2026 was held at the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground in Hong Kong, China, featuring 45 sporting events. The event was organised by the Asian Athletics Association (AAA).

China topped the medal tally with 25 medals (14 gold), followed by India in second position with 19 medals (10 gold, 5 silver, and 4 bronze). Japan secured the third position.

Indian gold medalists include Nitin Gupta (Men 5000m Race Walk), Amanat Kamboj (Women Discus Throw), Pooja Singh (Women High Jump), Muskan (Women 5000m), and the Women 4x400m Relay Team comprising Bhumika, Tahura, Sehnoor, and Neeru.

KS Bharat, an Indian wicketkeeper-batter, has announced his retirement from international cricket after a 7-Test career. He now intends to pursue opportunities in overseas T20 leagues.

In domestic cricket, he represented the Andhra cricket team and holds the distinction of being the first wicketkeeper-batter to score a triple century in the Ranji Trophy.

The 14th edition of the annual international chess tournament, Norway Chess 2026, was held in Oslo, Norway, featuring both the Open section and the 3rd Norway Chess Women tournament. Both tournaments featured a prize fund of NOK 1.69 million each, with the winner of each section receiving NOK 700,000.

Indian Grandmaster (GM) Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa won the Open section with 18 points, becoming the first Indian to claim the title after defeating Vincent Keymer of Germany in the final round. GM Bibisara Assaubayeva of Kazakhstan secured the title in the 3rd Norway Chess Women tournament.

India has won the 8th edition of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Women’s Championship title, defeating the defending champion Bangladesh by 3-1 in the final. The tournament was held at the Fatorda Stadium (Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium) in Goa and featured 6 participating nations.

Individual honours were awarded to Sanfida Nongrum (Most Valuable Player or MVP), Aveka Singh (top scorer with 4 goals), and Panthoi Chanu Elangbam (Best Goalkeeper). Nepal received the Fair Play Award. It is to be noted that this victory marks a record-extending 6th SAFF Women’s Championship title for India.

Lionel Messi, the captain of Inter Miami CF, has been conferred with the Princess of Asturias Award for Sports 2026. He becomes the first individual footballer to receive this honour.

The award recognises his sporting achievements, global influence, and philanthropic efforts in supporting education and healthcare for disadvantaged children.

India has won 10 medals including 2 gold, 3 silver, and 5 bronze at the U17 Asian Wrestling Championships 2026 held in Da Nang, Vietnam.

The championship was organised by the United World Wrestling (UWW). In the Women’s Wrestling (WW) category, Diksha (43 kg) and Garima (73 kg) have won gold medals.

India has secured the hosting rights for the 2027 Asian Relay Championships and the 2028 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships, marking the first time both events will be hosted in India.

The decision was finalized by the Asian Athletics Association (AAA) during an executive council meeting in Hong Kong, chaired by Dahlan Al Hamad. The 2027 Asian Relay Championships will be held at the Sector 7 Sports Complex in Chandigarh, while the 2028 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships will be hosted at the Kalinga Stadium complex indoor facility in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) has won the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, defeating Gujarat Titans (GT) by 5 wickets in the final held at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.

Led by Rajat Patidar, RCB achieved their second consecutive championship, becoming the third franchise in IPL history to defend their title after Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. The winning team was awarded a prize money of ₹20 crore, while the runner-up received ₹12.5 crore.

Virat Kohli (RCB) was named the Player of the Match in the final and became the first cricketer to complete 9,000 runs in the IPL. Kagiso Rabada of GT claimed the Purple Cap with 29 wickets.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi of Rajasthan Royals secured the Orange Cap for scoring the most runs (776 runs). He also received Player of the Series, Emerging Player of the Season, Most Valuable Player (MVP), Best Strike Rate Award, Fantasy Player of the Season, and the Most Sixes Award.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, an Italian national racing for Mercedes, has won the Formula One (F1) Canadian Grand Prix (GP) 2026.

Swara Lakshmi Nair, a chess player from Bengaluru has secured the Woman International Master (WIM) title. She achieved this milestone at the Ptuj International Masters tournament held in Slovenia.

It is to be noted that she is the first WIM from Bengaluru and the second WIM from Karnataka, following Isha Sharma who achieved the title in 2019.

Vijay Shankar, an Indian all-rounder from Tamil Nadu, has announced his retirement from domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL). The decision was made to enable him to explore opportunities in various overseas cricket leagues.

Bharat Singh Chauhan has been re-elected as the Chairman of the Commonwealth Chess Association (CCA) for the 2026–2030 term. The re-election took place during the Annual General Body Meeting of the organization held in Wasakaduwa, Sri Lanka.

It is to be noted that the CCA has announced the launch of a new tournament, the “Commonwealth School Chess Championship”, with its inaugural edition scheduled to be hosted in Malaysia in October 2026.

Kami Rita Sherpa, a Nepali mountaineer popularly known as the “Everest Man”, has broken his own world record by scaling Mount Everest for the 32nd time in the male category. In the female category, Lhakpa Sherpa, popularly known as the “Mountain Queen”, has also broken her own world record by completing her 11th successful ascent of the peak.

It is to be noted that Mt Everest stands at an elevation of 8,849 m (29,032 feet) on the Nepal–China border. The peak is referred to as “Sagarmatha” in Nepali and “Chomolungma” in Tibetan. It was first successfully scaled in 1953 by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

The Asian Weightlifting Championships (AWC) 2026 was held at the Mahatma Mandir Convention & Exhibition Centre in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Organised by the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF), this event marked the 54th edition of the men’s tournament and the 35th edition of the women’s tournament.

China topped the medal tally with 41 medals (including 21 gold), followed by North Korea with 30 medals and Chinese Taipei with 13 medals. India secured a total of 10 medals, comprising 1 silver and 9 bronze. Gyaneshwari Yadav won a silver medal in the women’s 53kg snatch event and a bronze medal in the overall category.