CRICKET
TG20: Diamonds outbat Risers in 58-run thrashing
For Karimnagar Diamonds, the formula has been simple: bat first, post a 200-plus score powered by a century partnership, and victory follows. It worked for the third straight match as Diamonds cruised to a 58-run win over Ranga Reddy Risers in a TG20 clash at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday.
Tanmay Agarwal and Aryan Cariappa gave Diamonds a flying start, adding 42 runs in four overs before Tanay Jaddu dismissed the former. Tanay Thyagarajann then removed Satwik in the following over to briefly swing the momentum towards Risers.
Rahul Radesh and Hrishikesh Simha steadied the innings before launching a counterattack. They plundered 49 runs in three overs from the ninth, wresting control back from Risers.
Rahul survived a dropped catch by Nanavath Rakesh at deep midwicket on 46 and made the most of the reprieve, reaching his fifty in 28 balls. Hrishikesh followed with a 31-ball half-century as the pair stitched together a 65-ball 123-run stand – the tournament’s fourth-highest partnership – to propel Diamonds to 230 for five.
Risers’ chase faltered from the outset. Rathlavath Dinesh struck in the opening over to dismiss Avanish Rao and later removed Gnana Prakash Reddy, while Shubham Sharma accounted for Aaron George as Risers slumped to 51 for three inside the PowerPlay.
Aditya Javvaji and Alankrith Rapole briefly revived the innings before Rahul’s sharp glovework ended Aditya’s stay on 48. T.V.S. Narayana then delivered the decisive blow, dismissing Alankrith and Tanay Thyagarajann off successive balls in the 12th over. The double strike triggered a collapse as Risers folded well short.
SCORES
Karimnagar Diamonds 230/5 in 20 overs (Rahul Radesh 72, Hrishikesh Simha 60) bt Reddy Risers 172/9 in 20 overs (T.V.S. Narayana Teja 3/25).
-Anirudh Velamuri
SQUASH
HCL-SRFI PSA Challenger: Tanvi through to final
Third seed Tanvi Khanna kept Indian hopes alive by advancing to the women’s final of the HCL Squash PSA Challenger Tour-Mumbai at the Juhu Vile Parle Gymkhana Club on Thursday.
Khanna emerged as the lone Indian left in title contention after overcoming Japan’s Akari Midorikawa in a hard-fought 44-minute semifinal. Khanna will now face second seed Farida Walid of Egypt, who prevailed in an all-Egyptian contest against Nour Khafagy in 50 minutes to book her place in the title clash.
In the men’s draw, top seed Velavan Senthilkumar bowed out after a disappointing semifinal defeat to second seed Yassin Shohdy of Egypt. Shohdy dominated proceedings as the Indian failed to impose himself, bringing an end to the home challenge in the men’s event.
Semifinal results:
Men: Md. Syafiq Kamal (Mas) bt Ziad Ibrahim (Egy) 2-11, 11-1, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-9; Yassin Shohdy (Egy) bt Velavan Senthilkumar (Ind) 11-4, 11-8, 11-5.
Women: Tanvi Khanna (Ind) bt Akari Midorikawa (Jpn) 11-4, 9-11, 11-7, 3-11, 11-4; Farida Walid (Egy) bt Nour Khafagy (Egy) 11-8, 10-12, 11-4, 11-9.
-PTI
CHESS
Gupta, Kannan maintain joint lead after third round in Pune International Grandmaster chess
India’s Abhijeet Gupta and USA’s Vaidyanathan Kannan remained joint leaders despite playing out draws in their respective matches in the third round, tied at 2.5 points each at the Pune International Grand Master Round Robin Event here on Thursday.
The third day of the event saw a tight contest between the two rising stars as India’s 11-year-old Advik Agarwal held the 13-year-old Kannan to a hard-fought draw.
In another game, IM Nitish Belurkar sprang a surprise when he held the top seed Gupta for a draw.
IMs S Ashwath and Kushagra Mohan shared a point after a close battle, but Sri Lanka’s LMST de Silva recorded an upset by defeating GM Alexei Fedorov.
GM Aleksej Aleksandrov of Belarus, meanwhile, scored a comfortable victory over India’s Akshay Borgaonkar.
-PTI
MORE SPORTS
Ambedkar Stadium to host 45-team Oriental Cup from July 7 to 16
The fourth edition of the Oriental Cup will be held here at Dr Ambedkar Stadium from July 7 to 16, with more than 45 school teams from across Delhi-NCR set to compete.
The inter-school football tournament is expected to feature over 1,500 student-athletes with more than 50 matches to be played across the boys’ Under-17 and girls’ Under-19 categories.
The organisers also announced scholarships worth Rs 2.5 lakh for 10 outstanding players, aimed at encouraging youngsters to continue pursuing football beyond the tournament. The overall prize pool has also been more than doubled compared to previous editions.
Fareed Bakshi, founder, said the organisers were focused on making the tournament one of the country’s premier school football competitions.
“Our long-term vision is to become India’s leading inter-school football tournament. Our immediate focus is to deliver our strongest edition yet, but over time we intend to expand to several states across the country,” Bakshi told PTI.
Bakshi said preparations for the tournament were in the final stages, with the organisers looking to further increase participation before the competition begins.
“We already have more than 45 teams and are hoping to reach the 50-team mark before the tournament begins. We are also partnering with football influencers in Delhi to increase awareness of the Oriental Cup,” he added.
The organisers said participation among girls’ teams has grown steadily since the inaugural edition. This year’s competition is expected to feature more than 25 teams in the boys’ Under-17 category and over 16 teams in the girls’ Under-19 category.
Since its inception in 2023, the tournament has engaged more than 55 educational institutions and NGOs, with over 2,700 young footballers taking part across its first three editions and more than 80 competitive matches being conducted.
-PTI
GOLF
Diksha Dagar takes joint lead in Belgium
Indian golfer Diksha Dagar shot a bogey-free 4-under 68 take a joint lead after round one of the Hulencourt Women’s Open in Belgium.
Dagar is searching for her third on the Ladies European Tour.
Dagar was sharing the lead with Nadia Van der Westhuizen of South Africa, who still had three holes to play, and Bronte Law of England, who had six to play.
Meghan Maclaren of England, Pia Babnik of Slovenia and Kirsten Rudgeley of Australia had finished their rounds with 2-under 70 each.
Among other Indians in the field, Aditi Ashok was 1-under through 12 holes and provisionally tied 10th while Avani Prashanth finished her round with even par 72 and was T-21. Pranavi Urs (73) was T-36.
Dagar birdied the 10th and the 14th and turned in 2-under. She added birdies on first and sixth and parred the rest for a 68 that should help her stay in the mix.
– PTI
Published on Jul 02, 2026
