Indian sports wrap, July 11: Pinkathon returns to Chennai after seven years

ATHLETICS

Pinkathon set to bring thousands of women together in Chennai for celebration of health and fitness

Marking its return to Chennai after seven years on August 1 and 2 at the Island Grounds, Pinkathon will feature race categories ranging from 3 km, lifelong 5 km and 10 km to ultra-distance events of 50 km, 75 km, 100 km and the 100 km relay.

The event, welcoming women across all age groups and fitness levels, is set to feature runners like Zoha Sanofer, a babywearing mother in the 3km category; Nandita Muralidhar, a cancer survivor leading the lifelong 5km; Gaytheri M, a visually impaired runner in the 10km field; Geetha Manichandar, a 65-year-old runner in 50km; and Deborah Sushma Lall, a working professional in the 75km category.

Over the years, Pinkathon has inspired close to a million women across India to embrace running as a means of building confidence, community and long-term well-being. Milind Soman, founder of Pinkathon, said: “Every city adds a new chapter to the Pinkathon journey, and returning to Chennai after seven years is particularly special. We’ve always believed that when women come together through fitness, they inspire change not just in themselves but within their families and communities as well. We look forward to seeing Chennai once again embrace this movement and celebrate the many stories of strength that will unfold on race day.”

Founded in 2012, Pinkathon has evolved from a single-city run into a nationwide movement. Following successful editions across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, and Pune, the Chennai edition marks another key milestone in the 2025–26 calendar, continuing to reinforce that fitness knows no ability or circumstance.

-Team Sportstar

CRICKET

Sagar Trivedi starred with bat and ball to hand Ossudu Accord Warriors an important win.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Pondy Premier League: Trivedi stars in Ossudu win

Skipper Sagar Trivedi struck his second fifty of the Shriram Capital-Pondicherry Premier League 2026 season to help Ossudu Accord Warriors beat Ruby White Town Legends by 16 runs on Saturday for their third victory in as many outings.

Left-handed Trivedi (54, 23b, 2×4, 6×6) put on 66 for the eighth wicket with P Thamaraikannan (25) to help his side recover from 99/7 and post a competitive 172/9 after being put in to bat first at the Siechem Stadium.

Pacer Trivedi dismissed chancy Darshan Rajagopal for 61 in a tight finish to derail RWTL’s chase and send them to their third loss in three games.

-Team Sportstar

GOLF

Aditi makes the cut at Evian Championship as Lottie Woad leads

Indian golfer Aditi Ashok added another decent round of 1-under 70 to ensure a safe passage into the weekend rounds of the Evian Championship.

A five-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, Aditi is now 2-under for 36 holes and Tied-38th.

Aditi is playing her 38th Major, a record by a large margin for any Indian male or female golfer. This is the fifth time she has made the cut in nine appearances at this Major. Women have five Majors as against four for men.

Aditi had four birdies against three bogeys in her second-round 70.

She bogeyed the first and second and then birdied the seventh, and added more birdies on the 10th, 15th and 16th. Apart from the first and second, she also dropped a shot on the 17th.

England’s Lottie Woad fired an excellent round of 7-under 64 to claim top spot at 11-under-par at the halfway stage.

Japan’s Aki Iwai, who led by two strokes overnight, teed it up in the afternoon wave in France and made early birdies on the 11th, 12th and 15th holes before dropping a shot on 17.

Iwai then made another birdie on the first before nearly acing the second, leaving herself a tap-in birdie.

However, the LPGA Tour winner made a double bogey on the sixth to drop back to 10-under-par and sit in solo second place.

Korea’s Haeran Ryu and Japan’s Mao Saigo share third place on eight-under-par after they both produced rounds of 68 (-3) on day two.

Four players are in a tie for fifth place with England’s Charley Hull, France’s Nastasia Nadaud, Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul and Japan’s Miyu Yamashita all at six under par.

The cut fell at even par, with 66 players making it through to the final two rounds.

-Press Trust of India

SQUASH

Ananya beats Janet in Chennai HCL Squash PSA Challenger first round

Ananya Narayanan beat Janet Vidhi in four games in the women’s first round of the HCL Squash PSA Challenger Tour-Chennai at the Indian Squash Academy in the southern Indian metropolis on Saturday.

CHESS

Indian GM Iniyan wins 6th La Plagne Open

Indian Grandmaster Iniyan Pa triumphed at the 6th La Plagne Open International Chess Tournament, delivering an unbeaten performance in the Masters category here.

The tournament, which concluded on Friday, featured 142 players from 20 countries, including 13 Grandmasters and 22 International Masters. Iniyan scored 7.5 points from nine rounds to claim the title.

The 23-year-old Indian remained unbeaten, registering six wins and three draws to finish as the clear winner.

After receiving a first-round walkover and drawing his second-round game, Iniyan steadily built momentum with two consecutive victories.

Following another draw in Round 5, he sealed the title with three successive wins, including crucial victories over GM Luca Moroni of Italy, who finished third, and IM Danyil Mosesov of Ukraine, who secured the runner-up spot.

Heading into the final round with a one-point lead, Iniyan needed only a draw to confirm the title. He comfortably achieved the result by drawing his final-round game against IM Aronyak Ghosh of India, securing the championship outright.

Aronyak finished joint third alongside Diptayan Ghosh, with both players scoring 6.5 points.

The victory marks Iniyan’s fourth tournament title this year and his second classical chess title of 2026.

-PTI

Published on Jul 11, 2026