On a day where young pugilists delivered an action-packed series of close bouts, U-13 boxers Jigar Saroj and Samarsinh Patil stood out, registering high-scoring wins in the finals of their respective weight categories in the Dream Sports Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) inter-school boxing tournament at Azad Maidan on Wednesday. Jigar of Holy Cross High School (Worli) outpunched Adish Mishra of Gopal Sharma International (Powai) 88–85 in the 34kg U-13 final, while schoolmate Samarsinh Patil followed up with an 87–84 victory over Reyaansh Parab of Gopal Sharma International (Powai) in the 36kg U-13 final. Meanwhile, the 44kg U-13 title went to Archith Varma of Gokuldham (Goregaon), who secured an Referee Stopped Contest due to Injury (RSC-I) win over Jiyaan Rajyagor of Swami Vivekanandan International School (Borivli). In the girls U-13 categories, Vaishnavi Tripathi of Holy Cross High School (Worli) beat Ruchi Gohil of St Peter’s High School (Parel) 30–27 in the 36kg final. Anushree Bhosale of Saraswati Mandir (Dadar) won the 44kg final with a 60–52 win over Shravya Pawar of Sacred Heart High School (Worli), and Vipra Dandekar of Convent Girls High School (Worli) claimed victory in the 50kg final by beating Pranita Mehta of Green Lawns (Cumballa Hill) via RSC-I. Other results Boys U-11 (24kg) final: Tanush Dhanu of Victoria HS (Mahim) bt Jafar Shaikh of St Mathew’s HS (Malad) 60–54Boys U-11 (26kg) final: Hammad Mehtar of Christ Church HS (Byculla) bt Mohmad Ali Ansari of Christ Church HS (Byculla) 30–27Boys U-11 (28kg) final: Saqib Khan of Christ Church HS (Byculla) bt Rudra Sonawane of IES Padmakar Dhamdhere English Medium School (Dadar) via RSC-IBoys U-11 (32kg) final: Nirbhay Ambekar of Dr Antonio Da Silva HS (Dadar) bt Umair Khan of St Mathew’s HS (Malad) 88-83Girls U-11 (28kg) final: Divyanka Mokal of Convent Girls HS (Worli) bt Disha Kewat of Sacred Heart HS (Worli) 60–54Girls U-15 (57kg) final: Gauraja Mhatre of Convent Girls HS (Worli) bt Swara Lokhande of Sacred Heart HS (Worli) via RSC-I Girls U-15 (60kg) final: Anshika Singh of Gopal Sharma Int’l (Powai) bt Saumya Nayar of Gundecha Education Academy (Kandivli) via RSC-I
19 December,2025 09:16 AM IST | Mumbai | Rufus VedanayagamTop seeds Shlok Goyal and Vivaan Waingankar cruised to victory in their respective boys U-13 and U-11 matches at the Yonex Sunrise Gautam Thakkar Memorial Junior State Badminton Championships at the Bombay Gymkhana on Thursday. Shlok beat Adarsh Gore 15-2, 15-2 in a last-64 match, while Waingankar beat Preyansh Juneja 15-3, 15-3 in a last-32 U-11 fixture. Other results . Boys U-13 Rd-of-64: Y Singh bt V Chougule 15-11, 15-4; A Desai bt F Shaikh 15-12, 15-10; M Colaco bt A Warudkar 15-6, 15-5; D Kedia bt D Shah 15-13, 7-15, 15-7; S Dachepalli bt A Agarwal 7-15, 16-14, 15-9; Y Shetty bt H Beniwal 15-10, 15-9. . Boys U-11 Rd-of-32: A Shete bt R Rokade 15-1, 15-8; S Sagar bt A Nayak 15-3, 15-8; A Madhekar bt Y Shetty 15-13, 9-15, 15-12; A Nevarekar bt R Malviya 15-10, 15-9.
19 December,2025 09:02 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentVeer Chotrani and Suraj Chand kicked off their respective campaigns with a win at the Western India squash tournament held at the Cricket Club of India (CC) on Thursday. Top seed Veer thoroughly outclassed Ayaan Khaan 11-1, 11-1, 11-1, while second seed Suraj overcame the challenge posed by Ajinkya Patil 11-4, 11-4, 11-3. Both players progressed to the Round-of-32.
19 December,2025 08:59 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentWorld champions D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi delivered in a must-win game of the Global Chess League on Thursday to help PBG Alaskan Knights register their first win of the tournament. Arjun gave his team the lead by beating Alpine SG Pipers’s Anish Giri. However, Pipers’s Nino Batsiashvili and Leon Mendonca won with black to put pressure back on the Knights. Gukesh then came to the party, beating Fabiano Caruana in 39 moves, before Leinier Dominguez, and Kateryna Lagno won their respective matches to seal the win for the Knights.
19 December,2025 08:55 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentIndia’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty dished out a solid performance to outwit the Indonesian pair of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri in their second Group B match to inch closer to the knockout stage of the BWF World Tour Finals here Thursday. The top seeded Indian pair shored up their defence and dominated the proceedings to register a 21-11, 16-21, 21-11 win over World No. 8 Alfian and Fikri in the men’s doubles match that lasted an hour. With two wins from two matches, Satwik and Chirag lead the group. They will face Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in their last group match on Friday. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
19 December,2025 08:52 AM IST | Hangzhou (China) | PTIIndian men’s doubles star Satwiksairaj Rankireddy on Wednesday said improving service and receive remains the key focus area for him and partner Chirag Shetty as they look to compete consistently against the world’s top pairs. The World No. 3 pair opened their campaign at the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals with a gritty 12-21, 22-20, 21-14 win over Olympic silver medallists Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang of China in their opening men’s doubles Group B match. “We are practising service and receiving most of the time. It’s the main part of the game. If you want to beat pairs from Malaysia, Indonesia or China, you have to handle service situations well,” Satwik said after the match. Satwik and Chirag, the only Indian representatives at the season-ending showpiece, saved a match point to eventually outwit the World No. 5 Chinese pair. “No matter what, play aggressive game style, that was the game plan from the starting onwards,” said the 25-year-old from Amalapuram. The Asian Games champions, who reached the finals at the Hong Kong Open and China Masters earlier this year, will face another stern test when they take on Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri on Thursday. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
18 December,2025 10:12 AM IST | Hangzhou | PTIAuxilium Convent High School (Wadala) and Cathedral and John Connon School (Fort) emerged champions in the girls and boys U-16 categories respectively of the Dreams Sports Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) basketball tournament at Azad Maidan on Tuesday. In the girls final, Auxilium edged out Vibgyor High School (Goregaon) 26–24. Shravani Mani (10 points) emerged as the Wadala school’s top scorer. She received strong support from Ajitha Nadar (eight), Swara Takke (four), and Shreenidhi Bhagat (four). The triumphant Auxilium Convent High School girls with their winner’s trophy at Azad Maidan on Tuesday For Vibgyor, Ira Madbhavi top-scored with 13 points, while Hridhika Mehta (four), Jain Nisar (four), and Sia Sengupta (three) also got onto the scoresheet.In the boys U-16 final, Cathedral defeated Podar International School (Powai) 59–43. Samar Hingorani (22) was the standout performer, and was ably supported by Veer Kedia (18), Anshuman Hooda (eight), Zahan Mistry (six), and Rian Uniyal (five). For Podar, Neel Banushali (18) led the scoring chart. Ojas Malani (nine), Yugveer Bansal (six), Advaith Karnataki (six), and Aarav Agarwal (four) added to the tally.
18 December,2025 10:02 AM IST | Mumbai | Rufus VedanayagamWorld No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz announced on Wednesday he is splitting from his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero after seven hugely successful years together with assistant coach Samuel Lopez taking over. Alcaraz has won six Grand Slams among his 24 tour level titles under the guidance of fellow Spaniard. “It is very difficult to write this post,” Alcaraz said on social media, with photos of the two hugging. “After more than seven years together, ‘Juanki’ and I have decided to end our story together. Thank you for making the dreams of a child become reality. Now change is coming for both of us, new adventures and new projects. I’m at peace knowing we left everything out there, that we gave everything for one another,” Alcaraz added. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
18 December,2025 09:59 AM IST | Paris | AFPWhile December is holiday season for the Europeans and skiing as a sport, for Aanchal Thakur, India’s first international alpine skiing medallist, who won a bronze medal in the 2018 alpine Ejder 3200 Cup in Turkey, a bronze at the 2021 FIS Alpine Ski Competition held at Kolasin, Montenegro, and four silver medals at the UAE Alpine Slalom Championships held at Dubai in 2022, it’s hard work on Europe’s slopes. For more than a month, Thakur has been training on the slopes of France, Italy and Austria, preparing for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina, Italy — also called the Milano Cortina 2026. Thakur is currently practising on the slopes of Tignes here in France, ahead of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) race season that begins later this month. The 29-year-old, who is just about five feet tall, divides her time between slopes in winter, glaciers in summer when in Europe, and dry training in India before she hits the Alpine slopes again. Started at the age of five The young Olympian began skiing on skis made from walnut wood at the age of five in her village Solang in Manali. “My father gifted me a pair of ‘real’ skis when I was seven and my passion for skiing has grown ever since,” says Thakur. Her routine involves four hours of skiing in the morning, lunch and sleep, then weight training, running, and endurance training. For Thakur, the first international event at the age of 13, when she participated in the Asian Children’s Championship in Lebanon, was a hard-hitting one. “I was shocked by the advanced levels there — the coaching, technical expertise, physiotherapy for skiers, etc,” says Thakur. “I realised that I have to push harder to achieve my dreams.” Sheer passion to perform Then came the 2011 New Zealand Games. “The skis were 175-cm long and I was used to 165-cm. It was freezing cold, our eyebrows froze and even if a strand of hair came out of the helmet, it would be covered with ice,” recollects Thakur. What she missed by way of coaching and infrastructure, she made up for it through sheer passion and hard work. “We have our own hills, ice, snow and skis which are all the best teachers,” says Thakur, who pushed herself for two years. “When I qualified for the Youth Winter Olympics in Innsbruck [in 2012] at the age of 15, I was proud to represent my country,” she says. After that there was no looking back. Thakur was selected for the World Championship in 2013, 2017, 2021, 2023 and 2025; she is all set for the Olympic Winter Games next year. FiveNo. of Alpine Ski World Championships Aanchal Thakur has participated in SixNo. of International Ski & Snowboard Fed (FIS) medals (2 bronze, 4 silver) she has won 13Aanchal Thakur’s age when she participated in her first international event — the Asian Children’s Championship in Lebanon
18 December,2025 09:55 AM IST | Tignes (France): | Aruna RathodCathedral and John Connon High School (Fort), and Vibgyor High School (Goregaon) booked their places in the finals of the Dream Sports Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) inter-school basketball tournament after winning the boys and girls U-16 semi-finals respectively at Azad Maidan on Monday. In the boys U-16 semi-final, Cathedral defeated Don Bosco High School (Matunga) 42-33. Samar Hingorani (22 points) emerged as the standout performer for the Fort school. He received solid support from Veer Kedia (14), Anshuman Hooda (four), and Zahan Mistry (four). For Don Bosco, Soham Yewale top-scored with eight points. Rajaditya Deshmukh (seven), Archit Gawde (six), Vyom Tamhanekar (six) and Kavish Rajale (six) also got onto the scoresheet. In the girls U-16 semi-final, Vibgyor beat Fatima High School (Vidya Vihar) 27-18. Hridika Mehta (11) led the scoring for the Goregaon outfit, while Gauri Anngeri (six), Jaini Nisar (six), and Kashvi Muchhal added (four) to the Goregaon team’s tally. For Fatima, Grace Pereira (six), Esha Agnihotri (five), and Aarushi Mohite (four) were the top scorers. Other results . Boys U-16 semis: Podar International (Powai) bt Yashodham High School (Goregaon) 37-22.. Girls U-16 semis: Auxilium High School (Wadala) bt PVG Vidya Bhavan (Ghatkopar) 51-9
17 December,2025 12:31 PM IST | Mumbai | Rufus VedanayagamSnithik Patil of Our Lady of Salvation School (Dadar) put in a stellar performance, clinching three gold medals at the Dream Sports Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) inter-school artistic gymnastics competition held at Leap Gymnastics Studio, Worli, on Tuesday. Competing in the U-10 category, Snithik bagged top honours in the vault (9.5 points), floor exercise (9.55 pts), and high bar (9.7 pts) events. The nine-year-old is the top-ranked gymnast in the state, and represented Maharashtra in the state championships held in Thane on December 3, where he secured six golds (floor exercise, pommel horse, vault, ring, parallel bar, and one for all-round performance) and one silver medal (high bar). Meanwhile in the girls U-10 uneven bar event, Sarah Kanayalkar (9.55 pts) of Mount Litera International School (Bandra) clinched gold, while Tara Shete (9.425 pts) of Ascend International (Bandra) stood second, and Nyra Chakka (9.4 pts) of Nita Mukesh Ambani Junior School (BKC) finished third. In the girls U-8 high bar event, Amaya Kamod (8.8 pts) of Ascend International (Bandra) won gold, ahead of Ojasvi Achrekar (8.7 pts) of IES Orion (Parel), and Eshani Laddha (8.525 pts) of Vibgyor High School (Goregaon). Meanwhile, Reet Kabdule (8.7 pts) of Swami Vivekanand High School (Chembur) claimed gold in the boys U-8 high bar event. Saksham Shah (8.15 pts) of JBCN International (Parel) bagged silver, while Aarav Mehta (7.55) of Bombay Scottish (Mahim) took bronze. 06No. of gold medals won by Snithik Patil for Maharashtra at the recent State C’ships
17 December,2025 09:16 AM IST | Mumbai | Rufus VedanayagamADVERTISEMENT
