Sports

written by Atharva Jori GM Hikaru Nakamura has all but secured his place in the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament, after winning the 1st Annual Washington Dulles Open over the weekend—a five-round Swiss event that provided the final classical games he needed to meet FIDE's 40-game eligibility requirement. While most of the world's top players have been battling in India for three Candidates' spots at the FIDE World Cup, Nakamura took a different route, choosing instead to complete the required games in a series of smaller tournaments across the continent. His participation in Washington effectively sealed his qualification through the rating spot, which goes to the player with the highest average rating from August 2025 to January 2026. Meanwhile, on Monday, FIDE confirmed that the 2026 Candidates Tournament will be held from March 28 to April 16 at the Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort near Paphos, Cyprus, alongside the Women's Candidates Tournament. Nakamura'...

written by Atharva Jori When Virat Kohli says fitness is a lifestyle, not a phase, he means it. For years, the cricketing world has marvelled at his unwavering discipline, early morning yoga, clean eating, and gruelling workout sessions. But even for veterans who have seen decades of cricketing greatness, Kohli’s commitment remains a revelation. Recently, former Indian cricketer Sandeep Patil who was a player in the winning team of 1983 Cricket World Cup, shared an inspiring story on Haal Chaal Aur Sawaal with Ashish Kaushik, revealing how one unforgettable morning in the West Indies changed his perspective on fitness forever. A 5 am lesson from Kohli Patil recalled that during India’s 2016 tour of the West Indies, he and his wife went for an early morning walk on the beach in Antigua. “It was pitch dark, and I noticed a shadow sitting quietly. As I went closer, it was Virat doing yoga — at five in the morning, on a match day,” he shared in the interview. That day, Kohli didn’t st...

written by Atharva Jori Harmanpreet Kaur collects trophy from Jay Shah and celebrates with her teammates after IND vs SA Women's World Cup 2025 final [Watch] Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur collected the coveted World Cup trophy from ICC Chairman Jay Shah after the Women in Blue defeated South Africa in the final at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, November 2. Kaur celebrated with her teammates as they lifted the trophy together. Led by the 36-year-old, the hosts outclassed South Africa by 52 runs while defending 298. The 104-run opening stand between Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana set the tone for their big total. Later, Deepti Sharma starred with the ball, as she registered outstanding figures of 9.3-0-39-5. The Punjab-born cricketer is the first Indian captain to win a Women's World Cup in any format. "If my heart was saying, I had to give her at least one over" - Harmanpreet Kaur on bowling Shafali Verma When asked at the post-match presen...

written by Atharva Jori Chess world champion D Gukesh of India laid down the marker on Day 1 of the Clutch Chess Champions Showdown 2025 at the Saint Louis Chess Club, leading the standings ahead of Magnus Carlsen with four points from six rapid games on Monday. The Clutch Chess Champions Showdown 2025 is the highest-rated chess tournament of the year, comprising the world’s top three players – world No 1 Carlsen (2839), world No 2 Hikaru Nakamura (2816), world No 3 Fabiano Caruana (2789) and the world champion Gukesh (2752), who is currently ranked 11th in the FIDE ranking. Gukesh, who had been struggling for form recently and dropped out of the top 10 in the world earlier this year after a horrific FIDE Grand Swiss, stunned the highest-rated field in the world on Day 1 to emerge as the frontrunner despite losing his opening match to Carlsen. Gukesh, who isn’t known for his prowess in the rapid format, lost the opener to Carlsen in 40 moves despite playing with white pieces. He qui...

written by Atharva Jori In the latest episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati 17, Himanshu Shekhar takes the hot seat with host Amitabh Bachchan. He is from Khagaria, Bihar and is a station master in Fatehpur. He uses audience poll lifeline for Rs 5000 question: In which Hindi film do Kalpana and Sanjay SInghania, characters played by Asin and Aamir Khan, appear? A. Chak De India, B. Ghajini, C. Devdas, D. Taare Zameen Par. He correctly answers option B with the help of the poll. Himanshu shares a funny incident, “Once my friends and I went somewhere to give exams and reached that place very late at night. We were looking for a stay but didn’t find any. We thought we would sleep on the platform. With the money saved, we thought of having dinner. We went to a good restaurant and ate. At the end before giving bill, they brought us warm water with lemon on side, we thought it is complimentary. We drank it, adding salt to it. When we narrated this incident, someone told us that it was meant fo...

written by Atharva Jori India (IND) vs Australia (AUS) 1st ODI Live Cricket Score Updates: Australia have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series against India after chasing down India’s target of 131 in 21.1 overs in a rain-interrupted game in Perth’s Optus Stadium. Mitchell Marsh was Australia’s rock with the bat, staying unbeaten on 46 off 52 balls at the end. IND vs AUS 1st ODI Live Cricket Score, India vs Australia Match Live Score Updates: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill registered low scores as India got off to a poor start after Australia elected to bowl first. Earlier in the first innings, India got off to a horrendous start after Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and new One-Day International skipper Shubman Gill fell inside PowerPlay with none of them going past the individual score of 10 runs after Australia invited India to bat first in the first ODI on Sunday. The focus was on Kohli and Rohit, who have already retired from T20Is and Tests. This was the first ...