Indonesia Masters 2026: Sindhu, Lakshya advance; Srikanth goes down in pre-quarters


Photo credit: Badminton Photos/BWF

Jakarta, (IANS) Two-time Olympic medallist P.V. Sindhu progressed to the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Masters 2026, where she will face top seed Chen Yu Fei inJakarta on Friday, as men's singles star Lakshya Sen and women's singles player Anmol Kharb also advanced to the next stage.

Former World Championship silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth, and men's doubles pair Hariharan Amsakarunan/M.R Arjun, too exited the BWF World Tour event.

With Chen leading their head-to-head 7–6, the quarterfinals against Sindhu on Friday promise to be closely fought. Sindhu booked her spot with a 21-19, 21-18 win over Denmark’s Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt in 43 minutes.

Seventh seed Lakshya Sen also advanced and will take on Thailand’s Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul after a dominant 21-10, 21-11 victory over Hong Kong's Jason Gunawan in another 43-minute battle.

Anmol Kharb challenged former world No.1 and Olympic bronze medallist Nozomi Okuhara by winning the first game 21-16 before bowing out. Men's singles contingent Kidambi Srikanth and men's doubles Hariharan Amsakarunan/M R Arjun exited the tournament.

Earlier, Sindhu faced a tough first-round match but ultimately secured a straight-games victory over Japan's Manami Suizu in the opening round of the Indonesia Masters here on Wednesday. Sindhu had a surprising start in the first game, trailing 2-11 at the mid-game break. She had to defend four game points but managed to win the game 22-20, scoring six consecutive points. In the second game, she led throughout but couldn't establish a comfortable lead over Suizu until she ultimately won 21-18.

Meanwhile, former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, who made it to the finals of the Malaysia Masters and Syed Modi International last year, faced Japan's Koki Watanabe in an exciting first-round match and edged out his Japanese opponent with a 21-15, 21-23, 24-22 victory.

After a strong start with aggressive shot-making in the opening game, Srikanth's game faltered in the second as he made errors, giving Watanabe a chance to catch up. In the third, he led 7-4 but made several errors and couldn't fully dominate Watanabe. Ultimately, in key moments, Srikanth's aggressive strokeplay helped him secure the win, keeping Watanabe at bay.

Last week, Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, and H.S Prannoy made early exits from last week's India Open 2026, a HSBC BWF World Super 750 event. Lakshya Sen reached the furthest before ending his campaign in the quarterfinals. He kept pace with Lin Chun-Yi till the very end but fell short in the final exchanges as he went down in three games to end the host’s challenge.Sen won the opening game against Lin but then struggled from the faster side of the court to go down 17-21, 21-13, 21-18 in the men’s singles quarterfinals. Indonesia Masters 2026: Sindhu, Lakshya advance; Srikanth goes down in pre-quarters | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com
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Manu Bhaker, Simranpreet Kaur Brar strike gold in women’s 25m sports pistol in National Shooting C'ship


Photo credit: NRAI

New Delhi, (IANS) Double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker and ISSF World Cup Final 2025 gold medallist Simranpreet Kaur Brar delivered top-class performances to win gold medals in the senior and junior women’s 25m sports pistol events, respectively, of the 68th National Shooting Championship Competitions (NSCC) at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in Tughlakabad near New Delhi on Monday.

Manu shot 36 in the final to secure the gold, finishing four hits clear of Divya T.S. of Karnataka, who bagged silver with 32. Anjali Choudhary claimed the bronze medal after hitting 28 targets. Rhythm Sangwan (22) finished fourth, followed by Arshdeep Kaur (18), Annu Raj Singh (14), and Anuja Verma (11) in fifth, sixth, and seventh positions, respectively, while Parisha Gupta did not start in the final.

Earlier, Divya T.S. topped the qualification round with a score of 587-22x, ahead of Anjali Choudhary (582- 19x). Annu Raj Singh finished third with 582-16x, while Manu qualified fourth with 581-19x. Parisha Gupta placed fifth with 581-14x, followed by Rhythm Sangwan (579-17x), with Arshdeep Kaur and Anuja Verma completing the top eight with 578-19x.

In the Junior Women’s 25m Sports Pistol final, Simranpreet Kaur Brar continued her impressive run, shooting 39 to claim the gold medal. Dwaram Pranavi won silver, while Palak of Haryana picked up bronze with 20. Tanu Shree Tomar (19) finished fourth after bowing out in the shoot-off, followed by Sejal Raju Kamble (14), Megana Sadula (11), and Lavanya Kanwar (7). Parisha did not start in the final.

The junior qualification round was topped by Parisha Gupta, with Simranpreet Kaur Brar qualifying second with 578-13x. Palak (575-14x) finished third, followed by Sejal Raju Kamble (575-12x), Tanu Shree Tomar (573-11x), Lavanya Kanwar (572-17x), Megana Sadula (572-13x) and Dwaram Pranavi (572-11x).

In the Women’s Team 25m Sports Pistol event, Maharashtra clinched the gold medal with a combined score of 1726-40x, through Shital Preetam Desai (577-12x), Abhidnya Ashok Patil (575-13x) and Rahi Sarnobat (574-15x). The Army Marksmanship Unit (Anuja Verma, Sejal Raju Kamble, and Anjali Bhagwat) finished second with 1722-44x, while Haryana (Rhythm Sangwan, Vibhuti Bhatia, and Tejaswani) secured the bronze medal with 1718- 43x.

In the Junior Women’s Team event, the Army Marksmanship Unit (Sejal Raju Kamble, Jiya Jakhar, and Anjali Bhagwat) claimed gold with 1714-38x, while Delhi (Parisha Gupta, Kamakshi Kumar, and Naamya Kapoor) secured silver with 1714-36x. Punjab (Simrampreet Kaur Brar, Agam Grewal, and Jasman Kelley) won the bronze medal with 1709-40x.

The championship action continues on Tuesday (December 16, 2025) with the Men’s Skeet finals scheduled in New Delhi, while the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Women’s finals will take place at the Madhya Pradesh State Shooting Academy in Bhopal.

Other Results (25m SPW)

Youth Women

Sejal Raju Kamble (Army) - Gold (575-12x)

Lavanya Kanwar (Rajasthan) - Silver (572-17x)

Manvi Jain (Madhya Pradesh) - Bronze (570-14x)

Civilian Championship Women (Individual)

Jaspreet Kaur (Punjab) - Gold (575-17x)

Yashika Goel (Uttar Pradesh) - Silver (573-19x)

Tanisha Dabodia (Delhi) - Bronze (573-15x)

Civilian Championship Women (Team)

Delhi A (Ekta Malik, Kamakshi Kumar, Nayasha Rana) - Gold (1706-40x)

Delhi B (Tanisha Dabodia, Riya Duggal, Khushi Kapoort) - Silver (1703-44x)

Punjab (Jaspreet Kaur, Ishneet Aulakh, Ariha Aggarwal) - Bronze (1693-38x)

Civilian Championship Women (Junior Individual)

Tanu Shree Tomar (Uttar Pradesh) - Gold (573-11x)

Lavanya Kanwar (Rajasthan) - Silver (572-17x)

Dwaram Pranavi (Andhra Pradesh) - Bronze (572-11x)

Civilian Championship Women (Junior Team)

Delhi (Kamakshi Kumar, Nayasha Rana, Khushi Kapoor) - Gold (1695-37x)

Madhya Pradesh (Nancy Solanki, Aaradhya Mishra, Anchal Singh) - Silver (1686-32x)

Tamil Nadu (Vaishnavi Ramdas, Nithila Ivy Darling, Anya Padma Viji) - Bronze (1685-26x)

Senior Master Women

Sheila Kanungo (Maharashtra) - Gold

Pushpa Meghwal (Rajasthan) - Silver

Kunti Malik (Uttar Pradesh) - Bronze

Master Women

Anisa Sayyed (Haryana) - Gold

P. Sofia Lawren (Tamil Nadu) - Silver

Divya Nagar (Uttar Pradesh) - Bronze

Super Master Women

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Ahmedabad named host of Centenary Commonwealth Games 2030

Ahmedabad named host of Centenary Commonwealth Games 2030. Photo credit: IOA

Glasgow (Scotland), (IANS) Ahmedabad, India, has officially been confirmed as the host city for the Centenary Commonwealth Games in 2030, marking a historic milestone for the Commonwealth Sport Movement. This will be the second time that India will host the Commonwealth Games after New Delhi in 2010.

The decision confirms that the world’s most populous nation will host the landmark edition of the Games after delegates from 74 Commonwealth member nations and territories approved India’s bid at the Commonwealth Sport General Assembly in Glasgow on Wednesday.

India put forward a strong vision for the 2030 Games, with Ahmedabad, Gujarat, as the main host city. This plan builds on the groundwork laid by Glasgow 2026 and allows India to celebrate its centenary in a memorable way.

Moments after Amdavad was chosen to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, 20 Garba dancers and 30 Indian dhol drummers spontaneously performed in the General Assembly Hall. Their vibrant cultural display surprised delegates and offered a glimpse of the heritage and pride that athletes and fans can anticipate from a Games held in Gujarat, India.

Garba is Gujarat’s traditional folk dance. The performance included members of Glasgow’s Indian community and individuals from other parts of the Commonwealth. It showcased both diversity and unity as part of the Movement, marking the journey from the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games to its Centenary edition.

The inaugural Commonwealth Games took place in 1930 in Hamilton, Canada. At the latest Games in Birmingham, England, in 2022, Australia led the medal tally. The top five nations also included England, Canada, India, and New Zealand.

Donald Rukare, President of Commonwealth Sport, said, “This is the start of a new golden era for Commonwealth Sport. After a 'Games reset', we head to Glasgow 2026 in fantastic shape to welcome the 74 teams of the Commonwealth before setting our sights on Amdavad 2030 for a special Centenary edition of the Commonwealth Games.

“India brings scale, youth, ambition, rich culture, enormous sporting passion, and relevance, and I'm delighted to report strong interest from a range of nations to host the 2034 Games and beyond. We start our next century for the Commonwealth Games in good health.”

PT Usha, President of the Commonwealth Games Association of India, said, “We are deeply honoured by the trust shown by Commonwealth Sport. The 2030 Games will not only celebrate a hundred years of the Commonwealth Movement but also lay the foundation for the next century. It will bring together Athletes, communities, and cultures from across the Commonwealth in a spirit of friendship and progress.”

Aside from confirming the hosts for 2030, Commonwealth Sport also announced that 15 to 17 sports will be included at Amdavad 2030.

The Amdavad 2030 team will collaborate with Commonwealth Sport and the International Federation community to develop a vibrant and engaging sports programme that resonates locally while appealing globally.

This will follow Commonwealth Sport’s recent Sport Programme Review, which outlines the sports included in the Commonwealth Games: Athletics and Para Athletics, Swimming and Para Swimming, Table Tennis and Para Table Tennis, Bowls and Para Bowls, Weightlifting and Para Powerlifting, Artistic Gymnastics, Netball, and Boxing.

The process to finalise the remaining sports in the programme will begin next month, with the complete line-up for the Centenary Games being announced next year.

The sports being considered include: Archery, Badminton, 3x3 Basketball and 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Cricket T20, Cycling, Diving, Hockey, Judo, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Rugby Sevens, Shooting, Squash, Triathlon, Para Triathlon, and Wrestling. The host may also suggest up to two new or existing sports.

Duncan Scott, multiple Commonwealth champion swimmer, said, “The Commonwealth Games are a special part of my career. Taking part in the home Games is incredible, so I’m excited for Indian Athletes who’ll get to do that in 2030. And for everyone else, we’ve got an opportunity to expand our horizons and experience the ambition and colour of Amdavad and India. I loved the chance to compete in the Gold Coast in Australia as part of a travelling Team Scotland.

“We look forward to handing over the Games to Amdavad in great shape after welcoming all to Glasgow next year.”

Jaismine Lamboria, World Champion Boxer from India, said, “It truly is a proud moment to see India become the host of the Centenary Commonwealth Games. Amdavad will give Athletes and fans a very warm and vibrant welcome, and having the opportunity to compete on home soil in 2030 will be a huge motivation for me and for many others. I’m excited for the next decade for Indian sport.”

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