Sports

On 28 July 2025, 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh made history by becoming the first Indian woman to win the FIDE Women’s World Cup, defeating veteran Koneru Humpy in an all-Indian final held in Baku.

• The classical games ended in draws, leading to rapid tie-breaks.
• Divya won the final 1.5–0.5, capitalizing on Humpy’s errors under time pressure.
• With this win, she became India’s 88th Grandmaster and the fourth Indian woman Grandmaster.
• Divya was the underdog, ranked No. 18 in classical and No. 22 in rapid chess, while Humpy was World No. 5 in classical and a two-time World Rapid Champion.
• Divya had also won the 2024 World Junior Championship and helped India win gold at the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest.

India’s Divya Deshmukh defeated China’s Tan Zhongyi in Game 2 of the FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup 2025 semifinal on 23 July in Batumi, Georgia, securing a 1.5–0.5 victory and a place in the final. With this win, the 19-year-old not only became the first Indian to reach the final of the Women’s World Cup but also secured her first Grandmaster norm and a spot in the 2026 Candidates Tournament.

She will face the winner of the other semifinal between Koneru Humpy (India) and Lei Tingjie (China), which is heading into tiebreaks after two drawn classical games.

The FIDE Women’s World Cup is a key event in the World Championship cycle, offering three spots for the Candidates Tournament.

India will host the FIDE Chess World Cup 2025 from October 30 to November 27, marking its second time after Hyderabad in 2002.

• 206 players will compete in a knockout format.
• Top 3 finishers qualify for the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament.
• Indian stars like Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, and Erigaisi expected to participate.
• Follows India’s historic double gold at the 2024 Chess Olympiad.
• Host city to be announced; New Delhi and Goa are in contention.

On 21 July 2025, Koneru Humpy made history as the first Indian woman to reach the semifinals of the FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup 2025 in Batumi, Georgia, defeating China’s Song Yuxin.

Divya Deshmukh and Harika Dronavalli will play tiebreaks at 4:35 PM (IST) to decide the last semifinalist.

Vaishali Rameshbabu lost to Tan Zhongyi, while top seed Lei Tingjie beat Nana Dzagnidze to enter the semifinals.

In Athletics, India’s Ancy Sojan secured third place in the women’s long jump at the Lignano Meeting, part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze event held in Italy on 13 July 2025.

Ancy recorded a best jump of 6.36m on her fourth attempt, showing strong consistency with five of six jumps crossing 6.15m. Her jump sequence: 6.26m, 6.35m, 6.19m, 6.36m, 6.18m, 6.11m.

Australia’s Delta Amidzovski won gold with a 6.47m jump, while South Africa’s Danielle Nolte took silver with 6.44m, below her season best of 6.54m.

Ancy improved from her previous 6.21m jump in Spain earlier this season. Her personal best is 6.71m, achieved in Bengaluru in September 2024.

She currently holds the final qualifying spot in the Road to Tokyo 25 rankings for the 2025 World Athletics Championships.

On 14 July 2025, Chelsea Football Club made history by winning the first-ever FIFA Club World Cup, defeating Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) 3–0 in the final at MetLife Stadium, New Jersey.

Match Highlights:

• Cole Palmer emerged as the star of the match, scoring two goals in eight minutes and assisting Joao Pedro for the third goal just before halftime.
• Chelsea’s third goal was a calm chip by Pedro after a brilliant pass from Palmer.
• PSG failed to respond, and tensions rose when Joao Neves was sent off for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair.

Tournament Stats:

• Chelsea ended the tournament as top scorers with 17 goals.
• Other top-scoring teams: PSG, Manchester City, and Bayern (16 goals each).

At Wimbledon 2025, Jannik Sinner defeated Carlos Alcaraz in a thrilling 4-set final to win his first Wimbledon title and fourth Grand Slam, becoming the first Italian to win the men’s singles title at Wimbledon on 13 July 2025. Sinner avenged his loss in the 2025 French Open final against Alcaraz.

On the women’s side, World No. 4 Iga Swiatek crushed Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in just 57 minutes, claiming her maiden Wimbledon title, sixth Grand Slam, and marking her 100th Grand Slam match win. She also became the first Polish player to win Wimbledon and the first woman in the Open Era to win the final without conceding a single game.

Animesh Kujur, a 22-year-old sprinter from Chhattisgarh, set a new national record in the men’s 100m with a timing of 10.18 seconds at the Dromia International Meet in Greece on July 2025.

He became the first Indian to run 100m under 10.20s, breaking Gurindervir Singh’s record of 10.20s. The feat was achieved at a World Athletics Continental Tour (Silver) event.

Kujur also holds the national 200m record (20.32s) and was part of India’s record-setting 4x100m relay team (38.69s).

India secured a record 336-run victory over England in the second Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at Edgbaston, Birmingham, leveling the series 1-1.

• It was India’s first-ever Test win at Edgbaston, ending a 58-year winless streak at the venue.
• Despite a 100-minute rain delay on Day 5, Indian bowlers bowled out England by taking 7 remaining wickets.

🌟 Star Performers:

• Akash Deep took a 10-wicket haul (4 in the first innings, 6 in the second), becoming the second Indian to do so in England after Chetan Sharma (1986).
• Mohammed Siraj also starred with 7 wickets in the match.
• Shubman Gill scored a record 430 runs across both innings (269 + 161) and was named Player of the Match.
  • His 430 is the second-highest aggregate in Test history after Graham Gooch’s 456.

India declared at 427/6 in their second innings, setting England a target of 608. England were all out for 271.

🗓️ The third Test will begin on 10 July 2025 at Lord’s.

On 6 July 2025, the Indian women’s football team defeated hosts Thailand 2-1 in their final Group B match of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers at the Chiang Mai Stadium.

Sangita Basfore scored both goals for India, helping the team qualify for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup main event for the first time since 2003. Thailand’s lone goal came from Chatchawan Rodhong.

With both teams level on points and goal difference before the match, it served as a virtual playoff. India now heads to the 2026 Asian Cup in Australia.

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) :It is the governing body of association football in Asia and Australia, responsible for organizing major tournaments.

On 6 July 2025, India delivered its best-ever performance at the World Boxing Cup in Astana, clinching 11 medals — 3 Gold, 5 Silver, and 3 Bronze.

🥇 Gold Medal Winners:

• Sakshi (54kg) defeated USA’s Yosline Perez with a unanimous decision.
• Jaismine (57kg) won 4:1 against Brazil’s Jucielen Romeu.
• Nupur (80+kg) beat Kazakhstan’s Talipova with a dominant 5:0 victory.

🥈 Silver Medalists:

• Meenakshi (48kg) lost 2:3 to Kazakhstan’s Nazym Kyzaibay.
• Jugnoo (Men’s 85kg), Pooja Rani (80kg), Hitesh Gulia (70kg), and Abhinash Jamwal (65kg) all finished second.

🥉 Bronze Winners:

• Sanju (60kg), Nikhil Dubey (75kg), and Narender (90+kg) secured bronze medals.

Reigning World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju won the Rapid section of the Grand Chess Tour 2025 in Zagreb, Croatia, on 5 July 2025. The 19-year-old Indian secured the title by defeating Wesley So in the final round, scoring 14 out of 18 points.

Jan-Krzysztof Duda finished second with 11 points, and Magnus Carlsen placed third with 10 points. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu shared fourth with Fabiano Caruana, each scoring 9 points.

The Blitz rounds begin today, featuring top players like Gukesh, Carlsen, Caruana, and Praggnanandhaa. The combined scores from Rapid and Blitz will decide the overall winner.

This is the third leg of the Grand Chess Tour 2025, following events in Poland and Romania, where Praggnanandhaa won in Bucharest and finished third in Warsaw. Upcoming events include two in the US (August) and the final in Brazil (Sept–Oct).

The first-ever Khelo India Water Sports Festival will be held at Dal Lake in Srinagar from 21st to 23rd August 2025, as announced by Union Sports Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya.

The three-day event will feature five water sports:

• Kayaking and Canoeing
• Rowing
• Water Skiing
• Shikara Race
• Dragon Boat

Over 400 athletes from 36 States and Union Territories are expected to participate in this open-age national competition.

India’s Divyanshi Bhowmick won gold in U-15 Girls’ Singles at the 29th Asian Youth Table Tennis Championships in Tashkent, defeating China’s Zhu Qihi 4-2 on 1 July 2025. With this win, she also qualified for the World Youth Championships.

India finished with one gold, one silver, and two bronze medals.