Sports

The fourth game of the FIDE Chess World Championship between D. Gukesh and defending champion Ding Liren ended in a draw on 29 November 2024 in Singapore, leaving both players with 2 points each. Gukesh had leveled the score in Game 3 by defeating Liren.

The championship consists of 14 games, with the first player to reach 7.5 points being crowned champion. This historic tournament, featuring two Asian players for the first time in 138 years, has a prize pool of $2.5 million. A win earns 1 point, a draw 0.5 points, and a loss 0 points.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi, at just 13 years old, made history as the youngest cricket player to secure an IPL contract during the IPL 2025 Auction. He was signed by the Rajasthan Royals, led by Rahul Dravid, for ₹1.10 crore. Bihar Cricket Association President Rakesh Tiwari praised Vaibhav’s achievement and expressed confidence in his potential.

Vaibhav gained attention by becoming the youngest batter to score an international century, hitting a 104 off 62 balls in a Youth Test for India Under-19 against Australia Under-19 in Chennai. His 58-ball century was the fastest by an Indian in Youth Tests and the second-fastest globally. Earlier this year, Vaibhav debuted in the Ranji Trophy for Bihar at the age of 12, becoming the youngest player in India’s premier First-Class tournament.

Eight-year-old Divith Reddy from Telangana won the gold medal at the Under-8 World Cadets Chess Championship in Montesilvano, Italy, on 26 November 2024.

Divith scored 9 points out of 11, tying with fellow Indian Sattwik Swain but securing gold due to a superior tiebreak score. Sattwik earned the silver medal, while Ziming Guo of China claimed bronze.

With a FIDE rating of 1784, Divith started strong with four consecutive wins, faced setbacks with two losses, but made a remarkable comeback by winning the final five rounds to clinch the title.

The IPL 2025 Mega Auction, held at the Abadi Al-Johar Arena in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, witnessed record-breaking bids and intense team strategies over two days.

Day 1 Highlights (24th November 2024):

• Record Bids:
  • Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player in IPL history, sold to Lucknow Super Giants for ₹27 crore.
  • Punjab Kings secured Shreyas Iyer for ₹26.75 crore and Yuzvendra Chahal for ₹18 crore, setting a record for an Indian spinner.
  • Venkatesh Iyer went to Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹23.75 crore.
  • Punjab also acquired Arshdeep Singh for ₹18 crore.

Day 2 Highlights (25th November 2024):

• The day began with 33 capped players going under the hammer, followed by an accelerated auction for capped and uncapped players.
• Notable Buys:
  • Mumbai Indians: Secured Will Jacks for ₹5.25 crore and Deepak Chahar for ₹9.25 crore.
  • RCB: Acquired Bhuvneshwar Kumar for ₹10.75 crore and Tim David for ₹3 crore.
  • Lucknow Super Giants: Bought Akash Deep for ₹8 crore.
  • Rajasthan Royals: Signed Tushar Deshpande for ₹6.5 crore.
• Uncapped Players:
  • CSK signed Anshul Kamboj for ₹3.4 crore and Mukesh Choudhary for ₹30 lakh.
  • Gujarat Titans brought back Gurnoor Singh Brar for ₹1.3 crore.
  • Punjab Kings added Azmatullah Omarzai for ₹2.4 crore.

The auction showcased fierce competition as teams strengthened their squads with both marquee and emerging players, setting the stage for an exciting IPL 2025 season.

N Sriram Balaji and Rithvik Bollipalli won the Men’s Doubles title at the ATP Challenger Tour in Italy. They defeated the second-seeded duo of French tennis player Theo Arribage and his Portuguese partner Francisco Cabral in the final held on November 23, 2024.

This victory marked Rithvik Bollipalli’s second ATP Challenger Tour title, having previously won the Almaty Open in Kazakhstan with Arjun Kadhe last month. For the 34-year-old Balaji, it was his first title on the ATP Challenger Tour.

North East United Football Club emerged as the champion of the 40th All India Governor’s Gold Cup International Football Tournament 2024, held at Paljor Stadium, Gangtok on 24 November 2024. In a thrilling final match, they defeated the home team, Gangtok Himalayan Sporting Club, in a tie-breaker.

The match, attended by Governor Om Prakash Mathur and Chief Minister PS Tamang, ended goalless in regular time and proceeded to a penalty shoot-out. North East United FC successfully converted all four of their penalty shots, while Gangtok Himalayan SC managed to score only three out of five.

The tournament, organized by the Sikkim Football Association, featured 16 teams and included four international clubs from Nepal, Bhutan, Dubai, and Malaysia. This prestigious event returned after a five-year hiatus, with the last edition held in 2019.

India won the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy in hockey on 20 November 2024 at Rajgir Hockey Stadium, Bihar, defeating China 1-0 in the final. This marked India’s second consecutive and third overall title, equalling South Korea’s record.

Deepika scored the decisive goal in the 31st minute from a penalty corner and emerged as the tournament’s leading scorer with 11 goals, earning the Player of the Tournament award.

India had earlier defeated China 3-0 in the league phase. Japan secured the bronze medal by defeating Malaysia 4-1.

India advanced to the final of the Women’s Asian Hockey Champions Trophy 2024 by defeating Japan 2-0 in the semi-final held on 19 November 2024 at Rajgir Hockey Stadium, Bihar. India entered the semi-finals as favorites, having won all their group-stage matches, including a 3-0 victory over Japan.

China also secured a spot in the final by beating Malaysia 3-1 in the other semi-final, marking their fifth win in six games. Malaysia, with 2 wins and 4 losses, will now compete against Japan for the bronze medal.

The final match between India and China will take place on 20 November 2024, at 4:45 PM, while the bronze medal match between Malaysia and Japan is scheduled for 2:15 PM on the same day at Rajgir Hockey Stadium.

At the Tata Steel Chess India tournament in Kolkata, Magnus Carlsen, World No. 1, secured the blitz title on November 17, 2024. Carlsen staged a crucial comeback against India’s Arjun Erigaisi in the penultimate round, ensuring an unassailable lead with 12 points. He concluded the tournament by defeating Vidit Gujrathi, achieving 13 points and clinching the blitz crown. This marks Carlsen’s second double victory in Kolkata, having achieved the same in 2019.

Indian players also performed well: Arjun Erigaisi finished third with 10.5 points, R Praggnanandhaa placed fourth with 9.5, and Vidit Gujrathi secured fifth with 9 points.

In the Chennai Grand Masters Chess Tournament on November 11, 2024, GM Aravindh Chithambaram won the Masters title after a challenging final against American GM Levon Aronian. Aravindh secured victory by winning the first blitz play-off and drawing the second match with the black pieces.

Meanwhile, GM V Pranav remained unbeaten to win the Challengers title. The tournament, organized by MGD1 and sponsored by the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, included two categories: Masters and Challengers.

Indian boxer Mandeep Jangra won the World Boxing Federation’s (WBF) Super Featherweight world title in the Cayman Islands, defeating Britain’s Conor McIntosh with a unanimous 10-0 decision on November 5, 2024. This victory makes Mandeep the first Indian to achieve a world champion title in any professional boxing category.

A Commonwealth Games silver medalist from 2014, Mandeep has had an impressive professional record, winning 11 out of 12 fights, including seven knockouts, with only one loss in his career.

India’s Mansi Ahlawat won a bronze medal in the women’s 59kg category at the Seniors World Wrestling Championships in Tirana, Albania. She defeated Canada’s Laurence Beauregard with a score of 5-0 in the bronze medal match.

Japan’s Risako Kinjo claimed the gold medal, Mongolia’s Tserenchimed Sukhee took the silver, and Germany’s Elena Heike Brugger shared the bronze with Mansi.