Category: Sports

In a surprising decision, the Sports Ministry has stopped giving cash awards to young chess players who dream of winning important titles like Grandmaster (GM), International Master (IM), or International Women Master (IWM). Previously, Indian players received ₹4 lakh for becoming a GM, and ₹1.5 lakh for achieving IM or IWM titles. This cash prize was only available to players under 20 years of age.

This change is surprising, especially after Indian chess player D Gukesh recently achieved greatness at the World Championship and received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. Other players, like Koneru Humpy and Vaishali Rameshbabu, also had successes in chess competitions.

Dibyendy Barua, the Vice-President of the All India Chess Federation (AICF), criticized the Sports Ministry’s decision, stating that they weren’t consulted at all before the move was made. He expressed disappointment and mentioned that this decision could discourage young players and their parents, as some might struggle without financial support. Many aspiring players don’t have big sponsors, and the cash prizes provided motivation when they earned their titles.

The Sports Ministry claims this decision is meant to prevent age fraud and doping while still keeping young athletes motivated. However, even renowned players, like GM Erigaisi, believe this change could hurt the dreams of young chess players and their families.

The 2025 Women’s Premier League (WPL) starts on Friday in Vadodara, and it’s going to be amazing! This year, the league has five teams and will last for four weeks. The defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), will play against the hosts, Gujarat Giants, in the opening match.

In the first season of WPL in 2023, matches were only held in Mumbai. Last year, it was split between Bengaluru and Delhi. But this time, matches will happen in a home-and-away format, so everyone can enjoy the games!

Many players like Asha Sobhana, Uma Chetry, Shreyanka Patil, and Saika Ishaque have been selected to play for India after their fantastic performances in the WPL. Meg Lanning, the captain of the Delhi Capitals, said she has loved watching the improvement of Indian players thanks to the chances they get in the WPL.

With the Women’s ODI World Cup taking place in India later this year, the WPL is also an opportunity for Indian players to show what they can do. Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain of Mumbai Indians, explained that the WPL has helped bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket. It even made her job as a captain easier because players are now more prepared for the international stage.

Deepti Sharma, the new captain of UP Warriorz, mentioned that playing with international stars boosts the confidence of younger players. She believes sharing the field with them helps everyone understand the game better.

The money players can earn has changed many lives. During the 2025 WPL auction, Gujarat Giants paid 19 million Indian rupees (about $218,800) for an uncapped player named Simran Shaikh. She was surprised to earn so much and said, “I thought I would get around 10-12 lakhs (roughly a million)” but never expected to be signed for crores (tens of millions).

RCB captain Smriti Mandhana highlighted that WPL offers financial security to domestic players. This support gives players the freedom to enjoy their game and play their best.

Shubman Gill, a young Indian cricketer, made headlines by scoring his seventh century in One Day Internationals (ODIs) during the third ODI against England in Ahmedabad. At just 25 years old, Gill became the quickest player in the world to reach 2,500 runs in ODIs. He achieved this milestone in his 50th ODI match, breaking the previous record held by South African cricketer Hashim Amla, who reached this mark in his 53rd innings.

During the match, Gill needed only 25 runs to hit 2,500 and did it by hitting a four (a type of scoring shot) on the fifth ball of the 10th over. He ended up scoring a total of 112 runs before being out. He has been in excellent form lately; in the first ODI of the series, he scored 87 runs, and in the second ODI, he got 60 runs.

Gill has an impressive batting average of over 60 in ODIs and was ranked No. 2 in the ICC ODI batter ratings just before the third ODI, surpassing his captain, Rohit Sharma. Gill has 781 rating points compared to Rohit’s 773, while Babar Azam from Pakistan remains the top ODI batter with 786 points

Pakistan and South Africa will play in Match 3 of the tri-series on Wednesday at Karachi’s National Stadium. Both teams are eager to win and secure their spot in the final since New Zealand has already advanced by beating both teams easily.

Pakistan, led by Mohammad Rizwan, didn’t have a great start to their campaign. They lost to New Zealand by 78 runs in their first match. Fakhar Zaman made a strong comeback, scoring 84 runs off 69 balls, but Pakistan still got all out for 252 runs while trying to chase a target of 331.

Bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi got two wickets early on but struggled in the final overs. Abrar Ahmed, Pakistan’s only specialist spinner, also took two wickets. Unfortunately, Haris Rauf will miss the match against South Africa due to a chest injury.

South Africa, under Temba Bavuma, is looking to bounce back after losing to New Zealand by six wickets. Matthew Breetzke had an amazing debut, scoring 150 runs, but it wasn’t enough as Kane Williamson’s unbeaten 133 led New Zealand to victory.

Both Pakistan and South Africa are desperate to win this match to boost their confidence before the Champions Trophy, which starts on February 19.

Live Streaming Details:
The match will be broadcasted live on Sony Sports Network in India, starting at 2:30 PM IST. You can also watch it live on FanCode.

Ahmedabad: Ben Duckett, a player on England’s cricket team, said it doesn’t matter if they lose the ODI series to India 3-0, as long as they win the Champions Trophy. After losing the second match in Cuttack, he told reporters, “No one will care about this series if we win that competition.” This sounds good, but it’s easier said than done.

England has started well in their matches but then lost their momentum. They struggled against Indian bowler Ravindra Jadeja and seemed uninspired in their bowling. Indian batsmen have been scoring freely against England’s fast bowlers, and Shreyas Iyer has been ready with a plan against short balls. Besides Adil Rashid, who bowls spin well, England hasn’t challenged India much.

England’s current performance is very different from how they played under former captain Eoin Morgan. While Morgan’s team was focused on scoring a lot of runs, they could also win matches that required fewer runs. Duckett mentioned that head coach Brendon McCullum supports his players, saying, “Baz (McCullum) won’t criticize me for trying my shots.” He justified getting out while playing a big shot against Jadeja.

Sticking to what they practice is good advice, but can the whole team keep playing aggressively all the time? Maybe that’s what McCullum’s approach, called “Bazball,” is about. However, excitement about this term has faded recently. There were talks of playing a different way after losing a Test series to India last year. Since joining the white-ball team, McCullum has only pushed for fast, aggressive play.

England’s captain, Jos Buttler, noticed similar aggressive play in Indian player Rohit Sharma, who scored a lot in Cuttack. Buttler believes that playing aggressively is the right way to win games. But he didn’t mention that India has different players; Rohit took risks while others like Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli played in a more controlled way according to the game situation.

Currently, only Duckett and Joe Root in the England ODI team have averages over 40 runs. This shows that the team seems to care more about how fast they score instead of their overall runs. Often, in close matches with strong bowlers, the game isn’t just about scoring quickly like in T20 cricket.

Duckett said, “If we lose 3-0 to India, I don’t care as long as we beat them in the final of the Champions Trophy.” But not many people think England can make it to that final based on their current performance.

In an exciting chess match, Fabio Caruana was surprised when world champion D. Gukesh gave up after only 18 moves in the second quarterfinal of the Freestyle Grand Slam tournament. Caruana, from the United States, admitted he probably wouldn’t have resigned so early. “I didn’t expect him to quit at that moment, but I also didn’t see how he could win from that position,” he said. Caruana won both of his games against Gukesh.

Before the match, Caruana felt calm because he thought he had the advantage with the white pieces. After losing the first game, Gukesh couldn’t stay in the competition against Caruana and finished the game very quickly.

Caruana explained, “The way Gukesh played was too risky. He tried to make big moves too early, which didn’t work out for him.” Now, Gukesh will compete for a chance to reach the semifinals.

The Freestyle chess format features 960 random opening positions, a creative idea from famous chess player Bobby Fischer. With new money supporting this format, it might become the future of chess.

In this match, Gukesh made a mistake early on, losing a pawn. Caruana, who has experience with this style of chess, took just 15 moves to reach a normal chess position and came out ahead by having an extra pawn. Gukesh decided not to play further and shook hands with Caruana, ending the match.

Plymouth Argyle pulled off a big surprise by beating Liverpool 1-0 in the FA Cup. Now they will face the powerful Manchester City, who have won the league four times in a row, on March 1 at the Etihad Stadium.

Plymouth is currently in the last position of Division Two, but they are ready to take on this tough challenge.

In other matches, defending champions Manchester United will play against Fulham at home. Newcastle will host Brighton, and Bournemouth will have a match against Wolverhampton.

Aston Villa will play against the second-tier team Cardiff, while Burnley, who wants to move up to the Premier League, will go to Preston.

Crystal Palace won their match against Doncaster Rovers with a score of 2-0, earning them a home game against Millwall next.

Lastly, Exeter and Nottingham Forest will compete on Tuesday for the chance to host Ipswich.