India let in two goals in the final quarter to suffer a 1-3 defeat to Belgium in their Rourkela leg of the FIH Men's Pro League 2025-26 match here on Wednesday. Nelson Onana (23rd minute), Thomas Crols (53rd) and Arno Van Dessel (57th) scored for Belgium while Shilanand Lakra (29th) was the goal-scorer for India. The two sides were locked 1-1 at the half time as well as at the end of the third quarter, before Belgium pumped in two goals in the final 15 minutes. It was an extremely competitive first quarter with both sides hardly making any mistakes at the back. Belgium earned an early penalty corner in the 4th minute. However, Alexander Hendrickx's drag-flick was stopped heroically by India's first rusher Vivek Sagar Prasad. Four minutes later, India too got their first penalty corner but the home side couldn't capitalise on the occasion. While Belgium were having more possession, India did well to hold their ground and launch quick counter-attacks in search of goal-scoring opportunities. In the 14th minute, Belgium won another penalty corner but this time Tom Boon's powerful attempt went narrowly wide off the target as the scores remained level. The game opened up in the second quarter. Belgium were awarded a penalty corner in the 21st minute but Indian goalkeeper Pawan made a brilliant acrobatic save to deny Alexander Hendrickx a goal. Moments later, Belgium's Thomas Crols was through on goal but Pawan stepped out and made another crucial save to protect his goal. In the 23rd minute, Belgium found the opening goal as they did well to make an interception to win possession in a dangerous position. Thomas Crols passed the ball to Onana who found the net with a simple finish. India stepped up their attack and made some crucial circle entries in the following minutes. In the 29th minute, the hosts made another attack and won a penalty corner. Amit Rohidas's hit was initially stopped by the first rusher, but Shilanand Lakra did well to quickly pounce on the ball and slot it into the net to score the equaliser. Belgium continued to dictate possession in the third quarter. However, India were resilient with their defending and maintained their composure at the back. In the 38th minute, Belgium won another penalty corner but Alexander Hendrickx was denied yet again, this time by Jarmnapreet Singh, who showed great skill to make a save on the goalline to keep the scores level. In the 53rd minute, India broke into another strong counter-attack as Nilakanta Sharma played a brilliant pass to Karthi Selvam but the forward couldn't take a shot on goal in time and was stopped by the Belgian backline. Seconds later on the other end of the field, Belgium launched an attack from the left flank as Lucas Balthazar played the perfect pass into the circle from the baseline to Thomas Crols, who struck the ball into the bottom right corner to take the lead for the visitors. In the 57th minute, it was Thomas Crols again in the spotlight as he set up the ball for Arno Van Dessel who did well to sneak the ball into the net and seal the victory for Belgium. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
12 February,2026 10:08 AM IST | Rourkela | AgenciesFour of the nine horses in the fray for the PD Bolton Trophy, the feature event of Thursday's seven-race card at Mahalaxmi, have a chance at the top prize. Fourth Wing, being the sole four-year-old filly taking on older rivals, will most likely be the first favourite. Thundering Phoenix may be looked upon as her main rival, but Earth, who has won in this class over this trip, must be considered the dark horse, along with Singer Sargent, if the last-named is not sluggish at the starting gates. First race at 2.30 pm.Selections: Raza Ali Plate (Class V; 1400m)Alexandria 1, Lara 2, We Still Believe 3. MD Mehta Trophy (For 3y, Maidens; 1000m)Latios 1, Dream Come True 2, Avante 3. PD Bolton Trophy (Class II; 1400m)Fourth Wing 1, Thundering Phoenix 2, Singer Sargent 3. MMT Pandole Plate (Class IV; 1200m)Mriga 1, Skandha 2, Crimson Pirate 3. W Buckley Plate (Class V; 2000m)Bright Button 1, Viking 2, Whisper 3. Bangalore Turf Club Trophy (For 3y, Maidens; 1400m)Cherubine 1, Enrich 2, Shaandaar 3. Byram N Jeejeebhoy Trophy (Class III; 1000m)Enforcer 1, Azure 2, Foxy 3. RecommendationsBest bet: NoneUpsets: Remy Red (1-2), Earth (3-1) & Red Rose (6-6) Today's poolsSuper jackpot pool: 2,3,4,5,6.7Jackpot pool: 3,4,5,6,7Treble pool: 4,5,6Tanala pool: All races.
12 February,2026 10:05 AM IST | Mumbai | Prakash GosaviBasketball superstar Stephen Curry has not just had ample success on the court with the Golden State Warriors (four-time NBA champion), but has also enjoyed a rock-solid family life off it, having married his high school sweetheart Ayesha in 2011. The 37-year-old recently opened up on the secret to his successful marriage, saying it’s rooted in ‘honest communication.’ “We built [honest communication] over time, where you can say whatever is on your mind and it doesn’t come off as a personal attack,” Stephen told America’s PEOPLE magazine ahead of the launch of the animated sports-comedy film GOAT — a movie featuring him and his wife as voice actors. For Ayesha, 36, though it’s all about making time. “Even if it’s a night like this [movie premiere], that’s a date night for us. We just make sure that the foundation of why we started this life together is always at the core of it.”
12 February,2026 09:48 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentWorld Championship silver medallist Anish Bhanwala clinched bronze in the men's 25m rapid-fire pistol competition, even as Kazakhstan dominated day eight of the Asian Shooting Championship with four gold medals here on Wednesday. This was Anish's third Asian Championship medal. Adriyan Karmakar in the 50m rifle prone junior men's event and the junior men's 25m RFP team also won gold on the day, taking India's table-topping medal tally to 41 gold, 19 silver and 15 bronze, with two more days of competitions left. Anish and Adarsh Singh took the seventh and eighth qualifying spots with scores of 574 and 573 respectively, ensuring two Indians in the RFP final. Former champion Nikita Chiryukin of Kazakhstan topped the qualifiers with a 582 and led a trio of his mates into the decider. Japanese Dai Yoshioka, a two-time Olympian and a world cup gold medallist and Ha Minh Thanh, a double Asian Games medallist also went through along with Ha's teammate Vu Tien Nam. In the final consisting of eight series of five rapid-fire shots, Yoshioka, Anish and Chiryukin were fastest off the blocks as Vu and Kazakh Artemiy Kabakov became the first two to be eliminated after the third series. As long-time team-mate Adarsh bowed out after the fourth series with 11 hits to his name, Anish found himself in joint lead with Yoshioka and Nikita after the sixth series with 21 hits. However, he got two hits in the seventh as the Japanese struck five and Chiryukin four, settling for bronze, the same result he had achieved three years ago at the Changwon Asian Championships. Yoshioka went on to close with another perfect five to upgrade his Changwon performance by one, finishing on a world and Asian record score of 31. Chiryukin won silver with 28 hits, while Anish ended on 23 hits. Earlier in the first event of the day, Islam Satpayev, the talented Kazakh rifle shooter who won a bronze at the Paris Olympics in the mixed team event, shone bright on the day winning a couple of gold in the non-Olympic 50m rifle prone men's competitions. He won the individual event with a score of 622.5 and the team gold in alliance with teammates Nikita Shakhtorin (622.5, individual silver) and Konstantin Malinovsky (615.0). India won a bronze through Babu Singh Panwar (621.3) in the individual men's event and a silver in the team event when Babu combined with Samarvir Singh (618.2) and Sartaj Singh Tiwana (614.4). In the junior men's rifle prone, India's Karmakar won gold with a tally of 621.7 over 60 shots. The Kazakhs took silver and bronze through Oleg Noskov (620.6) and Tamerlan Kabulov (617.3). Kazakhstan also took the team gold in the event with a tally of 1848.7, which was better than India's 1847.6. In the final event of the day, the junior men's 25m RFP, Indonesia's Muhamad Fawwaz Aditia Farrel took gold with a score of 29 in the final, which was also a world and Asian junior record. India's Suraj Sharma took silver with 23 and Mukesh Nelavalli bronze with a score of 19. Suraj (582) and Mukesh (572) won gold in the team competition, combining with Sahil Choudhary (575) in the qualification round to post a total of 1729. Team Kazakhstan took silver with a tally of 1613. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
12 February,2026 08:35 AM IST | New Delhi | PTIThe Indian men’s hockey team will seek to establish early dominance when their begin thei FIH Pro League campaign against a formidable Belgium here on Wednesday. “I am very happy to see youngsters like Amandeep Lakra, Manmeet Singh and Rosan Kujur earning their opportunities in the squad. This is the right time for them to step up at the international level, and I’m confident they will make the most of this opportunity,” said skipper Harmanpreet Singh on Tuesday. Since 2013, Belgium have had the upper hand against India, winning 22 of their 35 matches. India have won on 11 occasions while, two games ended in a draw. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
11 February,2026 09:29 AM IST | Rourkela | PTIIndia’s Aakriti Dahiya and Anjum Moudgil won the silver and bronze medal respectively in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions event at the Asian Shooting Championship here on Tuesday. Kazakhstan shooter Sofiya Shulzhenko set a new world record in the same event enroute winning gold at the Karni Singh Range. Sofiya ended the 35-shot final with a score of 358.2, four points clear of Aakriti. Aakriti’s compatriot Anjum clinched the bronze medal with a score of 340.4. Later in the junior women’s 3P final, India’s Prachi Gaikwad emerged triumphant with a score of 353.3. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
11 February,2026 09:24 AM IST | New Delhi | PTITennis ace Aryna Sabalenka gave her 4.6 million Instagram followers a glimpse of what her life has been looking like lately, following her Australian Open final defeat to Elena Rybakina on January 31. The Belarusian who lost 4-6, 6-4, 4-6 in Melbourne, posted a slew of pictures, featuring her unwinding with some expensive shopping (she’s seen carrying a Gucci bag among other stuff), enjoying extravagant meals, and relaxing by the pool in a red bikini. The post, captioned “Catching you up,” received a whopping three lakh-plus ‘likes.’ One of her followers commented: “So nice to see you chilling after the tournament. I like your energy & vibe. Another wrote: “You’re so gorgeous.”
11 February,2026 09:22 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentTall and strapping Dhakshineswar Suresh’s (DK) success story for India in the Davis Cup is one more example of how underdogs come from nowhere, bark and bite. As India defeated World No. 6 Netherlands 3-2 in the Davis Cup Qualifier 1 on Sunday in Bengaluru, the six-feet-five-inch tall DK, from Madurai, became the toast of the nation. Over the weekend, DK first beat Jesper de Jong in the singles before pairing up with Yuki Bhambri to beat David Pel-Sander Arends in the doubles and finally clinching the deciding fifth reverse singles rubber against Guy Den Ouden. To beat a higher ranked European nation, DK has almost made a habit of it. “I discovered DK while hunting for players of Indian origin and competing in college tennis in the USA. I saw his videos and knew this boy is gold. Let me take you through how we, in the AITA, fast-tracked this giant-killer last year. To get his visa stamping done for the away tie in Switzerland last year was not easy as he is studying in the US. Team India celebrate after winning the Davis Cup Qualifier against the Netherlands in Bengaluru on Sunday Once the visa was done and DK came, he showed fire and delivered even last year,” India’s non-playing captain Rohit Rajpal told mid-day on Monday. When he competed in the World Tennis League [WTL], an elite mixed gender team competition, at the same venue in Bengaluru last December, DK made heads turn. This writer witnessed a giant, serving missiles on the court with a willingness to compete against top guns. After all, DK is still a college tennis kid, whose real value will be known when he plays full time as a professional. For the record, when DK stunned Daniil Medvedev in the WTL last December, he made heads turn. Talking about his exploits over the weekend, Rajpal said the young man from Madurai is a treasure. “It was not easy to convince coaches in Wake Forest University to release him for the Davis Cup tie as this is his last semester. The boy is big, and to prepare him for singles and doubles, it was big. India can definitely hope for more from DK in the coming years. The transition from college tennis to the Pro Tour is not easy. I will definitely help him out with sponsorship,” added an excited Rajpal. Rohit Rajpal Not many would know, DK plays decent doubles and is ranked fairly high in the US College NCAA rankings. “As he plays the deuce court [right side of the court], it suited us very well as DK could pair with Yuki Bhambri. Having a big serve and playing on the right side, worked for us,” concluded Rajpal. India 3-2 Netherlands Sumit Nagal lost to Guy Den Ouden 0-6, 6-4, 3-6Dhakshineswar Suresh beat Jesper de Jong 6-4, 7-5Yuki Bhambri-D Suresh beat Sander Arends-David Pel 7-6 (0), 3-6, 7-6 (1)Sumit Nagal lost to Jesper de Jong 7-5, 1-6, 4-6 D Suresh beat Guy Den Ouden 6-4, 7-6 (4) OneDhakshineswar Suresh is the first Indian player in 22 years to win all three matches (two singles and one doubles) in a single Davis Cup tie; the last to do so was Leander Paes in 2004 against Japan 470Dhakshineswar Suresh’s singles ranking is far lower than those of the opponents he beat in the singles events — Jesper de Jong (86) and Guy Den Ouden (169) 15No of aces Dhakshineswar Suresh hit in the deciding fifth rubber against Guy den Ouden
10 February,2026 09:36 AM IST | New Delhi | S KannanIndia Davis Cup legend Mahesh Bhupathi has lavished praise on young Dhakshineswar Suresh’s (DK) big serve after Indian beat the Netherlands 3-2 in the Davis Cup at Bengaluru on Sunday. “Dhakshineswar has a big game, potent serve, so the surface and conditions in Bengaluru were helpful for him. He is exciting to watch for sure,” said Bhupathi, who got DK a break of sorts in the World Tennis League. “Also, when there was a discussion on where to play this Davis Cup tie, Delhi or Bengaluru, the right choice was made,” added Bhupathi.
10 February,2026 09:33 AM IST | New Delhi | S KannanIndia’s middle-distance runner Harmilan Bains, 27, instagrammed this stunning look, sporting a short skirt and high black boots, to her 2,59,000 followers recently. “This walk? It’s a statement,” wrote Bains, who hails from Punjab, and is a gold medallist in the 1500m at the 2024 Asian Indoor C’ships in Tehran, and a double silver medallist at the 2022 Asian Games — in 800m and 1500m — in Hangzhou, China.
10 February,2026 09:13 AM IST | China | AgenciesOlympic double bronze-medallist Manu Bhaker came agonisingly close to winning a gold, missing out by a whisker in a tense shoot-off as she clinched a silver in 25m pistol event, while fellow Indian Esha Singh claimed a bronze at the Asian Championship here on Monday. In one of the most closely-contested events of this edition of the continental championship, both gold medallist Nguyen Thuy Trang and Manu shot an identical 35 in the final, forcing a shoot-off, where the Vietnamese held sway. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
10 February,2026 08:57 AM IST | New Delhi | PTIADVERTISEMENT
