The curtain came down on the 2025-26 Mumbai racing season on Monday at the Mahalaxmi racetrack with a seven-race card. The final day's feature event, the Hyderabad Race Club Trophy, was bagged by trainer PS Chouhan's Ardakan (Vivek G up). Incidentally, the trainer and jockey also ended the final day with a brace each. Trainer Pesi Shroff collected his 19th championship trophy for the Mumbai circuit with 29 winners against his name; jockey P Trevor was adjudged champion jockey with 27 wins. The champion apprentice jockey trophy was bagged by Aditya Waydande, who scored nine wins during the season. Horse owner KN Dhunjibhoy and his Five Star Shipping Company won the highest stakes money (over Rs 2.5 crore) to emerge as champion owner by a huge margin. Ms Ameeta Mehra's Usha & Mehra stud farm won the champion stud farm trophy with 90 points.
31 March,2026 02:29 PM IST | Mumbai | Prakash GosaviWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) icon and actor John Cena announced on Monday that he would make a return to the company to host its showpiece wrestling event, Wrestlemania 42, at Las Vegas. Taking to X, the record-breaking 17-time world champion, who retired from professional wrestling last year after a memorable retirement tour, wrote, "Since retirement, my "road" has looked a little different... but now I can officially say I'm headed to WrestleMania!!!! See you in Las Vegas!" WWE also soon announced Cena's return in a statement, saying, "John Cena is stepping back onto the Grandest Stage of Them All as the host of WrestleMania 42." Since retirement, my “road” has looked a little different… but now I can officially say I’m headed to WrestleMania!!!! See you in Las Vegas! pic.twitter.com/nyNypOhRpk — John Cena (@JohnCena) March 30, 2026 "The Greatest of All Time broke the news on social media that he is headed to Las Vegas. The 17-time World Champion retired from in-ring competition last December after his loss to Gunther at Saturday Night's Main Event, but is now making his first return to WWE," added the statement. WrestleMania is where the iconic wrestler has delivered some of his most high-profile matches against legendary names of professional wrestling such as Big Show, Triple H, Batista, Shawn Michaels, The Miz, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, and others. The wrestling legend has been in the main event bout of the event multiple times. In 2004, it was against Big Show at the 20th edition of Wrestlemania where Cena captured his first-ever championship in the WWE, the WWE United States Championship. Last year, Cena had a memorable retirement year, that saw him battle some of his biggest rivals such as CM Punk, Randy Orton, AJ Styles, Brock Lesnar, etc. and current-day stars like Cody Rhodes, Dominik Mysterio etc. During his last year as an active professional wrestler, Cena made it count by winning a record-breaking 17th world title, defeating Cody at WrestleMania 41. He also completed a career grand slam in WWE, defeating Dominik in November to capture the WWE Intercontinental Championship. In the process, Cena finally won the prize that had eluded him throughout his career and achieved the Grand Slam by winning both world championships, both mid-card level titles and some tag team gold throughout his storied career since 2002. WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas will feature CM Punk defending his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes going one-on-one against 14-time world champion Randy Orton. The biggest event in professional wrestling will take place from April 18-19. 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
31 March,2026 10:17 AM IST | New York | ANIFrom tennis legends Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf to cricketers Mitchell Starc and Alyssa Healy, the world of sport is replete with tales of professional athletes forming ‘perfect’ pairs. One such couple is Indian hockey star striker Gurjant Singh, 31, and tennis player Karman Kaur Thandi, 27, who tied the knot in 2023. Gurjant, a two-time Olympic medallist, recently announced his retirement from international hockey, and is now looking forward to spending more time with his wife on Tour. “Tennis is an individual sport and it’s important for her to have a good team around. Karman has supported me immensely and now, whenever I can, I will travel with her as she pursues her professional journey,” Gurjan told mid-day. Karman, among India’s leading women’s tennis players, having won several ITF singles and doubles titles besides making a Fed Cup appearance, wrote a heartfelt note for her husband: “My love, your retirement from national hockey isn’t defined by age or title — it’s defined by your mindset. I’m deeply proud of the man this sport and journey has shaped you into.” An emotional Gurjant revealed that he had discussed his retirement decision with Karman before making it public. “As two sportspersons, we understand each other’s highs and lows very well. The support is unmatched. I’ve been battling injury for the last few months and have undergone three surgeries in my career. This time, it was getting hard to return,” said Gurjant, who has 130 senior international caps with 33 goals. One of those goals is a record 13-second strike during the Pro League in Bhubaneswar in 2020, making Gurjant the fastest Indian goal scorer in international hockey. “That fastest goal will remain one of my favourite hockey memories,” concluded Gurjant.
31 March,2026 10:12 AM IST | New Delhi | Harpreet Kaur LambaMarco Bezzecchi captured his fifth consecutive MotoGP victory on Sunday by winning the United States Grand Prix, reclaiming the season points lead in the process. The 27-year-old Italian rider for Aprilia also set a MotoGP record for consecutive laps led with 121 in taking the 20-lap showdown at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Bezzecchi started second behind Italian pole-sitter Fabio Di Giannantonio, who rides for Valentino Rossi's VR46 team, but the Ducati rider faded quickly to fifth as Bezzecchi seized the lead and kept it to the finish. In leading the first three laps he broke the previous record for most led in a row of 103 set by Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo of Yamaha in 2015. His winning time of 40mins 50.653secs was 2.036 seconds ahead of runner up Aprilia teammate Jorge Martin of Spain, who won Saturday's sprint race to take the riders lead by a point. Spain's Pedro Acosta of KTM was third. Bezzecchi is the first rider since Spain's Marc Marquez in 2014 to win the first three races of a season, Marquez having taking 10 in a row in his run. "I'm happy. I'm very happy," said Bezzecchi. "Yesterday I made a mistake so it was very important to make a good race today." He praised the crowd, saying of his supporters, "I was very sad and they gave me a push to bounce back today." Bezzecchi seized an 81-77 lead over 2024 world champion Martin in the season points standings. Bezzecchi's victory run also includes last year's closing races at Portugal and Valencia and this year's openers in Thailand and Brazil. Only reigning world champion Marquez, who was fifth on Sunday just behind Di Giannantonio, and Rossi have had longer modern-era win streaks. 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
31 March,2026 10:01 AM IST | Austin | AFPIndia's Sheetal Devi has been named 'Para Archer of the Year 2025' by World Archery, adding to her extraordinary achievements, which also include a historic world championship crown. The 19-year-old from Jammu & Kashmir became the first and only female armless archer to win gold at the World Para Archery Championships by claiming the top honours in the women's compound individual event in Gwangju, South Korea last year. Born without arms, Sheetal skilfully uses her feet, legs, and shoulder to draw the bow and shoot. She also secured a complete set of medals at the World Championships, winning the women's team silver and mixed team bronze. "India's Sheetal Devi took the honour in the para archer of the year category after another breakthrough season that included a world title in Gwangju," said World Archery. Beyond her World Championship gold, Sheetal also boasts of a Paris Paralympics bronze in the mixed team event, along with individual silvers from the 2022 Asian Para Games and the 2023 Asian Championships in Bangkok. Nominated alongside the best para archers in the world… and now named the best para archer by @worldarchery - this one feels deeply personal. A heart filled with gratitude, with emotion, with everything this journey has held. Thank you pic.twitter.com/broXb2fg48 — Sheetal Devi Archery 🇮🇳 (@sheetal_archery) March 30, 2026 "Nominated alongside the best para archers in the world... and now named the best para archer by @worldarchery - this one feels deeply personal. A heart filled with gratitude, with emotion, with everything this journey has held. Thank you," Sheetal, who is also an Arjuna awardee, posted on 'X' on Monday. "The 2025 World Archery Awards honour the season's most exceptional athletes and officials for their excellence, fair play and dedication to the sport," it added. The awards, launched in 2011, honour excellence and outstanding contributions to the sport, celebrating the athletes and support staff who have defined the international archery season. This year, the awards were presented across eight categories, including 'Archer of the Year,' which went to Emircan Haney of Turkey; 'Young Archer of the Year,' awarded to Baptiste Addis of France; and 'Best Team of the Year,' claimed by Korea's recurve men's team. Sheetal Devi’s achievements . She became the first and only female armless archer to win gold at the 2025 World Para Archery Championships, claiming the top honours in the women’s compound individual event, besides winning the women’s team silver and mixed team bronze medals. . She won bronze at the 2024 Paris Paralympics in the mixed team event. . She bagged gold in the individual compound and mixed team events, apart from winning silver in the women’s doubles competition at the 2023 Asian Para Games. 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
31 March,2026 09:46 AM IST | Lausanne (Switzerland) | PTIIndian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa kicked off his campaign at the prestigious Candidates Tournament by breaking through the defenses of Dutchman Anish Giri to secure a full point and now shares the lead after the first round with American GM Fabiano Caruana and Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov here. In an eventful first round, World Cup champion Sindarov showcased his excellent tactical skill to turn the tables on Russia's Andrey Esipenko, while pre-event favourite Caruana stunned fellow American Hikaru Nakamura. The other game of the eight-player double round-robin tournament between Germany's Matthias Bluebaum and China's Wei Yi ended in a stalemate with both players sharing a point. In the women's section being held simultaneously, Indian Grandmaster and Women's World Cup champion Divya Deshmukh drew with Ukraine's Anna Muzychuk, a last-minute replacement for Koneru Humpy, while R. Vaishali survived some anxious moments before sharing the point with Kazakhstan's Bibisara Assaubayeva. It was, in fact, a day of stalemates in the womens' section as Russia's Aleksandra Goryachkina drew with compatriot Kateryna Lagno and the all-Chinese clash between Zhu Jiner and Tan Zhongyi also ended in a shared point. Praggnanandhaa had been struggling in recent months leading up to the Candidates but has now bounced back in style, and Giri, one of the most consistent and solid players on the circuit, was simply no match for him on Saturday. It was a battle of nerves as the Indian began with the Grand Prix Aatack to challenge Giri's Sicilian Defense with the black pieces, and whether the opening achieved its intended effect is debatable, but it certainly gave Praggnanandhaa a valuable lead on the clock. Giri is not used to surprises and while he was resourceful enough in the early middle game and equalised, Praggnanandhaa won a pawn in the ensuing rook-and-minor-pieces endgame. Giri, running low on time, blundered in a lost rook-and-pawns endgame with a pawn less. The rest was easy for Praggnanandhaa. But perhaps the most impressive game was played by Caruana who used his white pieces to perfection. Nakamura was close to levelling the game as the middle game arrived, but the American, who is currently more active as a streamer than as a player, found himself in an opposite-coloured bishops middle game where his bishop was restricted to a passive role. Caruana sealed the game with precise calculation in the endgame. The Candidates is being contested in both the Open and Women's sections to determine the challengers for the next World Championship matches against reigning champions D Gukesh and Ju Wenjun of China. 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
31 March,2026 09:40 AM IST | Paphos (Cyprus) | PTIIndian grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa got off to a flier and crashed through the defenses of Dutch GM Anish Giri in the first round of the Candidates chess tournament here on Sunday. On a very eventful first day of the tournament, World Cup champion Javokhir Sindarov used his excellent tactical skill to turn the tables on Russian Andrey Esipenko, while pre-event favourite Fabiano Caruana of the United States was close to a victory over fellow American Hikaru Nakamura. The other game of the eight-player double round-robin tournament is between Matthias Bluebaum of Germany and Wei Yi of China. In the women's section being played simultaneously, Indian grandmaster and world women's cup champion Divya Deshmukh drew with last-minute replacement Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine and R Vaishali survived some anxious moments before splitting the point with Bibisara Assaubayeva of Kazakhstan. It was in fact all-draw day in the women's event as Aleksandra Goryachkina of Russia drew with compatriot Katerya Lagno and all Chinese duel between Jiner Zhu and Zhongyi Tan also ended in a draw. Praggnanandhaa had been struggling for past few months before the Candidates but has now bounced back in style. Giri is one of the most consistent and solid player in the circuit but on Sunday Praggnanandhaa was simply unstoppable. It was a battle of nerves as the Indian started off with the Grand Prix attack to counter the Sicilian defense by Giri, who played black. Whether the opening had its desired effect or not is a matter of debate but what it did for Praggnanandhaa was gave him a lead on the clock. Giri is not used to surprises and while he was resourceful enough in the early middle game and equalised, Praggnanandhaa won a pawn in the ensuing rook and minor pieces endgame. Giri, running low on time, blundered to a lost rook and pawns endgame with a pawn less. The rest was easy for Praggnanandhaa. 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
30 March,2026 01:01 PM IST | Paphos (Cyprus) | PTIWorld number two Jannik Sinner is in formidable form heading into Sunday's Miami Open ATP final against Jiri Lehecka, where the Italian will try to add the title to his Indian Wells triumph this month. Sinner is vying to become just the eighth man, and the first since Roger Federer in 2017, to complete the so-called "Sunshine Double" of Indian Wells and the Miami Open. The four-time Grand Slam champion has reached the title match without dropping a set and is, in fact, on a record streak of 32 consecutive sets won at the Masters 1000 level. That run includes titles in Paris and Indian Wells, and he could join Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as the only men to win three consecutive Masters titles. "It's good to put myself in this position," Sinner said after dispatching fourth-ranked German Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) in Friday's semi-finals. "Obviously, I try to perform in the best possible way in every event (but) in bigger events I like to play more. So, I'm very happy that I can play one more final here in Miami." Sinner is in the Miami final for a fourth time. He lifted the trophy in 2024, but he missed last year's edition as he served a three-month doping ban. "Standing here again, in the final, means very, very much to me," he said. With his performances in the elite March hardcourt tournaments, Sinner has stepped up the pressure on Carlos Alcaraz in the battle for world number one. But he expects a stiff challenge from Lehecka despite leading their head-to-head 3-0. "He played incredible tennis throughout the whole week here," Sinner said. "So, he doesn't have anything to lose. "It's definitely a court that suits him very well. And then how he plays tennis is a very flat-hitting forehand and backhand, serving very well. "He is a very, very aggressive player. And this is perfect for this kind of conditions here." Lehecka is chasing a third ATP title, but is in his first final at the Masters 1000 level. Like Sinner, he hasn't dropped a set en route to the final. "It feels great," Lehecka said after overpowering rising French talent Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-2 in the semi-finals. "It's definitely something I've been working towards the whole year and the whole pre-season." Lehecka, ranked 22nd in the world, said he and his team had made consistency a focus as they prepared for the season, and that consistency -- in training as well as in matches -- is yielding dividends now. "We put big amounts of time, big amount of hours that we spend on the court and also in the gym," he said. "We were not doing anything specific towards this week, but I think it's the work that we did in the last two, three months that's just paying off right now." 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
30 March,2026 11:43 AM IST | Miami | AFPI have always felt that Earth, trained by Sanjay Kolse, is a specialist seven-furlong horse, but requires a very strong rider to correct her habitual drift in long Mahalaxmi homestretch. On Monday, when the Mumbai racing season 2025-26 bids goodbye, Kolse has pitched Earth in the feature event, the Cursetjee Dhunjishaw Trophy (Class II; 1400m), and engaged A Sandesh to ride. Therefore, though the eight-horse field looks quite competitive on paper, I have no hesitation in nominating Earth as first choice. First race at 4.30 pm.Selections: Brave Hunter Plate (Class V; 1600m)Abhyankar 1, Mighty Hero 2, Ma Cherie 3. Western India Race Horse Owners' Association Trophy (Class III; 2000m)Black Thunder 1, Youremanorborne 2, Wings Of Fury 3. Blue Pencil Plate (For 3y, Maidens; 1000m)Queen Caroline 1, Lucky Diamond 2, Absolute Emperor 3. Amber Flash Plate (For 3y, Maidens; 1600m)Incredible Luck 1, Shaandaar 2, Golden Eye 3. Cursetjee Dhunjishaw Salver (Class II; 1400m)Earth 1, Your Unforgettable 2, Bee Magical 3. Busy Lizzie Plate (Class IV; 1100m)American Eagle 1, Ensky 2, Rafael 3. Secret Treasure Plate (Class III; 1200m)Matisse 1, Neutralist 2, Eastern Monarch 3. RecommendationsBest bet: NoneUpsets: Caccini (2-1), Dreams Come True (3-6) & Chagall (5-1) Today's poolsSuper jackpot pool: 2,3,4,5,6.7Jackpot pool: 3,4,5,6,7Treble pool: 4,5,6Tanala pool: All races.
30 March,2026 11:01 AM IST | Mumbai | Prakash GosaviThree-time Olympic gold medal-winning skier Eileen Gu was honoured by USA’s prestigious Harvard University recently, with the Shiftmaker Award, which celebrates female strength, education and empowerment. Gu Instagrammed a series of pictures at the award show where she’s donning a pink satin dress. “A beautiful evening at Harvard. Honoured to receive this award,” Gu, a Harvard graduate herself, captioned her post. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Eileen 🖤🌈🧊🐲 (@eileengu)
30 March,2026 10:45 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentOscar Piastri said finishing second at Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix was "as good as a win" for McLaren after a disastrous start to the season for the Australian and his world champion team-mate Lando Norris. In what was his first grand prix of the season, Piastri lost out to Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli at Suzuka, with Norris finishing fifth. Piastri crashed on the way to the grid at the season opener in Melbourne and missed the race in China due to a technical problem. Norris also did not start in China because of a separate issue. Piastri said it had been a "really encouraging" race in Japan after McLaren's early-season woes. "I think the strategy was good, so I think we just nailed everything," he said. "Unfortunately it wasn't quite enough for the win, but I think at the moment a result like today is as good as a win for us." Piastri led from Mercedes' George Russell for the first half of the race but Antonelli took advantage of a safety car to jump into the lead. Piastri had already pitted by the time the safety car came out midway through the race. The Australian said he "would have loved to have seen how it would have panned out" if he had been able to continue his battle with the Mercedes from a leading position. But he said overall the Japanese Grand Prix had been "probably one of my best weekends in F1". "As race weekends go, we couldn't have done any better than that," he said. "I'm very happy with the performance that I put in, very happy with the performance from the whole team." Norris went into the race with little driving time under his belt, having been unable to take part in the first half of all three practice sessions. He managed to pick off Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton for fifth place late in the race and he said it had been "a strong day for the team". "Second and fifth is a good result and a sign of the hard work the team is putting in, so thanks to them," said Norris. "It's a sign we're heading in the right direction." 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
30 March,2026 10:37 AM IST | Suzuka | AFPADVERTISEMENT
