The pair’s rise to World No. 1 was driven by its gold-medal-winning performance at the WTT Youth Star Contender in Doha in January 2026 and a bronze-medal finish at the Asian Youth Championships in Bangkok in June-July.
In ice hockey, Royal Enfield announced the fourth season of its developmental programme in the Himalayas, with a focus on training players, coaches and match officials. The season will begin with a dedicated goaltender training programme from November 9 to 13 at the Nawang Dorjay Stobdan Stadium in Leh. International goaltending coach Matt Darlow will lead the sessions for participants from Ladakh and Spiti. Referee training will be conducted by IIHF-certified professional Peter Gebei. The programme will support preparations for the Royal Enfield Ice Hockey League and the Spiti Cup, scheduled for January and February 2027.
India’s para armwrestlers secured 26 medals two gold, 10 silver and 14 bronze — at the 28th World Para Armwrestling Championship, held in East Delhi on November 1 and 2. India finished fifth in the overall standings behind Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine. Vanramnghaki Hauhnar and Alok Emmanuel Tom won gold in their respective categories. The Indian contingent had 60 athletes competing in 69 of the 144 finals. World No. 3 Shrimant Jha, who finished eighth in the standing men’s amputee 85kg category, spoke about overcoming employment barriers before securing a position with Jindal Steel, his sponsor.
At the Maritime Invitational 2026 in Visakhapatnam, Gaganjeet Bhullar retained the lead despite weather interruptions. The 38-year-old finished at nine-under after 32 holes, opening a six-shot advantage over Sachin Baisoya, Tushar Pannu, Deepak Yadav and Ravi Kumar, who were tied at three-under. Heavy rain reduced Wednesday’s round to 14 holes, with the day’s par set at 50. Bhullar is seeking another victory on the Indian Golf Premier League Tour after winning twice earlier in the season.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu sprinter Neil Samraj will lead a 95-member Indian team at the inaugural BIMSTEC Under-23 Athletics Meet, scheduled to take place at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar from November 25 to 27. Samraj, who won gold in the 100m and 200m with under-18 national records at the National Junior Athletics Championships in Chennai, will compete in both sprint events and the 4x100m relay. Abinaya Rajarajan is among the prominent names in the women’s team. More than 400 athletes from seven countries are expected to participate, with Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand joining India.