ATHLETICS
Gulveer gets off to good start in 2026 season
Gulveer Singh clocked 13:15.84 in Winston-Salem to finish third in the men’s 5000m at Sound Invite, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver-level meet, and the Indian long-distance runner’s season-opening assignment.
He finished behind Andrew Hunter (13:10.87) and Abdihamid Nur (13:11.59).
This is Gulveer’s third-fastest time in the said event, his best of 12:59.77—also a national record—having come at the Boston University DMR Challenge a year ago.
His second-fastest performance (13:11.82) was at the Yogibo Athletics Challenge Cup 2024.
-Team Sportstar
Krishna Jayasankar breaks indoor shot put national record
Shot putter Krishna Jayasankar on Sunday shattered the indoor national record with an attempt of 16.83m at the Don Kirby Invitational in Albuquerque.
The 23-year-old bettered her own national record, which she had registered at 16.63m at the New Mexico Open in January.
-Team Sportstar
TENNIS
Balaji-Oberleitner pair wins Challenger title in France
N. Sriram Balaji and his Austrian partner Neil Oberleitner won the Terega Open Pau Pyrénées, an ATP Challenger Tour event, in France on Saturday.
The Indo-Austrian pair took down Switzerland’s Jakub Paul and Czechia’s Matej Vocel 1-6, 6-3, [13-11] in a thrilling final.
World No. 75 Balaji, member of the Indian Davis Cup squad which recently stunned the Netherlands in the Qualifiers, won his 17th doubles title in the second-tier of men’s tennis. This season, it is his third title with Oberleitner after Nonthaburi and Manama.
-Team Sportstar
Delhi Open 2026: Last-minute entrant M Sureshkumar lights up Day 1 with win over 5th seed Carboni
Only securing his entry at the last-minute, 26-year-old M Sureshkumar lit up day 1 of the ATP Delhi Open 2026 with a come-from-behind win over fifth seed Lorenzo Carboni of Italy in the Men’s Singles first qualifying round at the DLTA Complex. Conceding the opener, Sureshkumar rallied to sweep the 19-year-old Carboni in an hour and 53 minutes, winning 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Later in the day, Indian campaigner Ramkumar Ramanathan, starting as a wild card in qualifying, beat Tsung-Hao Huang of Chinese Taipei in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3.
“I wasn’t sure if I’d be coming to Delhi because I got my entry at the very last minute. To be honest, I wasn’t fully prepared since it was still doubtful whether I’d play or not. I didn’t have any expectations going into today because I knew he was a good player and a youngster. I just went into the match looking to play some good tennis,” Sureshkumar said following his victory.
It was a gritty fightback from Sureshkumar, who turned the match on its head after a slow start and took complete control in the second and third sets. Finding rhythm behind his serve, he repeatedly pinned Carboni deep and dictated play with a relentless service game that left his opponent scrambling.
Once he gained the upper hand, there was little let-up, as Sureshkumar kept the pressure on and steadily pushed Carboni into a corner to seal the turnaround in style.
In other results, top qualifying seed Denis Yevseyev was made to work hard before edging past Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4 in a gripping three-setter. Tenth seed Eric Vanshelboim also came through a stern test, recovering from a set down to defeat Sidharth Rawat 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.
Second seed Ioannis Xilas survived a tight opening set against wildcard Ishaque Eqbal before pulling away 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-3, while sixth seed Luca Castelnuovo and seventh seed Alexandr Binda sealed straight-set wins, getting past Parth Aggarwal and Udit Kamboj, respectively.
Third seed Hyeon Chung looked sharp in a 6-2, 6-1 win over alternate Nitin Kumar Sinha, but there was no shortage of drama elsewhere. Alexander Donski knocked out 12th seed S D Prajwal Dev 6-3, 7-5, and alternate Uisung Park stunned ninth seed Mukund Sasikumar 6-4, 6-2 to shake up the draw. The winners now move into the second and final qualifying round on Monday, where six spots in the main draw will be up for grabs.
ATP Delhi Open 2026 – Day 1 Results
Men’s Singles Qualifying – First Round
[2] Ioannis Xilas (GRE) d. [WC] Ishaque Eqbal (IND) 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-3
[6] Luca Castelnuovo (SUI) d. [WC] Parth Aggarwal (IND) 6-2, 7-5
[7] Alexandr Binda (ITA) d. [WC] Udit Kamboj (IND) 6-4, 7-5
[10] Eric Vanshelboim (UKR) d. Sidharth Rawat (IND) 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
Alexander Donski (BUL) d. [12] S D Prajwal Dev (IND) 6-3, 7-5
[1/Alt] Denis Yevseyev (KAZ) d. Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong (MAS) 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4
[3] Hyeon Chung (KOR) d. [Alt} Nitin Kumar Sinha (IND) 6-2, 6-1
[Alt] Manish Sureshkumar (IND) d. [5] Lorenzo Carboni (ITA) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
[Alt] Uisung Park (KOR) d. [9] Mukund Sasikumar (IND) 6-4, 6-2
[WC] Ramkumar Ramanathan d. [8] Tsung-Hao Huang (TPE) 6-1, 6-3
[Alt] Grigoriy Lomakin (KAZ) d. Egor Agafonov (11) 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(7)
[4] Maks Kasnikowski (POL) d. T. Derepasko (Alt) 6-2, 6-3 (Centre Court)
-Team Sportstar
FOOTBALL
India U17 men defeats FC Spartak Moscow in closed-door friendly
The India U17 men’s team defeated Russian club side FC Spartak Moscow 4-2 in their third friendly match in Türkiye at the Fanatic Tour Serik Sport Centre in Antalya, on Sunday.
It was the first win of the tour for the Blue Colts, who lost two friendly matches against the Turkiye U17 national team (0-1 and 1-6) last week.
Bibiano Fernandes’ side is using these games to prepare for the AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026, which will take place in May. India will take on Uzbekistan, Australia and DPR Korea in Group D.
Sunday’s game was played behind closed doors. India took a first-half lead through Mukundo Singh Ningthoujam, who scored in the 31st minute. Gunleiba Wangkheirakpam (57’) and Washington Singh Ngangom (61’) struck two more in quick succession to widen India’s lead.
Spartak Moscow pulled one back in the 65th minute. Md Aimaan Bin struck India’s fourth and final goal in the 82nd minute before the Russians reduced the deficit in the 86th from the penalty spot.
-Team Sportstar
Published on Feb 15, 2026
