New Delhi, Sep 9: The Indian mixed teams in both the rifle and pistol events missed out on medals on the opening day of the international shooting season’s fourth and final International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Rifle/Pistol stage at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Center, with neither pairs making it to the medal matches.

In the pistol mixed team event, the Indian pairs finished 11th and 13th in qualification, while in the rifle mixed team, the Indian pairs were placed 14th and 34th.

In the air pistol mixed team event, India’s first pair of Surbhi Rao (284) and Amit Sharma (290) registered a combined qualification score of 574-20x to finish 11th. The second pair, Olympian Rhythm Sangwan (289) and Nishant Rawat (282), finished 13th with a score of 571-15x.

The gold medal went to China’s in-form pair, Qianxun Yao and Kai Hu, who claimed a dominant 17-5 victory over Czechia’s Veronika Schejbalova and Jindrich Dubovy. This was back-to-back World Cup golds for the Chinese pair after their triumph in Munich, adding to their silvers in Buenos Aires and Lima earlier this year.

Hungary’s Veronika Major and Akos Karoly Nagy secured the bronze, defeating the Neutral Athletes’ team of Iana Enina and Anton Aristarkhov 17-13.

In the air rifle mixed team event, India’s Ramita Jindal (312.9) and Umamahesh Maddineni (315.7) shot 628.6 to finish 14th. The second pair of Meghana M. Sajjanar (312.8) and Divyansh Singh Panwar (309.3) managed 622.1, placing them 34th.

The final saw Norway’s Jeanette Hegg Duestad and Jon-Hermann Hegg emerge champions with a 15-9 win over China’s Xinlu Peng and Lihao Sheng, who had earlier broken the world record during qualification with 636.9.

The Norwegian duo added to their gold in Lima and bronze in Munich. China’s Peng and Sheng, meanwhile, collected a second successive silver. Italy’s Carlotta Salafia and Danilo Dennis Sollazzo completed the podium with bronze.

India will look to open its medal account on Wednesday when Amit Sharma, Nishant Rawat, and Samrat Rana take to the range in the Men’s 10m Air Pistol. The field will feature a high-quality line-up of 65 athletes, including China’s World No.1 Hu Kai, winner of the last three World Cups’ Gold, Neutral Athlete and World No.5 Anton Aristarkhov, and World No.6 Jason Solari of Switzerland, silver and bronze medalists respectively in Buenos Aires. Brazil’s Felipe Almeida Wu, currently ranked World No.8 and silver medalist in Lima, will also be in contention.

Paris Olympic medallists Federico Nilo Maldini (silver) and Paolo Monna (bronze) of Italy, alongside Hungary’s Akos Karoly Nagy, add further depth to the draw. Qualification begins at 7:15 AM IST with the finals scheduled for 10 AM IST.

The Women’s 25m Pistol (Precision Stage) qualification also begins tomorrow, where Olympian Rahi Sarnobat, Abhidnya Ashok Patil, and Divya T.S. from India will go up against a competitive 57-strong field.

The line-up includes Korea’s Yang Jiin, Paris Olympic gold medallist and World No.5, along with Olympic silver and bronze medallist Camille Jedrzejewski of France and Veronika Major of Hungary.

World No.2 Yejin Oh of Korea, the reigning Olympic champion in 10m Air Pistol, World No.3 Qianxun Yao of China, and World No.8 Haniyeh Rostamiyan of Iran are also in contention.

Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday defeated Jannik Sinner in the US Open men’s singles final 6-2 3-6 6-1 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York and took home the largest prize money purse ever in tennis. Alcaraz claimed his second career Grand Slam title in the US Open, having earlier won in 2022, and a sixth overall in his career.

By winning the 2025 US Open title, Carlos Alcaraz won 44 crore ($5 million) as prize money a record in the tournament’s history. This year’s prize money went up from $3.6 million compared to last year. The event also upped the overall prize money to $90 million, up 20% from 2024.

Alcaraz claims his sixth major title and is the second youngest male player (22 years and 125 days) to reach six major titles, older only than Bjorn Borg. The Spaniard reached his seventh major final, and is tied with Jim Courier and Mats Wilander for second on the all-time list for major finals reached before turning 23.

The 22 year old has now won two Wimbledon titles on grass (2023 and 2024), two Roland Garros titles on clay (2024 and 2025) and two US Open titles on hard courts (2022 and 2025)

Sinner and Alcaraz have combined to win each of the last eight Grand Slam singles titles, the longest such streak since Federer and Nadal compiled 11 consecutive major titles from 2005-2007.

By reaching the final without dropping a single set, Alcaraz became the fourth men’s singles player to do so in the last 25 years, along with Lleyton Hewitt (2005), Rafael Nadal (2010) and Roger Federer (2015). Alcaraz has dominated the 2025 season with a tour-leading seven titles and the best record in men’s tennis at 61-6.

Virat Kohli penned down an emotional note for RCB fans and people who lost their lives in the Bengaluru Stampede on June 4th. Royal Challengers Bengaluru shared message on their social media handle in which Kohli said, “Nothing in life really prepares you for a heartbreak like June 4th. What should’ve been the happiest moment in our franchise’s history… turned into something tragic. I’ve been thinking of and praying for the families of those we lost… and for our fans who were injured. Your loss is part of our story now. Together, we will move forward with care, respect and responsibility.”

11 people were dead and 47 others were injured in the stampede near the city’s M. Chinnaswamy cricket stadium, where the players were parading the trophy for fans. Kohli’s statement on the incident is a part of the team’s ‘RCB CARES’ initiative to ensure better crowd management in the future to avoid untoward incidents such as the June 4 stampede.

Recently, RCB made their first social media post 84 days after the tragic stampede incident in Bengaluru. In a post shared on Thursday, the franchise says they have launched RCB Cares in response to the tragedy that unfolded a day after the franchise won their maiden IPL title.

Here’s the full statement,” Dear 12th Man Army, this is our heartfelt letter to you. It’s been close to three months since we last posted here.The Silence wasn’t Absence. It was Grief.”

“This space was once filled with energy, memories and moments that you enjoyed the most.. But June 4th changed everything.That day broke our hearts, and the silence since then has been our way of holding space.” The franchise announced a financial compensation of ₹25 lakh to families of stampede victims

Meanwhile, the Chinnaswamy Stadium has been deemed ‘unsafe’ to host large-scale gatherings, as part of the findings of the report submitted by the Commission to the Karnataka Government. ESPN Cricinfo reported that the venue’s design and structure are ‘unsuitable and unsafe’ for mass gatherings.

As a result, the venue was also ticked off as one of the hosts of the upcoming Women’s ODI World Cup. It has been replaced by the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.