Indian Sports Report, October 30: Punjab FC clinch Super League 2025 title

FOOTBALL

Punjab FC crowned the 2025 Punjab Super League champions

Punjab FC on Thursday claimed the 2025 Punjab State Super Football League title with a match to spare as nearest rivals Sher-e-Punjab Sports Club dropped points in the penultimate match against Border Security Force Football Club.

After 17 matches, Punjab FC has 39 points while Sher-e-Punjab Sports Club has 34 points from the same number of matches, making it impossible for any other team to overtake the Shers.

This is the club’s second Punjab State League title, the first coming in 2022-2023.

It finished second in the 2024-2025 season, finishing below Namdhari Sports Academy.

A key factor in the title-winning run was the team’s rock-solid defence, with twelve clean sheets in seventeen matches, a testament to their discipline and tactical organisation.

The Shers won twelve, drew three and lost two games in the season, scoring 32 goals and conceding just eleven during the entire campaign.

The team led by Head Coach Praveen Kumar fielded the reserve squad for the competition with all players under the age of 25, including nine players from the Under-19 squad and 16 players from Punjab.

-PTI

Indian coaching teachers participate in training and development programs

A group of Indians took part in the FIFA Coach Educators Development Pathway Programme, a five-day intensive course held in Jakarta and organized by the world football governing body’s coaching development department.

In India: Sajid Dar, Chauthano, Caetano, Patehasarthy Thulasi.

The workshop aimed to strengthen the knowledge and capacity of coach educators, focusing on modern coaching principles, advanced teaching methodologies and peer-to-peer learning.

The sessions were led by Branimir Ujević, FIFA head of coach education, and facilitated by Oscar Díaz, coaching development delivery manager for AFC and OFC.

Technical expertise was provided by Scott O’Donnell, Savio Medeira, Sean Douglas and Jamal Alhassani.

The program also served as an important platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange among participants from India, Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia, promoting inter-regional dialogue and sharing of best practices in coach education.

-PTI

IWL referees undergo technical and medical training

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) in association with Reliance Foundation Youth Sports (RFYS) conducted a three-day workshop for referees in Mumbai from October 24 to 26, as part of their preparation for the 2025-26 season of the Indian Women’s League (IWL).

This workshop was led by instructors Maria Rebello and Uvena Fernandes and had the participation of 23 referees.

Chaitali Paul, member of the refereeing committee, acted as observer.

Practical sessions were held to increase participants’ on-field knowledge of positioning, mobility and decision-making during key match incidents.

-PTI

TENNIS

Dalwinder Singh suspended for use of banned substances

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) has suspended 2017 national champion Dalwinder Singh for using the banned substance morphine.

Singh, who reached a world singles ranking of 791 in April 2017, tested positive for morphine in March 2025 while participating in an ITF World Tennis Tour event in Chandigarh.

“During the period of ineligibility, Singh is prohibited from playing, coaching or participating in any tennis event authorized or sanctioned by the members of the ITIA (ATP, ITF, WTA, Tennis Australia, Fédération Française de Tennis, Wimbledon and USTA) or any national association,” ITIA said in a press release.

Morphine is prohibited under the TADP, in the narcotic drug category (section S7 of the 2025 World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List). Findings for specified substances do not require a mandatory provisional suspension, allowing 29-year-old Singh to remain eligible to participate while a full investigation takes place.

After corresponding with the ITIA, Singh admitted to the ADRV and claimed that they believed the source of the morphine was a pain-relieving drug taken on the day of their positive test.

According to the player’s explanation, the drug had been prescribed about twelve months earlier, following wrist surgery.

However, Singh was unable to provide further information to support their story, including any packaging, receipts, prescriptions or the name of the product ingested – which fell short of the evidence needed to prove source.

Although the ITIA did not have the necessary evidence to prove that Singh’s violation of the TADP was intentional, the player could not determine the source of the positive test and no mitigating factors could be considered to reduce Singh’s level of error.

In accordance with precedent and TADP rules, the player was proposed a two-year ban, which was accepted and took effect on October 22, 2025. The period of ineligibility ends on October 21, 2027.

Results, prize money and ranking points from the event in which Singh tested positive will also be lost.

-PTI

BILLIARDS

The Delhi State Billiard & Snooker Championship starts on November 16

The Delhi Billiards & Snooker Association will organize the state championship at the Megapool Academy in Dwarka from November 16.

The winners and runners-up from each category will get the right to represent Delhi at the National Championships to be held in January 2026, the statement said.

Junior and sub-junior events will be held simultaneously, the association said in a news release. Registrations for all categories will close on November 10, joint secretary Manmeet Singh said.

The championship has a total prize pool of Rs 1.50 lakh.

-PTI

BADMINTON

First ever BWF AirBadminton World Cup held in Sharjah from December 11 to 14

As many as twelve national teams will compete for top honors when the first ever BWF AirBadminton World Cup takes place in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates from December 11 to 14.

Australia, Germany, Azerbaijan, Hong Kong, Brazil, Indonesia, Bulgaria, Nigeria, China, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Venezuela earned their places in the tournament after a rigorous qualifying process.

“Up to 96 athletes will compete in three events: men’s triples, women’s triples and the team relay,” BWF said in a press release.

“Former top 10 men’s singles player Wong Wing Ki Vincent leads the line-up for Team Relay favorites Hong Kong China.” The tournament is being held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and Vice Chairman of the Executive Council of the UAE Badminton Federation.

“AirBadminton, the new outdoor version of the sport, is BWF’s emerging growth discipline with enormous potential to expand the global reach of badminton,” said BWF President Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul.

In the triples format, the matches are played in a best-of-five game format. Each game is won by the team that reaches 9 points first.

When the score reaches 8-all, a team must be two points ahead to win. If the score reaches 12-all, the next point determines the winner. Teams may make a maximum of three substitutions per match.

In the team relay, each tie consists of four events: women’s doubles, men’s doubles, women’s triples and men’s triples.

Each match is played to 15 points, with scores collected in relay format. The first team to reach 60 points wins the tie. Players may participate in one or two matches per tie.

AirBadminton is a format designed for outdoor play on surfaces such as sand, grass and hard courts.

-PTI

Published on October 30, 2025