ESPN India Daily Blog: January 18, 2025 Updates and Highlights

The Indian sports scene is buzzing with action as we head into the weekend. Here are all the updates from January 18, 2025.

In badminton, all eyes are on Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty as they are the only Indians left in the semifinal stage of the India Open. After PV Sindhu and Kiran George went down fighting in the quarterfinals, the duo will be looking to make their mark in the tournament.

In chess, D Gukesh, the newly crowned World Champion and Khel Ratna awardee, is back in action at the Tata Steel Chess tournament in Wijk Aan Zee. He is joined by other Indian players like Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnandhaa, Pentala Harikrishna, and Leon Luke Mendonca.

The Hockey India League (HIL) will see a double-header in Ranchi, with Hyderabad Toofans taking on Tamil Nadu Dragons followed by Team Gonasika facing UP Rudras. Meanwhile, in the Indian Super League (ISL), Hyderabad will host Bengaluru FC and Kerala Blasters will face NorthEast United in a Saturday double-header.

The Kho Kho World Cup continues in New Delhi, with India making it to the semifinals in both the men’s and women’s categories after impressive victories over Bangladesh and Sri Lanka respectively.

In other news, Delhi SG Pipers secured their first win of the season in the WHIL by defeating Soorma HC 2-0. Jamshedpur climbed to second place in the ISL standings with a hard-fought 1-1 draw against league leaders Mohun Bagan.

The National Sports Awards ceremony saw D Gukesh, Manu Bhaker, Harmanpreet Singh, and Praveen Kumar receiving the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, along with several other Arjuna Award recipients.

Stay tuned for more updates and action-packed sports events in the coming days.