BOXING
U-19 & U-23 Asian Boxing Championships: Futures Cup Stars Chandrika, Joyshree power India to flying start
India opened its campaign at the U-19 Asian Boxing Championships in emphatic fashion as World Boxing Futures Cup gold medallist Chandrika Pujari and silver medallist Joyshree Devi registered dominant victories on the opening day in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Competing in the preliminary rounds, Chandrika outboxed Mongolia’s Lakham Tsendbaatar to secure a unanimous 5-0 victory in the girls’ 51kg category. Joyshree followed with an equally commanding display, forcing a second-round referee stopped contest (RSC) against Chinese Taipei’s Chen Ning Hong in the girls’ 54kg division to book her place in the next round.
The Boxing Federation of India has fielded a strong contingent across the U-19 and U-23 categories, with 20 boxers competing in each age group. The championships provide an important platform for India’s next generation to test itself against Asia’s finest, as the country looks to build on its recent success and continue its dominance on the continental stage.
India’s campaign continues on Monday with a strong quartet of U-23 men’s boxers set to enter the ring. Asian champion Vishwanath Suresh (50kg) opens proceedings against Uzbekistan’s Amirbek Ismoilov, before Ganga (55kg) faces Mongolia’s Amgalanbaatar Bulgankhuu. Sagar Jakhar (60kg) then takes on Japan’s Koichi Nakayama, while Hitesh (70kg) rounds off the day’s action against Chinese Taipei’s Jun-Zhanglin as India looks to build on its impressive start in Jakarta.
– Team Sportstar
MOTORSPORT
Formula 2: Kush Maini finishes third at Silverstone feature race
ART Grand Prix driver Kush Maini secured a third place finish at the Silverstone feature race on Sunday. Maini, who started third on the grid, got a strong getaway at the start to take the lead by Turn 1.
The 25-year-old displayed strong pace and built a substantial gap to eventual race winner, Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsovolo in the intial laps of the race.
The Indian’s resistance, however, came to an end on Lap 20 as he was overtaken Tsolov at Maggots and Becketts. Maini dropped a place further on the penultimate lap to VAR’s Rafael Villagómez to finish third.
Tsolov became the first driver in Formula 2 history to win three consecutive races as he completed a historic Silverstone double.
Maini is currently sixth in the F2 standings with 63 points, including a sprint race victory at Barcelona de Catalayuna.
Published on Jul 05, 2026
