New Delhi, Sep 21: Former India pacer Zaheer Khan has been appointed as the head coach of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2027, while Indian athletes continued their strong run at the Asian Games with medals and commanding victories across disciplines.
CSK announced Zaheer’s appointment on its official social media handle. He takes over after Stephen Fleming stepped down as head coach.
At the Asian Games, Indian boxer Sumit advanced to the men’s 70kg round of 16 after defeating Thailand’s Bunjong Sinsiri by a 5-0 unanimous decision.
Sumit controlled the contest with a measured approach, particularly in the third round, when he avoided risky exchanges and used precise strikes to maintain his advantage.
India also secured a silver medal in the men’s 10m air rifle team event, with Rudrankksh Patil, Parth Mane and Himanshu Dhillon finishing second with a combined score of 1890.1.
China won gold with 1899.0 points, while South Korea took bronze with 1841.4. The medal was India’s third at the Games, with all three coming in shooting and all being silver.
The Indian women’s hockey team produced another emphatic performance, thrashing Indonesia 17-1 in their Pool B encounter.
Deepika Sehrawat, Rutuja Dadaso Pisal and Navneet Kaur scored hat-tricks as India registered its second consecutive win. India have now scored 36 goals while conceding just one in their two matches.
The Indian team is targeting the gold medal, which would secure automatic qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. India will next face Thailand on Wednesday.
In badminton, India defeated Bangladesh 3-0 in the men’s team event to book a place in the quarterfinals.
Lakshya Sen defeated Ayman Ibn Jaman 21-4, 21-12 before Ayush Shetty beat Gourab Singha 21-4, 21-13. Veteran Kidambi Srikanth then completed the sweep with a 21-15, 21-9 victory over Al Amin Jumar.
With India winning all three singles matches, the doubles encounters were not required. The Indian team is now set to face a tougher challenge in the quarterfinals, with host nation Japan expected to be the opponent.
No direct quotes were provided in the information.
