Welcome to ESPN India's daily blog, where we aim to bring you all the news from the dynamic world of Indian sports: from the wide variety of Olympic sports to franchise leagues.
May has plenty of sporting action taking place - which you can find listed out in ESPN India's sporting calendar.
Hockey: Men's and women's teams lose to Belgium
The Indian men's hockey team put up a strong fight but lost to Belgium via a shootout in their FIH Pro League clash today. India had taken the lead through Araijeet Hundal and failed to capitalize on their multiple chances to extend their lead as Belgium struck back to climb to a 2-1 advantage. Sukhjeet Singh found the equalizer late in the final quarter to make it 2-2 and force a shootout. Belgium would go on to win it 3-1 and pocket the bonus point. Re-live the game on our live blog here.
Elsewhere, the Indian women's team lost 1-2 to Belgium earlier in the day. Ambre Ballenghien (15') and Vanessa Blockmans (20') got on the scoresheet for Belgium while Sangita Kumari (34') scored the only goal for India.
The men will next face Argentina at 10pm tomorrow, while the women will also take on Argentina 3:15pm tomorrow [26th May].
PV Sindhu beats Busanan Ongbamrungphan in Malaysia Masters semifinal
PV Sindhu defeated Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand in the semifinal of the Malaysia Masters, with the Indian coming out on top after a marathon 88 minutes to win 13-21, 21-16, 21-13. Sindhu faces world no. 6 and second seed Wang Zhi Yi in China in the women's singles final tomorrow, aiming to win her first BWF title since July 2022.
For more details on how Sindhu won, here's our recap.
Boxing World Qualifiers: Abhimanyu beats Nikolov to advance in men's 80kg
National championship bronze medallist Abhimanyu Loura beat Bulgaria's Kristiyan Nikolov to advance in the men's 80kg category at the Boxing World Qualifiers for Paris Olympics on Saturday.
Abhimanyu started slow as the 10-time Bulgarian national champion took an upper hand in the opening round. But the 21-year-old Indian switched gears in the second round as four of the five judges voted in his favour. Abhimanyu retained momentum to win the third round and clinch the bout 3-0.
This is the second win for India's boxers in as many days - Sachin Siwach opened India's account with a win in the 57kg category against Alex Mukuka of New Zealand on Friday.
This is the last chance for boxers to earn a quota for the Paris Olympics and India has fielded seven men and three women in this competition. All boxers will have to at least make it to the semifinals to be in contention for a spot at the Paris Games. Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Preeti (54kg), and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) have already secured their spots for the Olympics.
Archery: Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Parneet Kaur, Aditi Swami win compound team gold
The Indian women's compound trio of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Parneet Kaur and Aditi Swami grabbed their third successive Archery World Cup gold medal, while the mixed team added a silver at the stage two event in Yecheon, South Korea on Saturday.
The world number one Indian compound women's team dominated Turkey's Hazal Burun, Ayse Bera Suzer and Begum Yuva right from the first end and sealed the gold without dropping a set, maintaining a healthy six-point margin (232-226) in a lopsided final.
Asian Games champion Jyothi, however, failed to add a second gold to her kitty as she along with Priyansh squandered an opening round lead to go down to the USA's Olivia Dean and Sawyer Sullivan by two points (155-153) in the compound mixed team final.
For Jyothi, Parneet and world champion Aditi this completed a hat-trick of World Cup gold medals together. They had won the season opening World Cup Stage 1 in Shanghai, downing Italy last month and also ended last year with a gold at the stage four of the event in Paris.
India fell short of a third medal in the compound category as Prathamesh Fuge lost to World #1 Mike Schloesser of the Netherlands in a shoot-off of the bronze medal playoff. Fuge, who upset 2021 world champion and world No. 6 Nico Wiener of Austria in the quarters, overcame a two-point deficit to make it 148-all and force a shoot-off. The former world champion sealed it with a 10 in the tiebreaker to deny the Indian a maiden World Cup individual medal. Earlier, Fuge lost to world #7 James Lutz of the USA 143-148 in the compound men's individual semifinal.
What's on today?
Badminton: PV Sindhu faces Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the semifinals of the Malaysia Masters at around 12pm.
Archery: Archery World Cup Stage 2 is underway in Yecheon.
Boxing: World Boxing Qualification Tournament, the final chance for Indians to secure Paris Olympic sports, continues in Bangkok.
Hockey: The Indian men's team faces Belgium again in the FIH Pro League at 7:45pm.
What happened yesterday?
Badminton: PV Sindhu moved into the Malaysia Masters semifinal, while Ashmita Chaliha's run ended in the quarters.
Boxing: Sachin Siwach off to a winning start at the World Qualifiers.
Hockey: India's men's and women's teams lost to Belgium in the FIH Pro League.
Archery: Indian compound mixed team of Jyothi and Priyansh reached the final of World Cup Stage 2.
Cricket: Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 and will take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL final.
You can find the details of yesterday's event's here.