Harmanpreet's hat-trick, Prannoy at the Korea Open, Gambhir's message: Indian sport roundup

Hockey: Harmanpreet's hat-trick sinks Malaysia 4-2

India registered a 4-2 victory over Malaysia in an engaging contest in the penultimate league match at the Asian Champions Trophy in Jalandhar on 1 November. Captain Harmanpreet Singh led from the front with a hat-trick, converting two penalty corners and a penalty stroke.

India made a confident start and took the lead in the third minute with Harmanpreet's powerful drag-flick finding the net. Malaysia earned three penalty corners and Akhimullah Anuar levelled the score in the 26th minute.

India came out firing in the third quarter. A penalty corner earned by Sukhjeet Singh created the chance, and Harmanpreet unleashed a trademark drag-flick to restore India's lead. Malaysia's Faiz Jali was shown a yellow card for a tackle on Mandeep, and India made the most of the man advantage as Sukhjeet Singh unleashed a reverse flick off a Hardik pass to stretch the lead. With two minutes to go, Harmanpreet completed his hat-trick by converting a penalty stroke, and a minute later Shello Silverius added a consolation goal for Malaysia.

Badminton: Prannoy leads India at the Korea Open

The Korea Open 2026 will be held at Jinnam Stadium in Yeosu from 3 to 8 November as a USD 500,000 BWF Super 500 tournament. With fifth seed Lakshya Sen withdrawing following his title-winning run at the Hylo Open in Germany, India's challenge in men's singles will be led by H. S. Prannoy, who faces South Korea's Yoo Tae Bin.

In women's singles, Tanvi Sharma takes on Japan's Manami Suizu, while Anmol Kharb meets Canada's Rachel Chan. Malvika Bansod has also withdrawn from the tournament. World No. 1 An Se-young headlines the women's singles field, while P. V. Sindhu, the Hylo Open champion, had earlier opted out of both the Korea Open and the Japan Masters.

In doubles, Arjun Reddy Pochana and Achutaditya Rao Doddavarapu play the men's doubles qualifying, Ritika Thaker and Sonali Singh face an Australian pair in women's doubles, and Dhruv Rawat and Maneesha K meet China's seventh seeds in mixed doubles.

Cricket: Gambhir's dressing-room message after the New Zealand series

India head coach Gautam Gambhir told the Shreyas Iyer-led T20 team that they had set the tone for the upcoming ODI and Test assignments in the ongoing tour of New Zealand by triumphing in the shortest format despite a lack of practice leading up to the series. India defeated the hosts 3-2 in the T20 series despite landing just a couple of days before the opener and having very little time to rest and recover between games at four different venues.

In a dressing-room speech, the video of which was shared by the BCCI on its social media handles, Gambhir said: 'You can be extremely proud of the effort that you guys have given in this series. Winning the series especially when you got one day to prepare and playing against a quality team like New Zealand in their own backyard... you can be extremely proud and go back with your head held high.'

Gambhir urged the T20 players to remain in shape for the next assignment, a home series against Sri Lanka in December. 'Make sure that we keep improving, that is something that is going to be important. We know that we don't play enough T20 cricket. We got a month off now, so make sure that you stay in that shape and we get prepared. We continue to grow as a team, we continue to think as a team and we continue to play as a team,' he said. The five-match ODI series beginning Wednesday will be followed by a couple of Tests starting on 19 November.

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