The Bulacan Dreamers women’s softball team proudly displays the Philippine flag after securing a bronze medal in the Asia-Pacific Region at the 2026 Senior League Softball World Series in Lower Sussex, Delaware, USA. – Photo Courtesy of the Bulacan Provincial Public Affairs Office (PPAO)

CITY OF MALOLOS — The Bulacan Dreamers, representing the Asia-Pacific Region, took home the bronze in the 2026 Senior League Softball World Series in Lower Sussex, Delaware, USA on Monday (Manila time).

The Dreamers beat Europe-Africa, 5-1, to earn the last spot on the podium. The third-place finish was a first for the region.

The squad is composed of 13- to 16-year-old high school students from San Miguel National High School, Fortunato F. Halili National Agricultural School and De La Salle University.

READ: Bulacan Dreamers vie in Senior League Softball World Series in US

The Dreamers came close to reaching the final round but suffered a 1-0 heartbreak against eventual champion Central Region in the semifinal.

Central Region nipped Delaware D3, 6-4, for the championship.

The Philippine side cruised past Latin America, 8–3, East Region, 10-0, and Southwest, 18–1, to open its campaign in Pool A. The Filipinos absorbed their first loss in the tournament at the hands of Delaware but bounced back in the knockouts by shutting out Canada, 10-0.

Leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane, who earlier played for Delhi Capitals, has been named Nepal’s new ODI captain by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) on Monday. He replaces long-serving skipper Rohit Paudel, as the CAN announced the squad for the ACC Men’s Premier Cup, set to be held from August 30 to September 12 in Malaysia. Lamichhane, 26, returns to the leadership role after previously captaining Nepal in 14 ODIs before Paudel assumed the position in late 2022. Lamichhane brings immense international experience to the role, having taken 154 wickets in 77 ODIs so far.

He holds the record for being the fastest Nepalese bowler to reach 150 ODI wickets and is also the first player from his country to cross the 100-wicket mark in T20Is. He takes over the reins from Paudel, who enjoyed a successful tenure at the helm.

Under Paudel’s captaincy, Nepal mounted a historic comeback in the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 by winning 11 of their final 12 matches, securing a direct berth in the ODI World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe in June 2023. Beyond his tactical leadership, Paudel served as a reliable anchor in the middle order throughout his tenure.

Lamichhane’s reappointment marks a key leadership transition for Nepal as they look to build momentum in the 50-over format. In Nepal’s squad, there is no place for Kushal Bhurtel, Bhim Sharki, Nandan Yadav or Binod Bhandari. Instead, Sompal Kami and Aarif Sheikh have been included. Dev Khanal, Sher Malla, Sundeep Jora and Basir Ahamad have also been added.

The upcoming tournament will mark the third edition of the Premier Cup and will be played in the 50-over format, mirroring the inaugural 2023 edition that was won by Nepal as the host nation.

Nepal squad for ACC Men’s Premier Cup 2026: Sandeep Lamichhane (captain), Aasif Sheikh, Arjun Kumal, Rohit Paudel, Dev Khanal, Dipendra Singh Airee, Sundeep Jora, Basir Ahamad, Ishan Pandey, Gulsan Jha, Sher Malla, Lalit Rajbanshi, Karan KC and Hemant Dhami.

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Indian-origin chess prodigy Shreyas Royal made history by winning the 2026 British Chess Championships recently. The 17-year-old Royal won the overall British title after topping the table following nine rounds, finishing half a point ahead of England’s more seasoned grandmasters. Winning his first British title, the result establishes his status as an emerging world-class talent in chess.

Royal became England’s youngest grandmaster at the age of 15. The teenager from south-east London went on to establish himself as one of the UK’s leading young chess players. At this year’s championship, he quickly showed that he could compete with the established elite, moving into outright contention for the title as the tournament progressed.

“I am ecstatic. This is not my first campaign. I have missed out on a couple of occasions before despite making a good start. But this time I am quite delighted,” Royal told NDTV.

Shreyas, who was born in India, moved to the UK at the age of three with his parents, Jitendra and Anju Singh, from Bengaluru. “I was born in Bengaluru in 2009. My dad was working there then. I moved to the UK at three, so I don’t have too many memories of India. I visit my family there sporadically every couple of years. I do occasionally go to places like Odisha and Kolkata,” he said.

#NewsNight with @SehgalRahesha | Indian-Origin Teen Chess Prodigy Shreyas Royal (@shrez_royal09) Makes History At The 2026 British Chess Championships pic.twitter.com/DG7OFcpf1N

— NDTV (@ndtv) August 10, 2026

“I started playing chess when I was six. I managed to win my first chess event. That was a huge confidence booster.”

He added that Viswanathan Anand is the Indian chess player he admires the most.

“Indian chess is progressing superbly. Viswanathan Anand will probably always be my favourite Indian chess player,” he said.

Around eight years ago, the ECF campaigned with the Home Office to allow the exceptionally talented chess prodigy to continue residing in the UK and hone his talent.

The 2026 British Chess Championships were billed as the biggest in the event’s 122-year history, with more than 1,750 entries and a record £34,000 prize fund for the Open Championship.

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LAPU-LAPU CITY—Nicole Rojo emerged as the top finisher among Filipino women in the IRONMAN 70.3 Lapu-Lapu, while Irienold Reig Jr. continued his strong run with another age-group victory in Cebu on Sunday.

Rojo, who built her credentials with victories in smaller endurance races, delivered a breakthrough on a bigger stage with a time of 5 hours, 15 minutes and 27 seconds.

The South Cotabato triathlete posted splits of 19:16 in the swim, 2:59:38 on the bike and 1:49:37 in the run to rule the women’s 18-24 division in the 12th staging of the endurance race presented by Megaworld and organized by Sunrise Events Inc.

Rojo finished well ahead of Melona Yucot (6:06:54) and Rachel Wong (7:38:52).

Reig reinforced his status as one of the country’s promising young triathletes by topping the men’s 18-24 division in 4:23:03, following up his victory in the IRONMAN 70.3 Davao.

The Quezon City standout recorded splits of 18:24, 2:26:00 and 1:32:49 to beat Dutchman Rik Beugel (4:34:28) and fellow Filipino Eryk Omandam (4:45:41).

Jewin Ochea added another local victory, capturing the Philippine Sports Commission-backed Elite Category in 4:26:10. The division featured national pool members and other high-performing local athletes competing separately from the standard age-group field.

More than 1,400 triathletes from 48 countries competed, with South Africa’s Henri Schoeman and Australia’s Natalie Van Coevorden winning the professional men’s and women’s titles, respectively. Schoeman claimed his second crown in the event, while Van Coevorden won for the first time.

Frank Lao was elected president of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) on Monday, taking over a federation emerging from a suspension imposed by the sport’s world governing body over governance issues.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino welcomed the election of the PNVF’s new 13-member board, describing the incoming leadership as a “committed team.”

“This is a ‘committed team’ and I believe they could sustain the progress of volleyball that started when the PNVF was established in 2021,” Tolentino said after the elections at the Solaire Theater Southlinks Boardroom 2M.

Also elected were Donn Kapunan as vice president, Rommel Ng as treasurer and POC secretary-general Wharton as auditor.

Sienna Olaso, Francis Chad Salimbangon, Carmela Gamboa, Rustico Camangian, Mohamad Bernan Jr. and Jonas Cabochan were elected to the board of trustees.

Asian Volleyball Confederation president Ramon “Tats” Suzara, the PNVF’s first president, was also elected to the board, while Donaldo Caringal was appointed secretary-general.

The remaining two positions on the 13-member board, representing male and female athletes, will be announced later.

With the election, the POC relinquished its role as caretaker of the PNVF, a responsibility mandated by the International Volleyball Federation, or FIVB.

The FIVB suspended the previous PNVF leadership elected on Nov. 21 last year, primarily over poor governance.

The organisers of the upcoming BWF World Championships in India have taken extensive steps to upgrade the venue, the Indira Gandhi Stadium, to avoid the embarrassment that rocked the India Open earlier this year. The Badminton Association of India (BAI) and the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the venue’s owner, learned their lesson the hard way. During the India Open in January, pigeons twice halted a second-round match between HS Prannoy and Loh Kean Yew. Subsequent complaints regarding hygiene and Delhi’s smog left the BAI in a difficult position.

With the BWF World Championships returning to India after 17 years, the organisers are leaving no stone unturned to avoid further controversies. They have put anti-bird measures in place and even roped in monkey whisperers to host the world-class event from August 17 to 23.

The vents have been sealed, wooden doors have been replaced with a double-door entry system, and an automatic outer door has been added ahead of the regular ones. Additionally, a non-toxic gel sourced from the US has been applied around the stadium’s ducting to keep birds and insects away, while portable machines that mimic predatory bird calls have been installed as a final layer of defence.

“The January event, the India Open, gave us our job cut out, so we had to improve things, and we were given this task. We actually started planning from February itself on how we could improve the overall situation of this stadium, as this is a pretty old stadium. The infrastructure is obviously quite old. So, we wanted to refurbish it and present it as something new and improved,” SAI Executive Director Ambar Pratap Singh told reporters.

“So, as you’ve been seeing, it’s not just structural upgrades that have been done, a lot of soft upgrades have also been carried out. One thing I would like you to see is the lake. We have a lake and we have tried to improve it. By the start of the event, you will see a beautiful lake just across the stadium. These are some of the soft upgrades that have been done, along with structural upgrades where the roof was treated and several expansion joints were repaired.

“A lot of chairs are new, and many of them have been refurbished and polished properly. The buildings have been painted. As far as the pigeons are concerned, there was concern inside the arena. We have introduced innovative ways to deal with it.

“It includes machines that have been imported from the US. It also involves a non-toxic gel technology that repels pigeons,” he added.

He said it was a joint effort between SAI, CPWD and BAI, and that the Badminton World Federation was happy with the work done and the condition of the venue.

“Many works have been undertaken together by a newly constituted engineering division. SAI has now come up with a specialised engineering division of its own. The engineering division has taken up some works, while others have been handled by the CPWD. Now, it has been handed over to the BAI. We have given the venue to them, and they will further beautify it, making it ready for the tournament.

“The BWF is pretty happy and satisfied with the work,” he said during a guided tour of the venue for mediapersons, accompanied by BAI Secretary General Sanjay Mishra.

Singh said they are in regular touch with the MCD to keep stray dogs and monkeys away from the venue. Some reports have claimed that specialists who can mimic langur cries will also be on duty. PV SIndhu lauded the effort.

“You can laugh at the solution, but you have to love the effort. So many people are working behind the scenes to make sure India is ready to welcome the world. Our solutions may be uniquely Indian, but so are our warmth, our spirit and our hospitality. Can’t wait for the badminton world to experience it all in Delhi. See you soon!” PV Sindhu posted on X.

You can laugh at the solution, but you have to love the effort 😂❤️🇮🇳

So many people are working behind the scenes to make sure India is ready to welcome the world. Our solutions may be uniquely Indian, but so are our warmth, our spirit and our hospitality.

Can’t wait for the… https://t.co/ORDFuAkITL

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— PV Sindhu (@Pvsindhu1) August 10, 2026

“We have introduced double doors and an automatic closing system. Now it is not possible for monkeys to enter the arena. As far as the whole campus is concerned, there can be a possibility of stray monkeys, but we are in touch with the MCD. For dogs also, we are regularly in touch with the MCD. They will do whatever needs to be done and send them to shelters,” Mishra said.

He declined to reveal the expenditure for the renovation, stating that the BWF was satisfied with the court lighting and drift control.

“That (court lighting and drift control) has been handled by specialists from the BWF. These are technical aspects that the BWF has to oversee, so that was sorted out, and they are absolutely satisfied that the drift has been managed.

“At the India Open also, the BWF had no problem with the lighting. There was a little bit of shadow on the court during the India Open. We have resolved it. An expert will come from Indonesia to test the facility, but the BWF is satisfied,” the official said.

“Besides, roof leakages have been sorted out. This is a very old building, and roof leakage was a major issue, but the engineering team has done a wonderful job so far. We have had heavy rains in the past few days, and the venue has been tested.”

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