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'Historic Moment For Indian Chess' As Aravindh, Nihal Are Picked Up By S8UL

India’s most prominent esports organization has entered the chess esports scene with the double signing of GMs Aravindh Chithambaram and Nihal Sarin, two of the nation’s biggest stars. The grandmasters will now represent S8UL as they try to qualify for the 2025 Esports World Cup (EWC). The signing spree ahead of the $1.5 million event, […]

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'Historic Moment For Indian Chess' As Aravindh, Nihal Are Picked Up By S8UL

India’s most prominent esports organization has entered the chess esports scene with the double signing of GMs Aravindh Chithambaram and Nihal Sarin, two of the nation’s biggest stars. The grandmasters will now represent S8UL as they try to qualify for the 2025 Esports World Cup (EWC).

The signing spree ahead of the $1.5 million event, set to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from July 31 to August 3, continues with the two rising stars joining India’s leading esports organization.

Signing the two grandmasters, ranked 11th and 36th in the world, is a significant deal for S8UL. It was announced late on Sunday, just days after Team Spirit picked up GMs Daniil Dubov and Vladislav Artemiev.  

Hailing from Chennai, the home city of five-time world champion GM Viswanathan Anand, Aravindh is a part of a golden generation of players shaped by the city’s chess culture. Alongside him from Chennai are many of today’s young stars, such as GM Gukesh Dommaraju, the reigning world champion, and grandmaster siblings Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Vaisahali Rameshbabu.

Trained by their star coach, GM Ramesh R. B., he first made headlines when, as a 14-year-old, he sensationally won the 2013 Chennai Open, which was held in celebration of the 2013 FIDE World Championship Match.

The 25-year-old has had a tremendous last six months, first scoring a victory in the 2024 Chennai Grandmasters, and then winning the 2025 Prague Chess Festival Masters in March. After gaining an astonishing 87 rating points in a year, Aravindh is ranked 11th in the world on FIDE’s latest rating list for April, with 2749 classical rating.

“This moment is special not just for me personally, but for Indian chess as a whole,” said Aravindh. “S8UL’s entry into chess represents the growing recognition of our sport in the digital competitive space. I’m thrilled to represent India at the EWC and be part of this new chapter.”

This moment is special not just for me personally, but for Indian chess as a whole.

—Aravindh Chithambaram

Aravindh, here during the World Rapid & Blitz Championship in December, has signed for S8UL. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com
Aravindh, here during the 2024 World Rapid & Blitz Championship in December, has signed for S8UL. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Twenty-year-old Nihal has been considered one of the brightest young talents in the chess world for a decade, achieving the grandmaster title at the age of 14 in 2018. He has repeatedly proved to be among the world’s best online players, occasionally topping the leaderboard in Bullet on Chess.com.

While he has struggled to break into the world’s elite over-the-board, he has shown excellent results recently. In November, he won the 3rd President Cup in Uzbekistan, followed by an unbeaten run to win at the Tashkent Open in the same country last month.

He is now up to 36th in the world with a 2694 rating, which means he is set to improve on his peak from March 2024, where he was ranked 38th.

Nihal Sarin, pictured during the 2024 World Rapid & Blitz Team Championship. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com
Nihal Sarin, pictured during the 2024 World Rapid & Blitz Team Championship. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

“Being part of the Esports World Cup is a new and exciting experience,” Nihal shared. “It’s amazing to see chess being embraced in the esports world. Representing India and S8UL is a big honor, and I hope to help inspire a new generation of players.”

It’s amazing to see chess being embraced in the esports world.

—Nihal Sarin

The grandmaster also shared the announcement on his X/Twitter account.

The signing also means India now has three top players under the banner of major esports organizations. GM Arjun Erigaisi, currently ranked world No. 4, signed with Gen.G in February. 

S8UL is the first Indian organization to step into the competitive chess esports arena. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Mumbai, they intend to expand their reach into new genres of esports.

“We are incredibly proud to be the first Indian team to step into global esports chess,” said Animesh Agarwal, Co-founder and CEO of S8UL, who called it a historic moment for Indian chess. “Nihal and Aravindh are not just two of India’s best, but among the top minds in the world. Their addition reflects our commitment to representing India in every genre of competitive gaming, and our belief that esports is about excellence, whether it’s aim or intellect.”

Nihal and Aravindh are not just two of India’s best, but among the top minds in the world.

—Animesh Agarwal, S8UL

Aravindh and Nihal now aim to qualify for Saudi Arabia through the Champions Chess Tour, with its second leg taking place on Chess.com May 18 through 23. The 12 highest-ranked players by Tour Points will go straight to Riyadh, while four players will be decided through a Last Chance Qualifier, which is yet to be announced.

As it stands, Aravindh is tied for 17th on the Tour leaderboard with 5 points, while Nihal is tied for 24th with 3 points — both in striking distance of qualification with the crucial May event still to come.

With Aravindh and Nihal now joining the fold, the total number of grandmasters signed by esports organizations has reached 19.


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Men’s T&F Sending Young Contingent to NCAAs

Story Links GENEVA, OHIO – The young guns on the TCNJ men’s track and field team will get another chance to step into the spotlight as the Lions are set to send two individuals and a relay to the NCAA Outdoor Championships next week.   Maxim Rychkov qualified in the 100 and […]

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GENEVA, OHIO – The young guns on the TCNJ men’s track and field team will get another chance to step into the spotlight as the Lions are set to send two individuals and a relay to the NCAA Outdoor Championships next week.
 
Maxim Rychkov qualified in the 100 and 200 meters, Nate Adams did so in the 400 hurdles, and the pair will join Anthony Senatore and Noah Traverso in the 4×400 relay at SPIRE Institute. Adams, only a sophomore, is the lone non-rookie in head coach Justin Lindsey‘s traveling party.
 
Adams will make his NCAA debut thanks to his second-place time of 52.72 at the NJAC Championships, enough to land him the 22nd and final qualifying spot in the event.
 
Rychkov made a big splash at the NCAA Indoor Championships, running to All-America honors in the 60-meter dash (12th place) and 200-meter dash (7th). He also joined Senatore, Traverso, and Jack Attali to place 8th in the 4×400 relay.
 
Rychkov owns the 8th-best time in Division III in the 200 (20.98), and his record-breaking mark of 10.45 seconds from the AARTFC Championships was enough to move him into 18th in the 100.
 
Adams, Rychkov, Senatore, and Traverso posted a school-record mark of 3:10.70 at Widener earlier this week, which clocks in at 11th nationally.
 
Adams will compete in the 400 hurdles prelims at 6:10 p.m. on Thursday. Rychkov will then take on the 200-meter dash prelims at 6:40 p.m., and the 4×400 prelims are set for 8 p.m.
 
The 100-meter prelims are scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Friday.
 
Finals are slated for the following times on Saturday: 100 (2:30 p.m.), 400 hurdles (3:15 p.m.), 200 (3:40 p.m.), and 4×400 relay (4:50 p.m.).



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NCAA Women’s Volleyball Games for May 20

ABOUT THE SHOW With the rallying cry “Achieve Greatness Everyday,” Season 98 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) carries on with the league’s tradition of bringing exciting sports action to viewers. The NCAA is home to student-athletes from 10-member schools, namely, the Arellano University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde, Emilio […]

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ABOUT THE SHOW

With the rallying cry “Achieve Greatness Everyday,” Season 98 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) carries on with the league’s tradition of bringing exciting sports action to viewers.

The NCAA is home to student-athletes from 10-member schools, namely, the Arellano University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde, Emilio Aguinaldo College, José Rizal University, Lyceum of the Philippines University, Mapúa University, San Beda University, San Sebastian College – Recoletos, and the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA.



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Michigan State Athletics

EUGENE, Ore. – On the final day of the B1G Track & Field Championships, Michigan State Track & Field earned four podium finishes at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on Sunday. “I thought we had some really great performances and breakthroughs. We still have people that are learning how to compete at this level and […]

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EUGENE, Ore. – On the final day of the B1G Track & Field Championships, Michigan State Track & Field earned four podium finishes at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on Sunday.

“I thought we had some really great performances and breakthroughs. We still have people that are learning how to compete at this level and learning what it takes not only this week but year round,” Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Lisa Breznau said. “I am super proud of a number of people throughout the week. All of our scorers, I think, did a tremendous job of staying focused and just simply trying to be at their best and not worrying about the outcome. We will continue to build a group that knows how to compete.”

Rachel Forsyth continued her strong freshman campaign finding the podium twice on Sunday. After finishing fifth in the 3000m at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, she earned another fifth-place finish in the 1500m with a time of 4:15.70. She was among the leaders of the pack for the whole race with Washington’s Sophie O’Sullivan pulling away in the final few meters, winning in 4:11.66.

Less than two hours after the final of the 1500m, Forsyth was back at it again in the 5000m final. She stayed in the main pack throughout the race. Oregon’s Silan Ayyildiz pulled away winning the race in a meet record time of     15:37.11. Forsyth ran a confident race, setting a new personal best (15:43.81) to finish fifth. Her previous personal best was 15:47.04 at the Virginia Challenge in April. With her two fifth-place finishes on the day, Forsyth earned eight points for the Spartans.

Rachel Forsyth

Riley Hough had a fantastic showing in the men’s 5000m. Running with a group of Oregon and Wisconsin runners for the majority of the race, Hough held his own, crossing the line with a personal-best time of 13:34.19 to finish fourth. Oregon’s Simeon Birnbaum set a new meet record to capture first place in 13:31.87

After running a personal best 2:04.63 to advance to the final on Saturday, Shae Harbaugh earned more points for the Spartans in the 800m final. She finished seventh in the final, crossing in 2:06.61 to earn two points.

In the women’s triple jump, Leila Barmore finished 12th with a season best jump of 12.47m. In the women’s shot put, Jessica Stieb was just shy of reaching the final, taking ninth (16.43m). 

The Spartans ended the meet with the 4x400m relays with both teams earning season bests. The women’s squad of Alexys Wilson, Gabrielle Jeffries, Shae Harbaugh, Elizabeth Anderson ran 3:40.41. The men’s team of Henry Shaieb, Timothy Cherry, Drew Novak, Terrence Muex crossed in 3:18.95.

The MSU women finished 12th with 21 points, while men were 16th with 15 points. USC women won its first Big Ten outdoor team title with 121 points. The Oregon won also picked up its first Big Ten outdoor title with 110 points.

Michigan State will next head to Jacksonville, Florida on May 28-May 31 for the NCAA First Round.

Scoring Breakdown

MSU Men, 16th, 15 points

Saturday, May 17


Decathlon – Dylan Terryberry, 7th, 2 points

High Jump – Brady Schultz, 7th, 2 points

Shot Put ­– Dillon Morlock, 8th, 1 point

3,000m Steeplechase – Andrew Nolan, 4th, 5 points

Sunday, May 18

5000m – Riley Hough, 4th, 5 points

MSU Women, 12th, 21 points

Friday, May 16


Hammer Throw – Elle Adrian, 8th, 1 point

Saturday, May 17

3000m Steeplechase – Kate Stewart-Barnett, 1st, 10 points

Sunday, May 18

1500m – Rachel Forsyth, 5th, 4 points

800m – Shae Harbaugh, 7th, 2 points

5000m – Rachel Forsyth, 5th, 4 points

 



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Men’s Track and Field Wins Third-Straight IC4A Title; Women Place Sixth in ECAC Championship

Story Links FAIRFAX, Va. – The Navy men’s track and field team won its third-consecutive IC4A Championship on Sunday at George Mason Stadium in Fairfax, Va. The Mids won four events and scored 128 total points to better second-place UMBC’s tally by 21 points. The Navy women’s squad finished in […]

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FAIRFAX, Va. – The Navy men’s track and field team won its third-consecutive IC4A Championship on Sunday at George Mason Stadium in Fairfax, Va. The Mids won four events and scored 128 total points to better second-place UMBC’s tally by 21 points. The Navy women’s squad finished in sixth place in the ECAC Championship, which was held at the same venue, with 53.5 points.  Jia Anderson’s victory in the 100m hurdles headlined the efforts for the women’s team.
 

“I thought it was a really good weekend. We went in there with the intention of trying to hit certain marks and give some younger kids another opportunity to compete,” said director of track & field Jamie Cook. “The younger athletes were impressive from Cooper [Wakley], Wyatt [Shaw] and Zoie [Tesi]. Everyone had a lot of fun this weekend and it was exciting on our part as coaches to see them having fun. We had a lot of guys who performed well who don’t normally get a lot of opportunities.”

Men’s Recap

The Mids won a pair of relay events during the championship.

 

The 4x100m relay team of Marcel Jackson, Nathan Kent, Jonah Johnson and Tyler Yurich ran a winning time of 39.68, the third-fastest time in program history. The quartet now owns the five fastest times in Navy history, all of which were set this season.

 

“These guys have been amazing this year and to win today’s race by over a second is impressive. The chemistry is strong and that’s what makes this group great,” said Cook.

 

The Mids won their second relay event when the 4x400m relay team of David Walker, Cooper Wakley, Conor McFadden and Pete deJonge ran a time of 3:11.42.

 

In the field events, Wyatt Shaw and Benjemen Schneider each cleared 2.08 meters (6′ 9.75″) in the high jump to place first and second, respectively.  Then three Mids finished in the top five in the pole vault led by Wakley’s first-place mark of 5.09m (16′ 8.25″). Brian Schloeder cleared 4.99m (16′ 4.5″) to take second, while Gavin Anderson was fifth with a vault of 4.89m (16′ 0.5″).

 

Navy had five more second-place showings during the meet.  Jackson competed in the 100m sprint where he finished second in a time of 10.67. Yurich tied his season-best placement in the 200m with a second-place time of 21.09.  Walker battled to a second-place finish (by nine-hundredths of a second) in the 400m hurdles as clocked a 52.43. Logan Flament took second place in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:33.53. It marked the second time this season he has placed second or better in the event.  Rounding out the list was Malachi Cummings, who finished in second place in the javelin with a career-best throw of 64.84m (212-8).

 

Sean Miller recorded his second-fastest 3,000-meter steeplechase time of the season to finish third in 9:17.02.  Shaw continued his strong weekend with a third-place finish in the long jump as he recorded a leap of 7.17m (23′ 6.25″). Colby Fahrney placed fifth in the event with a jump of 6.98m (22′ 10.75″).  Reilly Payne and Adam Szatanek both finished in the top seven in the discus. Payne threw 48.06m (157-8) to place fourth, while Szatanek placed seventh with a mark of 46.27m (151-9).  Also, deJonge clocked a sixth-place time in the 400m of 47.81 seconds and Gary Choice placed seventh in the triple jump with a leap of 14.08m (46-4.25).

 

Women’s Recap

Anderson edged Sacred Heart’s Magdalena Brogioli by two-tenths of a second to win the 100m hurdles title with a time of 14.03. 

 

The Mids had two silver medalists at the meet.  First, Zoie Tesi placed second in the high jump with a leap of 1.69m (5′ 6.5″). Tesi has had an impressive rookie campaign as she finished first or second in every meet she competed in.  Then Taylor Woodworth had a strong 400m as she clocked the seventh-best time in program history at 54.29 to place second in the field.

 

Nalina Smith had a standout weekend with career-best marks in both the discus (45.02 meters / 147′ 8″) and the hammer throw (51.23m / 168′, 1″) to place third in each event.

“Nalina [Smith] did a really good job this weekend. She’s starting to come in her own, it was good to see her hit some career marks this weekend. She’s worked very hard and I’m excited for her career and development,” said Cook.

 

Additionally for the Mids, Gracie Emerick registered the seventh-best pole vault mark in Navy history at 3.92m (12′ 10.25″) to finish in fourth place, Emma Miller led the Mids in the javelin with a fifth-place throw of 39.10m (128′ 3″) and May McConkey recorded a sixth-place finish in the 5,000m with a time of 17:49.85.



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Prep talk: Alyssa Lee of El Camino Real achieves coaching ‘Triple Crown’

Alyssa Lee of El Camino Real has achieved something few volleyball coaches can claim. With El Camino Real’s boys team winning the City Section Open Division championship on Saturday after an upset over No. 1-seeded Venice, Lee has won City titles coaching El Camino Real’s boys, girls and beach volleyball teams, the Triple Crown of […]

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Alyssa Lee of El Camino Real has achieved something few volleyball coaches can claim.

With El Camino Real’s boys team winning the City Section Open Division championship on Saturday after an upset over No. 1-seeded Venice, Lee has won City titles coaching El Camino Real’s boys, girls and beach volleyball teams, the Triple Crown of volleyball coaching.

“That’s very impressive,” said Granada Hills coach Tom Harp, who had Lee on his girls’ team when she graduated in 2009.

Harp, a future Hall of Fame coach in the City Section, said Lee is calm and comfortable on the bench and knows strategy well.

El Camino Real opens the state playoffs on Tuesday in Division 2 with a home game against Escondido Classical Academy.

Mira Costa is seeded No. 1 in Division 1…

The CIF Southern California tennis championships will be held Friday and Saturday at Claremont Club. Here’s the bracket…

Southern Section golf team championships are set for Monday and Tuesday. The individual championship will be Thursday. The City Section championships are Wednesday at Harding Golf Course.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.



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Mike Krukow declares ‘Oaklamento Athletics’ official name

How, exactly, should the wandering Athletics be referred to? That MLB team, currently playing in Sacramento following a relocation from Oakland and ahead of a planned move to Las Vegas, wants no city name attached. But many broadcasters aren’t willing to abide by that, with long-time San Francisco Giants’ voice Mike Krukow offering a new […]

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