Indian sports wrap, January 27: India’s Srishti Kiran clinches fourth consecutive ITF junior singles title
TENNIS
India’s Srishti Kiran clinches fourth consecutive ITF junior singles title
India’s 13-year-old tennis star Srishti Kiran continued her impressive run on the ITF junior circuit, clinching her 4th consecutive ITF junior singles title.
She registered 21 wins to cap a commanding performance at the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors J30 tournament in Huamantla, Mexico, held from 19-25 January 2026.
In the singles, Srishti stayed in control against Canada’s Natalie Tsatsalashvili to win in straight sets 6-4, 6-1, followed by a hard-fought semifinal against USA’s Natalia Elena Martinez, where she bounced back strongly after dropping the second set to emerge victorious 7-5, 1-6, 7-5.
In the doubles, she partnered with Mexico’s Tamara Herman as the top-seeded pair and finished as runners-up. The duo went down in a closely contested match to the American pair Christina Li and Natalia Elena Martinez 2-6, 6-4, 6-10 in the match tie-break.
-Team Sportstar
MOTORSPORT
Racing prodigy Atiqa Mir makes stunning WSK debut in Italy, first Indian to seal P2 in qualifying
Eleven-year-old racing sensation Atiqa Mir made a roaring debut in the WSK Super Master Karting Series as she became the first Indian to set the second fastest time in a male-dominated qualifying grid of 37 seasoned drivers.
Embracing the challenge after moving from mini (age 8-11) to junior category (12-14) in 2026, Atiqa showed remarkable speed driving in the OKNJ class for the first time.
One of the youngest drivers on the grid, the Formula 1 Academy-supported racer defied all odds to set the second fastest time in qualifying and missed out on pole by only a tenth of a second.
The only female on the grid was on course for the pole with a stellar time of 49.76 seconds over the weekend before being pipped by Finland’s Leo Latinen in the dying minutes of the session.
Atiqa had a front row start in all three of the heat races on Friday and Saturday, finishing 4th, 6th and 7th respectively. She also zoomed to the Fastest Lap in heat 1.
However, she did not have the luck she needed for the pre-final on Sunday. Starting fourth on the grid, Atiqa’s kart didn’t start on the pre-grid, ending a special weekend with heartbreak.
Starting on the outside lane, Atiqa was pushed off the track in Turn 1 and dropped to 22nd. From thereon, she made a remarkable recovery to finish 14th out of 37 drivers.
“That was a good debut weekend for me. I love the OKNJ category as the karts are very fast and power is instant. I worked hard during this weekend with the team and my coaches, as I had limited track time in this kart compared to the other drivers who are far more experienced in this class.
-PTI
Published on Jan 27, 2026