JANUARY

SPORTS & GAMES

Ø  Prakash won Badminton Association of India Lifetime Achievement Award

Ø  Vice President Venkaiah Naidu conferred Badminton Association of India Lifetime Achievement Award to 1983 World Championship medallist Prakash Padukone. Naidu termed Padukone a “grand legend of a great game”, who inspired the nation through his “sheer passion, grit and determination”. The Mysuru-born had won gold medals at the 1978 Commonwealth Games & the All England Championships in 1980.

Ø  Federer wins Men’s Singles title in Australian Open 2018

Ø  Swiss tennis player Roger Federer (World No. 2) has retained his Men’s Singles title by winning 2018 Australian Open. In the summit clash played at Melbourne, he defeated Croatia’s Marin Cilic (World no. 6) in five sets 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. It was Federer’s sixth Australian Open Crown (earlier won in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2017) and overall 20th Grand Slam singles titles. With this, he joins elite group of Margaret Court, Serena Williams and Steffi Graf who have won 20 or more Grand Slam singles titles.

Ø  Pakistan became world number 1 T20I side

Ø  Pakistan became the top-ranked T20I side in international cricket after beating New Zealand in the third and final T20I to claim the three-match series 2-1. This was Pakistan’s sixth T20I series win on the trot. Notably, New Zealand had whitewashed Pakistan in the five-match ODI series before the T20I series.

Ø  Caroline Wozniacki wins Australian Open

Ø  +++Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki defeated Romanian Simona Halep to win her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. Twice a runner-up at the US Open, Wozniacki becomes the first Dane to win a Grand Slam singles title. With the win, Wozniacki will reclaim the WTA World No. 1 ranking exactly six years since she last held it.

Ø  Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan wins Indonesian Masters

Ø  The world no.1 Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan defeated Saina Nehwal in the finals of the Indonesia Masters in Jakarta. Tai Tzu has now defeated the former world No.1 nine times in their last 10 meetings. Saina enjoyed early success against the Taiwanese till 2011 but the Nehwal has beaten her only once at the 2013 Swiss Open ever since.

Ø  Hungarian-French pair Babos and Mladenovic won Australian Open women’s doubles

Ø  In Tennis, Hungarian-French pairing and fifth seeds Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic won the Australian Open women’s doubles title in Melbourne. They were crowned Grand Slam champions for the first time. The duo battled past second-seeded Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-3 in the finals. Overall, they own three other doubles titles as a team, all in 2015 – at Dubai, Marrakech and rome. India’s Rohan Bopanna inched closer towards his second Grand Slam title by reaching the mixed doubles final of the Australian Open along with Hungarian partner Timea Babos.

Ø  India beat Japan in Four Nations Invitational Tournament

Ø  India beat Japan 4-2 in the second leg of the Four Nations Invitational Tournament in New Zealand. India, coming on the back of a 5-4 win over Belgium secured a place in the final of the second leg of the tournament. India had thrashed Japan 6-0 in their pool match in the first leg of the tournament.

Ø  Vijender rises to 6th in WBO rankings for Super middleweight category

Ø  Indian boxing star Vijender Singh has risen four rungs to sixth in the latest WBO rankings for the super middleweight category. Vijender, who successfully defended his WBO Asia Pacific and Oriental super middleweight belts against Ernest Amuzu of Ghana last month, could next be seen in action in April next. he is likely to challenge for the Commonwealth title to add to his belts. Smith, a 2010 Commonwealth Games silver-medallist, held the European, British, and WBC Silver super-middleweight titles from 2015 until last year.

Ø  Lifter Rakhi Halder created a new national record

Ø  Lifter Rakhi Halder created a new national record in clean and jerk to a gold medal in the 63kg women’s category in the 33rd Women Senior National Weightlifting Championships, in Mangaluru, Karnataka. Rakhi lifted 128kgs in the clean and jerk for a total of 230kgs to create a new national record, bettering Karnam Malleswari’s feat (127kg) created in Athens in 1999.

Ø  Shuttler Siddharth Singh wins Swedish Open Junior Badminton Title

Ø  Young Indian shuttler Siddharth Pratap Singh secured his maiden international title, bagging the Swedish Open Junior International Series with a straight-game victory over Denmark’s Mads Christophersen in the finals in Uppsala in Sweden. Playing his first career final, Siddharth defeated Christophersen in a 33-minute match to claim the men’s singles title.

Ø  Solomon Deksisa wins 15th edition of Mumbai Marathon

Ø  Mumbai Marathon, the richest race in India with a prize money worth 4 lakh 5,000 dollars came to a conclusion with Ethiopia’s Solomon Deksisa winning it. Another Ethiopian, Shumit Akalnaw became the first runner-up, while Joshua Kipkorir from Kenya came second. Indian Olympic athletes T Gopi and Nitender Singh Rawat also took part in the Tata Mumbai Marathon. While T ZGopi won in the Indian Elite category, Nitender Singh Rawat came second. Sudha Singh of Central Railways won the Mumbai Marathon in the Indian Elite Women category.

Ø  India defeats Pakistan to win Blind Cricket World Cup 2018

Ø  India beat Pakistan by two wickets to win the Blind Cricket World Cup 2018 for the second time after a thrilling match at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, the UAE. Hosts Pakistan had set India a target of 308 runs at a loss of eight wickets in their allotted 40 overs after they were put into bat. India conquered the modest target in the 39th over, with two balls to spare and eight wickets lost. For his brilliant all-round performance, Sunil Ramesh was declared the man of the match.

Ø  Manav Thakkar World No. 2, Diya Chitale No. 5 in TT rankings

Ø  Manav Thakkar climbed to World Number 2 in the boys under-18 category while Diya Chitale rose to Number 5 in the girls under-15 category in the International Table Tennis Federation rankings. The top place is within striking distance, which will become India’s moment of crowning glory. He has also broken into the top-15 in the boys’ under-21 rankings. Among other successes, recently crowned Junior National Champion Payas Jain has climbed to the 11th spot, and right behind him is Jeho H at No. 12. In the girls’ under-18 category, Bengaluru lass Archana Girish kamath has moved up from 34 to 18. Selena Selvakumar has also been inching up, and is now at No. 37. Archana has also eased into the top-50 of the under-21 category as well.

Ø  India rise three places in latest FIFA rankings

Ø  India jumped three rungs to be placed 102nd in the first FIFA rankings of the year 2018. India, who are just above 103rd placed Qatar, are ranked 14th among Asian countries. India garnered 13 points in the last one month for a total of 333 points. The Indians remained unbeaten in 2017, having won seven of their nine matches while two ended in draws. India had also qualified for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. Iran is the top-ranked Asian team at the 34th position.

Ø  Virat Kohli named as Captain of ICCs Test and ODI Teams of the Year

Ø  Virat Kohli was named the captain of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test and One-Day International (ODI) teams of the year that included four other Indians as well. Kohli scored 2,023 runs at 77.80, including eight centuries and three half-centuries in 18 matches during the qualification period. He surprisingly pipped Australian skipper Steve Smith for the ICC’s Test team captaincy. The Test team also comprises Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravichandran Ashwin. Kohli, the Winner of the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy and ODI Cricketer of the Year awards, was chosen to lead the ICC ODI team, which includes Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah as the other two Indians.

Ø  North and South Korea to March under Unification Flag in Winter Olympics

Ø  North and South Korea have agreed to march together under a single unified Korea flag at Winter Olympics in the South. They also agreed to field a joint women’s ice hockey team after rare talks at the truce village of Panmunjom. These are the first high-level talks between the two Koreas in more than two years. The Games will take place in February 2018 in Pyeongchang in South Korea.

Ø  Goldberg to be in WWE Hall of Fame

Ø  WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) announced that Goldberg will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class at a ceremony in 6th April 2018, in New Orleans. Goldberg retired from in-ring competition in 2017. He is the first to be listed in the WWE’s 2018 Hall of Fame class. He is 51 years old. He made his debut in WWE in 2003. Earlier, he was associated with the World Championship Wrestling.

Ø  Ronaldinho confirms his retirement from Football

Ø  Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldinho has formally confirmed his retirement from football, more than two years since his last appearance as a professional, reports in Brazil. The 37-year-old former Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona star, a key member of the Brazil side which won the World Cup in 2002, last played in 2015 during a brief stint with Fluminense.

Ø  Rabada, 22-yr-old, is the youngest No. 1 Test bowler since the 19th century

Ø  South African pacer Kagiso Rabada, who recently became the top-ranked bowler in Test cricket, is the youngest bowler ever to top the ICC Test rankings for bowlers. Rabada achieved the feat at the age of 8,261 days, surpassing the record of former England bowler George Lohmann, who became the highest-ranked Test bowler aged 8,288 days in February 1888.

Ø  Bahrain to host first-ever ‘Baby Olympics’

Ø  Bahrain has unveiled plans to stage the first ever Baby Olympics in April, where medals will be contested by two to four year-olds, in a bid to promote the Olympic principles and exercise at a young age. The Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) intends to include five disciplines. The Athletics competition will host three events: medley relay for four year-olds, a hurdles toddle for three year-olds, while participating two year-olds will cross a specially designed stretch of 15 meters in a freestyle race.

Ø  Aditya Mehta wins Kolkata Open 2018 International Invitation Snooker C’ship

Ø  Professional player Aditya Mehta won the Kolkata Open 2018 International Invitation Snooker Championship in the capital city of West Bengal Kolkata. This is his third Kolkata Open title since it’s inception. In the thrilling final he defeated Englishman Professional Player Alfie Burden.

Ø  Anchal Thakur bags Bronze, India’s 1st International Medal in Skiing

Ø  Aanchal Thakur made history as she won India’s first ever international medal in skiing. The 21-year-old Manali resident clinched bronze in the coveted Alpine Ejder 3200 Cup. The Championship was organised by the Federation Internationale de Ski (skiing’s international governing body) in Erzurum, Turkey. She won the medal in the slalom race category.

Ø   

Ø  Yusuf Pathan suspended for 5 months for doping

Ø  Indian all-rounder Yusuf Pathan has been suspended for five months for failing a dope test during a domestic match last season. The Baroda all-rounder had inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance – Terbutaline, which can be commonly found in cough syrups.

Ø  Philippe Coutinho joins Barcelona, becomes 2nd Most Expensive Transfer in World Soccer History

Ø  Team Liverpool sold Brazilian football player Philippe Coutinho to Team Barcelona for 160 million Euros ($192 million). With this, transfer of Philippe Coutinho has become the 2nd Most Expensive transfer in World Soccer History. World’s most expensive transfer is Brazilian football player Neymar’s transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint Germain team in 200 million pounds in 2017.

Ø  Gilles Simon Wins Inaugural Tata Open Title

Ø  Gilles Simon of France has lifted the inaugural Tata Open Maharashtra Tennis trophy. In the summit clash in Pune, the unseeded French player defeated second-seeded Kevin Anderson in straight sets. Simon is ranked 89 in the world, while Anderson is ranked Fourteen. Simon had knocked out defending champion and third seed Roberto Bautista Agut.

Ø  Elina Svitolina Wins Brisbane International

Ø  Elina Svitolina secured her first WTA title in Australia with a straight-sets victory in the Brisbane International final. Svitolina beat Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich. Nick Kyrgios moved a step closer to claiming his first ATP title on home soil with a semifinal win over defending champion Grigor Dimitrov. He will face American Ryan Harrison in finals.

Ø  24th Federation Cup All India Carrom Championship

Ø  Kajal Kumari and Moha. Ghufran, both representing Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB), registered contrasting wins to bag the women s singles and men s singles crowns respectively in the LIC of India sponsored 24th Federation Cup All India Carrom Championship.

Ø  Federer-Bencic Lead Switzerland to Hopman Cup Title

Ø  Switzerland won their third Hopman Cup as Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic beat Germany’s Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber in the deciding mixed doubles to secure a 2-1 victory in the final at the Perth Arena. It was Federer’s second Hopman Cup triumph after victory in 2001 alongside then world number one Martina Hingis.

Ø  Bellucci to come back from 5-month ban

Ø  Brazilian tennis player Thomaz Bellucci was given a five-month suspension for doping. The 30-year-old Bellucci was tested positive for the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide. Bellucci said the positive test was the result of a contaminated vitamin supplement.

Ø  Sathiyan surpasses Kamal to be highest-ranked Indian paddler

Ø  G Sathiyan has surpassed the legendary Sharath Kamal to become India’s highest- ranked player in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rankings, which also have an unprecedented nine players in the top-100.

Ø  Indian Golfer Shiv Kapur wins Royal Cup at Pattaya

Ø  Indian golfer Shiv Kapur won the Royal Cup at Pattaya, which is his third Asian Tour title of 2017. The 35-year-old, who had just one win in almost 11 years till April 2017, has now won three times in last eight months. This latest win marks Kapur’s fourth Asian Tour win and sixth international title as he won twice on European Challenge Tour also.

Ø  Vidarbha defeats Delhi to win Ranji Trophy for the First Time

Ø  Vidarbha have created history by winning the Ranji Trophy for the first time in history with a thumping nine-wicket win over Delhi at the Holkar stadium in Indore. Rajneesh Gurbani’s 6/59, including a hat-trick and a century from Akshay Wadkar were the key moments in Vidarbha scripting a fairytale run. For Delhi, Dhruv Shorey was the star with a century and a fifty but Rishabh Pant’s side came up short on the given day.