MARCH

SPORTS &GAMES

Ø  Davis Cup to convert into ‘WC of Tennis’

Ø  The Davis Cup, in existence since 1900, may be converted into a ‘World Cup of Tennis’ from next year. The new format will feature 18 teams playing a week-long event at one venue, instead of the existing 16 teams playing across four different months. A 25-year, $3 billion partnership with investment group Kosmos is in place for the new event.

Ø  India Clinched 11 medals at Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament

Ø  India have come up with best ever performance at the 69th Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament in Bulgaria. At Sofia, the country ended with a whopping 11 medals – five from men and six from women boxers. Overall, the contingent clinched two gold, three silver and six bronze medals. Vikas Krishan, who claimed a gold medal in 75 kg category, was also adjudged the best boxer of the event, a first for an Indian. Another Gold medal was clinched by Amit Panghal.

Ø  Tokyo 2020 Olympics mascots unveiled

Ø  The organising committee of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games announced on 28 February, 2018 that two futuristic figures, inspired by anime, have been chosen as mascots following voting by thousands of Japanese children. The voting to choose the mascot was conducted across thousands of schools in Japan. The mascots are aimed at boosting children’s participation in the Games.

Ø  Karnataka won Vijay Hazare Trophy

Ø  Karnataka defeated Saurashtra by 41 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final on Tuesday to win the tournament for the third time. Batting first, Karnataka put up a total of 253/10 driven by Mayank Agarwal’s 90(79), before Saurashtra were bowled out for 212 in 46.3 overs. Agarwal hit 723 runs in eight matches in the tournament, including seven 80+ scores.

Ø  India presented with ICC Test mace

Ø  The International Cricket Council presented the ICC Test Championship Mace to Virat Kohli after the end of the final T20 International against South Africa. Kohli received the ICC Test Championship mace on behalf of Team India for the second consecutive year for being the number one Test team. This is the fourth time that India has been presented with the prestigious mace.

Ø  Aruna Reddy makes history

Ø  Aruna Budda Reddy created history by becoming the 1st Indian gymnast to win an individual medal at Gymnastics World Cup as she clinched a bronze in women’s vault event. She scored 13.649 average points to finish 3rd & claim the bronze medal. This was Aruna’s first international medal, though she has taken part at World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Commonwealth Games & Asian Games.

Ø  Parupalli Kashyap Wins Austrian Open

Ø  Reigning Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap overcame Malaysia’s June Wei Cheam in straight games in the men’s singles final to clinch the Austrian Open International Challenge, his first international title in over three years. The Indian looked in good touch throughout the tournament as he didn’t drop a single game en route to his title win.

Ø  Cricket Canada unveils ICC-approved T20 League

Ø  Canada’s own first franchise-based Twenty20 league “Global T20 Canada”, was announced in New Delhi. The Global T20 Canada League will begin functioning from July 2018 at three venues in Toronto. It is conceptualised, designed, developed and managed by Mercuri Group with Cricket Canada. Global T20 Canada League has received official sanction of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Cricket Canada has become the first Associate member of the ICC to start a Twenty20 franchise league in the North America market.

Ø  US wins Ice Hockey Gold at Winter Olympics 2018

Ø  The US won the gold medal of Women’s Ice Hockey at 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, thus breaking the 20-year medal drought. They last won the medal in 1998 Nagano Games. To win the medal, the women team defeated Canada in the final in dramatic shootout. Canada had won four straight Olympic Golds, three times beating the United States in the final including twice in overtime.

Ø  Norway’s Bjoergen becomes most successful Winter Olympian

Ø  Marit Bjoergen won her 14th medal at the Winter Games by taking bronze with her Norwegian teammates in the team sprint. With this, she became the most decorated Winter Olympian of all time, breaking the tie she held with Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen.

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Ø  Virat Kohli, 1st Indian to cross 900 points in ICC ranking

Ø  Virat Kohli has become only the second batsman in the history of the game to cross 900-point mark concurrently in Tests & ODIs. Kohli is only the 2nd batsman after AB de Villiers to attain the 900-point mark concurrently in both formats. Kohli thus moved ahead of Brian Lara in the all-timers’ list & ranks 7th in ODI list of all-time rankings that is led by Vivian Richards with 935 points.

Ø  Australia’s Most-Capped female player Alex Blackwell retires

Ø  Australia’s most-capped female player and vice-captain Alex Blackwell has announced her retirement from international and state cricket. She became just the fourth female Australian to pass 5,000 runs when she batted in the Test, Twenty20 and One-Day arenas, compiling 5,250 runs. Blackwell, who led Australia to victory at the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies in 2010, was also a member of Australia’s World T20 winning sides in 2012 and 2014 and has two World Cup trophies from 2005 and 2013.

Ø  Bhuvneshwar Kumar first Indian pacer to take five-fors in all formats

Ø  Fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar has become the first Indian bowler to take a five-wicket haul in all three formats in international cricket. Bhuvneshwar achieved the feat by taking his first T20I five-wicket haul against South Africa.

Ø  Roger Federer wins Rotterdam Open for 97th Career Title

Ø  Roger Federer (Switzerland) celebrated his return to the top of the world rankings by winning the Rotterdam Open, in the Netherlands. It was his 97th career title. The 36-year-old, the oldest No.1 in history, defeated Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) in the final. Federer is three years older than American Andre Agassi was when previously holding the record for oldest No.1 back in 2003. This was his third title in Rotterdam following successes in 2005 and 2012. France doubles pair P. H. Herbert and N. Mahut won the Men’s Doubles Title.

Ø  Yuzuru Hanyu retains gold medal

Ø  Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu has become the first figure skater in 66 years to win back-to-back Winter Olympic gold medals in the men’s singles event. Hanyu won the title with 317.85 points, beating compatriot Shoma Uno and multiple world champion Javier Fernandez of Spain to the second and third spots. He also became the 1,000th gold medal winner in the history of Winter Olympics.

Ø  Jordan Thompson wins Men’s Singles of Chennai Open

Ø  India’s Yuki Bhambri finished runner-up in the Men’s Singles in the Chennai Open ATP Challenger Tennis Championships. In the final, he was beaten by top-seeded Australian Jordan Thompson in three sets 7-5, 3-6, 7-5.

Ø  Roger Federer surpasses Agassi to become oldest World No. 1 in tennis history

Ø  Twenty-time Grand slam winner, Roger Federer became the oldest world number one after he defeated his Dutch opponent Robin Haase in Rotterdam at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament. The Swiss champion once again claimed the top spot after dispatching Haase 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 in the quarterfinals in Rotterdam. In the semi-finals, he would be playing against the winner from the Andreas Seppi and Daniil Medvedev quarterfinal match.

Ø  Indian boxers win 10 medals at Asian Games Test event

Ø  Indian boxers have won 10 medals, including 5 gold, at the Asian Games Test event in Jakarta, Indonesia. Manish Kaushik, K.Shyam Kumar, Shaikh Salman Anwar and Ashish won a gold each in their respective categories. Pavitra was the lone Indian gold-winner in the 60-kilogram category of women’s draw.

Ø  Guptill becomes the highest run-scorer in T20

Ø  Martin Guptill has become the leading run-scorer in T20 Internationals with his 2nd century against Australia. It took Guptill’s international T20 career total to 2,188 runs, surpassing Brendon McCullum’s 2,140, Kohli is the next highest on the all-time list with 1,956. Guptill’s century came off a mere 49 balls, which is also the record for fastest T20 hundred scored by any New Zealand batsman.

Ø  Tamil Nadu wins Senior Women’s National Football Championship for first time

Ø  Tamil Nadu has won the Senior Women’s National Football Championship for the first time. Tamil Nadu, which was playing its first-ever final, defeated Manipur, 2-1 at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, Odisha. Skipper Indumathi and Indrani found the net for Tamil Nadu, while Ratanbala scored Manipur’s only goal.

Ø  India No. 1 ODI team after series win against South Africa

Ø  The Indian cricket team rose to the top of the ICC ODI Team Rankings with 122 points after they took a 4-1 lead in the six-match ODI series against South Africa. The men in blue were placed second in the ICC team rankings chart with 119 points when they came into the series, two points behind top-ranked South Africa who had 121 points. However, India moved to 122 points after it won the fifth ODI at Port Elizabeth by 73 runs, sealing a series win, while South Africa fell to 118 points.

Ø  Ronaldo 1st player with 100 goals for 1 club

Ø  Real Madrid frontman Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first player in UEFA Champions League history to score 100 goals for a single club. His overall tally in the tournament has gone up to 116 goals, 19 more than Lionel Messi. Further, Ronaldo has scored 10+ UCL goals for the seventh straight season, no other player has done so in three.

Ø  Kishan Gangolli wins 13th edition of National Chess Championship for Blind

Ø  Defending champion Karnataka’s Kishan Gangolli won the 13th edition of the National ‘A’ Chess Championship for the blind in Mumbai. The championship was organised by All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB). At the end of the 13th round, Asian Championship winner, Gangolli became the champion for the fifth consecutive time with 10.5 points. Gujarat’s Ashvin Makwana stood second with 9.5 points, Soundarya Kumar Pradhan of Orissa with 9 points came third.

Ø  Sharmila Nicollet first Indian Golfer to qualify for China LPGA Tour

Ø  Sharmila Nicollet become the first Indian golfer to qualify for the China Ladies PGA Tour. The 26-year-old Bengaluru golfer fought her way back into the tournament in the last two rounds to earn a card for the Tour. Sharmila, who played on the Ladies European Tour before losing her full card, played her three rounds in the CLPGA Tour Qualifying School to finish in tied 21st and pick one of the 30 cards available in the 88-player field.

Ø  Shikhar Dhawan becomes first Indian batsman to score century in 100th ODI

Ø  In a landmark moment, Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan became the first Indian batsman to score a century in his 100th One-day International. Dhawan reached the historic mark during the fourth ODI of India’s six-match series against South Africa at the Wanderers. This was the batsman’s first century in South Africa. His score total included two sixes and 10 fours.

Ø  Winter Olympic Games starts in Pyeongchang, South Korea

Ø  The 23rd Olympic Winter Games officially kicked off with a colorful ceremony at Pyeongchang in South Korea. Ninety-two countries are participating in the event. There will be 102 medals up for grabs in Pyeongchang, covering seven sports and 15 disciplines. The ceremony was directed by Song Seung-whan, a South Korean actor. Hosts South Korea also produced a show of unity with neighbours North Korea during the ceremony.

Ø  Khelo India School Games: Haryana tops in medal tally

Ø  The first Khelo India School Games concluded in New Delhi with sports powerhouse Haryana topped the overall medal tally. The state won 102 medals which include 38 gold and 26 silver. Maharashtra with 110 medals (36 of them gold) finished second while Delhi with 94 medals came third. Sports Minister, Col Rajyavardhan Rathore presented the top State Haryana with the glittering trophy.

Ø  Jhulan Goswami 1st woman in the world to take 200 ODI wickets

Ø  Indian women’s cricket team pacer Jhulan Goswami has become the first woman in the world to take 200 wickets in ODI cricket. Goswami achieved the feat playing in her 166th ODI against South Africa. Goswami had become the leading wicket-taker in women’s ODIs in May last year, overtaking former Australian pacer Cathryn Fitzpatrick’s record of 180 wickets.

Ø  Jasprit Bumrah, Harmanpreet Kaur in Forbes India 30 under 30 List

Ø  Indian cricketers Jasprit Bumrah and Harmanpreet Kaur as well India women’s hockey team goalkeeper Savita Punia and shooter Heena Sidhu are among Forbes India 30 Under 30 list. Bumrah finished the year 2017 as the third highest wicket-taker in ODIs with 39 scalps in 23 matches, whereas in T20Is he grabbed 12 wickets in 11 outings. In December 2016, Harmanpreet became the first Indian woman cricketer to play in Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL).

Ø  Shubhankar Sharma won European Tour title

Ø  India’s Shubhankar Sharma came back from a four-stroke deficit to claim a two-shot win at the Maybank Championship in Malaysia for his second European Tour title. Sharma had won his maiden title at the Joburg Open in December last year. The Indian holed 10 birdies to claim the title ahead of Spain’s 31-year-old Jorge Campillo.

Ø  India Open 2018- Complete list of Winners

Ø  India Open is a badminton event held annually at the Siri Fort Sports Complex, New Delhi. In women’s singles Defending champion P V Sindhu was defeated by American Beiwen Zhang to finish runner-up at the India Open Super 500 tournament.
Complete List of Winners-

Ø  S.No.	Ø  Category	Ø  Winner	Ø  Runner-Up
Ø  1.	Ø  Men’s Singles	Ø  Shi Yuqi (China)	Ø  Chou Tien Chen (Taiwan)
Ø  2.	Ø  Women’s Singles	Ø  Beiwen Zhang (America)	Ø  P V Sindhu (India)
Ø  3.	Ø  Men’s Doubles	Ø  Marcus Fernaldi Gideon (Indonesia) and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (Indonesia)	Ø  Kim Astrup (Denmark) and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (Denmark)
Ø  4.	Ø  Women’s Doubles	Ø  Greysia Polii (Indonesia) and Apriyani Rahayu (Indonesia)	Ø  Jongkolphan Kititharakul (Thailand) and Rawinda Prajongjai (Thailand)
Ø  5.	Ø  Mixed Doubles	Ø  Mathias Christiansen (Denmark) and Christinna Pedersen (Denmark)	Ø  Praveen Jordan (Indonesia) and Melati Daeva Oktavianti (Indonesia)

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Malaysian chef wins International Young Chef Olympiad 2018

Ø  The 4th edition of International Young Chef Olympiad (YCO) concluded in New Delhi with Lai Jia Yi from Malaysia winning the top spot and Indian student chef Surya Sekhar Roy Choudhury claiming the second position. Touted as the “World’s biggest culinary battle of student chefs”, the competition was judged by eminent celebrity chefs and Michelin-starred winners including Sanjeev Kapoor, Ranveer Brar, John Wood, Chris Galvin, Scott Baechler, and Enzo Oliveri.

Ø  Golfer Shubhankar wins Maybank Championship

Ø  India’s Shubhankar Sharma overcame a four-shot deficit to win the US$3mil (RM11.7mil) Maybank Championship for his second victory on both the Asian Tour and European Tour. Earlier he had won the European Tour’s Joburg Open in the second week of December 2017.

Ø  India lifts U-19 World Cup 2018

Ø  India has defeated Australia to lift the Under 19 World cup for the fourth time. The Men in Blue defeated the three-time champions Australia at Bay Oval, New Zealand. The Australian team had set the target of 214 runs and was chased down easily by India. Manjot Kalra was the Hero of the match with his brilliant century.

Ø  Saurav Ghosal becomes the Highest-Ranked Indian Squash Player

Ø  India’s leading squash player, Saurav Ghosal jumped five places to No. 14 to become the highest ranked Indian in the latest Professional Squash Association (PSA) rankings. Ghosal beat Joshna Chinappa who slipped three places to No. 17 while Dipika Pallikal Karthik remained on 20. Former Indian national champion Harinder Pal Sandhu was placed at 49th.

Ø  Mary Kom clinches Gold medal at India Open Boxing tournament

Ø  The five-time World Champion and Olympic bronze medallist, Mary Kom on 2, February 2018 claimed the gold medal in the Indian Open International Boxing tournament at Thyagraj Indoor Stadium at New Delhi. Kom defeated Josie Gabuco from the Philippines in a split 4-1 decision to grab the gold in the women’s 48kg weight category. The 12th seeded boxer had earlier booked her place in the finals after defeating Mongolian Altansetseg Lutsaikhan in the semi-final clash.