Sports News in the Month of January

ICC T20 rankings: India rise to No. 1 after whitewashing Australia

•        India became the number one side in the ICC T20 rankings after whitewashing Australia in the three-match series.

•        India, who are also the number one in Tests, overtook the West Indies to reach the top sport in the shortest format. India have 120 rating points, two more than the Caribbean unit. Sri Lanka also have 118 rating points like the West Indies but they are third in the charts.

•        India have hit top form in the T20 format ahead of the World T20 to be held at home in March-April. They had famously won the inaugural World T20 in South Africa in 2007.

Srikanth wins first Syed Modi Grand rix Gold

•        Top seed Kidambi Srikanth made a rollicking start to the new season as he clinched the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold with a convincing win over China's Huang Yuxiang in the men's singles final

•        World No. 9 Srikanth, who had reached the summit clash in the last edition as well, prevailed over 73rd ranked Huang to lay his hands on the crown and take home a cheque of $9000.

Brazilian Pietro Fittipaldi wins MRF Challenge crown

•        Brazilian Pietro Fittipaldi clinched the title at the MMRT track in Sriperumbudur. Fittipaldi, the 17-year old grandson of former Formula One World champion Emerson Fittipaldi, enjoyed a fruitful weekend as he won two of the four races which earned him the required points to clinch the title with a tally of 244 points while Colombian Tatiana Calderon finished second (199), just eight ahead of Nikita Troitckii of Russia (191).

Djokovic thrashes Murray to claim sixth Australian Open title

•        Novak Djokovic is Australian Open champion for the sixth time, equalling Roy Emerson’s record, but it is unlikely he will be spending much time analysing a final in which he eked out a sub-par win over Andy Murray

•        It was Djokovic’s fourth win over Murray in the final of these championships – and the most ordinary – and his 11th in their past 12 matches. Djokovic now has 11 majors, and should overtake Rafael Nadal’s 14 within a year or so, then set about passing Roger Federer’s 17. This year

Kerber beats Serena to win first Grand Slam title

•       Kerber, seeded seventh, won a thrilling final at Melbourne Park.

•       The 28-year-old is the first German to win a major singles title since Steffi Graf at the 1999 French Open.

•       Williams, 34, was beaten for just the fifth time in 26 Grand Slam finals, and the American missed the chance to tie Graf's open-era record of 22 titles.

2016 Australian Open – Mixed Doubles

•       Elena Vesnina and Bruno Soares won the title, defeating Coco Vandeweghe and Horia Tecau in the final

•       Martina Hingis and Leander Paes were the defending champions, but lost in the quarterfinals to Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig.

2016 Australian Open - Men's Doubles

•       Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares won the title, defeating Daniel Nestor and Radek Stepanek in the final

•       Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini were the defending champions, but lost in the second round to Adrian Mannarino and Lucas Pouille.

Sania Mirza, Martina Hingis won 2016 Australian Open women's doubles tennis title

•       Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis beat seventh seeded Czech combination of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka to win Australian Open women's doubles title.

•       Top seeds Sania and Martina, who are on a record winning streak, continued to rule the roost as they defeated the Czech pair at the Rod Laver Arena.

•       This is the third successive Grand Slam doubles title victory for Sania and Martina and their maiden Australian Open title as a pair adding to their Wimbledon and US Open title victories in 2015.

Navneet Kaur, Santosh Kadale won gold in Senior National Rowing Championship

•       Punjab’s Navneet Kaur won two gold medals in the 34th National Rowing Championship at Hussainsagar Lake. It was a doubly sweet affair as she was winning her maiden gold at the country’s highest level in the senior category.

•       The 20-year-old Punjabi University student took 8.26.83sec to take the first place in the 2000mts Open Single Scull. Later, joining forces with Harpreet Singh, she romped home in the Open Pair competition

Graham Xavier Ford named chief coach of Sri Lanka for his second stint

•       South African Graham Xavier Ford named as the chief coach of the Sri Lankan cricket team for his second stint.

•       He succeeded Marvan Atapattu, who resigned from the post in 2015.

•       Earlier, in January 2012, he was appointed as the head coach of the Sri Lanka national team, replacing Geoff Marsh and was in the post for two-year term till January 2014 and he declined to extend his tenure in September 2013.

Adam Lewis headed Independent Review Panel set up to safeguard integrity in Tennis

•       Tennis’s governing bodies constituted the Adam Lewis headed Independent Review Panel (IRP) to safeguard integrity in tennis.

•       An announcement in this regard was made by the Chairmen and CEOs of the Governing Bodies of International Tennis – Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the Grand Slam Board.

Ishika Shah won 12th Sub-Junior National Snooker championship title

•       14-year old Ishika Shah won the 12th Sub-Junior National Snooker championship title in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. by defeating Anushi Seth in the final match.

•       To reach the finals, she defeated the defending champion Doyel Dey in the semi-final. Incidentally, Ishika lost the title to Doyel in the summit clash held in Kolkata in 2015.

•       Doyel retained the sub-junior billiards title. The title was awarded to her when the original winner, Lahiri Sinapara, was found two months over-aged than the prescribed 18 years age limit.

Izumo Takuto and Zhu Chengzhu won ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals

•       Japan's Izumo Takuto and Hong Kong's Zhu Chengzhu became champions in the boys' and girls' categories, respectively, at the ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals at the Abhay Prashal Stadium, Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

•       Each winner rewarded with 3800 US dollars while the runners-up received 2100 US dollars each.

Rohit Sharma claims career-best fifth spot in ICC batting chart

•       India’s Rohit Sharma moved eight spots to claim a career-best fifth position in the ICC batsman rankings after a stellar showing in the recently concluded series against top-ranked Australia.

•       Man of the Series Rohit, who registered 441 runs in the five matches, struck two centuries and a match-winning 99 in the consolation win for the visitors.

•       Rohit played in the 2006 U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka, has now become India’s second highest-ranked batsman behind Virat Kohli (second), with Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni slipping seven places to 13th position in the latest rankings.

•       India, after winning the Sydney ODI, has retained their second position.

•       Maxwell scored 169 runs in the series, has moved up two places to eighth, Smith’s 315 runs have helped him raise five places to 15th, and Warner has jumped five places to 18th after scoring 220 runs.

•       Ajinkya Rahane 25th after contributing 141 runs

P V Sindhu clinches Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold title

•       Two-time World Championship bronze-medallist, India’s P.V. Sindhu made a rousing start to the new season as she clinched the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold title after defeating Scotland’s Kristy Gilmour in straight games in the final in Penang

•       This is sindhu’s second Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold title, having won it in 2013 as well.

•       She also completed a hat—trick at the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold.

India beat Pakistan to win first T20 blind Asia Cup

•       India defeated arch-rival Pakistan by 44 runs to win blind T20 Asia Cup in Kochi

•       India scored 208/5 in 20 overs and Pakistan in their reply could just manage 164 runs.

•       Pakistan topped the group stage and India came second. However, the Men in Blue managed to turn the tables in the final and win the first-ever blind T-20 Asia Cup.

West Indies legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul retires from international cricket after 22-year career

•       Veteran West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the seventh highest Test match run maker in history, announced his international retirement, 22 years after his debut.

•       The 41-year-old former captain from Guyana ends his Test career on 11,867 runs, just 86 short of the West Indies all-time record held by Brian Lara.

•       Chanderpaul, left-hander, made his debut against England in March 1994, in Guyana, hitting a half-century as the West Indies won by an innings and 44 runs.

•       Chanderpaul's highest score in his 164 Tests was 203 not out -- he achieved that figure twice, against Bangladesh in Mirpur in 2012 and South Africa in Georgetown in 2005 and he finished with an average of 51.37.

Sourav Kothari pockets National Billiards title

•       Kolkata cueist Sourav Kothari put up a dominating display on the green baize to outplay Siddharth Parekh in the final of the National Billiards Championship

•       He bagged his second National Billiards title, he won his maiden crown in 2014, Kothari started with a bang to win four straight frames in the best-of-nine frame (150-up each) summit clash.

Indian Olympic Association signed 2-year marketing deal with Infinity Optimal Solutions

•       The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has signed a two-year commercial and marketing deal with Infinity Optimal Solutions (IOS) to the tune of about Rs. 12 crore.

•       As per the contract, the IOS will manage sponsorship and public relations for the IOA for all the major national and international events in that period.

•       The IOA has appointed the IOS Sports and Entertainment agency to generate sponsorship for the Indian contingent that will compete in the Olympics in Rio from August 5 to 21.

2. Roger Federer Wins 300th Grand Slam Singles Match

•       Roger Federer climbed into rarefied territory on a rainy Friday at the Australian Open. With win over 27th seed Grigor Dimitrov in Rod Laver Arena, the No. 3 seed clinched the 300th Grand Slam match win of his storied career, becoming the first man to reach the milestone.

•       Only Martina Navratilova (306) stands in front of him. Federer, at 34 a decade Dimitrov’s senior, is the oldest man to reach the round of 16 at the Australian Open since Andre Agassi played his way into the quarter-finals in 2005.

Uttar Pradesh won 2014-2015 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

•       Uttar Pradesh clinched their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy with a thumping 38-run win over two-time champions Baroda in the final played under lights at the Wankhede Stadium

•       It was Uttar Pradesh’s ninth straight win in the tournament, including five in the preliminary league phase and three more in the super league stage.

England’s Snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan won Dafabet Master title 2016

•       Ronnie O’Sullivan eased to win the Dafabet Masters title 2016.

•       He defeated Barry Hawkins in the final at London’s Alexandra Palace.

•       This is to note that Dafabet Master Title 2016 is the sixth Master title won by Ronnie O’Sullivan.

•       At the same time by winning his sixth Master title Ronnie O’Sullivan has equaled the World record of winning maximum Masters Title which was previously made by Stephen Hendry.

ICC, MRF Tyres announce four-year partnership

•       The International Cricket Council (ICC) and MRF Tyres announced a four-year deal which confirms the tyre maker as a Global Partner for ICC events from 2016 in Chennai.

•       The announcement was made at the MRF Tyres headquarters in Chennai at a function attended by ICC Chief Executive, David Richardson, MRF Tyres's Chairman and Managing Director, K M Mammen, former India captain and MRF brand ambassador, Sachin Tendulkar, and other officials.

Chris Gayle smashes 12-ball fifty, equals Yuvraj Singh's T20 World Record

•       West Indies' explosive opening batsman Chris Gayle, who was in news recently for all the wrong reasons, blasted a 12-ball half century to equal the world record.

•       In the Big Bash League (BBL) Twenty20 tournament in Australia, the 36-year-old Gayle blazed his way to equal Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh's record for the fastest ever half century in T20 history.

Delhi Acers defeated Mumbai Rockets to clinch Premier Badminton League title

•       A high-octane action coupled with Bollywood star quotient kept the spectators enthralled in the final of the Premier Badminton League between Delhi Acers and Mumbai Rockets

•       Delhi's Rajiv Ouseph won the the final match against RMV Gurusaidutt

•       Delhi Acers walked away with PBL TRophy and winners' check of INR 3 crore

•       Mixed doubles

o   Kamilla Juhl Vladimir and Vladimir Ivanov (Mumbai Rockets) beat Akshay Dewalkar and Gabrielle Adcock (Delhi)

•       Men’s singles

o   Tommy Sugiarto (Delhi) beat HS Prannoy (Mumbai)

•       Mixed doubles

o   Koo Keat Kien and Tan Boon Heong (Delhi) Mathias Boe Vladimir Ivanov (Mumbai)

•       Women’s singles (trump match)

o   Han Li (Mumbai) beat PC Thulasi (Delhi)

•       Men’s singles second match (trump match)

o   Rajiv Ouseph (Delhi) beat Gurusaidutt (Mumbai)

Virat Kohli becomes fastest to 24 ODI centuries

•       Star Indian batsman Virat Kohli became the fastest to register 24 hundreds and pile up 7,000 runs in one-day cricket, surpassing the twin milestones in just his 161st innings.

•       The top-order batsman got the better of the Australian bowling attack at the hallowed turf of the Melbourne Cricket Ground with a run-a-ball knock that was laced with seven fours and two sixes.

•       Tendulkar got to his 24th ton in his 219th innings while scoring 7000 plus runs in 189 innings.

•       The quickest to 24 centuries list has some big names in former Australian captain Ricky Ponting (278) and Sri Lankan greats Sanath Jayasuriya (370) and Kumar Sangakkara (378).

Team India regains top spot in latest ICC Test rankings

•       The Indian Test team led by Virat Kohli climbed to the top of the ICC’s Test Rankings after South Africa crashed to a 0-2 home series defeat against England in Johannesburg.

•       India now has 110 ranking points and has one point more than Australia, who is second in the list with 109 points in their kitty.

•       South Africa is now third in the rankings.

Popov claims 14th Delhi International Open chess title

•       Russia’s Ivan Popov suffered a surprise last-round loss but was not to be denied the 14th Delhi International Open chess title.

•       Popov claimed the winner’s trophy and Rs. three lakh.

•       Ukraine’s Valeriy Neverov inflicted a 43-move defeat with white pieces to force a three-way tie at eight points.

Sania Mirza & Martina Hingis pair wins the Sydney Title

•       Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis’ awe-inspiring run continued unabated as they lifted their second trophy of the season with the WTA Apia International title after clinching their 30th win a row.

•       They now have 11 WTA doubles titles together: Indian Wells, Miami, Charleston, Wimbledon, US Open, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Beijing and the WTA Finals last year, and now Brisbane and Sydney this year.

Marat Safin Inducted Into International Tennis Hall of Fame

•       Former World No.1 tennis player Marat Safin of Russia has joined the International Tennis Hall of Fame

•       The first Hall of Fame members in the International Tennis Hall of Fame were inducted in 1955.

•       With this, he will become first Russian national to be inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

World record by Sania-Martina as they win 29th match on trot

•        India’s Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis broke a 22-year-old world record by winning their 29th women’s doubles match in a row en route to their entry into the women’s doubles final of the WTA Sydney International, in Sydney 

•        The World No 1 pair came from behind to beat the pair of Romanian Raluca Olaru and Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova 

•        They now surpassed the pair of Puerto Rican Gigi Fernandez and Belarus’ Natasha Zvereva, who won 28 matches on the trot during their successful pairing back in 1994.

Lionel Messi wins Ballon d’Or for record fifth time

•        Lionel Messi reclaimed the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for the world player of the year from his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo who had walked off with the award for the previous two years.

•        Messi also finished ahead of his fellow Barça front-man Neymar after a calendar year in which the Catalan club claimed five titles.

Wendell Lira wins 2015 FIFA Puskas Award for best goal over Lionel Messi

•        Wendell Lira won the 2015 FIFA Puskas Award for his spinning bicycle kick while playing for Goianesia in the Brazilian Goias state championship.

•        Lira claimed the award at FIFA’s 2015 Ballon d’Or gala in Zurich.

•        Lira, 27, upset the favoured Lionel Messi, who was a finalist for his goal for Barcelona against Athletic Bilbao in May's Copa del Rey final.

•        Messi later took the top honour as World Player of the Year.

Stephen Fleming to coach Pune in IPL

•        Former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming named chief coach of the new Pune franchise of the Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament.

•        The appointment was confirmed in a media release by Sanjeev Goenka, head of New Rising group which owns the franchise.

•        Pune and Rajkot are the two new teams in place of CSK and Rajasthan Royals who have been suspended for two years by the Supreme Court-appointed Justice RM Lodha panel for the involvement of some of their team officials and co-owners in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal.

ICC announces MoneyGram as Event Partner

•        The ICC and MoneyGram International, a leading global provider of money transfer services, announced an eight-year deal which confirms MoneyGram as an event partner for ICC events from 2016-2023.

•        The ICC and MoneyGram recently completed a successful five-year partnership, which began with the ICC World Twenty20 West Indies 2010, concluding with the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

Stan Wawrinka wins 2016 Chennai Open title

•        The Swiss world number four overcame Coric in the $US480, 000 season-opening events, claiming his fourth victory since 2011 in the southern Indian city.

•        He defeated the Aljaz Bedene from Slovenia

•        His was his third consecutive ATP Chennai Open title for Wawrinka (won in 2014, 2015 and 2016) and overall fourth, first won it in 2011.

•        The defending champion pocketed $US75, 700 and 250 ranking points for his efforts. But his biggest gain was a timely tune-up for the Australian Open, which starts in Melbourne

Sania, Martina start off 2016 with Brisbane title

•        Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis carried the dominance of 2015 into the new season, winning their sixth consecutive title by lifting the WTA Brisbane trophy, in Brisbane.

•        The top seeds quelled the challenge of German wildcards Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic.

•        Sania and Martina, the world number one team, has now stitched a 26-match winning streak together.

Telugu man to lead Indian blind cricket team

•        Telugu cricketer, Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy has been given the honour of leading Indian Blind cricket team in the Asia Cup T-20 cricket championship to be held in Kochi from January 17 to 24.

•        The 25-year-old has already made a mark in this form of cricket featuring in 10 ODIs and 16 T-20s for India with a career-high point of being vice-captain of the national team which won the T-20 World Cup in 2012 in Bengaluru.

•        Ajay Kumar was also a member of the Indian blind cricket team that won the fourth ODI World Cup, first for India for the blind in South Africa in 2014.

Kyrgios leads Australia to Hopman title

•        Australians Nick Kyrgios and Daria Gavrilova beat Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and Alexandr Dolgopolov to win the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth

•        Both players won their singles matches in the final in straight sets, with the mixed doubles not being played.

•        For both Australians, who have known each other for several years, it was a milestone tournament win.

India’s Siril Verma ranked number 1 in Junior Badminton players ranking

•        Siril Verma climbed up a whopping 11 places to occupy the number one spot in junior men’s singles category in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings

•        the current world junior championships runners-up and regarded as the next big thing in Indian badminton, is ahead of second placed Toma Junior Popov of France while another Indian Chirag Sen occupies the third spot.

Miguel Tabuena won Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Month

•        The Philippines' Miguel Tabuena has been voted as the Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of Month for December, following his exceptional performances on home soil.

•        Tabuena also became the first Filipino to win his National Open since 2008.

•        Tabuena won the award ahead of Thailand's Phachara Khongwatmai and India's Himmat Rai.

Wayne Rooney named 2015 England Player of the Year

•        Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has been named England's Player of the Year after a historic 2015 on the international stage.

•        The 30-year-old may have endured a topsy-turvy time with Manchester United, but 2015 was a year to remember on the international front.

•        Rooney's five goals in eight England appearances moved the forward onto 50 goals, seeing him usurp Sir Bobby Charlton as the country's all-time top scorer.

•        Wayne Rooney became England's record goalscorer with 50 in 2015

•        England's captain overtook Sir Bobby Charlton's previous record

•        Rooney, 30, named Vauxhall England Player of the Year

•        Goalkeeper Jack Butland chosen as Under 21s Player of the Year

Shooter Apurvi Chandela bags gold at Swedish GP and sets world record

•        Commonwealth Games gold medal winning shooter Apurvi Chandela set a new record to finish on top of the women's 10-metre air rifle event at the three-day Swedish Cup Grand Prix.

•        Chandela shot 211.2 in the event held surpassed the feat of Chinese Olympic gold medallist Yi Siling, who held the record with 211.

•        The result marked a positive start for Chandela, who has already qualified for the Rio Olympics.

ONGC won 26th Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey tournament

•        Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) defeated Indian Railways won the 26th Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey tournament at the Shivaji Stadium

•        Vivek Sharma of Indian Oil Corporation won the outstanding performance in a match award.

•        Top scorer: Diwakar Ram (ONGC)

•        Player of the tournament: Simrandeep Singh (Railways)

•        Upcoming player of the tournament: Ajit Pandey (Railways)

Mumbai’s Dhanawade hits 1,009 runs in 323 balls

•        15-year-old cricketer Pranav Dhanawade created a world record by scoring 1009 runs (not out) in HT Bhandari Cup, an under-16 inter-school tournament held in Mumbai (Maharashtra).

•        The 15-year-old Pranav Dhanawade, the son of a Mumbai rickshaw driver, finished his innings on 1,009 not out, with his side, KC Gandhi School, declaring on 1,465 for three.

•        He scored 652 runs, breaking the 117-year-old record for the most runs scored in an innings held by AEJ Collins, who smashed an unbeaten 628 in a club match in England in 1899.

India won 2015 SAFF football championships

•        India has won the 2015 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) championship for record seventh time.

•        India defeated defending champion Afghanistan by 2-1 goal score.

•        Earlier India had won the SAFF Football Championship in year 1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009 and 2011.

IBL announces STAR Sports channels as host broadcaster

•        The Indian Badminton League announced STAR Sports channels as the host broadcaster for the upcoming League, scheduled to be held from August 14 to 31.

•        All the 90 matches, including 75 league matches, 10 games in the semi-finals and five ties in the final will be shown live on STAR Sports 2 and ESPN channels.

•        The $ 1 million IBL features six franchisee-based city teams in the inaugural edition of the richest prize-money badminton tournament.

•        The teams are — Mumbai Masters, Delhi Smashers, Awadhe Warriors, Hyderabad Hotshots, Banga Beats and Pune Pistons.

Bengal stalwart Laxmi Ratan Shukla retires from cricket

•        Former captain and veteran all-rounder Laxmi Ratan Shukla announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

•        The ace all-rounder, who had played three ODIs for India scoring 18 runs and picking up a wicket, was named in Bengal's 16-member squad for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Magnus Carlsen wins Qatar Masters Chess Open 2015

•        World Champion Magnus Carlsen wins the Qatar Masters Chess Open 2015 after nine exciting rounds of chess.

•        Carlsen continues the hot streak after his win in the London Chess Classics and secures the first place with 7 points.

•        GM Yu Yangyi, winner of the first edition of the tournament, finishes also with 7 points, but he lost the blitz tie-break against Carlsen.