(Current Affairs For SSC Exams) Sports | February, 2014

February -2014

Cricket

India - South Africa test Series

South Africa on 30 December 2013 clinched the two match series with India in Durban 1-0. It defeated India by 10 wickets in the second cricket test to win the series. In the second inning of the match, India gave a 58 runs target to chase on the fifth day. It was all out on 223 runs in the second innings in which Ajinkya Rahane scored 96 runs. For South Africa, Robin Peterson claimed four wickets while Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander took three each.

Brief Scores

  • India: 334 and 223 all out

  • South Africa: 500 and 59 for no loss

  • Man of the Match: Dale Steyn

  • Man of the Series: AB De Villers

Jacques Kallis, who was playing his last Test hit a superb 115 runs in the first innings. With this knock he surpassed Rahul Dravid of India as the third highest run-getter 13289 runs India - South Africa ODI series in the longest format in his farewell match. Now, he is behind Sachin Tendulkar (15921) and Ricky Ponting (13378) in the all-time list. Retiring South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis was given a guard of honour by the Indian players as he walked out to bat in the second and final Test at Kingsmead on 29 December 2013.

South Africa on 11 December 2013 won the three one day match cricket series 2-0 against India. The third match played on Centurion was washed away due to rain, after South Africa scored 301 runs for 8 in 50 overs. Q de Kock of South Africa was selected as the Player of the series. The previous two one day international matches were won by South Africa. In the second match South Africa defeated India by 134 runs at Kingsmead, Durban and in the first match India was defeated by 141 runs at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, while chasing massive score on 358.

ICC Annual Awards

The Indian cricketer and a Rising Test batsman, Cheteshwar Pujara on 13 December 2013 bagged the Emerging Cricketer of the Year trophy at the ICC Annual awards announced in Dubai. This is the first ever ICC Award for Pujara. He became the second fastest Indian to score 1000 Test runs during the course of his  double hundred against Australia on March at Hyderabad. He put on the board 370-run record second wicket
partnership with Murali Vijay. Pujara, the 25 year old cricketer has scored 1310 runs in 15 tests with an average of 65.50. Apart from Pujara, the Captain of Indian cricket team Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the Indian to win ICC Annual award and he got LG People’s Choice Award. Australian captain Michael Clarke was the winner of the Sir Garfield Sobers trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year and was also named as the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year. In total, there were eleven individual awards.

The full list of winners is:

  • ICC Cricketer of the Year (Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy) — Michael Clarke (Australia)

  • ICC Test Cricketer of the Year — Michael Clarke (Australia)

  • ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year — Suzie Bates (New Zealand)

  • ICC ODI Cricketer of theYear — Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)

  • ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Yea r — Cheteshwar Pujara (India)

  • ICC Associate and Affiliate Cricketer of the Year — Kevin O’Brien (Ireland)

  • ICC Twenty20 International Performance of the Year — Umar Gul (Pakistan)

  • ICC T20I Women’s Cricketer of the Year — Sarah Taylor (England)

  • ICC Spirit of Cricket Award — Mahela Jayawardena (Sri Lanka)

  • ICC Umpire of the Year (winning the David Shepherd Trophy) — Richard Kettleborough

  • LG People’s Choice — MS Dhoni

The award function was hosted by Ricky Ponting, the former Australian Captain. Ponting is the winner of the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy in 2006 and 2007 and was the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year in 2006. Apart from this he was also appointed captain of ICC’s ODI Team of the Year in 2007, 2008 and 2010.

Zaheer 4th Indian bowler to claim 300 wickets in Test cricket

Zaheer Khan on 22 December 2013 became the fourth Indian bowler to claim 300 wickets in Test Cricket. Jacques Kallis was his 300th wicket in international test cricket on the fifth day of the first cricket test match against South Africa in Johannesburg at the Wanderers Stadium.

With the 300 wickets, Zaheer joined the club of bowlers of India, who has taken 300 wickets namely Kapil Dev (434 wickets), Anil Kumble (619 wickets) and Harbhajan Singh (413 wickets). He also became the most successful left arm fast bowler after Wasim Akram of Pakistan (414 wickets) and Chaminda Vaas of Sri Lanka (355 Wickets).

About Zaheer Khan

  • Zaheer has taken 282 wickets in 200 one day international matches

  • 17 wickets in Twenty20 Internationals

  • Zaheer was the highest wickettaker for India in the 2011 World Cup

  • In 2011, he was conferred with the Arjuna Award, the second highest sporting award of India

  • In 2008, he was selected as the Wisden Cricketer of the Year

  • He debuted in the International one day’s and test matches in 2000

  • He has played for Worcestershire in County Cricket

  • He plays for Mumbai in Indian domestic cricket

ICC ODI rankings

India on 12 December 2013 retained its top position in the latest ICC ODI rankings. India topped the rankings table with 120 points, which is followed by Australia with 114 rating points. The latest ICC ranking was released in Dubai. Even after, the dismal performance against South Africa, the Indian team was able to stick on the number one position because of the games played by it on the home ground. Apart from this, in the player rankings released A.B.Devilliers of South Africa moved ahead of Virat Kohli as the World’s number one Batsman. The Indian Cricket captain, M.S. Dhoni was placed at number six and the Shikhar Dhawan was placed at tenth position in the rankings chart. In the bowler’s rankings, Indian bowler Ravindra Jadeja was pushed on the seventh place in the ranking chart. Saeed Ajmal, the Pakistan spinner was placed at number 1 and is followed by the South African pace man, Dale Steyn. In the category of All Rounders, Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh retained his number one position and was followed by Shane Watson of Australia. Ravindra Jadeja
of India was placed at fifth position in the rankings.

Star India new Official Sponsor of Indian Cricket

Star India replaced Sahara India as the new Official Sponsor of Indian cricket team. This was declared by the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) at a meeting held in Chennai on 9 December 2013. Star India Private Limited was awarded with the Team Sponsorship Rights that will cover BCCI Events, ICC Events and ACC Events. The sponsorship rights will be for a period of three years starting from 1 January 2014 to 31
March 2017. According to the Board’s Marketing Committee, “Rights include the right to be called the `Official Team Sponsor` and to display a commercial logo on the team clothing of the Senior Men`s Cricket Team, the U-19 Men`s Cricket Team, the Men`s A-Team and the Women`s Team. Although the BCCI has slashed the base price to Rs 1.5 crore from Rs 2.5 crore three years ago, the Star India will have to shell out Rs. 1.92
crore per match organized by the Board. The total amount bid by Star India stood at Rs. 203 crore. Star India is the Title Sponsor for BCCI international and domestic matches for the period October 2013 to 31 March 2014, as well as the Holder of the Broadcast, Internet and Mobile Rights of cricket in India, for the period July 2012-March 2018.

Graeme Swann retired

England spinner Graeme Swann announced his retirement from international and first-class cricket midway through the Ashes Series on 22 December 2013. The surprise announcement came days after England lost the coveted Ashes in the third Test in Perth to fall 3-0 behind in the five-test series.Swann had long been Australia’s Ashes tormentor.

He played a key role in England’s run of three successive series wins against their arch-rivals Australia. He topped the bowling table with 26 wickets in the Ashes Test series held in 2012 in England. England won the series by 3-0 margin. In the process, he became the first English spinner since Hedley Verity in 1934 to take five wickets in an Ashes Test innings at Lord’s.

England’s highest Test wicket takers

  • 383: Ian Botham

  • 329: James Anderson

  • 325: Bob Willis

  • 307: Fred Trueman

  • 297: Derek Underwood

  • 255: Graeme Swann

  • 252: Brian Statham

About Swann

Swann made his test debut against India at Chennai in 2008 wherein he took four wickets. He retired as the sixth highest Test wicket-takers of England. He took 255 wickets from his 60 matches at an average of 29.96. He has taken more wickets since his debut in December 2008 than any other bowler in Test cricket, including Dale Steyn and James Anderson. He also took 104 wickets in 79 one-day internationals at an average of 27.76 after making his debut against South Africa in Bloemfontein in 2000 at the age of 20. He took 51 T20 wickets in 39 T20 matches at an average of 16.84. In addition, he helped England clinch their first major global
world title at the 2010 World Twenty20 in the Caribbean

Shane Shillingford suspended by ICC for illegal Bowling action

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on 16 December 2013 suspended Shane Shillingford, the West Indies offspinner, from bowling in international cricket after his action was found illegal. Another West Indies cricketer Marlon Samuels, who is a part-time offspinner, also hasbeen prohibited from bowling quicker deliveries in international cricket. Both the players were reported for suspect action on 16 November 2013, during the second Test against India in Mumbai. They underwent biomechanical analysis in Perth on 29 November 2013. An ICC statement stated that an independent biomechanical analysis had revealed that for both
Shillingford’s standard off-break delivery and his doosra, the amount of elbow extension in his bowling action exceeded the 15 degrees’ level of tolerance permitted under the ICC regulations. Shane Shillingford will remain suspended until he submits a fresh analysis that proves his action has been corrected. Shane Shillingford had earlier been suspended from bowling in international cricket in December 2010, a month after being reported for a suspect bowling action on West Indies’ tour of Sri Lanka. He underwent remedial action on his bowling and was cleared by the ICC in June 2011. Shane Shillingford, (born 22 February 1983) is a West Indian cricketer who plays first-class and List A cricket for the West Indies cricket team. He played 14 Tests (debut 2010, 65 wickets).

ICC Test ranking

South Africa fast bowler Vernon Philander declared on the No. 1 position in the latest ICC Test rankings in bowling and batting released on 24 December 2013. Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis, had moved in the right
direction on rankings for Test batsmen. Philander recorded figures of four for 61 and three for 68, Steyn managed just one wicket. The contrasting performances resulted in Philander gaining 13 ratings points and Steyn conceding 13 ratings points. Steyn was on this position from july 2009. Philander is now the seventh South Africa bowler to claim the number-one rank after Aubrey Faulkner (1914-1921), Hugh Tayfield (1955-1958), Peter Pollock (1969), Allan Donald (1998-1999), Shaun Pollock (1999-2003) and Dale Steyn (2008-2013). Kohli, who stroked 119 and 96, has jumped nine places to a career-best 11th position, du Plessis’s 134 in the second innings has helped him rocket 16 places to a best-ever 28th position. Of the other two century-makers in the Test, number one ranked AB de Villiers and India’s Cheteshwar Pujara have consolidated their number-one and number-seven spots, respectively. The ICC Player Rankings are a widely followed system of rankings for international cricketers based on their recent performances.

High altitude cricket stadium inaugurated in Kerala

South India’s first high altitude cricket stadium was inaugurated on 17 December 2013 at Krishnagiri in Waynad district of Kerala. The stadium was inaugurated by Kerala Governor Nikhil Kumar. This is the second cricket ground in India after Dharamsala stadium to be located as such height. The stadium spreads over 4.4 hectares area and is situated at about 2800 feet above the sea level.

The Kerala Cricket Association had invested 6.5 crore rupees for construction of the stadium. The stadium has all amenities on par with international standards and can accommodate about 10,000 spectators.

Col. CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award 2013

Kapil Dev, the Former Captain and legendary All-rounder of Indian Cricket Team on 18 December 2013 selected for the BCCI’s prestigious Col. CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award for the year 2013. Kapil Dev had played 131 Tests for India taking 434 wickets. He was the first player to complete 5000 runs and 400 wickets in Tests. He played 225 ODIs, in which he took 253 wickets and scored 3783 runs. His most memorable contribution to Indian cricket was the victory in the 1983 World Cup. Sunil Gavaskar won this award for the year 2012. Other cricketers to have bagged the coveted award include, Mohinder Amarnath, Ajit Wadekar, Mohinder Amarnath, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Lala Amarnath, Syed Mushtaq Ali and Capt. Vijay Hazare.

About Col. CK Nayudu and the Lifetime Achievement Award

Col. CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, comprises a trophy, a citation and a cheque of 25 lakh Rupees. This award, named after India’s first Test captain, is given to individuals whose contribution to Indian cricket, on and off the field by BCCI. Col. CK Nayudu or Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu was the first captain of Indian Cricket Team in Test Matches, and he played the first class cricket for India till 1958. The ruler of Holkar in 1923 conferred him with the honour of Colonel in Holkar’s Army at Indore. Nayudu was appointed as the first captain of Indian team for its first test tour of England in 1932 after the previously appointed captain and vice-captain of the team, Maharaja of Porbandar and Ghanshyamsinhji of Limbdi respectively were out of the series due to health problems.

TENNIS

Stefan Edberg to join Roger Federer’s coaching team

Roger Federer on 28 December 2013 announced that Stefan Edberg, the former Swedish tennis player will join his coaching team in 2014. Stefan Edberg will join the long-time coach Severin Luthi as part of his team before the start of first grand slam (Australian Open) in 2014. Edberg will train to Federer for a short period of time across the year and Luthi the person who is training Federer for past 7 years will coach him for the most
time. Edberg who will coach Rogar Federer in January 2014 has been his childhood hero. Federer, who is the 17 times major winner ranks at sixth position at present.

Stefan Edberg

  • Stefan Bengt Edberg was born on 19 January 1966

  • He is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player in both singles and doubles from Sweden

  • From 1985 to 1996, Edberg had won six grand slam singles title and three grand slams in double titles, which includes Australian Open in 1985 and 1987, Wimbledon in 1988 and 1990 and US Opens in 1991and 1992

  • He was a part of the Swedish Davis Cup winning team for four times

  • He has won the Masters Grand Prix

  • He has won four Masters Series titles and four Championship Series titles

HOCKEY

Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup 2013

Germany on 15 December 2013 lifted the Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup for a record sixth time. In the title clash at New Delhi, defending champions Germany defeated France, 5-2 to retain the title. For the Germans, Nilkas Wellen scored the hat-trick goals with Jonas Gomoll and Christopher Ruhr being the other goal scorers. For France, Gaspard Baumgarten scored both the goals. In another match, the Netherlands beat Malaysia, 7-2 to finish third in the tournament. The Indian team finished at the 10th spot, after losing to Pakistan in penalties in the 9th-10th position match on 14 December 2013.

Final Positions:

1. Germany,

2. France,

3. The Netherlands,

4. Malaysia,

5. Australia,

6. Belgium,

7. New Zealand,

8. Korea,

9. Pakistan,

10. India,

11. Argentina,

12. South Africa,

13. Spain,

14. England,

15. Egypt,

16. Canada.

Individual Awards:

Player of the final: Niklas Wellen (Germany).

Player of the Tournament: Christopher Rühr (Germany)

Goal-keeper of the Tournament: Edgar Reynaud (France)

Top Scorer: Chr i s topher Rühr (Germany), 9 goals Goal of the Tournament: Jean- Laurent Kief fer (France), Argent ina vs . France, 3rd French goal (48th minute)

The Junior Hockey world Cup 2013 was held in New Delhi, India from 6-15 December 2013. A total of 16 teams were participated in this tournament.

About Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup

The Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup also known as the Roger Danet Trophy is an international field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The tournament was first held at France in 1979. Since 1985 it has been held every four years. Competitors must be under the age of 21 as of December 31 in the year before the tournament is held.

February -2014

FOOTBALL

Under-17 FIFA World Cup 2017 in India

India was chosen as the host country for Under-17 FIFA World Cup in 2017 by the FIFA executive committee in its meeting at Salvador de Bahia in Brazil on 5 December 2013. By virtue of being the host country, India will take part in the 24- nation tournament for the first time in its history. This will be the biggest ever football tournament in the country as this is the first FIFA event in the country’s history. The tournament comprises 24 teams and it will be held in six cities across India Including New Delhi

The Union cabinet has sanctioned the 125 crore rupees for infrastructure development. Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Ireland and South Africa were the other bidders of the 2017 edition.Unlike the senior men’s and women’s world cups which are held every four years, Under 17 world cup conducted every two years. The Under 17 world cup started in 1985 with China hosting the first edition. Saudi Arabia is the only Asian country to have won this tournament in 1989. Japan, South Korea and the UAE are the other Asian countries to have hosted this tournament. India has hosted Asian Football Confederation’s Youth Championships (Under-20) in 2006
and then the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008 but never has hosted any FIFA tournament. United Arab Emirates hosted the tournament this year while Chile will be the host country for the 2015 edition.

Soccer Club World Cup 2013

Bayern Munich defeated Raja Casablanca 2-0 in the finals of the third club World Cup 2013 and became the new world champions. The European champions added a record fifth title to their trophy cabinet at the tournament of continental champions to go with the Champions League, Bundesliga, German Cup, and European Super Cup triumphs in 2013. Dante scored early to deflate the Moroccan hosts at Marrakech Stadium, and Thiago Alcantara put the Bavarian side in command with his goal. Unheralded Raja, which beat Copa Libertadores champion Atletico Mineiro in the semifinals, used its speed on the break and came close to scoring but ultimately couldn’t keep up with the German champions.

About FIFA

The FIFA Club World Cup, commonly referred to as the Club World Cup, is an international Association football competition organized by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport’s global
governing body. The championship was first contested as the FIFA Club World Championship in 2000. Since 2005, the competition has been held every year, hosted so far by Brazil, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and
Morocco.

BRAZUCA unveiled

Brazuka, the official 2014 FIFA World Cup match ball was unveiled on 3 December 2013 by manufacturers Adidas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The ball is called the ‘Brazuca’ after a public vote by more than one million football fans in the host nation Brazil. Brazuca is an informal local term which means “Brazilian”, or relating to a Brazilian way of life. The ball was named Brazuca in September 2012 following a public vote in Brazil involving one million football fans. The colours of the ball reflect those of the Brazilian flag and tournament logo, while the design is a representation of the colourful wristbands that Brazilians often wear. The ball, the successor to the Adidas Jabulani used at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, has already been tested in competitive international matches, at the Under- 20s World Cup, with a different print design, and in the friendly between Sweden and Argentina in February 2014. The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be the 20th FIFA World Cup, an international men’s football tournament, tournament is scheduled to be held in Brazil from 12 June to
13 July 2014.

BADMINTON

National Badminton Championship

Kidambi Srikanth and PV Sindhu won the men’s and women’s titles respectively at the 78th Senior National Badminton Championship in Siri Fort Sports Complex at New Delhion 23 December 2013. Srikanth won the men’s singles crown of the Senior National Badminton Championship by defeating M V Guru Sai Dutt 21-13, 22-20 in the finals. In the Women’s singles, PV Sindhu defeated the Junior National Champion Rituparna Das 21-17, 21-11 in the finals to win the title. In the men’s doubles the second seeded Pranav Chopra and Akshay Devalkar beat the top seeds Munnu Atri and Sumit Reddy 21-19, 21-17 to lift the title. Women’s doubles title was won by Jwala Gutta and Ashwani Punnappa. Jwala and Punnappa regained the women’s doubles crown for the first time, since 2009. Defending mixed doubles champions Aparna Balan and Arun Vishnu retained their title by defeating Tarun Kona and Ashwini Ponnappa 21-10 21-17. The second seeded pair of Jwala and Ashwini prevailed over top seeds Pradnya Gadre and Siki Reddy N 21-17 21-16. 78th Senior National Badminton Championship-2013 was held from 16 December 2013 to 23 December 2013 in New Delhi. It held five types of events namely Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Single, Women’s Doubles and Mixed
Doubles.

About Badminton Association of India (BAI)

Badminton Association of India (BAI) is the governing body for Badminton in India. Based in  Lucknow, BAI is an association registered under the societies act. It was formed in 1934 and has been holding national-level tournaments in India since 1936. BAI has 33 State Associations and 4 other organizations as its members that conduct Badminton tournaments and have a 2x voting power compared to the 8 affiliate members, who do not
conduct tournaments and have a single vote each in the association.

Macau Open Badminton Singles title

Indian shuttler PV Sindhu on 1 December 2013 won the Women’s Singles trophy at the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton Tournament. In the title clash, Sindhu, defeated seventh seed Li Michelle of Canada in straight games, 21-15, 21-12. With this victory, Sindhu has bagged yet another Tier- III title this season, after her triumph at the Malaysia Open Grand Prix in May 2013.

Besides the Malaysia Open triumph, she also became India’s first women’s singles medallist at the World Championship in August 2013. This was India’s first singles medal at the World Championships since Prakash Padukone won a bronze in the 1983 edition.

KABADDI

Kabaddi World Cup 2013

India defeated Pakistan 48-39 in the Kabaddi World Cup in the final played at Guru Nanak Dev Stadium in Ludhiana, Punjab on 14 December 2013. With this win, India retained the title for fourth consecutive time. Hardavinder Singh Dulla and Balbir Singh from India were named as the Best Raider and Best Stopper of the tournament, respectively. In the semifinals, hosts India crushed England 63-32 while Pakistan beat USA 51-
33. After the end of the final game, the winning team India was presented with a cash reward of two crore rupees and the runner-up team, Pakistan won a cash prize of one crore rupees. The awards were given by the Chief Guest of the match, Chief Minister of Pakistan’s Punjab Shahbaz Shrief along with Chief Minister of Punjab Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister. When the World Kabaddi Cup concluded, the Chief Minister of Pakistan’s Punjab Mian Shahbaz Shrief promised that the fifth edition of the Kabaddi Cup would be held jointly at Lahore and Ludhiana. Earlier on 13 December 2013, the Indian women Kabbadi team defeated New Zealand by 49-21 and received 51 lakh rupees as winning amount. The last three editions of the Kabaddi World Cup have been won by India by defeating Canada once and Pakistan twice.

Women’s Kabaddi World Cup 2013

India on 12 December 2013 won the women’s Kabaddi World Cup championship for the third time in a row, defeating New Zealand 49-21 in the summit clash in Jalandhar, Punjab. The Indian women’s team led their New Zealand counterparts for most part of the match and held out a strong challenge by the visitors in the second half, on course to a resounding win.

The Indian team took home a first-place prize of 1 crore rupees. Anu Rani was adjudged the best stopper while Ram Bateri was declared the best raider. Both received a Maruti Alto car each. In Earlier matches, India defeated Pakistan and New Zealand defeated Denmark respectively in the semifinals. In third place match, Denmark took the third place by 34-33 points, while Pakistan took the fourth place.

ARCHERY/SHOOTING

34th National Archery Championship

Deepika Kumari won her sixth consecutive title at the 34th National Archery Championships at JRD Tata Stadium of PSPB, Jamshedpur on 25 December 2013. Deepika by winning the sixth National title consecutively has set the record of winning the most individual titles at the national meet. Earlier it was Dola Banerjee who won five national titles. Archer Krishna Ghatak with seven consecutive individual titles has the record of winning most individual titles.

He won the National titles between 1975 and 1982. Deepika Kumari won her sixth consecutive title at the 34th National Archery Championships at JRD Tata Stadium of PSPB, Jamshedpur on 25 December 2013.
Deepika by winning the sixth National title consecutively has set the record of winning the most individual titles at the national meet. Earlier it was Dola Banerjee who won five national titles. Archer Krishna Ghatak with seven consecutive individual titles has the record of winning most individual titles. He won the National titles between 1975 and 1982.

GOLF

Asia-Pacific Junior Golf Team Titles

India won the boy’s and girl’s team titles in the Asia-Pacific junior golf championship at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC). It was India’s first ever victory in the Asia Pacific Junior Golf Championship. In the boy’s category, the team of Viraj Madappa and Manu Gandas took India ‘A’ to win the team title. On the other hand, in the girl’s category, the team of Aditi and Ridhima Dilawari fashioned India ‘B’ to win the team title. In the individual category, Aditi Ashok lifted the individual title in the girls’ category after a thrilling play-off with second-placed Min-Jou Chen of Chinese Taipei.

Results

Team Boys

1. India ‘A’ (Manu Gandas, Viraj Madappa)

2. Thailand ‘B’ (Ekthumrong Luanganuruk, Suradit Yongcharoenchai)

3. Chinese Taipei ‘A’ (Sung I Yu, Chun An Yu)

Team Girls

1. India ‘B’ (Ridhima Dilawari, Aditi Ashok)

2. Chinese Taipei A’ (Yu-Hsin Chang, Min-Jou Chen)

3. Chinese Taipei ‘B’ (Hsin-En Tsai, Cih-Hui Chen)

Indonesia Open Golf Tournament 2013

Indian Golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar on 1 December 2013 won the 2013 edition of the Indonesia open at Jakarta. Bhullar finished 72 holes on the Pantai Indah Kapuk Course at Damai Indah Golf at 16-under-par 268. Bhullar, who led the tournament from the outset with a 64 in his opening round, finished at 16-under, three shots ahead of Malaysian Nicholas Fung and Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat at 13-under. Malaysia’s Nicholas Fung (66) finished tied second alongside Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat (66).

Bhullars victory also credited him 135000 dollars in prize money and jump two places to be placed fourth in Asia’s Order of Merit with total earnings of 462378 Dollars. This is Bhullar’s fifth Asian Tour title. The 2013 edition of Indonesia Open is one of the tournaments in the Asian Tour, scheduled from 28 November to 1 December at the Pantai Indah Kapuk course at Damai Indah Golf, Jakata.

F1/MOTOR RACING

Sergio Perez joined Sahara Force India

British-based Sahara Force India on 12 December 2013 signed Sergio Perez as race driver for the team in 2014 and beyond. He has signed a multi-year contract with the Force India team. Earlier, he dropped England based McLaren at the end of the 2013 Formula one season.

About Sergio Perez

  • Perez was a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy until 2012 and took his first Formula One podium at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix

  • Perez joined McLaren for the 2013 season by replacing Lewis Hamilton Sergio Perez along with the German Nico Hulkenberg will be the race drivers of Force India for the team in 2014 and beyond. The two have finished at 11th and 10th in the 2013 F1 Drivers standings, respectively.

VARIOUS

Naypyitaw South East Asian Games

The 27th edition of South East Asian Games are kicked off in Naypyitaw, the new state capital of Myanmar on 11 December 2013. This is the biggest sporting event in South East Asia. The games involve 34 events with participation from 11 Countries. More than 1500 medals are to be given to the winners. The 27th edition of SEA Games is scheduled from 11 to 22 December 2013. Myanmar is hosting the South East Asian Games after 40 years. Myanmar was the host for 1961, 2nd SEAP Game and 1969, 5th Southeast Asian Peninsular Games (SEAP). The Theme for this year SEA Game is: Green, Clean and Friendship

About Southeast Asian Games

The Southeast Asian Games is a biannual multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supervision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia. In order to participate, all athletes must be entered by their National Olympic Committee. The previous edition- the 26th South East Asian Games were held in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2011. The first edition of SEA games were held in Bangkok, Thailand in 1959.

Delhi Half Marathon 2013

Ethiopian runner Atsedu Tsegay on 15 December 2013 won the Men’s Delhi Half Marathon (21.097 km) by creating a new race record. Tsegay clocked 59 minutes 10 seconds beating the previous record of 59 minutes 15 seconds held by Deriba Merga since 2008. Former junior world champion Geoffrey Kipsang of Kenya came second, while his compatriot Wilson Kiprop finished third. G. Laxman was the top finisher for India, with a
timing of 1 hour 04 minutes and 44 seconds.

Women’s category

In women’s category Kenyan athlete Florence Kiplagat finished on top with a timing of 1 hour 07 minutes and 58 seconds. Gladys Cherono came second, while Lucy Kabuu finished third. Among the Indian athletes, Preeja Sreedharan was the top finisher. She clocked 1 hour 20 minutes 04 seconds. The winners of the both men and women category won the prize money of 25000, 18000, and 12000 US Dollars respectively according to their top three positions.

About Airtel Delhi Half Marathon

The Airtel Delhi Half Marathon is an annual half marathon event held in New Delhi, India. Established in 2005, it is both an elite runner and mass participation event. Indian telecommunications services company Airtel took the title ownership of the marathon in 2008. Prior to this, telecom provider Vodafone had the title sponsorship. A total of 31000 plus runners participated in the 2013 Delhi half marathon.

Asian Youth & Junior Championships

Indian Judokas in second week of December 2013 won silver and four bronze medals in the Asian Youth and Junior Championships, which concluded in Hainan, China. The junior Indian team comprised of seven boys and seven girls. The youth team also comprised of seven girls and boys. The championship was held from 11 to 13 December 2013. The Indian youth team won Silver and two bronze medals and the junior team won two bronze medal. Obaid Al-Anzi, the President Judo Union of Asia (JUA) opened the 7th Asian Youth & 14th Asian Junior Judo Championships 2013 at Hainan, China.

7th Asian Youth Judo Championships 2013

As per the schedule the 7th Asian Youth Judo Championships 2013 concluded on 11 December 2013 at Hainan, China. 17 Nations participated in this Youth Championships. The host country China won overall Championship by winning 5 Gold, 3 Silver and 2 Bronze, and South Korea placed runner-up by winning 3 Gold and 3 Bronze, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan placed third and fourth places.

14th Asian Junior Judo Championships 2013

The 14th Asian Junior Judo Championships 2013 concluded on 13 December 2013 at Hainan, China. 95 Men and 60 Women from 19 Nations participated in this Championship. Japan won overall Championship by winning 10 Gold and 1 Silver medal, however South Korea placed runner-up by winning 2 Gold, 2 Silver and 5 Bronze medals, and Mongolia won 2 Gold and Silver placed third

About Judo Union of Asia

Judo Union of Asia came into existence in the year 1956 with 7 National Judo Federations as its members. Chinese Taipei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Philippines and Thailand were the Founding Members of JUA. The 1st Asian Judo Championships (Men) was held in the year 1966 in Manila, Philippines, and teams from 8 Member National Judo Federations participated in the Championships. JUA Membership has been increasing year by year. By the end of the year 1970, National Judo Federations from Sri Lanka, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam, DPR Korea, Burma (Myammar, at present), Singapore, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Iran and Syria also joined JUA, thus expanding the membership to 23.

57th National Shooting Championship

At the 57th National Shooting Championship being held at Tughlakabad on 14 December 2013, Malaika Goel of Punjab and Prakash Nanjappa of Karnataka won Gold in their respective categories. Malaika won the Gold in women’s 10-meter air pistol whereas Prakash won Gold in 50-meter free pistol. The 16-yearold Malaika beat seasoned Harveen Srao by 5.3 points in the final to win the gold. Earlier she beat Olympians Heena Sidhu and Annu Raj Singh to make the final. Malaika also swept the junior and youth Gold medals as well on the basis of her qualification score of 385 that had placed her second in qualification for the women’s final. The 37-year-old Prakash battling Bell’s Palsy disease (dryness of eye) scored a total of 550 to win the Gold medal in the final.

Volgograd rocked ahead of Olympic Games

A bomb blast took place at the busy railway station of Volgograd on 29 December 2013. 18 people were reported dead and more than 50 were critically injured in the attack. City was rocked by an explosion detonated by a suicide bomber. A suicide bomber blew herself up in a train station in the Russian city of Volgograd. Russian government had launched an inquiry into a suspected act of terror. Volgograd is located 400 miles northeast of Sochi, a Black Sea resort in the North Caucasus Mountains. Sochi is scheduled to hold Winter Olympics in February 2014.

Volgograd:

The city of Volgograd was known as Stalingrad in the Soviet era. The city of Stalingrad is famous for the Battle of Stalingrad which took place in 1942-43 and was a turning point of the World War –II. The Battle of Stalingrad is one of the most ferocious and decisive battle fought in the World War-II. The Battle led to destruction of German 6th Army and led to the decline of Axis Forces in the Eastern Front.

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