(General Awareness For Bank's Exams) Sports

November - 2014

Manavaditya Rathore wins gold at Asian Championships

• Manavaditya Rathore, son of Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan Rathore, clinched the gold medal in junior men’s trap at the 4th Asian Shotgun Championships. Rathore shot 114 out of 125 to win the junior trap event in a shoot-off.

Lewis Hamilton wins US Grand Prix

•  Race by race and point by point, Lewis Hamilton is tightening his grip on the Formula One world championship and squeezing out Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.

•  “This whole season has been incredible,” Hamilton said after playfully taking former world champion Mario Andretti’s black Stetson cowboy hat on the winner’s podium. “I pushed as hard as I could.”

•  Mercedes had another 1-2 finish in a dominating season that has pushed Hamilton and Rosberg well clear of the pack in the title chase. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was third for his eighth podium finish on the season.

Sardar singh to lead hockey squad for Australia tour

•  Sardar Singh will lead a 21-member Indian men’s hockey squad for the four-match Test tour of Australia to be held in Perth from November 4 to 9.

•  Post bagging the gold medal at the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, the tour of Australia is being organised as part of preparation for the upcoming FIH Champions Trophy 2014, to be held in Bhubaneswar December 6-14.

•  Besides the four Tests, India will also play a training game against Australia A on November 1 at the Perth Hockey Stadium.

Misbah-ul Haq record ton leads Pakistan

•  Australia lost two quick wickets chasing a mammoth target of 603 runs to beat Pakistan in the second test after captain Misbah-ul Haq matched the record for the fastest century in Tests and broke that of the fastest fifty.

•  Misbah reached his century in 56 balls, matching the record set by West Indian great Sir Vivian Richards, who achieved the feat against England in 1986.

•  Earlier, the 40-year-old reached his 50 in just 21 deliveries with the last ball before lunch, turning Mitchell Starc toward the mid-wicket boundary for three runs, eclipsing the previous record of fastest 50 from 24 balls by South Africa’s Jacques Kallis against Zimbabwe at Newlands in 2005.

•  It was only the second time that two teammates made centuries in both innings of a test match. The previous occasion was in Wellington in 1974 when Australian brothers Ian (145, 121) and Greg Chappell (247 not out, 133) managed to do it.

•  Misbah got to his fifty in just 23 minutes, and took a further 34 balls and 51 minutes to reach his hundred. In all, Misbah slammed five sixes and 11 fours.
  MS Dhoni as captain of ICC’ ‘ODI Team of the Year’

•  Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named captain of ICC’ ‘ODI Team of the Year’ but none of the Indian players found berth in governing body’s ‘Test Team of the Year’ led by Sri Lankan Angelo Mathews.

•  The ICC cricket committee headed by former India captain Anil Kumble announced the two teams consisting of 12 players each.

•  While 12-member ODI team for performance during 2014 had Dhoni as captain along with his Indian team deputy Virat Kohli and pacer Mohammed Shami in the XI, opener Rohit Sharma has been named as the 12th man.

Terry Walsh quits as chief coach of hockey team

•  The Indian men’s hockey team chief coach Terry Walsh resigned from the post, citing difficulty in working under the present system of governance.

•  The resignation, however, is subject to further talks between the parties concerned in the next one month, but the blame game has already begun.

•  Walsh, who took charge of the team exactly a year ago, led India to its only third Asian Games title recently at Incheon, securing a berth at the 2016 Olympics. However, despite visible improvements during his tenure, Walsh had been under constant pressure. It was said he was close to losing his job after India’s disappointing performance at the World Cup earlier this year.

•  “I am finding considerable difficulty adjusting to the decision-making style of the sporting bureaucracy in India which I believe, in the long term, is not in the best interests of Indian hockey or its players,” Walsh wrote in his resignation letter to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) director-general Jiji Thomson.

•  “The entire issue is about the decision-making process in Indian bureaucracy. I find it difficult to work in a professional manner in this system. We are now at a place where we are seeing if we can adjust the way it operates. But there are issues that we have to solve if we have to go forward,” Walsh said. He, however, ruled out any monetary dispute with SAI.

ODI World record by Rohit Sharma (264), Sri Lanka 251

•  A world record 264 by India’s Rohit Sharma and a mammoth 404 for five in 50 overs was enough for India to plunge Sri Lanka to its fourth straight defeat in the fourth ODI of the Micromax Cup series.

Prakash creates new national record

•  Sajan Prakash of Railways sank the men’s 1500m freestyle record before booking a ticket to the FINA World championships on the second day of 68th senior National aquatic championship at the Subhas Sarobar swimming complex.

• Prakash was definitely the toast of the day, creating the lone record with his brilliant effort even as Sandeep Sejwal and Virdhawal Khade won their races — 50m breaststroke and 50m freestyle — to maintain their supremacy in the format.

•  Owner of a host of National records Richa Mishra returned from a two-year ban for doping violation keeping her dominance almost unmitigated.

Russia, Qatar to host World Cups

•  Russia and Qatar were cleared by a FIFA judge of corruption in their winning bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

•  FIFA ethics judge Joachim Eckert formally ended a probe into the bidding contests, almost four years after the vote by the governing body’s scandal-tainted executive committee. No proof was found of bribes or voting pacts.

•  “The evaluation of the 2018/2022 FIFA World Cups bidding process is closed for the FIFA Ethics Committee,” the German judge wrote in a statement released by FIFA/.

•  The 2022 World Cup will finally, it seems, be played in Qatar though exactly when is still unclear as FIFA seeks an alternative to the desert heat in June and July.

•  “FIFA welcomes the fact that a degree of closure has been reached,” the governing body said Thursday in a statement. “As such, FIFA looks forward to continuing the preparations for Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, which are already well underway.”

•  The Qatari organizing committee said it would study the report before commenting.

•  Despite finding wrongdoing among the 11 bidding nations, Eckert said the integrity of the December 2010 votes was not affected.

•  “In particular, the effects of these occurrences on the bidding process as a whole were far from reaching any threshold that would require returning to the bidding process, let alone reopening it,” he summarized.

•  The corruption case is still open for past and current members of FIFA’s ruling board.

Maana Patel, Saurabh and P.S. Madhu swim to new marks

•  India’s new wonder girl of swimming, Maana Patel of Gujarat, bettered her own mark in the women’s 100m backstroke at the 68th senior National aquatic championship.

•  The opening day saw two more records in the men’s section with Saurabh Sangvekar of Maharashtra and Services’ P.S. Madhu eclipsing the previous bests while winning the 400m freestyle and 100m backstroke events respectively.

•  The 14-year-old Maana maintained the sequence of creating records that she had started in the senior nationals at Thiruvananthapuram last year. Manaa cut short her previous best of 1:06.58 (set in 2013) by recording 1:05.47 in the 100m backstroke heats. She won the final but could not better the timing set in the morning.

•  “I felt a lot energised in the heats and also enjoyed a nice rhythm to get that timing in the heats. I could not warn up properly ahead of the final and that seemed to upset the tempo,” said Maana, who has won five gold medals in the junior Nationals with a record in each effort.

•  Saurabh’s outstanding performance in the first event of the day — where he beat the defending champion Sajan Prakash of Railways to win the men’s 400m freestyle with a record timing — lit up the proceedings.

•  Saurabh made a perfect start and led all along to win in 3:56.17 seconds, erasing the record of 3:58.51 set by Sajan in the previous Nationals. “I had timed 3.59 in the Incheon Asian Games. Since then I am targeting 3.54 and am happy to reach nearer to it today,” said Saurabh.

•  Madhu peaked at the right moment as clocked a record-breaking 57.95 seconds to beat back the challenges of M. Arvind of Karnataka and Rohit Havaldar of Maharashtra, who had the top two positions in the heats.

Viswanathan Anand hits back in style to level scores

•  As the popular phrase goes, “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” But in a match for the World chess title, the sooner you get even, the better it gets.

•  how much better Viswanathan Anand was feeling on avenging Sunday’s defeat to World champion Magnus Carlsen could be gauged by the return of his customary, disarming smile. By hitting back with white pieces in Game 3 of the 12-game World championship match in Sochi, Russia, Anand has levelled the score to 1.5-1.5.

Tough draw for Srikanth; easy for Saina in Hong Kong Open Super Series

•  After their triumphant campaign in China, where Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth won titles, the Indian contingent arrived in Kowloon for the Hong Kong Open Super Series which begins with the qualifying round.

•  The Indian team will also be bolstered by the arrival of two-time bronze medallist at the world championships PV Sindhu. The teen opted out of the China Open due to illness.

Novak Djokovic wins ATP world tour final

•  A mouthwatering finale to the season ended before it even began when Roger Federer was forced to pull out prior to the ATP World Tour Final showdown with Novak Djokovic.

•  The 33-year-old Swiss, who spent nearly three hours late beating compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka in a gruelling semifinal, announced his decision on court as the O2 Arena filled up for the expected final.

•  Federer, who was bidding for a seventh title at the year-ender, apologised but said he was not “match-fit” after developing a back problem.

•  “I hope you understand I wanted to come out personally and excuse myself for not playing ... I can’t compete without a back at this level,” he told the crowd who still warmly applauded, despite their obvious disappointment.

•  ATP president Chris Kermode, standing alongside Federer, then announced that Andy Murray, who failed to qualify for the semifinals after being thrashed by Federer, would play Djokovic in a one-set exhibition match instead.

India wins silver in Asian Beech Games

•  India settled for the men’s 3x3 basketball silver medal at the Asian Beach Games after losing a close final to Qatar 21-20 at Phuket, Thailand.

•  Vishesh Bhriguvanshi top-scored for India with eight points, while Amritpal Singh netted six. India had beaten Bangladesh 21-6 in the semifinals and Turkmenistan 21-11 in the quarterfinals earlier in the day.

Deborah takes gold at Track Asia Cup

•  Deborah overcame a bout of fever and cold to claim the women’s 500m time trial gold medal on the opening day of the Track Asia Cup.

•  The youngster from Car Nicobar of Andaman and Nicobar islands performed close to her best timing.

K. Srikanth breaks into top ten in badminton ranking

•  Owing to his recent title victory at the China Open in Fuzhou, K. Srikanth climbed up six places to achieve a career-best 10th in the men’s singles category of the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings released.

•  Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal also jumped up a place to move up the ladder to number 4 in the women’s singles rankings, even as P.V. Sindhu managed to maintain her 10th position in the list.

Srikanth, Saina win China Open

•  Olympic bronze-medallist Saina Nehwal clinched the $ 700,000 China Open Super Series Premier tournament after beating young Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the summit clash, in Fuzhou.

•  The World No. 5 Indian prevailed over the 17-year-old Akane 21-12 22-20 in the women’s singles finals which lasted 42 minutes at the Haixia Olympic Sport Centre.

•  Young Indian shuttler K Srikanth clinched his maiden Super Series title after defeating two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan of China in the men’s singles events of China Open Super Series Premier.

Bafna assured of title in National karting championships

•  Ameya Bafna of Mumbai and Bengaluru’s Ricky Donison and Yash Aradhya won the titles in the Senior Max, Junior Max and Micro Max events respectively at the 11th JK Tyre-FMSCI National karting championships, which concluded with the fifth and final leg.

•  Bafna (Rayo Racing) played it safe in the final leg and finished fourth to make sure of the overall championship.
   

Championship winners :

•  Senior Max: Ameya Bafna (Rayo Racing); Junior Max: Ricky Donison (BFC Racing); Mirco Max:Yash Aradhya (MECO Racing) 196 points.

•  Final leg results: Senior Max: 1. Chittesh Mandody (Mohite’s Racing); 2. Nayan Chatterjee (Rayo Racing); 3. Dhruv Mohite (Mohite’s Racing).

Harinder Pal wins gold in Asian Beach Games

•  Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu held his own to defeat Hong Kong’s Yip Tsz Fung in an exciting three-game affair to win gold in the men’s squash event at the Asian Beach Games in Phuket, Thailand.

•  Apart from Sandhu, India won two bronze medals from Kush Kumar (men’s singles) and Aparajitha Balamurukan (women’s singles).

•  Harinder later said: “This is a superb tournament and I am proud to win a gold medal for my country. It has been a memorable week.

•  “Firstly, I was honoured when IOA selected me to carry the Indian flag at the opening ceremony and now, I am going home with a gold medal. Playing outdoors was special,” he added.\

Dhoni buys Ranchi franchise of HIL

•  India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sahara Adventure Sports Limited are co—owners of new Ranchi—franchise of Hockey Indian League (HIL), Ranchi Rays, which was unveiled.

•  Ranchi Rhinos, who were the inaugural champions of HIL, was scrapped following distrust between owners (Patel—PS Group and Uniexcel Group) and Hockey India (HI).

Pankaj Advani first player to bag billiards triple double

•  Pankaj Advani outplayed England’s Robert Hall 1928-893 in the final of the IBSF World Billiards championship (timed format) to complete a grand double.

•  The 29-year-old, Bangalore-based Advani had won the title in the points format (150-up) last week.

•  Advani, who took a stranglehold of the match leading 746-485 at the half-way mark, thus became the first player ever to win titles in both formats thrice, following his double in 2005 and 2008.

•  Advani capped a phenomenal year that saw him win the World 6-Red championship besides the World Team billiards championship before the double here that took his individual haul of world titles to 10.

Lawis Hamilton emerges the fastest

•  Lewis Hamilton topped the charts ahead of Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg in opening free practice session for United States Grand Prix.

•  The 29-year-old Briton clocked a best lap time of 1m 39.941s to finish two-tenths of a second clear of the German after the pair took its time to get into top form at the Circuit of the Americas.

•  Hamilton leads Rosberg by 17 points with three races remaining, including the final Abu Dhabi Grand Prix where double points will be awarded.

•  McLaren’s Jenson Button, the 2009 champion, was third fastest ahead of Russian Daniil Kvyat of Toro Rosso, Dane Kevin Magnussen in the second McLaren and two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Ferrari

•  Last year’s winner and four-time champion Sebastian Vettel was seventh ahead of Felipe Nasr, making an impression as the Williams test driver, Nico Hulkenberg of Force India and Dutch teenager Max Verstappen, back in action for Toro Rosso, after his first outing in Japan.

•  Vettel’s Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo suffered an engine failure and wound up 17th out of 18 cars on the smallest F1 grid for a decade since the Monaco Grand Prix.
   

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