Current Affairs July 2019 - Sports



1 - Indian pro boxer Vaibhav Yadav wins WBC Asia title

Vaibhav Yadav

Indian pro boxer Vaibhav Yadav became the World Boxing Council (WBC) Asia silver welterweight champion after defeating Thailand's Fahpetch Singmanassak in the title bout held in Pattaya, Thailand. The fight was conducted by the Asian Boxing Council and approved by the WBC.

WBA Asia is an organisation for professional boxing in the Central Asia, Oceania, Pan Pacific, Eurasia and Southeast and Far East nations. The Asian Boxing Council, commonly known as the WBC Asia, is a boxing federation operating under the umbrella of the World Boxing Council.

2 - Veer Chotrani won U-19 Asian Squash title

Veer Chotrani

India won a gold in the Under-19 title at the Asian Junior Championship in Macau, China after Veer Chotrani beat compatriot Yash Fadte in the final. With this victory, Veer became the third Indian to win the Asian trophy after Ravi Dixit and Vela Senthilkumar.

India also bagged two silver medals through Neel Joshi in the boys Under-17 category and Yuvna Gupta in the girls Under-15 section. India finished the tournament with one gold, three silver and three bronze.

3 - Shakib Al Hasan becomes third batsman to score over 600 runs in a World Cup

Shakib Al Hasan

Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan has become the third cricketer in the world to score more than 600 runs in a World Cup series. He scored 606 runs. Sachin had scored 673 runs during the 2003 World Cup while Mathew Hayden had scored 659 runs during the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

However, Rohit Sharma of India ended to become the highest run-getter in WC 2019 after he scored 648 runs, thus becoming the 4th batsmen to score more than 600 runs in a WC. David Warner of Australia became the fifth batsman after he scored a total of 647 runs in the WC 2019.

4 - Hima Das won 5th international gold in the month

Hima Das

Indian sprinter Hima Das won her fifth gold of the month after she won the 400m competition in the Nove Mesto nad Metuji Grand Prix in Czech Republic.

She won her first gold on July 2 in the 200m race at the Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland. She then won her second 200m gold at the Kutno Athletics Meet, also in Poland, on July 7. She won her third 200m gold at the Kladno Athletics Meet in Czech Republic on July 13. Her fourth gold came at the Tabor Athletics Meet in Czech Republic on 17th.

5 - Rahul Dravid appointed as head of cricket at NCA

Rahul Dravid

The BCCI has apponted former India captain Rahul Dravid as Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). He will oversee all cricket related activities at NCA and will be involved in mentoring, coaching, training and motivating players, coaches and support staff at the NCA.

Dravid will also work closely with the National Men’s and Women’s Head Coaches and Cricket Coaches for India Developmental teams – including India A, India Under 19, India Under 23 teams, in the identification of key training and development objectives.

6 - India to host ICC Cricket World Cup 2023

World Cup 2023

India will host ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. It will be the 13th edition of the men's Cricket World Cup. The event will be held from February 9-March 26, 2023. 10 teams will participate in the WC.

India has co-hosted the World Cup three times in the past, 1987 with Pakistan, 1996 with Pakistan and Sri Lanka and 2011 with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The Cricket World Cup has been hosted most number of times, 5 times, by England.

7 - Dutee Chand becomes first Indian to win 100m Gold in World Universiade

Dutee Chand

Indian sprinter, Dutee Chand, won the 100m gold medal in the 30th Summer University Games in Naples, Italy and became the first Indian to achieve the feat. She won the race in 11.32 seconds. She also holds the 100m national record with 11.24 seconds.

Del Ponte of Switzerland won the Silver medal while Lisa KwaYie of Germany took the bronze. The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). It is also referred to as the World University Games or World Student Games.

8 - Max Verstappen won Austrian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen

Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the Austrian Grand Prix 2019. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was second in the race followed by Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas. Verstappen and Leclerc, at 21 years of age, became the youngest top-two finishers in Formula One history.

Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes is leading the driver's points table this year with 223 points followed by his teammate Valtteri Bottas at 184 points. Max Verstappen is placed third with 136 points.

9 - Indian athletes win six medals on 1st day of Qasanov Memorial Meet

Qasanov Memorial Meet

Indian track and field athletes won six medals, including three golds, on the first day of the Qasanov Memorial Meet at Almaty in Kazakhstan. Mohammed Afsal won the men's 800m gold. Gagandeep Singh won gold in men's discus throw. Senthil Kumar Mithravarun took the silver with a 49.54m throw.

Navjeet Kaur Dhillon won the third gold for India recording discuss throw covering 54.80m. In women's hammer throw, Jyoti Jakhar Ran (58.69m) bagged silver and Anita (55.38m) got bronze.

10 - Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship 2019

Commonwealth Championship

The Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship 2019 was held in Apia, Samoa across three categories — senior, junior and youth. India topped the medals tally in both senior and junior age groups. India won 35 medals (22 golds, 10 silvers and 3 bronze medals) across 3 age groups.

Mirabai Chanu, gold medalist at 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2018 Khel Ratna awardee, won gold in women’s 49 kg with a total lift of 191 kg. Ajay Singh created a new Commonwealth record in the clean and jerk category by lifting more than double his body weight (190kg).

11 - Odisha hosted 21st Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship

21st Commonwealth

The 21st edition of Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship began at the Jawaharlal Indoor Stadium in Cuttack. The tournament was held from 17th to 22nd July, 2019. 12 Nations participated in the event. It was inaugurated by Governor Prof. Ganeshi Lal.

Indian paddlers made most of the ‘home’ advantage and grabbed all the 7 gold medals. In the final analysis, India won seven gold—the best ever haul—five silver and three bronze medals to be the table toppers.

12 - U.S. bagged FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019

Women’s World Cup

Defending champions USA won the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 after defeating the Netherlands 2-0 in the final held in France. USA won the title for a fourth time. Sweden claimed a top-three finish for the fourth time. The United States qualified for the 2019 Women's World Cup by winning the 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship.

The important awards −

  • Golden Boot Award: Megan Rapinoe (USA)

  • Silver Boot Award: Alex Morgan (USA)

  • Golden Glove Award: Sari van Veenendaal (NED)

  • Golden Ball Award: Megan Rapinoe (USA)

  • Silver Ball: Lucy Bronze (ENG)

  • Bronze Ball Award: Rose Lavelle (USA)

13 - Rohit Sharma created history by scoring maximum hundreds in the single World Cup

Rohit Sharma

India’s Rohit Sharma created world record by scoring five centuries in a single World Cup and break the record of former Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakarra who had scored four centuries in 2015 edition. Rohit also equalled Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar in the total number of World Cup hundreds. Both the Indians have six hundreds to their names.

Rohit Sharma is the only third Indian after Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid to win Golden Bat for most runs in ICC Cricket World Cup. Rohit Sharma is the only player in the cricket history to score three double hundreds in ODIs.

14 - Canada Open Super 100, 2019

Canada Open

China's Li Shi Feng won the Canada Open Super 100 tournament by defeating India's former Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap. Kashyap lost to Feng in a three-game thriller by 22-20 14-21 17-21 in the men's singles summit clash in Calgary.

Other winners of the tournament −

  • Women's Singles: An Se-young (South Korea)

  • Men's Doubles: Mathias Boe and Mads Conrad-Petersen (Denmark)

  • Women's Doubles: Setyana Mapasa and Gronya Somerville (Australia)

  • Mixed Doubles: Ko Sung-hyun and Eom Hye-won (South Korea)

15 - Brazil won title of Copa America 2019

Copa America

Brazil became the new CONMEBOL Copa América champion, after beating Peru 3-1 in a match played at Rio de Janeiro. Everton, Gabriel Jesús and Richarlison scored for brazil while Paolo Guerrero scored for Peru. It was the 9th Copa America title win for Brazil. Argentina took third place by beating Chile. Brazil was also the host nation of the tournament.

The important awards of the tournament −

  • Golden Ball Award: Dani Alves (Brazil)

  • Golden Boot Award: Everton (3 goals) (Brazil)

  • Golden Glove Award: Alisson (Brazil)

  • Fair Play Award: Brazil

16 - Arinjeeta Dey wins silver medal in World Youth Cup

Arinjeeta Dey

10-year-old Arinjeeta Dey has won silver medal in the World Youth Cup. She won the medal in the under-12 age group category. A total of 35 countries participated in this competition. Arinjeeta Dey is a national champion of junior level category. She is trained under Hanshi Premjit Sen, who is the president of Premjit Sen Martial Art Academy in West Bengal.

World Karate Federation at Umag, Croatia organized the tournament. The World Karate Federation is the largest international governing body of sport karate with 191 member countries and is affiliated to the International Olympic Association.

17 - Magnus Carlsen won 2019 Croatia Grand Chess Tour title

Magnus Carlsen

Magnus Carlsen won the Croatia Grand Chess Tour with a score 8/11 after a final round victory over Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. This marks the World Champion’s seventh consecutive tournament win this year, bringing his rating to 2882 - the peak rating he achieved in 2014.

The 2019 Croatia Grand Chess Tour tournament was hosted by Grand Chess Tour and Chess Club from Zagreb and witnessed 12 full tour participants compete over 11 rounds of classical chess for a prize fund of $325,000.

18 - Vinesh Phogat won Gold at Grand Prix of Spain

Vinesh Phogat

Vinesh Phogat and Divya Kakran won Gold medals at the Grand Prix of Spain Women’s Wrestling in the 53kg and 68 kg category respectively. The tournament was held in Madrid, Spain. India finished second with 130 points in team championship behind Russia who scored 165.

It was the first gold medal for Vinesh Phogat after shifting to 53kg category. She defeated Dutch rival Jessica Blaszka in the final. Divya defeated Poland’s Agnieszka Wieszczek-Kordus in the final.

19 - India Football Federation’s AIFF Awards 2018-19 announced

AIFF Awards

The All India Football Federation announced National team striker Sunil Chhetri as the AIFF Men’s Footballer of the Year 2018-19, a record 6th time.

Other awardees −

  • AIFF Men’s Emerging Footballer of the Year: Abdul Sahal

  • AIFF Women’s Footballer of the Year: Ashalata Devi

  • AIFF Emerging Women’s Footballer of the Year: Dangmei Grace

  • AIFF Award for the Best Referee: R Venkatesh

  • Best Grassroots Development Programme: Jammu & Kashmir Football Association

20 - Pardeep Singh created new Commonwealth record in clean & jerk category

Pardeep Singh

Pardeep Singh created a new Commonwealth record in the clean and jerk category on the way to a gold medal at the Commonwealth Championships in Apia (Samoa). Pardeep, who is competing in the 109 kg category, smashed the record in the clean and jerk event by lifting 202 kg. His earlier successful attempt of 148 kg took his total to 350 kg.

Two-time Commonwealth Games medalist Vikas Thakur clinched the silver medal in the men's 96 kg event. India ended their campaign with a rich tally of 35 medals in various categories.

21 - G. Sathiyan, Anthony Amalraj won bronze at World Tour Platinum Australian Open

G. Sathiyan

The Indian pair of G. Sathiyan and Anthony Amalraj won the bronze at the World Tour Platinum Australian Open after they went down 12-14, 9-11, 8-11 to top seed Korean pair of Jeoung Youngsik and Lee Sangsu in Geelong near Melbourne, Australia. This was India's first ever medal in the Australian Open, which is a Platinum event.

The 2019 ITTF World Tour is 24th edition of International Table Tennis Federation’s professional table tennis world tour. It is scheduled from 17 January 2019 to 15 December 2019. It is divided into two categories: World Tour and World Tour Platinum.

22 - Mexico bagged CONCACAF Gold Cup final

CONCACAF Gold Cup

Mexico bagged CONCACAF Gold Cup 2019 title by beating the United States. Mexico player Jonathan Dos Santos scored the only winning goal in the 73rd minute. With this victory, Mexico tallied total of eight Gold Cup titles. Christian Pulisic of the United States won the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup’s best young player award while GK Guillermo Ochoa of Mexico won the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup Golden Glove Award.

The CONCACAF Gold Cup is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF. The Gold Cup is held every two years.

23 - India tops medals tally at ISSF Junior World Cup in Germany

ISSF Junior Worldcup

India has topped the medals tally in the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany. India finished the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) tournament with 24 medals that includes 10 Gold, 9 Silver and 5 Bronze.

The list of key Gold medal winners is −

  • Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar: 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men Junior

  • Sarabjot Singh: 10m Air Pistol Men Junior

  • Anish: 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men Junior

  • Udhayveer Sidhu: 25m Standard Pistol Men Junior

  • Gaurav Rana: 50m Pistol Men Junior

  • Elavenil Valarivan: 10-metre Air Rifle Women

24 - Indian youth boxers clinched 4 silver medals at Serbian Tourney

Indian Youth Boxers

Indian youth boxers clinched four Silver and a bronze medal at the 37th Golden Glove of Vojvodina International Tournament held in Serbia. Seloy Soy, Bilotson L Singh, Ajay Kumar and Vijaydeep fetched silver medals. Harsh Gill (91kg) lost to Turkey’s Topaloglu Abuzer to settle for a bronze medal.

The tournament featured 22 countries, including India, Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, and Kazakhstan.

25 - England won ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

England Won WorldCup

England won their maiden ICC World Cup cricket trophy after they beat New Zealand in a Super Over in the final played at Lord's on 14 July 2019. England's Ben Stokes was named player of the match and New Zealand's skipper Kane Williamson was adjudged player of the tournament for his excellent returns with the bat and inspiring leadership.

The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 12th Cricket World Cup. It was the most watched cricket competition ever as of 2019 with approximately 2.6 billion people around the world having watched the tournament.

26 - Lewis Hamilton won sixth British Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton won his sixth British Grand Prix. He has now won more British GPs than any other driver. With this win, Hamilton extend his championship lead to 39 points. It was an 80th career win for him, of which 7 have come in the 10 races this season.

Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas was second in the race while Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was third. The 2019 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone, United Kingdom.

27 - Vinesh Phogat won gold at Yasar Dogu International

Wrestler Vinesh Phogat

India wrestler Vinesh Phogat has won gold in the 53kg category at Yasar Dogu International in Istanbul by beating her Russian opponent Ekaterina Poleshchuk 9-5 in the final. Vinesh had won her first gold medal after shifting to 53kg category at the Grand Prix of Spain.

Seema and Manju Kumari also won a gold medal each in the 50kg and 59kg category respectively. In men's wrestling, Rahul Aware won gold in the 61kg freestyle category while Utkarsh clinched the bronze in the same weight division.

28 - Djokovic defeated Federer to win fifth Wimbledon title

Novak Djokovic

Defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia won his fifth Wimbledon title after defeating Swiss tennis ace Roger Federer 7-6, 1-6, 7-6, 4-6, 13-12. The match lasted for 4 hours and 57 minutes, to be the longest ever final to be played so far.

This was Djokovic's 16th Grand Slam moving him closer to the only men ahead of him in tennis history: Federer with 20 and Rafael Nadal with 18. Federer has won Wimbledon eight times since 2003.

29 - Djokovic remained at world number one in ATP rankings

Novak Rankings

Novak Djokovic's successful defence of his Wimbledon crown ensured that the Serb remained at world number one in the latest ATP rankings with 12,415 points. He collected his fifth Wimbledon title and 16th major title with a thrilling five-set win over Roger Federer.

Djokovic is now 4,500 points clear of second-ranked Rafael Nadal who is just 485 points ahead of Federer. Top five ATP rankings as of July 15 −

  • Novak Djokovic (SRB) 12,415 pts

  • Rafael Nadal (ESP) 7,945

  • Roger Federer (SUI) 7,460

  • Dominic Thiem (AUT) 4,595

  • Alexander Zverev (GER) 4,325

30 - Kiran More appointed as interim coach of USA cricket team

Kiran More

Former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman, Kiran More, has been named as the interim coach of the USA cricket team. He will take over from the former coach Pubudu Dassanayake. The USA Cricket has also appointed former India spinner Sunil Joshi as spin bowling advisor, and Pravin Amre and Kieran Powell as advisors for the batting department.

More played for India in 49 Tests and 94 ODIs. He also served as the Chairman of the Indian selection committee. He was also the wicketkeeping-consultant of Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

31 - Sreeshankar wins gold at Tatyana Kolpakova International Athletics

Sreeshankar

M. Sreeshankar of India produced his season’s best performance (7.97m) to win the long jump gold at the 22nd Tatyana Kolpakova Memorial International Athletics Meet at Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Tunlai Narzary of Assam, India clinched gold in the women’s shot-put with a 13.83m throw.

Mohammed Salahuddin also earned gold for India after he won the men’s triple jump with 16.53m jump. The other gold winners are −

  • Inderjeet Singh: shot put gold with 18.67m

  • Gajanand Mistry: 200m, 21.50s

  • Mohammed Afsal:800m, 1:51.39s

  • Vipin Kasana: men’s javelin with 82.51m

  • Hima Das: women’s 200m

32 - Wimbledon 2019: List of Winners

Sr.No Category Winner Runner-Up
1 Men's singles N. Djokovic (Serbia) R. Federer (Switzerland)
2 Women's singles S. Halep (Romania) Serena Williams (USA)
3 Men's doubles Juan Sebastian Cabal (Colombia) and Robert Farah (Colombia) Nicolas Mahut (France) and Edouard Roger Vasselin (France)
4 Women's doubles S W. Hsieh (Taiwan) and B. Strycova (Czech Republic) G. Dabrowski (Canada) and Y. Xu (China)
5 Mixed doubles I. Dodig (Croatia) and L. Chan (Taiwan) R. Lindstedt (Sweden) and J. Ostapenko (Latvia)

33 - Amir Khan becomes WBC international welterweight champion

Amir Khan

Britain boxer of Pakistan-origin Amir Khan won against Australia's Billy Dib to claim WBC international welterweight title at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Amir is a British professional boxer. Before turning pro, Khan won a silver medal in the lightweight division at the 2004 Olympics at the age of 17 to become Britain's youngest boxing Olympic medalist. In 2007, he was named ESPN prospect of the year.

34 - Anahat Singh and Neel Joshi wins Dutch Junior Open squash

Dutch Junior Open Squash

Anahat Singh won the girls U-13 title of Dutch Junior Open Squash while Neel Joshi won the boys’ U-17 crown. The championship was held in Amsterdam. Paarth Ambani finished runners-up in the under 15 competitions.

Anahat won against France’s Lauren Baltayan in the final battle. Joshi won against Hassan Khalil of England in the final. The Dutch Junior Open squash championship is one of the largest individual junior squash tournaments in the world.

35 - India to host ISSF World Cup in March 2020

ISSF World Cup

International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) has approved India's application to host the ISSF World Cup stages. It will be held at the Dr. Karni Singh Range in New Delhi from March 15 to 26, 2020. The WC in India will have rifle, pistol and shot gun events. It will be preceded by the Shotgun World Cup in Nicosia, Cyprus.

The last edition of ISSF World Cup was held in Munich, Germany. The ISSF World Cup is carried out in four competitions per year in each event. For the best shooters there is a World Cup Final.

36 - ICC suspended Zimbabwe Cricket with immediate effect

Zimbabwe Cricket

The International Cricket Council suspended Zimbabwe Cricket with immediate effect over violation of global body's constitution which doesn't allow any government intervention.

The current elected members of Zimbabwe Board were suspended by government agency Sports and Recreation Committee (SRC) which was a violation of relevant articles of ICC Constitution. ICC funding to Zimbabwe Cricket will be frozen and representative teams from Zimbabwe will not be allowed to participate in any ICC events. The Croatia, Morocco and Zambia Cricket Union have also been suspended for continuing to be non-compliant.

37 - Deepika Kumari clinched silver at 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games test event

Deepika Kumari

India's top-ranked woman archer Deepika Kumari clinched silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games test event. Ranked fourth in the qualification round, Deepika went down to Korean An San in straight sets. The second seed San produced fine shooting including a flawless third set to clinch the match 6-0 in her favour.

This was Deepika's first individual final in a world event since she won a gold at the third stage of the World Cup in Salt Lake City in June 2019.

38 - Kohli, Bumrah retained top spots in ICC ODI rankings

Kohli And Bumrah

Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah retained their number one position in the ICC batsmen and bowlers' rankings for the One-Day Internationals. Rohit Sharma was no. 2 in the batsmen’s list and Trent Boult was no. 2 bowler in the list.

In the all-rounder rankings, Shakib Alasan remains at the top followed by England's Ben Stokes and Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi. England has regained the first position in the ICC ODI Team Rankings followed by India at number 2. New Zealand is on the third position.

39 - Maharashtra sports department sought one crore rupees’ funds for shooter Rahi

Rahi Sarnobat

The Maharashtra sports department has sought funds of over Rs one crore for ace shooter Rahi Sarnobat. He has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Sarnobat made a request through social media to send the government proposal for financial assistances immediately so that the government can expedite the process.

It is a financial assistance to emerging players for their training and other expenditure. The players who can seek funds need to have resided in Maharashtra for 15 years, and should have won at least one medal in junior or senior national competitions.

40 - Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju launched AIFF Golden Baby Leagues handbook

Kiren Rijiju

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju launched the All India Football Federation's Golden Baby Leagues handbook 2019-20 on the sidelines of the Intercontinental Cup in Ahmedabad. The launch marked the renaming of the 'AIFF Baby Leagues' to 'AIFF Golden Baby Leagues', with emphasis being laid for ages under 6 to under 12 both for girls and boys.

The handbook is a guide to help the stakeholder to organise the Golden Baby League. The Leagues aim to provide access to football in localities irrespective of gender, religion, economic background, or ethnic origin.

41 - Sanjivani Yadav received two-year suspension for doping violation

Sanjivani Yadav

The IAAF’s Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for a doping violation has handed India’s long-distance runner Sanjivani Yadav a two-year suspension. The 23-year-old won the 10,000m bronze at the 2019 Asian Championships and 5000m bronze in the 2017 edition. The athlete admitted to her first violation resulting in disqualification of all past results since June 29, 2018.

India's National Anti-Doping body NADA has the right to appeal against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.

42 - India's Asian Games silver in mixed relay event to be upgraded to gold

Asian Games

India are in line to get the Asian Games gold in 4x400 mixed relay as Kemi Adekoya of Bahrain, who was part of the gold winning team, has been handed a four-year ban for failing a dope test. The silver won by India's mixed relay team of Mohammad Anas, Hima Das, Arokia Rajiv and M R Poovamma at the Asian Games in Jakarta last year is set to be upgraded to gold.

India had officially lodged a complaint against Bahrain for obstruction, but it was turned down.

43 - North Korea win Intercontinental Cup title

North Korea Champions

North Korea won the second edition of Intercontinental Cup football tournament beating Tajikistan in the final at the EKA Arena, Ahmedabad. Pak Hyon Il scored the goal for the Koreans. The other participants of the tournament were host India and Syria. The champions were rewarded with USD 50000 and the runner-ups with USD 25000.

India was the highest ranked team among all teams in the tournament. India was the champion of the first edition of the tournament held in 2018.

44 - P T Usha nominated for IAAF Veteran Pin

P T Usha

India’s track and field legend PT Usha has been nominated for the International Association of Athletics Federation’s (IAAF) ‘Veteran Pin’ for her outstanding service to the sport.

Usha had won five gold medals - 100 metres (m), 200m, 400m, 400m hurdles and the 4x400 m relay -- besides a bronze in the Asian Games which were held at Jakarta in 1985. She is known as the “queen of track and field”. She became the first Indian to reach the finals of the 400m hurdles in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

45 - Sharath Kamal voted IOC Sportsperson of the Year

Sharath Kamal

Sharath Kamal was voted the Sportsperson of the Year in the annual Indian Oil Sports Conclave held in New Delhi. The other nominees were cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara, Grandmaster B, Adhiban, hockey player Simranjeet Singh and table tennis player Manika Batra.

Sharath Kamal is the first Indian table tennis player ever to become nine times Senior National Champion hence breaking the record of eight times National Champion Kamlesh Mehta. Recently he received the fourth highest civilian award, Padma Shri.

46 - Adam Peaty breaks world record of 57 seconds barrier in 100m Breaststroke

Adam Peaty

World champion British swimmer Adam Peaty broke his own world record in the men’s 100 metre breaststroke by completing his swim in 56.88 seconds at the World Championships held in Gwangju, South Korea. His previous record was of 57.10 seconds. With this, Adam became the first man to break the 57-second barrier in the 100 metre breaststroke event.

Adam is the current holder of the world record in 50 and 100m breaststroke. He won the gold medal in the 100m breaststroke at the 2016 Olympics, the first by a male British Swimmer in 24 years.

47 - Shane Lowry bagged British Open title

Shane Lowry

Ireland’s Shane Lowry bagged British Open title and lifted the Claret Jug. With this victory, Shane Lowry became second player from Ireland to win this title after Padraig Harrington in 2007 and 2008. Englishman Tommy Fleetwood was placed at second position.

The British Open made a historic come back after 68 years to Northern Ireland in 2019. Golf’s oldest and most international championship was played among world’s greatest players competing for the Claret Jug over the Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush.

48 - Indonesia Open 2019

Indonesia Open

The 2019 Indonesia Open took place at Istora Gelora Bung Karno in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is officially called BLIBLI Indonesia Open 2019. Japan's Akane Yamaguchi won the Women's singles title against India's P. V. Sindhu.

The winners in other categories are −

  • Men's singles: Chou Tien-chen (Chinese Taipei)

  • Men's doubles: Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (Indonesia)

  • Women's doubles: Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota (Japan)

  • Mixed Doubles: Zheng Siwei and China Huang Yaqiong (China)

49 - ICC launched World Test Championship

ICC World Test Championship

The International Cricket Council launched the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC). It will start from 1 August 2019. The top nine Test teams in the world – Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies will compete in 71 Test matches across 27 series played over two years.

The top two teams will contest the ICC World Test Championship Final in June 2021 in UK. Every series in the championship will be worth 120 points, irrespective of the number of Tests. Therefore, a team can score a maximum of 720 points in a cycle.

50 - Mary Kom, Simranjit Kaur won gold in President's Cup Boxing Tournament

Mary Kom And Simranjit

India’s Mary Kom and Simranjit Kaur won gold in the 23rd President's Cup Boxing Tournament in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia. The Indian contingent finished their campaign in the Tournament with nine medals (seven gold and two silver). Mary Kom defeated Austalia’s April Franks and Simranjit won against Indonesia’s Asian Games bronze medallist Hasanah Huswatun.

The women team won all the four gold medals on offer and the men’s team won three gold including two silver medals.

51 - Virat Kohli retained top spot in ICC Test Rankings

Kohli Test Rankings

India skipper Virat Kohli has retained his number one position in the latest ICC Test batsmen's rankings.

Kohli, who last featured in India's 2-1 Test series win over Australia, is sitting on 922 points. New Zealand's Kane Williamson (913) is second and Cheteshwar Pujara (881) third in the rankings. Pat Cummins of Australia topped the bowler’s list followed by James Anderson and Kagiso Rabada respectively.

India continued to dominate the team ranking followed by New Zealand (2) and South Africa (3) with England (4) and Australia (5) rounding up the top five.

52 - Ehsan Mani named Chief of ICC Finance and Commercial Affairs committee

Ehsan Mani

Pakistan Cricket Board’s Chairman, Ehsan Mani, has been selected as the Chairman of the International Cricket Council’s Finance and Commercial Affairs committee. Additionally, Ehsan Mani is also member of ICC Audit Committee that involves major decisions on media rights deal and finalizing venues of World Cup matches.

Finance and Commercial Affairs committee is responsible for allotment of budgets for ICC events and distributing money to its member countries. Prior to this appointment, Ehsan Mani has also held the same position in F&CA between 1996 and 2002.

53 - John Isner wins Hall of Fame Tennis Championships

John Isner

Veteran American tennis player John Isner won ‘Hall of Fame Tennis Championships’ title in the singles category for the fourth time, held in Newport, Rhode Island. He made victory by 7-6(2), 6-3 scores over Kazakh Alexander Bublik. With this victory, John Isner won 250 ATP Rankings points and $100,600 as prize money. The Association of Tennis Professionals has ranked John Isner No. 8 in men’s singles. Marcel Granollers and Sergiy Stakhovsky won doubles category in Hall of Fame Tennis Championships’ title.

The Hall of Fame Open is an international tennis tournament that has been held every year in July at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.

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