Current Affairs April 2016 - Sports

News 1 - Nico Rosberg won the Bahrain Grand Prix

Mercedes star driver Nico Rosberg won the 2016 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix held at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir near the capital Manama. Rosberg romped to his 5^th successive win and 16^th Formula One victory.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen of Finland stood second, Rosberg’s teammate, Lewis Hamilton of Britain stood third in the race. Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) and Sergio Perez (Mexico) were at the 15^th and 16^th positions respectively.

News 2 - West Indies Women team wins their maiden ICC World T20

The West Indies claimed their first Women's World Twenty20 after they defeated Australia by 8 wickets in the final clash at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Stafanie Taylor and Meg Lanning were the captains of West Indies and Australia respectively.

• Player of the match − Hayley Matthews (West Indies Women)

• Player of the series − Stafanie Taylor (West Indies Women)

News 3 - Novak Djokovic won the 2016 Miami Open title

The top seed Novak Djokovic won his sixth Miami Open title after he defeated Japanese star Kei Nishikori in straight sets of 6-3, 6-3.

He also registered his 28^th Masters Tournament win, moving ahead of Spaniard Rafael Nadal. In the process, he also became the first tennis player to win the Indian Wells-Miami Open double three years in a row. He also managed to surpass Swiss ace Roger Federer as the ATP's leading prize money winner with a current career earning at $98.2 million.

News 4 - Victoria Azarenka won 2016 Miami Open titles

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus won the women's title of the Miami Open at Crandon Park and won $1 million as prize money after she defeated Russian veteran Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets, winning by 6-3, 6-2.

This was her 3^rd Miami Open title and 28^th WTA Title. She also became the third woman in WTA history to lift the Indian Wells-Miami Open double after Steffi Graf and Kim Clijsters.

News 5 - West Indies won the ICC World T20 Men’s title

The West Indies team clinched their second ICC Cricket World T-20 Men’s Cup 2016 after they defeated England in the final at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. West Indies is the only team to have won the Cup twice. Darren Sammy led the West Indies team whereas England was led by Eoin Morgan.

• Player of the match − Marlon Samuels (West Indies)

• Player of the series − Virat Kohli (India)

News 6 - Kento Momota and Ratchanok Intanon, champions of 2016 Yonex Sunrise India Open Badminton titles

Japanese shuttler Kento Momota and Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon emerged winners in the men’s and women’s finals of the $300,000 India Open Superseries respectively.

In the final match held at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in New Delhi, defending champion Momota defeated Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen while Ratchanok Intanon defeated Olympic champion Xuerui Li of China.

News 7 - Indian men won Gold in Asian Nations Cup Chess tournament

Indian men won the 2016 Asian Nations Cup Chess championship held in Abu Dhabi. The men's team registered a 3-1 victory over Vietnam in th e final round. India collected 17 points, two more than World and Olympiad champions China, to clinch the title. Kazakhstan and Iran secured third and fourth places respectively.

The Indian team was represented by Grandmasters B Adhiban on top board, SP Sethuraman, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, Krishnan Sasikiran and Deep Sengupta. The Indian women's team came fourth. The women's team was represented by Woman Grandmasters (WGM) Soumya Swaminathan, Bhakti Kulkarni, GM Harika Dronavalli, International Masters (IM) Padmini Rout and Tania Sachdev.

News 8 - Coca-Cola World Rankings 2016 revealed by FIFA

Federation Internationale de Football Association released the April 2016 edition of the FIFA or Coca-Cola World Ranking among 171 games which includes 51 qualifiers for Russia 2018 and 60 continental qualifiers and 60 international friendlies.

It was topped by Argentina Men’s Soccer team followed by Belgium team to second position.

News 9 - Danny Willett won 2016 US Masters Golf Championship

Danny Willett won the 80th edition of the 2016 US Masters golf championship. He won his first major by three shots on five under to become the first British victor in 20 years. Lee Westwood and Jordan Spieth tied up as joint runner ups. It was held from 7 April to 10 April 2016 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

The Masters Tournament, also known as The Masters or The US Masters, is one of the four major championships in professional golf.

News 10 - Anthony Joshua won the International Boxing Federation title

The British professional boxer Anthony Joshua won the International Boxing Federation heavyweight title in London. He knocked out defending champion Charles Martin in the second round. Joshua won his first world title in only his 16^th professional fight.

As of March 2016, he is ranked the world's eighth best heavyweight boxer by The Ring magazine. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the super heavyweight division at the 2012 Olympics, and silver at the 2011 World Championships.

News 11 - Lee Chong Wei won the Malaysian Open 2016

World No 4 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia won the men's singles title at the Malaysia Open 2016 after he defeated defending Champion China’s world No. 1 Chen Long in the final which was held at the Malawati Stadium in Shah Alam, Malaysia.

It was Chong’s 11^th Malaysia Open crown after he won it consecutively from 2004-2006 and again from 2008 to 2014.

News 12 - Shiv Chawrasia named Hilton Asian Tour Golfer for the Month of March

Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia was named the Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Month for March 2016 in Sentosa, Singapore. He clinched the Hero Indian Open last month.

The Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Month award recognizes the outstanding efforts of Asian Tour members both at home and abroad. Chawrasia is the second Indian to win the Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Month award after Anirban Lahiri won the June-September title last year before going on to sweep the Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Year award.

News 13 - Wisden Almanack's Cricketer of the Year goes to New Zealand’s Kane Williamson

One of the illustrious New Zealand Cricketer, Kane Williamson was awarded as the Wisden's Leading Cricketer in the World for the year 2015. On the other hand, Australian captain Suzie Bates was announced as the Leading Women's Cricketer in the World for 2015.

This is for the first time that two New Zealand players - Williamson and Brendon McCullum - were named among the Wisden Almanack's Five Cricketers of the Year. England's Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow, and Australia's Steve Smith completed the list of Five Cricketers of the Year.

News 14 - WADA revoked accreditation of the Moscow Laboratory

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has revoked the accreditation of the Moscow Anti- Doping Center in Russia (Laboratory) due to non-compliance with the International Standard for Laboratories (ISL) and the related Technical Documents.

The Laboratory was suspended by WADA on 10 November 2015 following a key recommendation in the WADA Independent Commission Report. Since that date, the Laboratory has been prohibited from carrying out any WADA-related anti-doping activities including all analyses of urine and blood samples.

News 15 - Dipa Karmakar: First Indian woman Gymnast to qualify for the Olympics

The Indian artistic gymnast Dipa Karmakar became the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for Olympics.

She also became India's first gymnast to qualify for the Olympics in 52 years. She booked her Rio ticket with a gold medal in an Olympic Test event. The 22-year-old garnered a total score of 52.698 points in the Olympics qualifying event to book a berth for artistic gymnastics in Rio Games. Karmakar is also a medalist at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and is one of only five gymnasts to have successfully completed the Produnova, one of the hardest vaults in the discipline.

News 16 - Nico Rosberg won the 2016 Pirelli Chinese Grand Prix

Mercedes Driver Nico Rosberg of Germany won the 2016 Formula 1 Pirelli Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai International Circuit. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel of Germany stood second while Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat came 3^rd.

Rosberg has won all three three Grand Prix that were held in 2016. It was Rosberg's sixth consecutive victory, having won the final three races of the 2015 season.

News 17 - Australia won the 25^th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup

Australia won the 2016 edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup held in Ipoh, Malaysia after they defeated India 4-0 in the final. It was the 9^th title win for the Australians having last won it in 2014. Defending Champions New Zealand secured third position. India finished third in the last edition.

Thomas Craig deservedly received the man-of-the-match. The Australian team, also popularly known as the Kookaburras, were captained by Mark Knowles.

News 18 - Rafael Nadal Beats Gael Monfils to win Ninth Monte-Carlo Title

Rafael Nadal captured his ninth Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters crown as he defeated Gael Monfils 7-5, 5-7, 6-0 in an enthralling final on Court Ranier III. He claimed a record-equaling 28^th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown and his first for almost two years.

ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Title Leaders :

News 19 - Laureus World Sports Awards 2016 announced

Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams claimed the top accolades, sportsman and sportswoman of the year respectively, at the Laureus World Sports Awards 2016 Berlin ceremony for their 2015 achievements. Brazil's Paralympic swimmer Daniel Dias was named disabled sportsperson of the year after winning seven golds at the IPC Swimming World Championships.

Other awards:

News 20 - Emirates Airline continues longstanding relationship with ICC

The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Emirates Airline, the world’s largest international airline, renewed a deal for an additional seven years which confirms Emirates as a Global Partner for all ICC events from 2016-2023.

The ICC and the Emirates relationship dates back to 2002, when the award-winning airline came on board as a sponsor of the ICC. The partnership was strengthened with Emirates becoming the ICC’s official partner for the 2007-2015 events cycle and the official sponsor of the ICC’s elite panel of umpires and match referees.

News 21 - India's Durga Thakur promoted as FIH International Umpire

India's Durga Thakur was promoted as International Outdoor Umpire by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) after her good performance at the Hawkes Bay Cup that was held in April 2016 in Hastings, New Zealand. FIH’s list currently has 14 Indians in the elite league of international umpires (10 men, 4 women).

Durga Thakur is a graduate of NSNIS in 2011. Her first international assignment came in 2015 at the double Six-Nation Cup in Breda, Netherlands. She is a physical education teacher at Modern School, New Delhi.

News 22 - Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyaan renamed as Khelo India

The Union Government has merged Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan (RGKA), Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme (USIS) and National Sports Talent Search Scheme (NSTSS) with the Khelo India program for development of sports.

Under the Khelo India scheme, schools and colleges from different parts of the country participate in about 27 disciplines. The RGKA was originally launched by UPA Government in February 2014 with an aim to construct sports complexes in each block of the country by 2020.

News 23 - ICC suspends Hong Kong’s Irfan Ahmed on account of breaching ICC Anti-Corruption Code

The ICC suspended Hong Kong all-rounder Irfan Ahmed from all forms of cricket for two- and-a-half years after he admitted to breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code (the ‘Code’).

The suspension will end on 4 May 2018. Ahmed was not charged with any offence involving corruption but he had failed to disclose full details of approaches or invitations to engage in corrupt conduct that had been made to him between January 2012 and January 2014.

News 24 - WADA suspends the accreditation of the Beijing Laboratory

WADA has suspended its accreditation of the National Anti-Doping Laboratory in Beijing, China for a maximum period of four months.

The suspension, which takes effect immediately, prohibits the Laboratory from carrying out any WADA-related anti-doping activities including all analyses of urine and blood samples. During the period of suspension, samples are required to be transported securely to another WADA-accredited laboratory. The Laboratory may appeal this decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport within 21 days of receipt of notice.

News 25 - Salman Khan appointed as India’s Goodwill Ambassador for 2016 Rio Olympics

Salman Khan has been named as the goodwill ambassador of the Indian contingent for the 2016 Rio Olympics to be held in August 2016 by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). He is the first actor to be chosen as goodwill ambassador So far, 75 Indian athletes in 8 disciplines have qualified for the Rio Olympic Games.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA), which made the announcement at its headquarters in New Delhi, chose Salman from a list of two to three candidates which also included Shah Rukh Khan and veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan.

News 26 - Sandeep Tomar becomes the 4^th Wrestler to bag the Rio ticket

Wrestler Sandeep Tomar bagged an Olympic quota in the men's 57kg freestyle category after he defeated Alexandru Chirtoaca 10-0 and won the bronze medal in the 1^st World Olympic qualifying tournament at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Sandeep became the fourth Indian wrestler after Yogeshwar Dutt (men's 65kg freestyle), Narsingh Yadav (men's 74kg freestyle), and Hardeep Singh (Greco-Roman 98kg) to book a berth for the Rio Games.

News 27 - Rafael Nadal won Barcelona Open Men's singles title

Rafael Nadal beat defending champion Kei Nishikori, 6-4, 7-5 to win the Barcelona Open for the 9^th time and equal Guillermo Vilas' men's tennis record of 49 career clay-court titles.

Bob and Mike Bryan won the Barcelona Open men’s doubles title after defeating Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas and the Spaniard Marcel Granollers 7-5, 7-5 in the final. It was Nadal’s 9^th Barcelona Open title, and he has now won his opening 10 matches of the European clay-court season.

News 28 - India to host the 2018 Commonwealth Judo Championships

The Judo Federation of India has made an announcement that India will host the 2018 Commonwealth Judo Championships in Jaipur. India will host the championship for the first time.

The Commonwealth Judo Congress had allotted the Championships to India at its meeting held at Port Elizabeth in South Africa. The championship is organized in every 2 years for Cadets, Junior, Seniors, Masters and visually impaired Judo Players. India will also host the 10^th Asian Cadet Judo Championships & 17^th Asian Juniors Judo Championships from September 6^th to 12^th at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Kadvanthaa, Kerala.

News 29 - South Africa: Cricket, Rugby banned from hosting tournaments

South Africa banned the national rugby and cricket federations from bidding for or hosting major international tournaments for at least a year over their failures to create opportunities for black players. Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula made the announcement after receiving a report on 'transformation' in South Africa's five biggest sports, Rugby, cricket, soccer, athletics and netball. The athletics and netball federations were also banned from bidding.

The South African government has been pushing for years for the country's main sports, especially rugby and cricket, to create more opportunities for black players.

News 30 - The Indian Government to provide Rs. 1 lakh per month to Rio-bound athletes

The Sports Ministry has decided to provide Rs 1 lakh per month as out of pocket allowance to the sports persons under the Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme in their preparation for the Olympics and Paralympics Games at Rio de Janeiro. 77 Indian athletes in eight disciplines have qualified for the Olympics till date and many more are likely to qualify in the next two months.

The Target Olympic Podium scheme is a sports ministry initiative under which Olympic medal prospects are funded by the government for top class training as part of their preparations for the Games.

News 31 - Riyad Mahrez wins PFA Player of the Year Award

Algerian footballer, Riyad Mahrez, won the Professional Footballers Association’s (PFA) Player of the Year award for the 2015–16 season and thus, became the first African footballer to win the PFA Award. Riyad Mahrez plays for English club Leicester City and the Algerian national team. Tottenham Hotspur and England midfielder Dele Alli was named Young Player of the Year.

Manchester City midfielder Izzy Christiansen won the PFA Women's Player of the Year award, Sunderland forward Beth Mead took the Women's Young Player of the Year award and Ryan Giggs was handed the PFA Merit award.

News 32 - Jeje Lalpekhlua named the Indian Player of the Year by FPAI

Indian striker Jeje Lalpekhlua was named the Indian Player of the Year by the Football Players’ Association of India (FPAI) at its annual awards function held in Mumbai. Jeje plays for the Indian national team and for Chennayin FC in ISL. The other players nominated for the award included India’s Captain Sunil Chhetri, Bikash Jairu, David Lalrinmuana and Dhanachandra Singh.

The winners in other categories are:

News 33 - Sanath Jayasuriya re-appointed as the Chief Selector

Former Sri Lankan Captain Sanath Jayasuriya was re-appointed as the Chief Selector of the national team by the Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC). The other members in the panel include former wicketkeeper-batsman Romesh Kaluwitharana, former fast bowler Eric Upashantha and former off spinner Ranjith Madurasinghe.

The new four-member selection panel will start office from 1 May 2016 and will serve for two years.

News 34 - Japan unveiled the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympics Emblems

Japan unveiled the official emblems of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, “Harmonized Chequered Emblems.” The design was highly acclaimed by the public. Composed of three varieties of rectangular shapes, the design represents different countries, cultures and ways of thinking. It incorporates the message of “Unity in Diversity.” It also conveys the fact that the Olympic and Paralympic Games seek to promote diversity as a platform to connect the world.

The design was selected following an open competition - the first ever in the Olympic history. The emblems were designed by Asao Tokolo.

News 35 - Deepika Kumari equals world record in recurve event at the Archery World Cup

Deepika Kumari equaled the world record in the Women’s Recurve event of the Archery World Cup held in Shanghai, China. She scored 686/720 to equal the earlier world-record score of 686/720 set by South Korea's Ki Bo-Bae in 2015.

She had won silver medals in individual events in the 2011, 2012 and 2013 editions of the Archery World Cup. She also has already qualified for the Rio Olympics.

News 36 - Garima Chaudhary wins Gold at Commonwealth Judo Championship

The 26-year-old Meerut based judoka, Garima Chaudhary won another gold medal at the 2016 Commonwealth Judo Championship finals in the 63 kg weight category at Port Elizabeth in South Africa.

In the year 2012, the 26-year-old Meerut based judoka was the only representative from India to contest for Judo Olympic medals at the London Olympic Games in 2012. Participating in the 63 kg category, this 26-year-old from Meerut followed up her quarter-final exit from the previous edition of the competition held at Glasgow in 2014 in perfect fashion, winning the event.