Current Affairs May 2019 - Sports

1 - G Sathiyan Becomes First Indian To Break Into Top-25 of ITTF Rankings

India's G Sathiyan has become the first Indian to break into the top-25 of world rankings in Table Tennis.

Sathiyan rose four spots to be 24^th in the latest ITTF rankings, following his impressive sixth place finish in the Asia Cup in Yokohama.

2 - Raheem Sterling named 2019 FWA footballer of the year

Raheem Sterling has been named the 2019 footballer of the year by the Football Writers' Association (FWA). The Manchester City and England forward topped the poll of the 400-strong FWA membership as a clear winner, with 62 percent of the votes.

3 - Apurvi Chandela Ranks World Number 1 In Women's 10 m Air Rifle Event

Indian shooting ace Apurvi Chandela (fro Jaipur) has been ranked the world number onein the women's 10 metres air rifle event while compatriot Anjum Moudgil rose to number two after consistent performances.

4 - Bajrang Punia Wins Gold In Ali Aliyev Wrestling Tournament

World number one Bajrang Punia has become the first Indian to win gold at the Ali Aliev wrestling tournament after defeating Viktor Rassadin of Russia in the 65 kg freestyle in Kapiisk.

Bajrang, who is part of the JSW Sports Excellence Program, will fight at the historic Madison Square Garden arena.

5 - Jaipur To Host Asian Youth Women Handball Championship

Jaipur will host the 8^th Asian Youth Women Handball Championship in which 10 teams will be participating. It will be played in August 2019.

The previous edition in 2017 was held at Jakarta in Indonesia where South Korea was the champion while Japan and China were placed second and third respectively.

6 - Spain Legend Xavi Hernandez Announces Retirement

Spain and Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez has announced that he will retire from professional football at the end of the current season.

Xavi Hernandez spent 14 years in Barcelona, where he won 35 trophies, including 8 La Liga titles, before moving to Qatari club Al-Sadd.

7 - Indian Boxers Win 6 Medals At 36^th Feliks Stamm International Boxing

Indian boxers finished with a rich haul of six medals, including two gold at the 36^th Feliks Stamm International Boxing Tournament in Warsaw, Poland. Gaurav Solanki and Manish Kaushik bagged one gold each. Indian boxers also clinched a silver and three bronze.

The 22-year-old Solanki out-punched England's William Cawley 52 kilogram on his way to the coveted yellow metal. In 60-kilogram weight category, Kaushik beat Morocco's Mohamed Hamout.

8 - Amul To Sponsor Afghanistan In 2019 World Cup

Amul has been announced as the principal sponsor of the Afghanistan cricket team for the upcoming World Cup, slated to be held in England and Wales from May 30.

The logo of brand Amul will appear on the leading arm of the Afghanistan team playing jerseys as well as on the training kits throughout the showpiece event.

9 - Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton Wins Spanish Grand Prix

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton won the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, Spain and rose to the top of the Formula One world championship.

Mercedes’ V. Bottas finished second, while Red Bulls’ M. Verstappen finished third.

10 - Football: Manchester City Wins Premier League Title 2019

Manchester City clinched their fourth Premier League title (football) after winning the 2018-19 season. Manchester City registered a victory against Brighton to accumulate 98 points, while Liverpool, who were also in the title race, finished second with 97 points.

Dominant Manchester City have successfully retained their Premier League title on the final day of an exhilarating 2018-19 campaign.

11 - Sana Mir Becomes Highest Wicket-Taking Spinner In ODI

Pakistan off-spinner Sana Mir has become the most successful women's ODI spinner in history after she took her 147^th wicket, highest ever by any spinner in One-day International (ODI) cricket.

Currently, Mir is placed on the third position in the ICC's ODI bowling ranking, which is topped by Indian pacer Jhulan Goswami.

12 - Manchester City Legend Yaya Toure Retires From Football

Former Manchester City and Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure has officially announced his retirement from football.

Achievements −

At Barcelona, he won two LaLiga titles and the 2009 Champions League. Toure also captured the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations playing for the Ivory Coast.

He was named the African Footballer of the Year in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.

13 - Croatia's Igor Stimac To Become Indian Football Team Coach

Former Croatia international and manager Igor Stimac will be appointed as the Indian men’s team coach after the All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) technical committee recommended him for the post.

The committee, headed by Shyam Thapa, interviewed the four candidates for the post- Stimac, Albert Roca, Hakan Ericson, and Lee and zeroed in on Stimac.

14 - MI Beat CSK By 1 Run To Win IPL 2019

Mumbai Indians became IPL champions for the fourth time after defeating Chennai Super Kings by one run in a thrilling final in Hyderabad.

Kieron Pollard top-scored with his unbeaten 41-run knock. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the most successful wicket-keeper in the history of IPL by taking his dismissals tally to 132.

15 - Madrid Open 2019: Complete List of Winners

The 2019 Madrid Open (sponsored by Mutua) is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain.

It was the 18^th edition of the event on the ATP World Tour and 11^th on the WTA Tour.

Below is the complete list of winners of 2019 Madrid Open

16 - World’s 1st Exclusive Women’s Cricket Magazine ‘Criczone’ Released

Inaugural issue of world’s first exclusive women’s cricket magazine ‘Criczone’ was released with Indian team vice-captain Smriti Mandhana featuring as the cover story.

It is a one-stop solution, exclusively dedicated to providing updates, articles, news, interviews, etc. from the world of women’s cricket. Publisher of the magazine is Yash Lahoti.

17 - Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup 2019: Japan's Yosuke Asaji Wins Title

India's Rahil Gangjee finished tied 39^th while Viraj Madappa ended tied 53^rd at the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup held in Japan. Japan's Yosuke Asaji won the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup 2019 at the Sobu Country Club.

18 - India's GS Lakshmi Becomes 1^st Ever Female ICC Match Referee

India's GS Lakshmi has become the first ever woman to be appointed to the ICC International Panel of Match Referees and will be eligible to referee international games with immediate effect.

The 50-year-old first officiated as a match referee in domestic women's cricket in 2008/09. Lakshmi has overseen three women's ODI matches and three women's T20I matches.

19 - China To Host 2023 Asian Cup Football Tournament

China has become the sole contender to host Asian Cup Football tournament in 2023 after South Korea has announced to withdraw its bid to host the game.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced that it had pulled out to strategically focus on a joint bid with North Korea to host the Women's World Cup in the same year.

20 - Italian Open 2019: Complete List of Winners

The 2019 Italian Open was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts in Rome, Italy.

It was the 76^th edition of the Italian Open. Rafael Nadal was the winner in Men's singles category while Karolina Pliskova won the Women's singles title.

Below is the Complete List of Winners

21 - 2^nd India Open International Boxing Tournament Starts In Guwahati

2^nd India Open International Boxing Tournament has started in Guwahati. India will field a strong contingent of 38 men and 37 women in the tournament including Mary Kom in 51-kilogram category.

In this 5-day event, 200 players from 16 countries will take part. The competition will be held in a total of 18 categories, 10 in men and 8 in women. The gold medalist will get 2500 US dollar and Silver medalist will earn 1000 US dollar.

22 - BFA Launches 2 New Formats Of Game, AirBadminton & Triples

The world body governing Badminton, BFA, has launched two new formats of the game AirBadminton and Triples with new dimensions of the court and an innovative shuttlecock called Airshuttle.

AirBadmintion will be outdoor sports. In Triples format, the match will be played between a team of three players each with the presence of at least one female.

23 - Double Olympic Biathlon Champion Dahlmeier Retires Aged 25

Germany's double Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier announced her retirement at the age of just 25 after struggling with health issues.

She has won seven world championship gold medals, and in 2018 in Pyeongchang, she became the first female biathlete to win both the sprint and the pursuit at the same Olympics.