Current Affairs September 2016 - Sports

News 1 - Zaheer Khan gets MCC's Honorary Life Membership

Former India pacer, Zaheer Khan, has been inducted as an Honorary Life Member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). He is the third Indian player to receive the distinction this year after Virender Sehwag and Anjum Chopra.

Khan played 92 Test matches for his country during a successful career, taking 311 wickets. He took 282 wickets in 200 ODIs. Honorary Life Membership is awarded by the MCC Committee to individuals in recognition of the service they have given to the cricket.

News 2 - Serena Williams created Grand Slam history with her 308^th win

Serena Williams created history in tennis with her 308^th Grand Slam victory after she defeated Yaroslava Shvedova 6-2 6-3 to advance to the quarter-finals of the US Open.

The world number surpassed Martina Navratilova (306), and Roger Federer (307), as the leader in the all-time most Grand Slams win list.

Over her career, she is 308-42 at the majors, for a winning percentage of .880. She has won 88 at the US Open, 86 at Wimbledon, 74 at the Australian Open, 60 at the French Open.

News 3 - Summer Paralympic Games 2016 begin in Rio

Summer Paralympic Games 2016 began in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro on 7^th September with an opening ceremony at the Maracana Stadium.

Around 4,350 athletes from more than 160 countries will compete in 22 different sports. Approximately 1,650 will be women. Canoe and triathlon will be included in the Games for the first time in Rio.

The Indian contingent, largest-ever from the country, comprises of 18 athletes. They will feature in 10 disciplines.

News 4 - Stan Wawrinka won 2016 US Open Men’s Singles title

Swiss tennis player Stan Wawrinka won the US Open 2016 men's singles title by defeating world No. 1 Novak Djokovic at the U.S. Open, 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3. It was Wawrinka’s first US Open and his fifth victory in 23 matches against the world No 1.

The 2016 US Open was the 136^th edition of the US Open, the fourth and final Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park of Queens in New York City, United States.

News 5 - Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares win 2016 US Open Men’s Doubles title

Jamie Murray of Britain and Bruno Soares of Brazil won the U.S. Open Men's doubles championship defeating Spaniards Pablo Carreno Busta and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-2, 6-3. It was their second Grand Slam title this year after they had won the Australian Open.

They are the first winners of multiple major men’s doubles titles in a season since Bob and Mike Bryan won three in 2013. Murray became the first British man for 44 years to win the US Open doubles title. Soares also became the first Brazilian to win more than one Grand Slam doubles title.

News 6 - Angelique Kerber wins 2016 US Open Women’s Singles title

Germany’s Angelique Kerber won her first U.S. Open title after defeating Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the women's singles final. It was her second grand slam title of 2016 after she had on the Australian Open. The 28-year-old German also rose from second to first in the rankings ahead of Serena Williams.

She became the first German to win the US Open since Steffi Graf in 1996. She also became the first female player other than Williams to win two majors in a season since Justine Henin in 2007.

News 7 - Army Green beat Neroca FC 6-5 to lift Durand Cup

Army Green won the Durand Cup football title after defeating Neroca FC 6-5 via penalty shoot outs in the final of Asia's oldest football tournament in New Delhi.

Army Green had prevailed over Aizawal FC while Manipur side, Neroca FC, defeated DSK Shivajians in their respective semi-final matches. Army Green became the first Army team since 2005 to win the title.

Army Blue collected the cash prize of 45 lakh rupees while Neroca collected a cash prize of 20 lakh rupees. Durand Cup is a football competition in India and was first held in 1888.

News 8 - Mariyappan Thangavelu wins India’s first Gold medal at Rio Paralympic Games

Mariyappan Thangavelu of Tamil Nadu won India’s first gold medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics in the Men’s High Jump T-42 event with jump of 1.89 metres. He, thus, became the first Indian high-jumper to win gold at the Paralympics.

India’s Varun Singh Bhati won the bronze medal in same event with the jump of 1.86 metres to finish third. Chief Minister Jayalalithaa announced a reward of Rs. 2 crore to Mariyappan.

News 9 - Real Madrid secures 15^th straight La Liga win

Real Madrid equalled the club’s record of 15 successive La Liga wins after they thrashed promoted Osasuna 5-2. One more win would equal Barcelona’s 2010-11 La Liga record of 16 in a row.

Real’s 15^th consecutive La Liga win under Zidane matched the club record set by Miguel Muñoz’s side in the 1960-61 season. Ronaldo opened the scoring for Real in the sixth minute, before Danilo, Sergio Ramos, Pepe and Modric added one goal each to the scoreline.

News 10 - SAI-AIFF launched online portal for Global Scouting Programme

Sports Authority of India (SAI) and All India Football Federation today jointly launched an online portal for its Global Scouting Programme, which will conduct off-field trials for NRI boys. This will help boys of Indians living abroad to play in India's team in FIFA under-17 world cup next year.

The applicants have to upload a two minute playing video on the site. The project will provide them a chance to present his playing talent to the scouts of India's U-17 team through its online portal.

News 11 - Deepa Malik became first Indian woman to win medal at Paralympics

Shot-putter Deepa Malik created history after becoming the first Indian woman to win a Paralympics medal. Deepa bagged a silver medal in the shotput F-53 event.

Her throw of 4.61m was the best in her six attempts. Fatema Nedham of Bahrain won the gold medal with the best throw of 4.76m while Dimitra Korokida of Greece bagged the bronze medal with a throw of 4.28m.

She holds the Asian record in javelin throw, and also has World Championships silver medals in shot put and discus in 2011.

News 12 - Joshna Chinappa rose to 10^th in PSA rankings

Squash player Joshna Chinappa rose to 10^th in the latest Professional Squash Association (PSA) rankings. Deepika Pallikal retained her ranking at 19^th position. Chinappa had initially broke into the top-10 in July 2016 but slipped to 12^th before she regained the position.

In the men's rankings, Saurav Ghosal dropped to 21^st from his previous perch of 17^th. Mahesh Mangaonkar gained a position to be on 60^th, while Vikram Malhotra remained 73^rd.

News 13 - Sushmita Rai wins Bronze at World Martial Arts Masterships

Sushmita Rai of Sikkim has won a bronze medal at the World Martial Arts Masterships 2016, held at Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do of South Korea.

Considered to be an Olympics for martial arts, the World Martial Arts Masterships was the first comprehensive martial arts competition where national teams from across the globe took part.2,073 participants from 87 countries participated in the championship this year.

Sushmita Rai had also won the Silver Medal last year in the Asian Kickboxing Championship 2015 which was held in Pune, Maharashtra.

News 14 - Indian Railways Men Hockey Team wins MCC Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey Tournament

Indian Railways Men Hockey Team has won MCC Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey Tournament 2016 for the first time held at Chennai from 1^st September to 11^th September 2016.

In the finals Indian Railways Hockey Team beat Indian Oil Corporation Team by 2 - 1. The champions took home the prize money of 5 lakhs rupees, and the runner-up, Indian Oil Corporation, received 2.50 lakhs rupees.

Special awards given in the tournament:

News 15 - Devendra Jhajharia won gold at Rio Paralympics

India's Devendra Jhajharia has won gold in the men's javelin throw, F46 event at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. Devender improved his own 2004 record of 62.15 metres, with a world-record throw of 63.97 metres. He had also secured the gold medal in the javelin event at the 2004 Athens Paralympics.

The 36-year-old athlete, with an amputated left hand, was awarded the Arjuna award in 2004 and the Padma Shri in 2012, becoming the first Paralympian to receive the honour.

News 16 - Aleksander Ceferin named new UEFA president

Aleksander Ceferin has been elected the new president of UEFA. He will succeed Michel Platini. Aleksander beat Michael van Praag by 42-13 in the race to become the new head of European football's governing body. He will remain in office till 2019.

Ceferin has been the head of the Football Association of Slovenia since 2011. Michel Platini had announced his resignation in May after being banned from football for four years for ethics violations.

News 17 - India bags 6 medals on opening day of Track Asia Cup 2016

Indian cyclists bagged 6 medals on the opening day of the Track Asia Cup 2016 including three gold and two silver and one bronze, in New Delhi.

In the women elite, 500m Deborah won the gold, clocking 35.964 seconds. In the team sprint women elite event, the Indian team comprising Deborah Herold and Kezia Vargheese bagged the gold medal.

Rajkumari Devi won bronze medal at the women elite pursuit 3kms event. India's junior team bagged a silver medal in the team sprint event. The junior women team bagged a gold in the team sprint event. Alena Reji won a silver.

News 18 - 2016 Kabaddi World Cup's logo unveiled

Sports Minister Vijay Goel and International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) President Janardan Singh Gehlot formally unveiled the logo of the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup. It will be held at The Arena by TransStadia in Ahmedabad from October 7 to 22.

The logo is derived from the natural heritage of Gujarat, the Asiatic Lion, symbolizing the ferocity of a Kabaddi defender and the agility of a raider. A total of 12 teams including hosts India will participate in the tournament which has been divided into two groups of six teams each.

News 19 - India Blue wins inaugural D/N Duleep Trophy

India Blue defeated India Red to clinch the inaugural day/night Duleep Trophy tournament held in Greater Noida. India Blue won by 355 runs. Gautam Gambhir led the champions while India Red was captained by Yuvraj Singh. Cheteshwar Pujara was named the Player of the Match.

In June 2016, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that the tournament will feature day/night matches and pink ball will be used. The tournament was contested by India Red, India Blue and India Green.

News 20 - Sports Ministry to start Talent Search Portal within a month

Sports Ministry will start a Talent Search Portal within a month. The portal will allow talented children of eight years and above to stake their claim for support including admission to sports training centres.

Details of the performance and potential of a child including video and photographs could be uploaded on the portal. After due scrutiny, children with potential will be given an opportunity to appear for tests which could be conducted at the nearest Sports Authority of India- SAI Centre among others. Those who pass the tests will be admitted to the training centres.

News 21 - East Bengal won Calcutta Football League 2016

East Bengal won the Calcutta Football League (CFL) for a record seventh consecutive time after they got past Mohammedan Sporting 1-0. South Korean striker Do Dong Hyun scored the winning goal for the champions. East Bengal bettered its own record of winning it six times straight from 1970 to 1975.

East Bengal Football Club is a professional football club, based in Kolkata, West Bengal. The club has won 3 National Football League, 8 Federation Cups, 3 Indian Super Cups and many more.

News 22 - India finishes 2^nd in Track Asia Cup

India ended their campaign in the Track Asia Cup at second position at the Cycling Velodrome in IG Stadium in New Delhi.

India's medals tally comprises 16 with five gold, four Silver and seven bronze. Hong Kong topped the table with 18 medals which comprise 11 Gold, four Silver and three bronze.

The Track Asia Cup cycling competition was held from 14 September to 16 September 2016 at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex velodrome. This was the third year in succession that India hosted the event.

News 23 - Priyesha Deshmukh won Bronze at the 1^st World Deaf Shooting Championships

Priyesha Deshmukh won bronze in the 10m air rifle category at the 1^st World Deaf Shooting Championships held in Kazan, Russia. She scored 180.4 in the final to secure the third spot.

Ukraine's Svitlana Yatsenko (201.6 in final) and Serbia's Gordana Mikovic (200.3) won gold and silver respectively. Priyesha only began playing the sport three years ago. She has been winning national gold in the handicapped category since last three years.

News 24 - Indian shooters clinched three gold medals at ISSF Junior World Cup

Indian shooters clinched seven medals, including three gold, on the opening day of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup for pistol, rifle and shotgun at Gabala in Azerbaijan.

A total of 279 junior athletes, representing 27 countries, are battling it out in 18 events.

Subhankar Pramanick − He clinched gold medal in 50-metre rifle prone event. The Indian shot 205.5 overall to finish top of the podium. Czech Republic's Filip Nepejchal (205.2) followed in second position, while Romania's Dragomir Iordache (185.1) was placed third at the end of the finals. Subhankar, along with team-mates Fateh Singh Dhillon and Ajaey Nithish, also helped the Indian team to win a silver in the event.

Sambhaji Patil − He won the junior men's 25-metre standard pistol event by shooting 562 to easily beat Australians Sergei Evglevski and James Ashmore. Sambhaji along with compatriots Gurmeet and Rituraj Singh helped India to win the team gold.

News 25 - BCCI ties up with Janalakshmi Financial Services as an associate sponsor

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced Janalakshmi Financial Services (Jana) as an Official Partner for a period of three years. Janalakshmi Financial Services is the largest and the fastest growing Micro Finance Institution (MFI) in India.

According to the agreement, Janalakshmi will have an opportunity to increase its brand visibility via in-stadium branding, on-ground advertising for 68 matches and activation rights for three years across the three formats. JFS is also a part of the financial inclusion working group with the World Economic Forum.

News 26 - Ajay Shirke re-elected as BCCI Secretary, MSK Prasad as the new Chairman of selection committee

Ajay Shirke has been re-elected as BCCI secretary unopposed at its Annual General Meeting. Similarly, former India wicketkeeper MSK Prasad has been appointed chairman of the selection committee.

Devang Gandhi, Jatin Paranjpe, Sarandeep Singh, Gagan Khoda are other selectors in Prasad-led panel.

Venkatesh Prasad will chair the junior selection panel also featuring Rakesh Parikh, Aashish Kapoor, Amit Sharma and Gyanendra Pandey. MSK Prasad played six Tests and 17 ODIs for India.

News 27 - Anup Kumar to lead India in Kabaddi World Cup

Anup Kumar from Haryana will lead India in next month’s Kabaddi World Cup to be held in Ahmedabad. Balwan Singh is the head coach of the squad with E Baskaran as his deputy.

Kumar first competed for the national team at the 2006 South Asian Games, which were held in Sri Lanka. He leads the team for his franchise U Mumba in the Pro Kabaddi League. The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup begins on October 7^th and will feature 12 teams.

News 28 - Misbah-ul-Haq became first Pakistani to receive Test mace from ICC

Misbah-ul-Haq has become the first Pakistani cricketer to receive the prestigious ICC Test Championship mace for inspiring Pakistan to the top of the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings for the first time since the current rankings system was introduced in 2003.

Pakistan is only the fifth side after Australia, England, India and South Africa to top the ICC Test rankings, while Misbah is the ninth captain to lift the mace.

News 29 - BPCL lifts title of Obaidullah Khan Heritage Cup Hockey Tournament

The Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd-BPCL lifted the title of the Obaidullah Khan Heritage Cup Hockey Tournament. The team defeated Railways by 3-0 in the final played at Aishbagh Stadium in Bhopal. The match was decided by penalty shoot -outs as both the teams scored one goal each till the end of prescribed time.

Air India got the third place in the Tournament. It defeated ONGC in a match played to decide third place. Winning team received 51 lakh rupees.

News 30 - MS Dhoni named captain of Wisden's all time India Test XI

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been named the captain of Wisden's all-time India Test XI. The team was announced to mark India's 500^th Test match.

The openers in the side are Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag, followed by Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, all-rounder Kapil Dev and Dhoni as wicket-keeper.

Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Bishan Singh Bedi were included as bowlers. Mohammad Azharuddin was named the 12^th man.

News 31 - Sathiyan Gnanasekaran bagged the Men’s Singles title of Belgium Open

The 24-year-old Sathiyan Gnanasekaran became the second Indian table tennis player to win an ITTF event as he clinched the men's singles title of the Belgium Open. He defeated Nuytinck Cedric 4-0 in the final.

The first Indian table tennis player to clinch ITTF title is Achanta Sharath Kamal. It will be considered as the first pro-league title of Sathiyan Gnanasekaran.

News 32 - India’s 500^th Historic Test Match victory against New Zealand

India bagged a 197-run win in their historic 500^th cricket Test by bowling out New Zealand for 236 to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. With this win, India created history on home soil to win 11 matches whereas, New Zealand has always lost on Indian soil since 1998.

Ravinder Jadeja was honored with the ‘Man of the Match’ award as he took six wickets and scored 92 runs. India’s off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin became the fastest Indian and second overall to take 200 wickets in his 37^th test match.

News 33 - FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 official emblem launched

India’s first international football event FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 official logo was launched by the Local Organizing Committee (LOC). The emblem represents the diversity of cultures - the base of the emblem symbolizes Indian Ocean, banyan tree is the national tree of India, deeply rooted in the culture of India and kite is the symbol of freedom and fun. It also has the ‘starburst’ on the top of the emblem represents Indian festivity and celebration.

The FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 will be held in six venues across the country during October 2017.

News 34 - Indian women bagged gold in the 5^th Asian Beach Games

India bagged their first gold medal at the fifth Asian Beach Games held at Danang, Vietnam with the women's beach kabaddi team winning the title for the record fifth time in succession and by defeating Thailand.

Thailand lost to India in a final for the fifth time. During the Asian Beach Games, India won six medals (1 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze) and is at 15^th spot in the medal table.

News 35 - Prime Minister Unveiled Roll on Trophy for BRICS U-17 Football Tournament

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, unveiled the Roll on Trophy for BRICS U-17 Football Tournament, scheduled to be held in Goa from October 5 to October 15, 2017. The Trophy symbolises the free and enterprising spirit of youth and strength and commitment of the BRICS nations towards solidarity in their global endeavours.

The Prime Minister reiterated the Nation’s commitment to ‘Sports for All’ and ‘Khelo India’ and taking football to every corner of the country.

News 36 - Annu Rani becomes the first Indian woman to cross the 60m mark

Annu Rani becomes first Indian woman to cross the 60m mark on the third and penultimate day of the 56^th Open National Athletics Championships in Lucknow. Annu threw the javelin to a distance of 60.01m breaking her own earlier national mark of 59.87m, which she made in July during the National Inter-State Championships in Hyderabad.

She represented Railways and created her fourth national record in two years.