Current Affairs September 2019 - Sports

1 - Shot putter Tejinderpal Singh Toor clinched silver in Czech Republic

Asian Games gold medallist shot putter Tejinderpal Singh Toor won a silver medalat an athletic meet at Decin, Czech Republic. Tejinder came up with the best throw of 20.09m in his last attempt at the event. He has been awarded the Arjuna Award this year.

The 24-year-old Indian, who has a personal best of 20.75m, has already qualified for World championship being the Area champion following his gold-winning feat at Asian Athletics Championships in April this year.

2 - India defeat Nepal to win SAFF U-15 2019 Championship

India defeated Nepal 7-0 to win the SAFF U-15 2019 Championships held at the Kalyani Stadium in West Bengal. Striker Sridarth Nongmeikapam scored a hat-trick for the side while Maheson Singh, Amandeep, Sibajit Singh and Himanshu Jangra scored one goal each.

With this win, India are now the most successful team in the tournament's history. They won the title for a record third time after previous wins in 2013 and 2017.

3 - Jasprit Bumrah becomes 3^rd Indian to register a hat trick in Test cricket

Jasprit Bumrah became the third Indian to register a hat-trick in Test cricket, following Harbhajan Singh against Australia in Calcutta in 2001, and Irfan Pathan against Pakistan in Karachi in 2006. Bumrah took three wickets in successive balls against West Indies in the second Test at Kingston, Jamaica.

Bumrah claimed the wickets of Darren Dravo, Shamarh Brooks and Roston Chase in the 9^th over of the Windies innings to achieve the milestone. Bumrah was also only the third bowler to take a hat-trick in West Indies, after Jermaine Lawson and Matthew Hoggard. His hat-trick was the 44^th in Test history.

4 - Ferrari's Charles Leclerc won Belgian Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc of Ferrari won the Belgian Grand Prix from pole position. It was the first victory of his Formula One career. Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes was second followed by his teammate Valtteri Bottas at third and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel at 4^th position.

This was the first win for Ferrari after former driver Kimi Raikkonen's victory at the U.S. GP in October 2018. Lewis Hamilton extended his lead at the top with 268 points followed by Valtteri Bottas at 203 points in the driver's ranking for 2019.

5 - Lewis Hamilton won Hungarian Grand Prix

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix to earn his 81^st Formula One race victory. He is now only 10 wins behind seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher. Red Bull's Max Verstappen was second in the race followed by Sebastian Vettel.

Hamilton leads the driver's table this season with 8 wins and 250 points way ahead of Valtteri Bottas Bottas with 2 wins and 188 points. Mercedes leads the Connstructor's ranking 2019 with 10 wins and 438 points in total followed by Ferrari with 288 points and Red Bull at 244.

6 - Satwiksairaj, Chirag 1^st Indian doubles pair to win Super 500 title

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty became the first Indian pair to win a BWF Super 500 badminton tournament. The duo beat World champions Li Jun Hui and Liu Yu Chen of China in the summit clash of Thailand Open 21-19, 18-21, 21-18 in Bangkok to win the men’s doubles category.

With this win, the Indian pair broke into the top ten of the world ranking for the first time, making it the first-ever Indian men's doubles duo to enter the elite bracket. The win was also the most prestigious doubles title for India since the inception of the ranking system.

7 - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Official Emblem revealed

The Official Emblem of the 22^nd edition of the FIFA World Cup was unveiled in Doha. The design is a stylised Arabic white unisex shawl with maroon patterning, which is displayed in a figure-of-eight symbolising infinity while creating a heart shape above the words “FIFA WORLD CUP Qatar 2022”.

According to tournament organisers, the swooping curves of the emblem represent the undulations of desert dunes and the unbroken loop depicts both the number eight - highlighting the eight stadiums that will host the World Cup matches - and the infinity symbol, which reflects the interconnected nature of the event.

8 - Misbah-ul-Haq appointed Pakistan coach and chief selector

Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has been appointed as the head coach and chief selector of Pakistan for three-year contract. Former fast bowler Waqar Younis has been appointed as the bowling coach for a three-year stint.

Misbah has featured in 75 Tests and 162 one-day internationals, scoring over 10,300 international runs. He has captained Pakistan in 56 Tests. Waqar was the Pakistan head coach twice before: between 2010 and 2011, and 2014 and 2016.

9 - India Red beat India Green to clinch Duleep Trophy title

India Red beat India Green by an innings and 38 runs to clinch the Duleep Trophy title at Bengaluru. India Red had scored 388 in their first innings while India Green compiled 231 runs in their first innings and 119 in their second innings.

Vidharbha off-spinner Akshay Wakhare returned with a five-wicket haul in the second innings of India Green. Abhimanyu Easwaran, who made a brilliant 153 for India Red, was named player of the match.

10 - Payas Jain won Silver medal in the 25^th Asian Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships

India's Payas Jain won silver medal in the 25^th Asian Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. He lost to top-seed and world number 1 Yuanyu Chen of China 0-4 in the final.

Jain's silver medal earned him a berth in the Asian squad which will participate in the World Cadet Challenge at Wladyslawowo (Poland) in October. India's campaign at the championships ended with two silver medals - one by the junior boys’ team and another by Jain.

11 - Wrestler Deepak Punia named world No.1 in 86 kg category

In the latest rankings issued by the International Wrestling Federation, World Championship silver medalist Deepak Punia has jumped to world number one position in 86 kilogram category but Bajrang Punia lost the top rank in the 65-kilogram category.

The 20-year-old, Punia, now has 82 points, four more than World Champion Yazdani. Russia's Gadzhimurad Rashidov, who won gold in Nur Sultan, is the new world number one in 65 kilogram. Vinesh Phogat has jumped to number two in 53-kilogram category, gaining four places.

12 - Rashid Khan becomes youngest ever Test captain

Ace leg-spinner Rashid Khan of Afghanistan became the youngest player ever to lead a Test side. Khan, at the age of 20 years and 350 days, was captaining the national team in the one-off Test against Bangladesh.

Rashid surpassed the record of Tatenda Taibu who led Zimbabwe against Sri Lanka at Harare in 2004 at the age of 20 years and 358 days. Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi is third in the list who captained India at the age of 21 years and 77 days against West Indies in Bridgetown in 1962.

13 - Kraigg Brathwaite reported for suspected illegal bowling action

West Indies Cricketer Kraigg Brathwaite was reported for a suspected illegal bowling action during the second Test against India. Brathwaite, bowls part-time off-spin and had earlier been reported for a suspect bowling action in August 2017 against England in Birmingham but was cleared following an independent assessment.

With Brathwaite being reported again, he will be required to submit to further testing by September 14 and has been allowed to continue bowling in international cricket until the results of the testing are known.

14 - Eighth edition of Ladakh Marathon held in LehEWS

The eighth edition of Ladakh Marathon with more than 6000 runners from 25 countries was organized in Leh. It is the highest marathon in the world as it is held at over 11, 000 feet above the mean sea level. The Marathon was held in the categories of 42KM Full Full Marathon, 21KM half marathon and 7 km long Run for Fun.

The 9^th Edition to be held in 2020 will be a qualifying race for the Abbot World Marathon Majors. Ladakh Marathon became a full member of Association of International Marathons and Distance Races in 2015.

15 - Indian men’s hockey team at 5^th spot in FIH rankings

The Indian men's hockey team retained its 5^th place while the women's team climbed to 9^th place in the FIH rankings, released following the conclusion of the Oceania Cup.

Australia's Oceania Cup triumph topped the rankings followed by Belgium at 2^nd place. European bronze medallists the Netherlands remain third in the rankings, followed by the Pan American Games gold medallists Argentina at 4^th place. Germany climbed one place to take 6^th position from England, who are now at 7^th place.

16 - India topped the medals tally in Track Asia Cup cycling

In Cycling, India's Ronaldo Laitonjam created an Asian record in men's junior 200m time trial event and won a gold medal in the junior men's sprint event of Track Asia Cup competition in New Delhi.

India emerged overall champions as its players picked up three medals (two gold and one bronze) in the concluding day. Overall, India topped the medals tally with10 gold, 8 silver and 7 bronze medals. Uzbekistan finished second, with 4 gold and 3 silver. Malaysia secured third place, with 4 gold and 1 silver medal.

17 - Sports Ministry derecognised Paralympic Committee of India

The Sports Ministry has de-recognised the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), citing a violation of the National Sports Code in the body's decision to sack President Rao Inderjit Singh. PCI has been penalised for misgovernance.

The Ministry had received a complaint from Mr. Singh, who was removed by a majority vote, and it found the federation's response to it unsatisfactory. The PCI had changed its byelaws to bar public servants from it during a May 4 Annual General Meeting. Singh is Minister of State (Planning) in the Union Government.

18 - Rafael Nadal won the men's final of US Open 2019

Rafael Nadal won his 19^th Grand Slam title after defeating Russia's Daniil Medvedev in a five-setter final. It was the 19^th Grand Slam trophy and fourth US Open crown for Nadal. He is now just one major away from Roger Federer's record mark of 20.

The other winners

19 - Kenya's Brigid Kosgei runs fastest-ever women's half-marathon

Kenya's Brigid Kosgei ran the fastest half-marathon ever by a woman winning the Great North Run in a time of 1 hour, 4 minutes and 28 seconds. Magdalyne Masai and Linet Masai of Kenya stood second and third in the race.

Mo Farah won the men's elite race for a record sixth successive year finishing the 13.1-mile course in 59min 7sec. Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia was second while Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands was third.

20 - Malinga became first bowler to take 100 T20I wickets

Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga became the first bowler in Twenty20 internationals to claim 100 wickets as he took four wickets in four balls in the third match against New Zealand.

Malinga surpassed Pakistan spinner Shahid Afridi's tally of 97 scalps to become the leading T20 wicket-taker. He bowled Colin Munro for 12 to claim a century of wickets in his 76^th match. He took the wickets of Hamish Rutherford, Colin de Grandhomme and Ross Taylor in the remaining three successive balls.

21 - IOC emerge as champions of Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey 2019

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) successfully defended the title after it defeated Punjab National Bank (PNB) 3-1 in the final to win the 93^rd All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, Chennai.

MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey is the 2^nd oldest hockey tournament in country after Beighton Cup in Kolkata. Ten teams participated in the tournament this year. While the winners receive cash prize of Rs 6 lakhs, the runner ups get Rs 3.5 lakhs as prize money.

22 - Megan Schutt became the first woman to claim two hat-trick in white-ball cricket

Australia fast bowler Megan Schutt scripted history by becoming the first Australian women to claim two hat-tricks in white ball cricket after she cleaned up the West Indies tail in the third ODI. Schutt had claimed her first hat-trick in a Twenty20 game against India in March 2018.

It’s the 11^th hat-trick taken in women’s ODIs, while Schutt is the seventh Australian, male or female, to achieve the feat in one-dayers. Only three Australian women have claimed international hat-tricks, with Betty Wilson and Rene Farrell – who both took Test hat-tricks – joining Schutt.

23 - Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen clinched Belgian International Challenge

In Badminton, rising Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen stunned second seed Victor Svendsen of Denmark in straight games to clinch men's singles title at the Belgian International Challenge. Lakshya was at his best as he notched up a comfortable 21-14, 21-15 win over Svendsen in the title clash.

The 18-year-old Lakshya had earlier beaten Denmark's Kim Bruun 21-18, 21-11 to win in a 48-minute semifinal clash. The Belgian International is an international badminton open tournament, held since 1958. It became an International Challenge tournament within the Badminton Europe tournament circuit.

24 - Pankaj Advani clinched IBSF Billiards Championship

Pankaj Advani clinched a record 22^nd world titles by winning a fourth straight final in the 150-up format at the IBSF World Billiards Championship in Myanmar. Advani defeated Nay Thway of Myanmar.

In semifinal against Russell, Advani scored three back-to-back centuries but managed to convert only two of those frames as the Briton took advantage of Advani’s error on 142 and made a 150. In the short format of billiards, this is Advani's fifth title in the last six years.

25 - Sourabh Verma clinched Vietnam Open Men's Singles title

In Badminton, Sourabh Verma clinched the USD 75,000 Vietnam Open Super 100 Men’s single title, defeating China’s Sun Fei Xiang in a thrilling Men's Singles summit clash at the Ho Chi Minh City. Second seed Verma recovered from a mid-game slump to beat Sun 21-12, 17-2, 21-14.

This victory marks Verma's second Super 100 win in the 2019 and 3^rd title of the year 2019 after the Hyderabad Open and Slovenian International. World no. 38 Sourabh will now play the USD 400,000 Korea Open World Tour Super 500 event to be held from September 24 to 29.

26 - Kaushal Dharmamer clinched Myanmar International Series

Indian shuttler Kaushal Dharmamer clinched the Myanmar International Series with a come-from-behind win over Indonesia's Karono Karono in a thrilling men's singles final in Yangon.

World no. 187^th Kaushal who had won the Hatzor International in October 2018 recovered after dropping the opening game to outwit Karono 18-21, 21-14, 21-11 in a match that lasted an hour. Myanmar International Series 2019 is a part of 2019 BWF International Series.

27 - India clinched U-19 Asia Cup title

India clinched the Under-19 Asia Cup title, with a thrilling five-run win over Bangladesh in a low-scoring final at Colombo. Defending a paltry total of 106, India dismissed Bangladesh for 101 in 33 overs.

Left-arm spinner 18-year-old Atharva Ankolekar, emerged as the star of the Indian team, with figures of 5 for 28 from 8 overs. Other players such as skipper Dhruv Jurel (33) and lower-order batsman Karan Lal came up with useful contributions to help India cross the 100 mark.

28 - Ronaldo Laitonjam won fourth gold in Track Asia Cup cycling

India's Ronaldo Laitonjam won his fourth gold medal on the concluding day of Track Asia Cup competition in New Delhi. India emerged overall champions as its players picked up three medals in the day, two gold and one bronze.

Overall, India topped the medals tally, with 10 gold, 8 silver and 7 bronze as the tournament came to an end at the IGI Sports Complex. Uzbekistan finished second, with 4 gold and 3 silver. Malaysia secured third place, with 4 gold and 1 silver.

29 - Feroz Shah Kotla stadium renamed after Arun Jaitley

DDCA President Rajat Sharma announced to rename Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi as Arun Jaitley Stadium in memory of its former president Arun Jaitley who passed away recently. The Stadium will be named Arun Jaitley Stadium but the name of the ground will remain as Ferozeshah Kotla Ground.

During Arun Jaitley’s tenure at DDCA, he is credited with renovating Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium into a modern facility, increasing its capacity to accommodate more fans besides constructing world-class dressing rooms.

30 - Andrew Strauss became chairman of ECB’s cricket committee

England cricket legend has been appointed Chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s cricket committee, a position that will require him to monitor the sport’s progress at every level in the country. He will drive the development of the game at all levels as part of his new role.

Strauss is known for playing 100 Tests for England, scoring 7,037 runs at an average of 40.91. Under his leadership, England won two Ashes series and also attained the number one Test ranking.

31 - Spain beats Argentina to win Basketball World Cup

Spain beat Argentina for the first time since 2006 to win FIBA World Cup held in Beijing, China. This was its second title win after 13 years. Three-time All-Star Marc Gasol became only the second man to win an NBA crown and the World Cup in the same year. Spain marked victory of 95-75.

Point guard Ricky Rubio racked up 20 points. Marc Gasol and Willy Hernangomez swatted three shots each as Spain pulled down 47 rebounds, 20 more than Argentina.

32 - Vinesh Phogat becomes first Indian wrestler to qualify for 2020 Tokyo Olympics

India's star wrestler Vinesh Phogat became the first Indian wrestler to qualify for the 2020 Olympics after beating Sarah Hildebrandt of the USA in the World Championships in Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan. She scored an impressive 8-2 win over the world championship silver medalist.

Earlier, she had stormed to a 5-0 win over Ukraine's Yuliya Khalvadzhy in the first round of the 53kg category to remain in contention for an Olympic quota and a bronze medal.

33 - Amit Panghal became first Indian to enter World Men's Championships finals

In Boxing, Asian Champion Amit Panghal became the first Indian to make the finals of the World Men's Championship while Manish Kaushik signed off with a bronze medal after going down in the semifinals in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

India had never won more than one bronze medal in a single edition of the world championships but Panghal and Manish Kaushik changed that by making the semifinals.The past Indian medal-winners at the world meet are Vijender Singh (2009), Vikas Krishan (2011), Shiva Thapa (2015) and Gaurav Bidhuri (2017).

34 - Bajrang Punia won bronze medal at the World Championships

In Wrestling, Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya won bronze at the World Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. This is Bajrang's second consecutive medal at the Worlds and third overall while Dahiya has managed to win bronze in his very first appearance at the senior championships, beating Iran's reigning Asian champion Reza Atri 6-3 to win his maiden Worlds medal.

Both Bajrang and Dahiya had sealed a spot at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by qualifying for the bronze medal round. This took India's haul to three medals with Vinesh Phogat winning bronze in the women's 53kg.

35 - Beijing 2022 Paralympic and Olympic mascots unveiled

Beijing released its mascot for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Chinese lantern Shuey Rhon Rhon was declared as the official mascot for Winter Paralympics 2022 and giant panda Bing Dwen Dwen was revealed as the official mascot for Beijing Winter Olympics 2022.

Shuey Rhon Rhon is a Chinese lantern child who is looking forward to welcome friends from around the globe for the mega event. Bing Dwen Dwen, is a chubby giant panda wearing a suit of ice, encased in a stylized sports helmet meant to "make the animal appear more athletic.

36 - India slipped to 104^th spot in Latest FIFA ranking

FIFA rankings released recently place India at 104^th position, playing under the leadership of new coach Igor Stimac whereas Qatar held on to its ranking 62^nd and Oman was placed at 84^th spot.

Belgium retained its top position, while France has surpassed Brazil to reach the second spot. Some other teams who form part of top 10 in the rankings include England at 4^th place, Portugal at 5^th, Uruguay at 6^th, Spain at 7^th, Croatia at 8^th, Colombia at 9^th and Argentina at 10^th.

37 - Pankaj Advani-Aditya Mehta pair won World Team Snooker title

The Indian duo of Pankaj Advani and Aditya Mehta won the IBSF World Snooker Team title at Myanmar. The Indian pair beat Thailand's team comprising C. Pongsakorn and D.Poramin 5-2 in the final. This takes Advani's world title tally to 23^rd world title while Aditya claimed his maiden title.

Advani-Mehta duo defeated the Thai pair of Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon and Kritsanut Lertsattayathor 4-1 in the semi-final. The IBSF World Snooker Championship is the premier non-professional snooker tournament in the world.

38 - PT Usha honoured with IAAF Veteran Pin

International Association of Athletic Federations honoured the Indian track and field legend PT Usha with a Veteran Pin in recognition of her contribution to the growth of the sport. IAAF chief Sebastian Coe presented her the Veteran Pin during the 52^nd IAAF Congress at Doha.

Usha was one of three persons from Asia to receive the honour. At the Asian Championships in Kuwait City in 1983, she won gold in 400m. In the 1985 Jakarta Asian Championships, Usha won six medals - five gold and a bronze.

39 - Manipur clinched 25^th Senior Women's National Football Championship

Manipur have clinched the title of the 25^th Senior Women's National Football Championship for the 20^th time. Manipur defeated Railways by 1-0 to clinch to become the national champions. The first half witnessed no goals from either side. Bala Devi is the highest scorer in the tournament with 20 goals.

Railways’ Sanju was declared the Player of the tournament. Elangbam Panthoi Chanu of Manipur won the best goalkeeper of the tournament award. Arunachal Pradesh had hosted the tournament for the first time.

40 - Ministry of Sports announced to create 20 National Centres of Excellence to groom athletes

Ministry of Sports will create 20 National Centres of Excellence to groom athletes for 2024 and 2028 Olympics. Each Centre of Excellence will offer funds for four to six specific sports. The new scheme will ensure that athletes in the same premises have access to similar facilities unlike before.

Twenty Sports Authority of India (SAI) facilities has been identified as National Centers of Excellence such as Patiala, Trivandrum, Chandigarh, Sonepat, Lucknow, Guwahati, Imphal, Kolkata, Bhopal, Bengaluru etc.

41 - The Best FIFA Football Awards 2019

The Best FIFA Football Awards 2019 were held at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. The key winners are −

42 - Sebastian Vettel won Singapore Grand Prix

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel won the Singapore Grand Prix. It was a record 5^th victory in Singapore for Vettel and a consecutive thord victory for Ferrari this season. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc took the second position.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished 3^rd while championship leader Lewis Hamilton was 4^th followed by teammate Valtteri Bottas at 5^th. Lewis Hamilton with 322 points tsand at the top of the table among the drivers for this season followed by Valtteri Bottas at second place with 249 points.

43 - Divij Sharan won St. Petersburg doubles title

India's Divij Sharan with his doubles partner Igor Zelenay of Slovakia won his fifth ATP career title after winning the St Petersburg Open doubles crown. The duo defeated Italian pair of Matteo Berrettini and Simone Bolelli.

The champions collected 250 ATP points and USD 66,740. It was the fifth Tour doubles title for Divij. It was the third title of the season for Divij. He had won the Maharashtra Open in Pune earlier this year alongside Rohan Bopanna.