Current Affairs Jan 2016 - Sports

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News 1 - Ashwin becomes the no.1 Test Bowler.

01-Jan − Ravichandran Ashwin became the No. 1 Test bowler in the ICC rankings. Ashwin climbed the No. 1 spot after he took 62 wickets in nine Tests this year including 31 scalps in the four matches against South Africa. He also became the first Indian bowler after Bishen Singh Bedi since 1973 to achieve the milestone of finishing the year on top. He started the year in 15^th position. South African fast bowler Dale Steyn was ranked No. two followed by Stuart Broad of England. As a double delight, Ashwin also ended the year as top-ranked Test all-rounder.

News 2 - Virat Kohli named ‘BCCI Cricketer of the Year’.

01-Jan − BCCI has announced Virat Kohli as the ‘Cricketer of the Year’, while Mithali Raj was awarded with the M.A. Chidambaram Trophy for the Best Women’s Cricketer. Mithali became the first Indian woman and second overall to complete 5,000 runs in ODI format. Virat Kohli will be presented with the Polly Umrigar Award, given to the cricketer of the year. In addition to the above awards, former wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani will be presented the Col. C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award and Karnataka all-rounder Robin Uthappa with the Madhavrao Scindia Award for scoring the maximum runs in the Ranji Trophy this season.

News 3 - Magnus Carlsen wins Qatar Masters.

01-Jan − World Chess Champion, Magnus Carlsen of Norway became victorious at the Qatar Masters Open chess tournament, which is considered to be one of the strongest Open in history. He won the title on a tie-breaker against Yu Yangyi of China after both the players finished with seven points. Surya Shekhar Ganguly was the best-placed Indian, at 10th.

News 4 - India won the 2015 SAFF championships.

03-Jan − India after defeating Afghanistan 2-1 in the final, lifted the South Asian Football Federation Cup (SAFF) Championships title for the record 7^th time. The final was played at the Trivandrum International Stadium of Kerala. Indian has been the most successful team winning the championships 7 out of 11 times. The SAFF Championship is the biennial football competition of the men’s national football teams. It is also called as South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup.

News 5 - ONGC wins 26th Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey tournament.

05-Jan − Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) defeated Indian Railways in the final match of 26th Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey tournament. This game was played at the Shivaji Stadium in New Delhi.

Awards Conferred:

News 6 - Australia withdraws out of 2016 U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh citing safety concerns.

05-Jan − Australia pulled out of the 2016 Under-19 World Cup Tournament in Bangladesh due to security reasons. The tournament was scheduled from 22nd January to 14th February 2016. Ireland has replaced Australia in the tournament. 2016 U-19 World Cup is the eleventh edition of the tournament. The Head of Security for Cricket Australia is Sean Carroll.

News 7 - Wayne Rooney declared 2015 England Player of the Year.

05-Jan − Wayne Rooney was voted 2015 England Player of the Year for the fourth time overall and second time in succession. Rooney has now scored 51 goals for England breaking Bobby Charlton's record of 49. He received 37 percent of the votes. Jack Butland was voted the Under-21s Player of the Year. Both the players will be presented with their awards prior to England's friendly against Germany in Berlin on March 26.

News 8 - Apurvi Chandela wins gold at Swedish Grand Prix; sets a world record.

06-Jan − Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela won gold in the women's 10-meter air rifle event at the Swedish Cup Grand Prix. Chandela shot 211.2 in the event held. In this process, she set a world record to surpass the feat of the Chinese Olympic gold medalist, Yi Siling, who held the record with 211. The silver and bronze went to Swedish shooters Astrid Steffensen (207.6) and Stine Nielsen (185.0) respectively. Chandela has already qualified for the Rio Olympics 2016.

News 9 - Miguel Tabuena won Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of the Month.

07-Jan − Miguel Tabuena of Philippines was voted as the Hilton Asian Tour Golfer of Month for December 2015. Tabuena won the award ahead of Thailand's Phachara Khongwatmai and India's Himmat Rai. He picked up his first win at the 2015 Philippine Open and became the first Filipino to win his National Open since 2008.

News 10 - Roger Federer loses to Milos Raonic in the Brisbane International Tennis men’s singles trophy.

10-Jan − Canadian tennis player, Milos Raonic, won the 2016 Brisbane International Tennis men’s singles trophy by defeating Roger Federer in the final match held at Brisbane in Australia. The winners for other categories in the tournament:

News 11 - Rene Holten Poulsen declared Denmark's sportsperson of the year.

10-Jan − Rene Holten Poulsen was awarded as Denmark’s sportsperson of the year 2015. He is a professional kayaker and medalist at the Olympics, World Championships and European Championships. The 27-year-old has won a total of six medals in international championships in 2015, including two World Cup medals, three European Championship medals and one European Games bronze medal.

News 12 - Stanislas Wawrinka wins his third consecutive Chennai Open title.

10-Jan − Stanislas Wawrinka won his third consecutive Chennai Open title. In the finals, he defeated Borna Coric of Croatia. The winner received an award money of 75700 US dollars. For eight years, the Swiss player has been travelling to Chennai to participate in this event. He continues to profess that it is the love of his fans that keeps bringing him back. Nonetheless, for the Chennai Open, Wawrinka is the undisputed king.

News 13 - Ronaldinho declared as Brand Ambassador of Nagjee International Club Football Tournament.

11-Jan − Former Brazilian Footballer Ronaldinho was announced as the Brand Ambassador of the Nagjee International Club Football Tournament, which will be held at the Corporation Stadium in Kozhikode from 5th to 21st February 2016. Nagjee International Club Football Tournament, earlier known as Sait Nagjee Trophy, is being revived and resumed after a gap of 21 years. Seven teams from across Europe and South America will participate along with an Indian club team.

News 14 - MoneyGram announced as Event Partner for ICC.

11-Jan − The ICC announced MoneyGram (a leading global provider of money transfer services) as its event partner for the next eight-years for all their ICC events from 2016-2023. This deal will cover close to 17 tournaments, including six major features, which have two ICC World Twenty20 tournaments, two editions of the ICC Champions Trophy and two ICC Cricket World Cups.

News 15 - FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke sacked.

13-Jan − The FIFA Emergency Committee dismissed Secretary General Jerome Valcke with immediate effect. Markus Kattner continues to serve as the acting Secretary General. Mr Valcke was suspended for his alleged involvement in a scheme to profit from the sale of World Cup tickets.

News 16 - Sania-Martina wins 2016 WTA Apia International Sydney Title.

15-Jan − Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won the 2016 WTA Apia International Sydney title of Tennis in the women’s doubles category. It was their 11th title altogether since 2015. The pair defeated French pair Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic in the finals making it the 30th win in-a-row for the two.

News 17 - Viktor Troicki conquered Grigor Dimitrov to win 2016 WTA Apia International Sydney title.

16-Jan − Viktor Troicki beat Grigor Dimitrov in a thrilling final to win his second straight Apia International Sydney title. He is now the fourth player in the Open era to defend the Sydney International title. Viktor Troicki is a professional tennis player from Serbia. The 2016 Apia International Sydney was a joint 2016 ATP World Tour and 2016 WTA Tour tennis tournament.

News 18 - Delhi Acers beat Mumbai Rockets to seal Premier Badminton League title.

17-Jan − Delhi Acers clinched a thrilling victory over Mumbai Rockets by 4-3 in the final clash to win the Premier Badminton League (PBL) title held at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in New Delhi. The Premier Badminton League, earlier known as Indian Badminton League (IBL), is a franchise league which is managed and commercially owned by the Badminton Association of India. The brand ambassador of this league is Akshay Kumar.

News 19 - Ronnie O'Sullivan outclasses Barry Hawkins to win sixth Snooker Masters title.

17-Jan − Ronnie O'Sullivan eased to his sixth Snooker Masters title after he outclassed Barry Hawkins 10-1 in the final at the Alexandra Palace in London equaling the record set by Stephen Hendry. Ronnie O'Sullivan is an English professional snooker player. He was nicknamed The Rocket because of his swift playing style.

News 20 - Indian driver Jehan Daruvala won Lady Wigram Trophy motor race at Ruapuna.

17-Jan − Jehan Daruvala, Sahara Force India Academy racer, won the Lady Wigram Trophy race, the main event of the first round of the Toyota Racing Series at Ruapuna raceway in Christchurch. It was Daruvala’s maiden victory in Formula cars since making the switch from karting in 2015. Earlier he had won Rookie of the Year at the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC series championships in the Netherlands in August 2015.

News 21 - Uttar Pradesh defeats Baroda to win the 2014-2015 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

20-Jan − Uttar Pradesh defeated Baroda by 38 runs in the final to win its maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy with nine straight wins in the tournament. The Captains for the two teams were Suresh raina and Irfan Pathan respectively. Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is a Twenty20 cricket domestic championship, organized by Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI).

News 22 - Indian Olympic Association inked 2-year marketing deal with Infinity Optimal Solutions.

21-Jan − Keeping in view the upcoming Rio Olympics, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) made a 2 year commercial and marketing deal with Infinity Optimal Solutions (IOS) to the tune of about Rs 12 Crores. Henceforth, IOS will now manage sponsorship and public relations for the IOA for all the major national and international events. The IOS, which manages some of country’s top sportspersons like Suresh Raina, Saina Nehwal, Sushil Kumar has been in the field of sports and entertainment for about 10 years.

News 23 - ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals won by Izumo Takuto and Zhu Chengzhu.

24-Jan − Izumo Takuto of Japan and Zhu Chengzhu of Hong Kong won the finals in the boys' and girls' categories, respectively, in the 11Even Sports 2015 ITTF World Junior Circuit Finals. The finals were held at the Abhay Prashal Stadium, Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The winners received 3800 USD as prize money.

News 24 - PV Sindhu won her second Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold Badminton title.

24-Jan − PV Sindhu clinched the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold title after defeating Scotland’s Kristy Gilmour in straight games in the final in Penang. She had earlier won the title in 2013. She also completed a hat trick at the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold in November last year.

News 25 - India won the Blind T20 Asia Cup after defeating Pakistan.

24-Jan − India won the inaugural T20 Asia cup cricket for Blind after defeating Pakistan in the final clash played at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium of Kochi. India scored 208 runs in 20 overs and Pakistan was later restricted to 164 runs in 18.2 overs. This match was played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi. Pakistan came into this match unbeaten, so far in the event, with six points. Whereas, India came in standing second with four points.

News 26 - 12th Sub-Junior National Snooker championship title won by Ishika Shah.

26-Jan − Ishika Shah defeated Anushi Seth by 50-2, 50-33 to win the 12th Sub-Junior National Snooker championship title. Doyel Day retained the sub-junior billiards title. This billiards and snooker championship was held as a part of the 20-day long National Billiards & Snooker Championship 2016 that began on 12th January 2016 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

News 27 - Adam Lewis to head Independent Review Panel set up by Tennis Governing Bodies.

27-Jan − Tennis’s governing bodies announced an Independent Review Panel (IRP) headed by Adam Lewis to safeguard integrity of the game. The governing bodies include: Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), Women's Tennis Association (WTA), International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the Grand Slam Board.

Independent Review Panel will:

• Review and report on the appropriateness and effectiveness of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP).

• Take into account public commentary regarding the processes, procedures and resources.

• Make recommendations for change.

News 28 - Sania Mirza, Martina Hingis lift 2016 Australian Open women's doubles tennis title.

29-Jan − Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis lifted the 2016 Australian Open title of tennis in the women’s doubles category after they defeated Czech duo Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka and took their unbeaten run to 36. It was their maiden Australian Open title and the third successive Grand Slam doubles title of this pair.

News 29 - Sri Lanka appointed Graham Xavier Ford as the head coach.

29-Jan − Graham Xavier Ford was appointed as the head coach of the Sri Lankan cricket team for his second stint. He succeeded Marvan Atapattu, who has resigned from the post. At the time of his appointment, he was the head coach of the Surrey County Cricket Club. He is a qualified rugby union referee and worked as director of cricket at Kent County Cricket Club, and as coach of Dolphins Cricket team.

News 30 - Angelique Kerber stuns Serena Williams to win 2016 Australian Open women’s singles tennis title.

30-Jan − Angelique Kerber of Germany defeated the World No. 1 ranked Serena Williams of USA to win the 2016 Australian Open women’s singles tennis title at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. It was her maiden grand slam title. This win lifts the German to the 2nd spot in the rankings. The defending champion, Serena Williams, is short of one title from moving into a tie with Steffi Graf of Germany as the winner of highest major singles titles with 22.