Current Affairs June 2020 - Sports

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1 - IOC appointed Batra as member of Olympic Channel Commission

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has appointed Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Narinder Batra as a member of the Olympic Channel Commission. The Olympic Channel Commission advises the IOC Session, the IOC Executive Board and the IOC president and provides guidance throughout the launch and operation of the Olympic Channel.

Batra had earlier served as the president of Hockey India (2014-2016) and Asian Hockey Federation (2003-2013). He was also the treasurer of Delhi & District Cricket Association between 2003 to 2013.

2 - Virat Kohli only cricketer in Forbes’ 2020 list of world's highest paid athletes

Virat Kohli is the only cricketer to feature in Forbes' list of the top 100 highest paid athletes in the world for the year 2020. Kohli is ranked at number 66 with estimated earnings of $26 million, as he made a jump of over 30 places from 2019.

Roger Federer with an estimated $106.3 million of earnings, topped the chart followed by Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo with estimated earnings of $105 million and Argentine great Lionel Messi with an estimated $104 million. Brazil’s Neymar comes fourth with $95.5 million.

3 - Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju inaugurated Khelo India e-Pathshala Programme

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju inaugurated Khelo India e-Pathshala programme. The e-pathshala aims to provide online coaching and education to athletes living in far-off areas. The progamme was launched by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), in association with National Sporting Federations (NSFs).

The e-learning programme will cover 21 sporting disciplines, including, athletics, archery, boxing, cycling, fencing, football, gymnastics, hockey, judo, kayaking & canoeing, kabaddi, para games, rowing, shooting, taekwondo, table tennis, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu.

4 - Hockey India recommended women's team captain Rani Rampal for Khel Ratna award

Hockey India nominated national women’s team captain Rani Rampal for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. Vandana Kataria, Monika and Harmanpreet Singh were recommended for the Arjuna Award.

Hockey India recommended R P Singh and Tushar Khandker for the Major Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement. Coaches B J Kariappa and Romesh Pathania have been nominated for the Dronacharya Award. Rani has led the team to historic victories in the Women’s Asia Cup in 2017, silver at the 2018 Asian Games and played a critical role in the FIH Olympic Qualifiers in 2019.

5 - BCCI nominated Rohit Sharma for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has nominated India vice-captain Rohit Sharma for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2020. The board has also nominated Ishant Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Deepti Sharma for the Arjuna Award.

Rohit was named ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year for 2019. He became the first player in the history of the game to score five ODI centuries in one edition of the World Cup. He is also the first batsman to score four T20I centuries.

6 - India bagged right to host Women's Asian Cup 2022

The Asian Football Confederation awarded the hosting rights of Women's Asian Cup 2022 to India. This is the first time that India will be hosting the event since 1979, in which India had finished as the runner-ups. The tournament will feature 12 teams. India will qualify directly as hosts.

India are slated to host the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup next year. India had also hosted the AFC U-16 Championships in 2016 and the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017.

7 - ICC approved replacements in test cricket and banned use of saliva to shine ball

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved substitution in case a player shows symptoms of COVID-19 during a Test match. ICC has also put ban on using saliva to shine the cricket ball. ICC has also re-introduced non-neutral umpires for bilateral series as part of its interim playing regulations to tackle the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The teams will also be allowed an additional DRS call as home umpires will now be officiating in bilateral Test series. However, the regulation for COVID-19 replacements will not be applicable in ODIs and T20Is, it added.

8 - K Sanjita Chanu cleared from IWF’s anti-doping violation charges

India’s K SanjitaChanu received clearance from International Weightlifting Federation’s anti-doping violation charges. She was found positive for testosterone, a banned anabolic steroid, in an out-of-competition test conducted by us Anti Doping Agency before participating within the 2017 world championships in Las Vegas.

K SanjitaChanu is an Indian weightlifter and two time Commonwealth Games Champion. She won the gold medals at the 2014 Glasgow and the 2018 Gold Coast events in the women's 48 kg and 53 kg weight category respectively.

9 - Sports ministry to establish 1,000 district-level Khelo India centres

The government has decided to establish 1,000 Khelo India Centers (KIC) across the country. These centers will either be run by a past champion or have them as coaches. It is aimed to strengthen grassroot level sports and also ensure that past champions can contribute in making India a sporting superpower while earning a livelihood from sports.

During the current Financial Year, 100 KICs are planned to be established. Existing SAI extension centres will be given the option of converting into a KIC. Training will be imparted at the KIC in 14 Identified Sports for Excellence in Olympics (ISEO).

10 - Sports Ministry to establish Khelo India State Centres of Excellence (KISCE)

The Sports Ministry will establish Khelo India State Centres of Excellence (KISCE) under the ministry’s flagship, Khelo India Scheme. One KISCE will be identified in each state and union territory. In the first batch, the following sporting facilities will be upgraded to Khelo India State Centre of Excellence:

• Sangey Lhaden Sports Academy, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh.

• Jaiprakash Narayan National Youth Center, Bangalore, Karanataka.

• GV Raja Sr. Secondary Sports School, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

• Khuman Lampak Sports Complex, Imphal, Manipur.

• Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Aizawl, Mizoram.

• State Sports Academy, IG Stadium, Kohima, Nagaland.

• Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha.

• Regional Sports School, Hakimpet, Telangana.

11 - India retained 108^th slot in latest FIFA ranking

Indian football team retained 108^th spot in the latest FIFA rankings. Belgium topped the FIFA rankings followed by France at second place and Brazil at third spot followed by England at fourth position. Uruguay is ranked 5^th in the chart. Croatia, Portugal, Spain, Argentina and Colombia complete the top ten respectively.

In the women’s rankings, USA is the top ranked team followed by Germany, France, Netherlands and Sweden in the top-five. The Indian women’s team is ranked 55^th in the list.

12 - Mamedyarov won World Stars Sharjah Chess Championship

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan won the World Stars Sharjah Online Chess Championship 2020 with 7.5 points. It is a double round-robin tournament with 10 min +3 sec time control organised by the Sharjah Cultural & Chess Club. Pentala Harikrishna of India finished second with 6.5 out of 10.

Radoslaw Wojtaszek of Poland finished in third place with 6 points while Rustam Kasimdzanov of Uzbekistan was fourth. The championship carried a total prize purse of $10,000.

13 - Bahrain to host fourth Asian Youth Para Games 2021

Asian Paralympic Committee announced Bahrain to host the fourth Asian Youth Para Games on December 1-10, 2021. The Asian Para Games is a multi-sport event regulated by the Asian Paralympic Committee that is held every four years after every Asian Games for athletes with physical disabilities.

The Games are recognised by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and are described as the second largest multi-sport event. Around 800 athletes will participate in nine different sports.

14 - National champion Niki Poonacha elected to ITF panel

Reigning national champion Niki Poonacha has been elected to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) men’s player panel and will represent the Asia-Oceania zone along with Ti Chen of Chinese Taipei. Aldin Setkic and Francesco Vilardo were elected from Europe, while Juan Pablo Paz and Jose Bendeck were elected to represent South America.

The ITF also has a women’s player panel with Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan from Asia. The men’s and women’s panels will be headed by Mark Woodforde and Mary Pierce, respectively.

15 - Wasim Jaffer appointed as head Coach of Uttarakhand cricket team

Former India opener and domestic stalwart Wasim Jaffer has been appointed head coach of the Uttarakhand cricket team for the upcoming domestic season. Jaffer was appointed for a year. He is the highest run-getter in Ranji Trophy.

Jaffer had announced retirement in March 2020 after playing for over two decades. This will be his first stint as a head coach with any team. Uttarakhand had reached the quarterfinals in their debut Ranji Trophy season in 2018-19.

16 - Liverpool won the English Premier League 2020

Liverpool won the Premier League 2020 title with a record seven games left to play. Liverpool have won 28 of their last 31 games this season. It was the 19^th league title for the club. However, it was their first title in last 30 years.

Manager Jurgen Klopp became the first German manager to win the Premier League. Liverpool had last year won the Champions League and Club World Cup. Klopp had earlier won two league titles as manager in Germany with Borussia Dortmund.

17 - Clare Connor set to become first female MCC President

Former England captain Clare Connor is set to become the first-ever female President of the Marylebone Cricket Club in its 233-year history. Connor will replace present MCC president, Kumar Sangakkara, on 1 October 2021.

Clare Connor featured in 111 internationals, scoring 1,604 runs and taking 104 wickets across formats. She was named the captain of her side in 2000 and held the position until her retirement from international cricket in 2006.

18 - Australia and New Zealand named as co-hosts of FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023

Australia and New Zealand were handed over the rights to co-host FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. The field has been increased to 32 teams from 24 teams in 2023 World Cup.

Women's World Cup will be the first in the Southern Hemisphere, and the first to feature in the Oceania Football Confederation. It will also be the first edition to feature 32 teams, up from 16 teams as recently as 2011.

19 - Rahul Dravid voted India's greatest Test batsman

Rahul Dravid was voted India's greatest Test batsman in the last 50 years, beating Sachin Tendulkar in the final in a poll conducted by Wisden India. Dravid ended with 52 per cent of the total votes – as many as 11,400 fans took part in the poll for the final.

Wisden India’s poll initially pit 16 Indian batting legends against each other, with that being whittled down to four in the semi-final stage, where Dravid saw off Sunil Gavaskar and Tendulkar comfortably beat his successor in India’s Test No.4 slot Virat Kohli.

20 - K. Sanjita Chanu to receive Arjuna Award

Two-time Commonwealth Games gold medal winning weightlifter K. Sanjita Chanu will receive Arjuna award for 2018. She was winner of gold medals in the 2014 Glasgow and the 2018 Gold Coast events in the 48kg and 53kg categories respectively.

K. Sanjita Chanu holds the Commonwealth Games record of 84 kg for the Snatch segment in the latter weight category. She was recently cleared of all the doping charges by the international federation. The Arjuna Awards are given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to recognise outstanding achievement in sports.