- Current Affairs May 2017
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Current Affairs May 2017 - Sports
News 1 - Valtteri Bottas won his first F1 race in the Russian Grand Prix 2017
Mercedes' new recruit Valtteri Bottas won the Russian Grand Prix 2017 at Sochi. It was the first victory of his Formula 1 career at the 81st attempt.
Sebastian Vettel came second while Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen took third place. Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton finished fourth while Max Verstappen was fifth and Sergio Perez of Force India finished at sixth.
Valtteri Victor Bottas is a Finnish racing driver currently competing in Formula 1 with Mercedes. Bottas previously drove for Williams from 2013 to 2016.
News 2 - Rafael Nadal won his 10th Barcelona Open Title
Rafael Nadal clinched his record-extending 10th Barcelona Open title after he defeated Dominic Thiem of Austria 6-4, 6-1 in the final. It was the second clay court title in a row for Nadal. It was also his 51st tournament win on clay.
Nadal won in Barcelona between 2005-2009 and 2011-13 as well as now in the last two years. Thiem had beaten world number one Andy Murray to earn a place in the final.
News 3 - Pankaj Advani wins a silver at the Asian Snooker Championship
India’s ace cueist Pankaj Advani finished runner-up at the Asian Snooker championship that was held at Doha, Qatar. He lost to Lv Haotian 3-6 in the final. This was Advani’s fourth appearance in Asian Snooker Championships.
Pankaj became the Asian Billiards champion sixth time in the second week of May. He also won gold medals at the National Championships of Billiards as well as 6-red Snooker and 15-red Snooker.
News 4 - Joshna Chinappa became first Indian to win Asian Squash title
Joshna Chinappa became the first Indian to clinch the Asian Squash title after she defeated Dipika Pallikal Karthik in the women's final held in Chennai.
Hong Kong's Max Lee won the men's final by defeating Saurav Ghosal of India in the final. Ghosal became the first Indian to reach the title round on the men’s side.
The Asian Team Championships are the international squash competition played between teams representing different nations organised by the Asian Squash Federation.
News 5 - India placed on the 4th position in ICC T20 International team rankings
India dropped two places to slip to fourth position in the ICC Twenty20 International team rankings following the annual update on May 1. Having dropped six points, India are now on 118 points, three behind second placed England and third placed Pakistan -- both of whom are on 121 points each. New Zealand topped the rankings.
South Africa lost two places to be on the 5th spot and Australia at 6th spot. Sri Lanka was ranked 8th. Bangladesh are ranked 10th on 78 points after gaining four points, while Zimbabwe have retained 12th position.
News 6 - India placed in the top 100 of FIFA rankings for 1st time in 21 years
According to the latest FIFA rankings released, India broke in to the top 100 rankings for the first time in over two decades. For the first time in 21 years and only the sixth time after independence, the national football team has found a place in top-100 of FIFA rankings.
This is India's best-ever FIFA ranking since April 1996 when they were also ranked 100. India's highest FIFA Ranking until date has been 94, achieved in February 1996. India meanwhile has retained 11th spot in AFC.
News 7 - Jhulan Goswami became the world's highest wicket-taker in ODIs
Indian women's team fast bowler Jhulan Goswami became the highest wicket-taker in history of ODIs. She eclipsed the decade-long record in the name of Australian Cathryn Fitzpatrick.
Jhulan Goswami dismissed South Africa's Raisibe Ntozakhe to claim her 181st victim in the 50-over format, breaking Fitzpatrick's record of 180 wickets from 109 matches. Jhulan was also adjudged ICC's 'Women Cricketer of the Year' in 2007. Jhulan Goswami also has 40 wickets in 10 Tests and 50 wickets in 60 Twenty20 Internationals.
News 8 - Logo and mascot of Asian Athletics Championships revealed
Since Bhubaneswar is the host for the international sports event, the logo and mascot of the Asian Athletics was unveiled at Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
The logo displayed image of an athlete crossing the finishing line, having historical tourist attractions of Odisha in the background. The mascot represents the famous Olive Ridley sea turtle.
The mascot is named as OLLY. The mascot is named on famous Olive Ridley sea turtle because beaches of Odisha are a prime nesting site for these endangered sea turtles.
News 9 - Great Britain bagged the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2017
Great Britain defeated Australia by 4-3 to win Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2017 hockey tournament held at Ipoh, Malaysia.
With this win, Great Britain became the first European team to win the Sultan Azlan Shah cup since the Netherlands in 2006.
The win became perfect due to a perfect pass by Dylan Wotherspoon to Joshua Pollard to set the score 3 2.
The other three goals were scored by Ollie Willars, Alan Forsyth and David Goodfield.
News 10 - N’golo Kante named Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the year
The 26-year-old Chelsea’s famous footballer N'Golo Kante was voted Player of the Year by the Football Writers Association (FWA) edging out Chelsea teammate Eden Hazard.
Voting was done among 17 players including five from Chelsea. Recently, N'Golo Kante was honored with Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year award.
Kante is the 4th Chelsea player to be voted FWA Footballer of the Year in the 69-year history of the award. Others recipients were Gianfranco Zola (1997), Frank Lampard (2005) and Hazard (2015).
News 11 - NBA Officially Opens First Academy of Its Kind in India
The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced the official opening of NBA Academy India. It is an elite basketball-training centre at Jaypee Greens Integrated Sports Complex in Delhi for the top male and female prospects from throughout India.
Twenty-one elite male prospects, who were selected following a three-month, nationwide basketball talent search, will receive scholarships and training at NBA Academy India. Three experienced coaches have been selected to guide the development of the players at NBA Academy India.
News 12 - Asian Wrestling Championship 2017
India stood fifth among the 12 participating teams in the Asian Wrestling Championship 2017. Bajrang Punia provided India its only gold medal after he defeated South Korea’s Seunghui Lee 6-2 in the final of the men’s 65kg freestyle category. India bagged a total of 10 medals, which included five silver and four bronze medals.
Sakshi Malik (60 kg), Divya Kakran (69 kg), Vinesh Phogat (55 kg) and Sarita (58 kg) won silver in the women's category while Ritu Phogat (48 kg) and Jyoti (75 kg) won the bronze. Sumit (125 kg) won the silver in the men's free-style while Harpreet Singh (80 kg), Anil Kumar (85 kg) won the bronze in men’s greco-roman. Japan ranked top in the list followed by Iran.
News 13 - VVS Laxman Awarded Honorary Life Membership by Marylebone Cricket Club
The MCC has elected former India batsman VVS Laxman as an Honorary Life Member of the Club. He joins fellow India icons Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly on the prestigious list of MCC Honorary Life Members.
Laxman played 134 Test matches and 86 One-Day Internationals. He scored 8,781 Test runs at an average of 45.97, and over 2,338 One-Day International runs at an average of 30.76. He was the 2002 Wisden Cricketer of the Year.
News 14 - Vijay Goel, Carles Puyol handed over First Ticket of FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017
Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports Shri Vijay Goel attended an event to promote the ticketing launch for FIFA Under-17 World Cup India 2017 at Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium. Spanish World Cup winner, Carles Puyol joined the Minister on the occasion. Shri Goel and Carles Puyol handed over the first ticket to Ms. Gouri Bhaduri, the grand daughter-in-law of Shibdas Bhaduri, captain of Mohun Bagan AC.
Tickets for the first FIFA event in the country will go live on May 16 at exactly 19:11 hrs, paying tribute to the year in which Indian football made history.
News 15 - Ramit Tandon won maiden PSA title
US-based Indian squash player Ramit Tandon won his maiden professional title with a convincing win over compatriot Kush Kumar in the SYS Open. The one-time top Indian junior, Tandon, who had come into this event as a qualifier beat third seed Kumar 11-3, 11-2, 11-3 in the final.
This was Tandon's third appearance in a Professional Squash Association final. This was his second tournament in the year, the earlier being a brief appearance in the qualifying phase in the Tournament of Champions.
News 16 - Arjun Maini became first Indian to win a GP3 race
Jenzer Motorsports' 19-year-old Indian driver Arjun Maini created history by becoming the first Indian driver to win a GP3 race. Jenzer Motorsports was co powered by TVS Motorsport and JK Racing.
This victory has placed him in the driver's championship standings at 3rd position. He created record with an amazing six-second gap to the nearest car behind him. While competing for race, Arjun finished off ahead of Frenchman Dorian Boccolacci and teammate Alessio Lorandi of Italy.
News 17 - India retain top position in latest ICC Test rankings
India have retained its top position in the latest ICC Test rankings with 123 points. Now, India are six points ahead over the second placed South Africa. Australia ranks third in the list and is 26 points behind India. England has stayed in fourth position followed by New Zealand at 5th, Pakistan at 6th, Sri Lanka at 7th, West Indies at 8th and Bangladesh at 9th.
Out of the 13 matches that India played on the home turf, India registered wins in 10 matches, lost two and one ended in a draw.
News 18 - Mohammad Anas created national record of 400m race
Kerala’s Mohammad Anas created national record in men's 400m race on route by completing race in 45.32 sec at the third leg of the Indian Grand Prix Athletics Meet and bagged a gold medal. He qualified for The World Championships to be held in London in August 2017.
The runner-ups of the race were Rajiv Arokia and Sachin Baby, finishing off race in 46.32 secs and 47.18 secs. The other qualifiers for World Championship were Davinder Singh Kang of Punjab in category Men's javelin throw.
News 19 - Deepti Sharma and Poonam Raut created cricket history with a record 320-run stand
India women’s cricket team openers Deepti Sharma and Poonam Raut created cricket history with record 320-run stand for the Indian women’s cricket team in their ODI encounter against Ireland. The team scored 358 for 3 in 50 overs in the match at Potchefstroom in South Africa.
Deepti made 188 off 160 balls, hitting 27 fours and 2 sixes while Poonam made 109 off 116 balls, with 11 fours. Deepti’s 188 is the second highest individual score by a woman cricketer in ODIs. Belinda Clark of Australia holds the record with 229 runs scored against Denmark in 1997.
News 20 - Vijay Goel Launched a Big Football Balloon to Popularise Football
Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Youth Affairs and Sports, Shri Vijay Goel launched a 25-ft football in New Delhi to popularize the game in the country.
Mr Goel has invited players with a minimum age of 8 years to upload their video, or bio- data on the Sports Ministry Talent Search Portal, after which young players will be adopted and given scholarships by the Sports Authority of India.
The objective behind the event is to popularize football in the country, in view of FIFA Under-17 World Cup being hosted in India from October 6 to October 28, 2017.
News 21 - India won 10 gold medals in South Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships
India have won all 10 gold medals on offer in the South Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships held at Mount Lavinia, near the Sri Lankan capital Colombo.
In addition, India also claimed four silver medals from the regional championships. Earlier, the Indian and Sri Lankan juniors booked their berths in the Asian Juniors, to be held in Ansan, Korea from 29th of next month.
News 22 - Indian eves win the four nation women's cricket tournament
Indian women’s cricket team has won the four nation women's cricket tournament played in South Africa.
In the final, India beat hosts South Africa by eight wickets with 102 balls remaining. India's Poonam Rout was declared player of the match while opening batswomen Dipti Sharma was declared player of the series.
With this win, Mithali Raj became the first Indian and third women cricket captain in the world to lead 100 One-day Internationals.
News 23 - R Vaishali wins women's title in the Asian Continental Blitz Chess
India's R Vaishali won the women's title in the Asian Continental Blitz Chess Championship in Chengdu, China. She won the title with eight points from nine rounds.
Vaishali clinched the gold medal after drawing her final round game against Uurtsaikh Uuriintuya of Mongolia to finish half-a-point ahead of Iran's Sarasdat Khademalsharieh. Padmini Rout of India finished third with seven points after a last round win over Yuxin Song of China.
News 24 - HCL to host Asian Junior Tennis Championship 2017
HCL will host Asian Junior Tennis Championship 2017, the most reputed tennis championship in the Asian circuit for the under 18 category in association with the Maharashtra State Lawn tennis Association.
The Championship is the only B1 category tournament in Asia. Players from 11 countries in the region - Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Hong-Kong, Malaysia, China, Sri Lanka, Iran and India - will participate.
The Championship is the second highest tournament anywhere in the world after the junior grand slams.
News 25 - Germany’s Alexander Zverev won Italian Open
20-year-old Germany's Alexander Zverev won Italian Open title, defeating four-time Rome champion Novak Djokovic by 6-4, 6-3. With this victory, he became the youngest player to win a Masters 1000. Zverev has bagged four career titles until now, in year 2017.
Zverev was praised as he broke in the first game of the final on his way to the first set and carved out the crucial first break of the second set in the third game. The Italian Open women's Singles Title 2017 was won by Ukraine's Elina Svitolina.
News 26 - Mumbai Indians bagged tenth IPL
Mumbai Indians lifted the 10th Indian Premier League trophy of cricket for the third time beating Rising Pune Supergiant. Mumbai Indians successfully defended a score of 129 score and restricted Pune to 128/6 to win their third IPL trophy.
With the victory, Rohit Sharma became the most successful IPL captain, who led his team to the third title in the last ten years. Some players brilliantly performed such as Johnson who not only dismissed Tiwary off the second ball but also took the crucial wicket of Smith off the third.
News 27 - Ravichandran Ashwin honoured with International Cricketer of the Year Award
Cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin won the international cricketer of the Year Award at the CEAT Cricket Rating (CCR) International awards 2017. With this, he became third Indian cricketer after Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar to win the ICC Cricketer of the Year Award.
R Ashwin has taken 99 wickets in the last one year and became the fastest Indian bowler to reach the 50-, 100-, 150-, 200-, and 250-wicket mark in Test Cricket. In the past, R. Ashwin has also been honoured with Arjuna Award, BCCI’s International Cricketer of the Year award and ICC Test Cricketer of the Year Award.
News 28 - ICC Cricket Committee recommended DRS for T20 Internationals
ICC Cricket Committee chaired by India's head coach Anil Kumble made a host of recommendations at its annual meeting in London concerning future international cricket. One of the notable recommendations is the use of DRS for all T20 Internationals.
Another important recommendation is to give power to on-field umpires to send-off players in response to the most serious incidents of player's misconduct, such as violence on the field. The committee expressed unanimous support for the implementation of a Test cricket competition. It also reiterated its full support for cricket being involved in the Olympic Games.