Current Affairs May 2018 - Sports

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1 - Indian shooter Shahzar Rizvi tops ISSF world 10m air pistol rankings

Indian shooter Shahzar Rizvi has topped the ISSF world 10m air pistol rankings. Rizvi had won silver medal in the recently concluded World Cup in Changwon, Korea. He has 1654 rating points. The second placed shooter is Russia’s Artem Chernousov (1046) followed by Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsuda (803).

India's Jitu Raiis is placed sixth. Rizvi also had won a gold medal with a world record score at the World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico in March 2018.

2 - Hockey India named Harendra Singh as men’s coach

Hockey India (HI) has appointed Harendra Singh as the Chief Coach for the Indian men’s hockey team. He will replace Dutchman Sjoerd Marijne, who returns to his job as the chief coach of the women’s national side.

Harendra Singh had led the Indian Junior Men’s Hockey team to the Junior World Cup title in 2016. He was appointed as Chief Coach of the Women’s Hockey team in September 2017. He led women’s team to Asia Cup title in Japan.

3 - Lewis Hamilton won Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2018

Lewis Hamilton won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2018. Kimi Räikkönen was second while Sergio Perez of Force India team was third. Sergio represented the first non-Mercedes, Ferrari or Red Bull driver on any step of the podium in 16 races. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was fourth.

With this win, Hamilton topped the table for the first time in this season leaving Vettel at second with nine points of difference.

4 - Two Malaysian badminton players receive career-ending bans

Two Malaysian badminton players, Tan Chun Seang and Zulfadli Zulkiffli, have been handed career-ending bans of 15 and 20 years respectively after being found guilty of corruption and match-fixing. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) also fined Zulkiffli with $25,000 while Tan was fined $15,000.

The duos were found guilty of breaching the BWF code of conduct in relation to betting, wagering and irregular match results. In 2011 Zulfadli beat current world champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark to clinch the World Junior Championships.

5 - England overtake India to reach No.1 in ODI rankings following annual update

England has overtaken India to seize the top spot in the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings following the annual update. The 2014-15 seasons has been dropped from the latest calculations while those from the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons are weighted at 50%.

Under the new calculations, England gained eight points and moved to 125 points. India lost one point and is in second place with a total of 122 points. South Africa, New Zealand and Australia are the other teams in the top five respectively.

6 - Shashank Manohar elected as independent ICC Chairman for a second term

Shashank Manohar has been appointed as the independent Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) for a second term. He became the first independent ICC Chairman in 2016.

In his first year term, Mr Manohar has led significant reform of the sport, reversing the resolutions of 2014, introducing a revised governance structure, including the appointment of the ICC’s first independent female Director.

7 - BBC confirmed as official radio broadcaster for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

BBC Test Match Special has secured rights to broadcast ball-by-ball coverage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, to be held in England & Wales. Test Match Special will be broadcast to fans on multiple platforms across the United Kingdom, including on BBC Radio 5 live Sports Extra, Radio 4 Long Wave and the BBC Sport website.

The broadcast of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is part of a long-term deal with Channel 2 Group Corporation, ICC’s Global Audio Rights Partner.

8 - Australia appointed Justin Langer as its new coach

Cricket Australia has appointed former Test opener Justin Langer as the new coach of the national cricket team. He replaced Darren Lehmann who resigned in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal.

Langer has signed a four-year deal with Australian Board. His four-year contract will take in two Ashes Series, a World Cup and World T20 tournament. Currently he was coach of Western Australia and Perth Scorchers. Langer played 105 Tests and scored 7,696 runs, including 23 centuries.

9 - India's Neeraj Goyat is WBC Asia Boxer of the Year

Indian boxer Neeraj Goyat has been conferred with the WBC Asia Boxer of the Year Award. Neeraj is the current WBC Asia champion in welter weight category. Since turning pro in 2011, Neeraj has won nine fights including two knockouts.

The Asian Boxing Council at WBC Asia and WBC Muaythai annual awards presentation ceremony in Bangkok bestowed Neerav Tomar, promoter of IOS Boxing Promotions, with ‘WBC Asia honorary Promoter of the year 2017 Award’.

10 - Mohamed Salah named Writers' Footballer of The Year

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has been named the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year. Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne came second with Tottenham striker Harry Kane third. Salah has scored 31 goals in 34 league appearances for Liverpool this season. Salah had also won the Professional Footballers' Association player of the year award in April.

Chelsea and England forward Fran Kirby won the inaugural FWA Women's Footballer of the Year award.

11 - Wimbledon champions' prize money hiked by £50,000

The 2018 men's and women's singles champions will receive £2.25 million, an increase of £50,000 on last year. The prize money is slightly more than the Australian Open's £31 million and marginally less than the £34.5 million available at this year's French Open.

Wimbledon has increased its total prize pot for the 2018 tennis championships to 34 million pounds ($46.57 million), up 7.6% from 2017. Wimbledon, the only grand slam event to be played on grass, will take place from July 2-15.

12 - India, with 20 gold medals, topped South Asian Junior Athletics Championships

Indian junior athletes bagged 20 gold, 22 silver and eight bronze medals to keeep India on the top spot in the 3^rd South Asian Junior Athletics Championships (SAJAC). Sri Lanka(12-10-19) and Pakistan (0-1-1) took second and third positions.

The two-day meet was held at Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo. The juniors will next represent India at the 18^th Asian Junior Athletics Championships to be held in Gifu, Japan in June 2018.

13 - France's player of the year award given to Brazil’s Neymar

Brazil’s Neymar was honored with a trophy for France's player of the year award. He scored historic 19 goals in just 20 league games for PSG and became world's most expensive player. Neymar has been associated with PSG since August 2017. He signed agreement from Barcelona for a world-record 222 million euros ($264 million).

Other winners were Mbappe as young player of the year. He scored 13 league goals. Emery won the coach of the year award.

14 - Heena Sidhu won gold in 10m pistol International shooting championship

Veteran Indian shooter Heena Sidhu bagged gold medal in the women's 10m air pistol at the International Shooting Competitions of Hannover (ISCH), in Germany. She also claimed top position in the 10m air pistol mixed team event in the ISSF World Cup Finals in Delhi with Jitu Rai.

Some other winners at the ISCH were Deepak Kumar who won bronze medal in the 10m air rifle event, Gagan Narang and Ravi kumar at 4^th and 5^th place respectively. Heena Sidhu is the first Indian pistol shooter to win a gold medal in an ISSF World Cup finals.

15 - Lewis Hamilton bagged Spanish Grand Prix

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton won Spanish Grand Prix. His competent Valtteri Bottas stood at 2^nd place followed by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at 3^rd position and Sebastian Vettel at 4^th position.

The 2018 Spanish Grand Prix is a Formula One motor race that was held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain. 2018 race was the 28^th time Barcelona has hosted the Spanish Grand Prix. Michael Schumacher has been the most successful driver at the circuit, with a total of six victories.

16 - First Para-National Games to be Held under Khelo India Scheme

Bengaluru will host India’s first National Para Games, on the lines of National Games for able-bodied athletes under Khelo India Scheme. The games will be organized by Paralympic Committee of Indiafor the age group of 16 to 40in 10 disciplines such as para athletics, badminton, chess, blind judo, para powerlifting, shooting para sport, para swimming, table tennis, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair fencing.

The Khelo India programme has been introduced to revive the sports culture in India by building a strong framework for all sports played in our country and establish India as a great sporting nation.

17 - South Korean women's Hockey team won the 5^th Asian Champions Trophy

The South Korean women's Hockey team won the 5^th Asian Champions Trophy. The Indian Women's Hockey team failed to defend its crown in the summit clash. South Korea has lifted the title for the third time after having won it in 2010 and 2011.

Indian striker Vandana Katariya was declared player of the tournament while youngster Lalremsiami was named as the upcoming player of the tournament. Striker Navneet Kaur and Vandana Katariya finished as joint top-scorer in the tournament along with China's Xiaoming Song.

18 - Nadal won the Italian Open 2018

Rafael Nadal of Spain defeated Germany's Alexander Zverev to win Italian Open title for a record eighth time. With this win, Nadal regained the world number one ranking. He has now won three clay-court titles from four tournaments.

The win is Nadal's 78^th ATP Tour title and takes him clear of John McEnroe into fourth place in the list of most men's titles won in the Open era. Jimmy Connors with 109 titles, Roger Federer with 97 and Ivan Lendl with 94 are the others above him in the list.

19 - Lionel Messi won European Golden Shoe for the 5^th Time

Lionel Messi has won the European Golden Shoe for a fifth time. The Barcelona forward won the prize after scoring 34 goals in La Liga this season. He had previously won the award in 2017, 2010, 2012 and 2013. Mohamed Salah of Liverpool was second with 32 goals while Tottenham striker Harry Kane rounded out the top three with 30 goals in the season.

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo has won it four times -- the first coming with Manchester United in 2007-08.

20 - WHO, Russia launched new campaign for football World Cup 2018

WHO along with the World Cup 2018 host nation, Russia, has launched a new video campaign to promote healthier and more active lives. The WHO video says tobacco use is one of the most damaging lifestyle choices and is currently responsible for 16% of all deaths in adults over 30 in the European region.

The second video propagates that one can significantly reduce risk of developing non-communicable diseases by eating salt upto 5 grams or less in a day. Third video emphasises that 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week can enhance well-being.

21 - Manika Batra, Mirabai Chanu sign up with IOS Sports

Commonwealth gold medal winning table tennis star Manika Batra and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu have signed multi-year agreements with sports management firm IOS. IOS will now manage their endorsements, appearances, brand profiling, patents, licensing and digital rights, images, and visibility on social networking sites.

Manika had bagged medals in four events in the recently concluded Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast. Mirabai became the first Indian in two decades to clinch a gold medal at the 2017 World Weightlifting Championship in Anaheim.

22 - Japan won the Uber Cup in the Women's World Badminton Championship

Japan's women clinched the Uber Cup, The Women's World Badminton Championship by defeating Thailand 3-0 in Bangkok, ending a 37-year wait to regain the title. Japan entered the finals for the first time after stunning China in the semis.

It ends an Uber Cup drought for Japan that stretches back to 1981. Earlier Japan lifted this coveted cup in 1966, 1969, 1972 and 1978. China won the title 14 times. The Uber Cup is second in prestige only to the Olympics as a national team event.

23 - Real Madrid won Champions Trophy defeating Liverpool

Real Madrid has lifted Champions Trophy defeating Liverpool 3-1 in Kiev, Ukraine. It was the third consecutive year that Real Madrid have won the tournament and the fourth such in five years, taking their total tally to a record 13 titles.

Real Madrid's forward Gareth Bale scored two goals. He was declared the Man of the match. Christiano Ronaldo became first player to win five UEFA Champions League titles while coach Zinedine Zidane is the first coach to win the competition three seasons running.

24 - Tejaswini won Gold at Munich Grand Prix

Former World Champion Tejaswini Sawant has won the gold in the Grand Prix in Munich. Anjum Moudgil of India won the Silver while Austria's Olivia Hofmann won Bronze. Tejaswini had won the World Championship gold in prone in 2010 in Munich. She had recently won gold in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.

In men’s rifle prone event, Chain Singh bagged the silver while former Olympic and World champion Matthew Emmons of the U.S won the Gold. Oleh Tsarkov (Ukraine) won Bronze.

25 - BCCI, UN Environment inked agreement to promote ‘green' Cricket in India

The BCCI and UN Environment has signed an agreement to promote ‘green' Cricket in India. The partnership aims to spread greater awareness about key environmental challenges facing the country, and highlight alternate and more sustainable solutions.

The BCCI will endeavor to reduce its environmental impact by greening operations and engaging cricketers and fans in green initiatives. The partnership will also focus on phasing out single-use plastic across stadiums in the country.

26 - Chennai Super Kings lifted their 3^rd IPL title

Chennai Super Kings lifted their third Indian Premier League title after defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets in the finals played in Mumbai. Shane Watson was declared Man of the Match for his unbeaten knock of 117 off 57 balls.