Current Affairs October 2019 - Sports

1 - Novak Djokovic won Japan Open title

World number one Novak Djokovic won the Japan Open tennis title defeating Australia’s John Millman 6-3, 6-2 in the final. It was his fourth title of the year and a 76^th of his career. Djokovic had withdrawn from the U.S. Open in the fourth round due to a shoulder injury.

Nicolas Mahut and Édouard Roger-Vasselin won the men's doubles title. The 2019 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships was a men's tennis tournament.

2 - Dominic Thiem won China Open 2019

Austria's Dominic Thiem won the China Open final of 2019 after defeating Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in Beijing. It was the 15^th singles title for Thiem.

The winners in other categoires are

Women's Singles: Naomi Osaka defeated Ashleigh Barty

Men's Doubles: Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek defeated Łukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo

Women's Doubles: Sofia Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands defeated Jeļena Ostapenko and Dayana Yastremska

3 - BWF Korea Open 2019

Kento Momota of Japan clinched the men's singles title at the Korea Open badminton tournament with a win over Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan. In the women's final, China's He Bingjiao defeated Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand.

Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong of South Korea defeated compatriots Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan to win the women's doubles title. Indonesian pair Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto defeated Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda of Japan to clinch the men's doubles title.

4 - Wilson Singh-Satish Kumar won gold at Asian Age Group Championships

India's N Wilson Singh and Satish Kumar Prajapati won gold medal in 10 metres platform synchronised event at the ongoing 10^th Asian Age Group Swimming Championships in Bengaluru. The duo scored 290.19 score to beat Uzbekistan's Zaynetdinov Marsel and Khasanov Botir, who scored 280.53 points.

India, thus, extended their total tally to 60 medals (17 gold, 23 silver and 20 bronze) in the prestigious championships, which is the largest aquatic event in Asia.

5 - India won South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) U-18 Championship title for first time

India defeated Bangladesh by 2-1 in the final of SAFF Under-18 Championship 2019 to lift the title in Kathmandu.

India's Ninthoinganba Meetei was declared Most Valuable Player of the championship. This is India's maiden SAFF U-18 trophy. India remained runners up in 2015 and finished third in 2017. Host Nepal had lifted earlier two editions of the Championship but could not qualify for semi finals this time.

6 - Kaushal Dharmamer clinched men's singles title at Maldives International Challenge

Indian shuttler Kaushal Dharmamer clinched the men's singles title at the Maldives International Challenge with a straight-games win over Siril Verma.

The winners in other categories

Women's Singles: USA's Iris Wang won against Vũ Thị Trang of Vietnam
Women's doubles: Japanese pair of Sayak Hobara and Natsuki Soni defeated Indian pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy
Men's doubles: Japanese pair of Keiichiro Matsui and Yoshinori Takeuchi defeated Indian pair of Arun George and Sanyam Shukla
Mixed doubles: Thailand’s Chaloempon Charoenkitamorn and Chasinee Korepap defeated India's Saipratheek Krishnaprasad and Ashwini Bhat

7 - ICC women's ODI rankings: India maintains second position

The Indian women's team has maintained the second position in the latest MRF Tyres ICC Women’s ODI Team Rankings. The Indian team has 125 points, 3 points ahead of England. In the T20I rankings, India are placed at the fifth position. The Australian women's team is ranked at the top of both women's ODI and T20I rankings tables.

England at third, New Zealand at fourth and South Africa at fifth are the other three teams in the top five of the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s ODI Team Rankings.

8 - Surender Singh created three world records at World Powerlifting Championship

Surender Singh of India created three world records at the ongoing World Powerlifting Championship in Berlin, Germany. Surender bagged gold medal in 110 kg category, Classic Raw and the Best Lifter Award in Classic Raw and Single Ply.

Three-time World Champion Mukesh Singh went on to add another feather to his cap by winning yet another gold only to be known as 4-time World Champion.

9 - Fraser-Pryce won World Championship 100m gold

Jamaican sprint legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won her fourth women's 100 metres world title at the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha with an impressive timing of 10.71s. Britain’s European champion Dina Asher-Smith took silver medal while Marie-Josee Ta Lou finished 3^rd.

Fraser-Pryce had won her first world championship gold in the 100m sprint in 2009, then in 2013 and in 2015. With a personal-best timing of 10.7s, Fraser-Pryce is the joint-fourth fastest in the women’s 100m in history.

10 - Lewis Hamilton won 2019 Russia F1 Grand Prix

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton won the Russian Grand Prix extending his lead at the top of the F1 World Championship standings. Hamilton's team-mate Valtteri Bottas was placed second and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc third.

Hamilton with 322 points is on the top of the Driver's Standings while Valtteri Bottas is at second with 249 points. In the Constructors' Standings, Mercedes tops the chart with 571 points followed by Ferrari at 409 points.

11 - Ben Stokes won PCA Players' Player of the Year award

Ben Stokes bagged the Professional Cricketers' Association Players' Player of the Year award after his splendid show in the ICC Cricket World Cup and the Ashes. Stokes became only the sixth player to win the double of Young Player of the Year award and Player of the Year honour.

Sophie Ecclestone won her second successive Women's Player of the Summer award. Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad were honoured as the ODI and Test Player of the Year respectively. Tom Banton was named the Young Player of the Year for his solid performances for Somerset.

12 - NBCC signed MoU with Sports Ministry to develop National Sports University at Imphal

State-owned construction firm NBCC (India) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Department of Sports under Union Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (MYAS) to provide Project Management Consultancy for development of National Sports University at Imphal, Manipur.

The approximate cost of project would be Rs.400 crores. NBCC (India) Limited (formerly National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited) is a blue-chip Government of India Navratna enterprise.

13 - Christine Wolf won Hero Indian Women's Open golf title

Austria’s Christine Wolf has won the Hero Women’s Indian Open. Marianne Skarpnord was second while Meghan MacLaren was third and Whitney Hillier fourth. Anika Varma of India finished at 5^th position while Tvesa Malik was at 6^th position.

It was a maiden Tour title for Wolf and she won $75,000 as prize money. The Hero Women's Indian Open is a golf tournament on the Ladies European Tour. It is played at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon, India.

14 - Harmanpreet Kaur became first Indian cricketer to play 100 T20 matches

Harmanpreet Kaur became the first Indian cricketer to play 100 Twenty20 Internationals as she took the field against South Africa in Surat. She achieved this milestone before MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, who have played 98 T20Is for India.

Harmanpreet Kaur is among 10 women players who have played more than 100 T20 international matches. Australia’s Ellyse Perry and New Zealand’s Suzie Bates are on the top of the list with 111 international matches.

15 - Mithali Raj became 1^st female player to complete 20 yrs in international cricket

India women's cricket captain Mithali Raj became the first female player to last more than 20 years in international cricket. She achieved the feat while leading India to victory over South Africa Women at Vadodara.

Mithali, who made her ODI debut against Ireland on June 26, 1999, completed 20 years and 105 days in the 50-over format. The right-handed batswoman has played 204 ODIs till now, the most by a female. 36-year-old Mithali has also played 10 Tests and 89 T20 Internationals for India.

16 - Kohli scored record 7^th double ton for India

India’s Skipper Virat Kohli hit his seventh double hundred during the second test match against South Africa at Pune. With this, he eclipsed legendary Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag for the highest number of double hundres in Indian cricket history. He also equalled Australia legend Ricky Ponting’s record for most Test hundreds as Skipper as he scored his 19^th hundred in the process as captain and 26^th overall.

Kohli already held the record for most double hundreds in Test cricket as captain. Kohli crossed 150-run mark nine times as skipper, one more than Bradman.

17 - Simone Biles sets world championship medal record

Simone Biles became the most decorated gymnast in world championship history after she took her career tally to 25 medals which includes 19 gold medals. She won 5 gold medals at 2019 World Gymnastic Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.

Biles won gold medals in the team, all-around, beam balance, floor and vault finals categories. She was crowned world floor champion for the fifth time in her career. This is the first time Biles has finished a world championship with five golds.

18 - India Sports Summit–Fitness: $10 Billion Opportunity organised in New Delhi

The ‘India Sports Summit - Fitness: $10 Billion Opportunity’ was held on 10 October 2019 in New Delhi. It was organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in partnership with Union Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (MYAS), Sportscom, and Sportskeeda.

The aim of the summit is to achieve the objective of 'Sports and Industry' through various initiatives. The first India Sports Summit 2019 was also inaugurated at the event.

19 - Indian boxers clinched 21 medals at Asian Junior Championships

Indian boxers clinched 21 medals (six golds and nine silvers) at the Asian Junior Championships to end with the best medal haul among 26 competing countries in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. India ended top in terms of medals won but finished second behind Uzbekistan (20) at gold count of medals.

The Indian men's squad fetched two golds, three silvers and an equal number of bronzes, while the women claimed four gold, six silver and three bronze medals. The top players were Vishvanath Suresh (46kg), Bishwamitra Chongtham (48kg), Kalpana (46kg), Preeti Dahiya (60kg), Tanshbir Kaur (80kg) and Alfiya Pathan (80kg).

20 - Mumbai's Yashasvi Jaiswal created world record in One Day cricket

Mumbai teenager Yashasvi Jaiswal created history as he became the youngest cricketer in the world to score a double century in One Day cricket. His is the ninth instance of an Indian scoring a List A double-ton. Mumbai posted 358 for 3 in 50 overs and bowled out the opposition for 319.

Playing in his debut Vijay Hazare season, the 17-year-old scored 203 off 154 balls against Jharkhand at Alur, Karnataka. His score comprised 12 sixes and 17 fours. At present, he is the leading run-scorer of the 2019-20 Vijay Hazare Trophy, with 564 runs in 6 matches at an average of 112.80.

21 - Priyanshu Rajawat claimed men's singles title at Bahrain International Series

Indian shuttler Priyanshu Rajawat claimed the men's singles title at the Bahrain International Series Badminton at Isa Town. Seventeen year old Rajawat beat top-seed Jason Anthony Ho-Shue from Canada in the finals 16-21, 21-7, 21-12 in the summit clash.

Top-seeded Indian mixed double pair of Juhi Dewangan and Venkat Gaurav Prasad also finished at the top. They defeated Thailand's Pannawat Theerapanitnun and Kanyanat Sudchoeichom 21-18, 21-16 in 34 minutes to bag the gold medal. Bahrain International is a BWF International Series level.

22 - Lakshya Sen won maiden Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour title

Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen clinched his maiden BWF World Tour title by winning the Dutch Open men's singles at Almere in the Netherlands.Lakshya rallied from a game deficit to defeat Yusuke Onodera of Japan 15-21, 21-14, 21-15 in a final that lasted 63 minutes.

Lakshya, currently ranked 72^nd, had won the Belgian Open 2019 and reached the finals of Polish Open 2019. He had also won the Asian Junior Championships, a silver at Youth Olympic Games and a bronze medal at World Junior Championships 2018.

23 - Eliud Kipchoge became first person to run marathon in under two hours

Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge successfully completed the first-ever marathon under two hours in the Austrian capital of Vienna, two years since he fell 25 seconds short. The Kenyan is the first person in history to run a marathon.

The 34-year-old ran 42 kilometres in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 40 seconds at Vienna's Prater-Hauptallee - an achievement once considered beyond human's reach. He does hold the official record already, though, after running 2:01:39 in the 2018 Berlin Marathon.

24 - Dutee Chand breaks her own national record

Star sprinter Dutee Chand smashed her own national record, clocking 11.22 seconds, in the women's 100m semifinals at the 59^th National Open Athletics Championships in Ranchi.

Dutee Chand surpassed her previous timing of 11.26 second which she had set at the Asian Championships in April 2019. Dutee later clocked 11.25 seconds in the final to claim the gold, leaving Archana Suseendran and Himashree Roy behind. Dutee is third Indian woman to ever qualify for the Women's 100 metres event at the Summer Olympic Games.

25 - Niki Poonacha, Sowjanya Bavisetti crowned champions in Fenesta Open

In the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship, Niki Poonacha and Sowjanya Bavisetti were crowned champions in the men's and women's singles events in New Delhi. Niki beat Aryan Goveas 6-2, 7-6 in the men's singles final. Rashmikaa Bhamidipatty won Girls under 18 singles Finals against Sandgheepti Singh. Madhwin Kamath won Boys under 18 Finals against Udit Gogoi.

Rising star Sowjanya played against four-time Fenesta Open winner and seasoned pro-Prerna Bhambri. Fenesta Open Tennis tournament is the only single full group Nationals i.e. the format covers Men, Ladies, Boys and Girls Under 18, under 16 and under 14.

26 - Ashleigh Barty bagged ‘The Don’ Award

Ashleigh Barty won 'The Don' award at the annual Sport Australia Hall of Fame and was recognised as currently the top Australian athlete. Barty won the French Open 2019 and is currently the top-ranked Women's Tennis Association (WTA) player in the world.

Barty became only the second tennis player to win the prestigious award with Pat Rafter being the last tennis player to win the award in 2001. 'The Don' award is Australian sport's highest individual honour.

27 - Manju Rani won silver medal in World Women’s Boxing Championship

Sixth-seeded Manju Rani settled for silver medal in World Women's Boxing Championships at Ulan-Ude in Russia. Second-seeded Russian Ekaterina Paltceva defeated Rani 4 -1 in 48-kilogram category in the final match of the tournament. With this she became the only Indian to make the finals after six-time champion M C Mary Kom (51kg), Jamuna Boro (54kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) settled for bronze medals.

Prior to this event, Rani also won silver medal on debut at the prestigious Strandja Memorial Tournament, one of Europe’s oldest and most competitive boxing events.

28 - Mercedes’s Valtteri Bottas won 2019 Japanese Grand Prix

Valtteri Bottas won the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix while his Mercedes team earned its sixth-consecutive Formula One constructors championship, held at Suzuka in Mie Prefecture, Japan. It was Bottas’ first victory in Japan. Bottas was crowned drivers’ champions 2019, ensuring the teams’ sixth straight double championship, a new record.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel (Germany) and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (Britain) stood at the 2^nd and 3^rd places respectively. The Finn, the first driver to ever win from the second row in Suzuka, duly earned the Driver of the Day award.

29 - Lionel Messi won 6^th Golden Shoe as top scorer in European Leagues

Barcelona captain Leo Messi received his sixth Golden Shoe award for year 2018-19 as the top scorer in the European leagues for scoring 36 goals in 34 La Liga games, as well as three in the Copa del Rey and 12 more in the Champions League. This totals his six golden shows. Lionel Messi is the only player having 6 golden shoes whereas other players such as Cristiano Ronaldo has 4 golden shows and Muller, Jimmy Greaves have 2 golden shows.

The European Golden Shoe is presented to the leading goalscorer in league matches of every European national league.

30 - Indian Women Football Team wins 3^rd SAFF U-15 Women’s Championship 2019

India booked its spot in the final of the 3^rd Edition of the SAFF U-15 Women's Championships 2019 by beating Bangladesh by 5-3 in the penalty shoot-out after the match ended 0-0 post 90 minutes. 2019 SAFF U−15 Women's Championship, played among the 4 teams namely Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and India from the region was held at Thimpu, Bhutan.

Some players who performed well were Indian captain Shilky Devi who slotted home from the final spot-kick to hand her side 5-3 win, Sunita Munda and goalkeeper Adrija Sarkhel.

31 - Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty won silver in doubles event at French Open

Indian men’s doubles specialists, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, lost to Indonesia’s World No 1 duo, Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon in the final of BWF French Open 2019 by a 21-18, 21-16 margin.

Satwik and Chirag had won their maiden Super 500 title at the Thailand Open earlier in August 2018. It was the first time that an Indian men's doubles pair reached a World Tour 750 final. Partho Ganguli and Vikram Singh were the last all-Indian pair to win the French Open in 1983.

32 - Karnataka won Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019-20

Karnataka won the 2019-20 Vijay Hazare Trophy as they beat Tamil Nadu in the final at Bengaluru via VJD method. Karnataka won its fourth Vijay Hazare Trophy title.

The 2019–20 Vijay Hazare Trophy was the 18^th season of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Mumbai were the defending champions. It is also known as the Ranji One-Day Trophy and started in 2002–03 as a limited-overs cricket domestic competition involving state teams from the Ranji Trophy plates. It is named after the famous Indian cricketer Vijay Hazare.

33 - Praveen Kumar becomes first Indian man to win gold at Wushu World Championships

Praveen Kumar became the first Indian man to win a Wushu World Championships gold, beating Russel Diaz of Philippines in the 48kg category in Shanghai. The Indian defeated his Filipino opponent 2-1 in the men's Sanda event of the 15^th World Wushu Championships.

Among other Indians in the fray, Poonam (women's 75kg) and Sanathoi Devi (women's 52kg) secured silver medals while Vikrant Baliyan bagged the bronze in the men's 60kg category. India finished third overall in the championship in event with a gold, two silvers and a bronze.

34 - Rohit Sharma becomes 3^rd Indian batsman to reach top 10 in all formats

Rohit Sharma has become the third Indian batsman to reach the top 10 in all three formats of cricket. Rohit emulated captain Virat Kohli and retired opener Gautam Gambhir as his knock of 212 in the third Test in Ranchi helped him advance 12 places to 10^th position in the ICC Test Player Rankings.

Rohit has held a career-high ranking of second in ODIs in February 2018 and seventh in T20 in November 2018.

35 - China to host the inaugural edition of expanded 24-team Club World Cup

FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced that China will host the inaugural edition of the expanded 24-team Club World Cup. The plan for a revamped 24-team Club World Cup starting in June-July 2021 was approved at a FIFA Council meeting in Miami in March.

The current Club World Cup features seven teams including the holders of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League. Qatar will host the competition this year and in 2020.

36 - Graeme Smith elected MCC Honorary Life Member

Former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith has been elected an Honorary Life Member of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Smith was South Africa’s youngest ever captain at 22 years of age.

Smith was named Wisden's Cricketers of the Year in 2004. He struck 27 centuries in his Test career and 10 centuries in One-Day International. Former Australian off-spinner Tim May was also awarded Honorary Life Membership in recognition of his outstanding achievements in cricket.

37 - Bengal Warriors won maiden Pro Kabaddi League Title

Bengal Warriors lifted its maiden Pro Kabaddi League title after they beat Dabang Delhi 39-34 in the final. Bengal Warriors, led by Iranian Mohammed Esmaeil Nabibakhsh, became PKL's fifth champion in seven seasons.

Season Awards

Referee of the season - Mr. Shankar
New Young player of the season - Sumit of UP Yoddha
Raider of the season - Pawan Sehrawat of Bengaluru Bulls
Defender of the season - Fazel Atrachali of U Mumba
Most Valuable Player of the season (MVP) - Naveen Kumar of Dabang Delhi

38 - 2024 Olympic Games logo unveiled in Paris

The logo for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games unveiled at a ceremony in Paris. The new design brings together three iconic symbols connected to sport, the Games and France - the gold medal, the Olympic and Paralympic flames, and Marianne, a French allegory of the revolution and the Republic's ideals of liberty, egality and fraternity.

Paris 2024 will be the first time in history that the Paralympic and Olympic Games share the same logo.

39 - Riya Bhatia wins International Tennis Federation (ITF) title in Nigeria

Riya Bhatia has won the ITF women’s tennis tournament in Lagos, Nigeria after she defeated Nastja Kolar of Slovenia 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 in the final of the ITF women’s tennis tournament. Riya received a prize money of $25,000/-.

This was the 3^rd singles title in the professional circuit for Riya, who had won her last two titles in 2016 and 2017. The former national grass court and hard court champion, Riya has also won three doubles titles in the international circuit.

40 - Rohit Sharma set a record of highest average in Test cricket

Indian opener Rohit Sharma has surpassed legendary Sir Don Bradman recording the highest batting average in Test cricket on home soil among those, who have played at least 10 innings. Rohit now has an average of 99.84 in 18 innings while radman had an average of 98.22 across 50 innings at home.

Rohit has so far scored 1298 runs in 18 completed innings. Rohit also became the third Indian player after Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag to score double hundred in both Test and ODI.

41 - Great Britain won 9^th Edition of Sultan of Johor Cup Hockey Tournament 2019

Defending Champions Great Britain won the men’s Sultan of Johor Cup hockey tournament 2019 after they defeated India with 2-1 in final held at Johor Bahru in Malaysia.

With five goals to his name, India’s Shilanand Lakra remained the highest scorer of tournament. Japan's Kosei Kawabe was adjudged the Best player of the tournament. Oliver Payne of United Kingdom was awarded with the Goalkeeper of the tournament award. The Sultan of Johor Cup is international men under–21 field hockey tournament.

42 - ICC banned Bangladeshi cricketer Shakib Al Hasan

Bangladesh Test and T20 Captain Shakib Al Hasan was banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) from all forms of cricket for two years. One year of the punishment has been suspended after he accepted three charges of breaching the ICC Anti-Corruption Code. Shakib was found guilty for not reporting to the ICC that he was approached by the bookies.

Shakib will be free to resume international cricket from 29^th of October 2020 subject to him satisfying the conditions in respect of the suspended part of the sanction.