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Home , 2012 Korea Open, 2015 French Open, 2015 Korea Open, 2015 World Cup (snooker), Ajay Jayaram, Ashwini Ponnappa

 Sports Lewis Hamilton wins 2015 US Grand Prix of F1 to clinch third world title o Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain has won 2015 Grand Prix title of for the fourth time. Earlier he had won it in 2007, 2012 and 2014 o Lewis Hamilton has won highest number of titles as compared to any other British driver in the history of F1 o The WDC is awarded to the most successful F1 racing car driver over a particular season. o Michael Schumacher from holds the record for winning most WDC titles i.e. for seven times  Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain won 2015 Russian Grand Prix title of Formula One.  Lewis Hamilton wins 2015 Japanese Grand Prix title of Formula One  Sebastian Vettel wins 2015 Grand Prix of Formula One  Lewis Hamilton wins 2015 Italian Grand Prix of Formula One  Lewis Hamilton wins 2015 Birtish Grand Prix of F1  Lewis Hamilton wins Bahrain Grand Prix of Formula One  Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton from Britain on 12 April 2015 won Chinese Grand Prix of Formula One on the Shanghai International Circuit in  Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg from Germany has won the Austrian Grand Prix Formula One (F1) title. o Nico Rosberg had also won the Austrian Grand Prix of 2014 season which was maiden win for Mercedes on this track.  Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg from Germany has won the Monaco Grand Prix Formula One (F1) World Championship title.  Englishman Lewis Hamilton, driving for Mercedes, won the inaugural Russian Formula One Grand Prix held at Sochi  Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany defeated main rival Lewis Hemilton of Britain to win 2014 Monaco F1 Grand Prix  Rankings after 2015 Russian Grand Prix o 1st position: Lewis Hamilton (Britain) of Mercedes. o 2nd position: Sebastian Vettel (Germany) of Ferrari. o 3rd position: Sergio Perez (Mexico) of Force .  US Abhishek Verma wins Silver medal at Archery Final o Rajat Chauhan and Sandeep Kumar associated with archery  Himachal Pradesh to host India’s first Paragliding World Cup o Bir Billing near Baijnath town in Kangra district of HP o Snow leopard is the official mascot of this World Cup  First World Indigenous Games begins in Palmas, o The lavish opening ceremony of the multi-sport event was attended by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff  Union Government appoints VK Malhotra as President of All India Council of Sports (AICS)  announces retirement from International on 20-Oct-2015  Great Britain wins 2015 Sultan of Johor Cup of Hockey  Sports Cricketer announces retirement from International cricket on 15-Oct-2015.  Winners of 2015 () o Men’s Singles title: of Serbia o Women’s Singles title: Garbiñe Muguruza of o Men’s double: (Canada) and (US) o Women’s double: (India) and (Switzerland)  Ajay Jayaram wins 2015 Grand Prix  Ajay Jayaram wins silver medal in 2015 Badminton tournament  Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis win 2015 China Open Women’s Doubles Title of tennis  wins 2015 World Cup Championship o He holds the record for being world’s youngest Chess at the age young of 12 years and 7 months  Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis win 2015 Women’s Doubles Title of Tennis  Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis win 2015 Open women’s doubles title  Shashank Manohar elected unopposed as President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president. o He was elected after the demise of Dalmiya o BCCI was established as BCCI in 1928 by replacing Calcutta Cricket Club o It is a private club consortium, registered as a society under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975  Luis Leao Pinto of Portugal has won 2015 MTB Himalaya Title, Asia’s premier mountain biking race for the second time in the Solo Men’s category. o With this victory he received the crown tile of ‘ of the Himalaya’ which he had earlier won in year 2013.  Heena Sidhu wins gold medal at Asian Air Gun Championships  India’s Gurpreet Singh wins silver medal at 2015 Asian Air Gun Championship  Pankaj Advani wins 2015 IBSF World Billiards Championship  Hangzhou City of China chosen to host 2022 i.e. XIX edition of games. o Asian Games is also known as Asiad. o It was first held in 1951 in , India under the aegis of Asian Games Federation (AGF) o Hangzhou is also home base of Chinese Internet (ecommerce) giant Alibaba o , South Korean city had hosted last Asian Games in 2014, while ’s Jakarta is going to host in 2018 Asian Games o It is often described as the second largest multi-sport event after the  Sports Ministry Grants Recognition to Indian Kalarippayattu Federation as RSF o Kalaripayattu sport is a Martial art played/performed in Southern state of Kerala and in contiguous parts of Tamil Nadu. o It is considered to be one of the oldest fighting system in existence and each warrior in the Sangam era received regular military training of it  Winners of 2015 US Open Titles of Tennis o Men’s Singles: Novak Djokovic of Serbia o Women’s Singles Title: of o Men’s Doubles Title: French pair of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and o Women’s Doubles Title: Sania Mirza (India) and Martina Hingis (Switzerland) o Mixed Doubles Title: (India) and Martina Hingis (Switzerland)  Indian Wrestler Narsingh Pancham Yadav has secured quota for India in the 2016 Olympic Games o This is also the first time that an Indian wrestler has earned an Olympic berth by winning medal at the World Championship  Sports Anirban Lahiri becomes 1st Indian golfer to qualify for prestigious President’s Cup of Golf o The biennial Cup is a series of men’s golf matches between a team representing United States (US) and an International Team representing the rest of the world excluding Europe. In case of European counterparts, the matches are played for the Ryder Cup which is older than President’s Cup  Weightlifter Deepak Lather wins gold in Commonwealth Youth Games held in Apia, Samoa. o The Commonwealth Youth games are a small-scale version of the o It was for the first time in in August 2000 and since then it takes place every four year. India had hosted third edition of CYG in 2008 in ,  Union Government recognizes Yoga as Sports discipline and place it in the Priority category. o The sport of Fencing was upgraded from Others to General category based on the major past performance at international events  Ethiopia’s Mare Dibaba has won the gold medal in the women’s marathon event at the World Athletics Championships 2015 held in Beijing, China.  Indian wrestler Anil has clinched gold medal in Cadet Wrestling World Championships in the 50 kg freestyle competitions  Indian women hockey team qualifies for 2016 Rio Olympics  Usain Bolt wins 200 meters title at World Championships held in Beijing, China o This victory is Bolt’s fourth consecutive world 200 metre title which he had won earlier in 2009 (Berlin, Germany), 2011 (Daegu, ) and 2013 (, ). o Usain Bolt is the first man to win six Olympic gold medals in sprinting event and a ten-time World champion  Government announces Dronacharya, , Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar awards 2015  wins seventh Masters title of Tennis o It is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States played in its original city started in September 1899  Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt has won world 100 metre title in the World Athletics Championships held in Beijing, China o In the blue riband event, Bolt ran a season’s best of 9.79 seconds winning gold medal. While Justin Gatlin of United States finished at the second spot in 9.80sec, taking silver medal o Usain Bolt is regarded as the fastest person in the world. He is the first athlete to hold both the 100 metres and 200 metres world records.  Golfer Aditi Ashok-first Indian to win Ladies British amateur stroke-play Championship (Golf) o She also had claimed the overall title called ‘The Nicholls Trophy’ and ‘Dinwiddy Trophy’ which are given for the under-18 golfer with lowest score  Bangladesh has won maiden Under-16 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) championship title 2015.  Former Olympic champion Sebastian Coe from United Kingdom has been elected as President of International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). o IAAF is an international governing body for the sport of athletics o Headquarter: Since 1993, IAAF has been headquartered in Monaco  Badminton World Championship 2015: wins silver medal o It should be noted that Saina Nehwal is first Indian women badminton player to reach finals of Badminton World Championship o India’s PV Sindhu had won the bronze medal twice in World Badminton Championship in 2013 and 2014. and won the bronze in women’s doubles in 2011. was the first Indian to win a bronze in 1983.  Abhishek Verma wins gold medal in Archery World Cup.  International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially recognised ‘Frisbee’ as an Olympic sport  Ace Indian gymnast has won bronze medal in women’s vault event at the 6th Senior ART Gymnastics Asian Championships held in Hiroshima, .  India’s ace female squash player Joshna Chinappa won the prestigious US 15,000 dollars Victorian Open squash competition. o In the men’s category, ’s Ryan Cuskelly won the title  India women’s team wins silver in World Archery Championship.  Ranveer Singh Saini wins Gold medal at Special Olympics World Games o With this victory he became the first Golfer from India to win a Gold medal at the Special Olympics World Games o He is diagnosed with autism, a neurological disorder characterised by impaired social interaction.  Sania Mirza recommended for 2015. o Sania Mirza is ranked world No. 1 in women’s tennis doubles. o In 2014, she was appointed brand ambassador of state. o Previous Awards: (2004), (2006). o Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna is India’s highest honour given for achievement in sports given by Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. o This award carries: a medal, scroll of honour and monetary award of 7.5 lakh rupees.  India’s Prabhroop Sekhon wins two golds in Special Olympics World Games o He is an Autistic student  Cyclist Chris Froome from Britain of Team Sky has won the 102nd edition Tour de France, an annual three-week multiple stage bicycle race at Champs Elysees in Paris o Tour de France is an annual multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in France. It was first organized in 1903 and currently run by the Amaury Sport Organisation o The prestigious cycle race is 3 week-long, traditionally held every year in the month of July and covers around 3,500 kms.  The IPL spot-fixing scandal came into the light in 2013 after the Delhi Police arrested S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila  Indian-American Amitoj Chhabra wins title at US Championships.  BCCI and IPL roles o Rajiv Shukla– IPL chairman o Anurag Thakur– BCCI secretary o Anirudh Choudhury- BCCI treasurer  ’s Mohammad Hafeez suspended from Bowling in International Cricket for 1 Year o He was banned after he failed in ICC’s independent assessment on his suspected bowling action which violated permitted 15-degree limit.  Uruguay for the first time had won the FIFA World Cup in 1930 which was the inaugural Football World Cup  Winners of 2015 Wimbledon Championship Titles of Tennis o The tournament had taken place at the All Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, , United Kingdom o Men’s Singles Title: Novak Djokovic of Serbia o Women’s Singles Title: of United States o Women’s Doubles Title: Sania Mirza (India) and Martina Hingis (Switzerland) o Men’s Doubles Title: Jean-Julien Rojer () and Horia Tecău () o Mixed Doubles Title: Leander Paes (India) and Martina Hingis (Switzerland)  Serena Williams wins sixth Wimbledon Women’s title. Her 21 singles title includes o 6 Australian Open Titles: 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015. o 3 Titles: 2002, 2013 and 2015. o 6 Wimbledon Titles: 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2015. o 6 US Open Titles: 1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2014.  US wins Women’s FIFA World Cup for 3rd time o Most wins: United States for 3 times (1991, 1999 and 2015), followed by Germany 2 times (2003, 2007).  India retains South Asian Basketball Championship. o Most wins: India has won it 3 times in 2002, 2014 and 2015.  Chile won South America’s most prestigious football trophy, the Copa America title 2015 for the first time. It is Chile’s first ever international trophy in Football. o It should be noted that Argentina had won Copa America title in 1921, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1937, 1941, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1991, 1993. o The Copa America (means America Cup in Spanish and Portuguese) title is an international football competition o It is oldest international continental football competition established in 1916 o Uruguay has won this title for record 15 times in 1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926, 1935, 1942, 1956, 1959, 1967, 1983, 1987, 1995 and 2011  Abhijeet Gupta wins 19th Commonwealth Chess Championship.  Jwala Gutta, Ashwni Ponappa win women’s doubles title of Badminton tournament.  Satnam Singh Bhamara became the first Indian born basketball player to be drafted in the National Basketball Association (NBA). o It should be noted that Canada born Sim Bhullar was the first Indian origin player to play in NBA.  India’s legendary batsman and Bharat Ratna recipient has been voted the ‘Best Test player’ of the 21st in an online poll. o ’s received the second highest votes. He was followed by Australian cricketer in the third position.  appointed as ICC President. o He will be 13th President of ICC and succeeds Mustafa Kamal of Bangladesh.  Kerala government has appointed Tennis Icon Steffanie Graf as Ayurveda brand ambassador. o Graf is the first and only tennis player (male or female) to achieve the Calendar Year Golden Slame. winning all four singles titles and the Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year o She had won 22 Grand Slam single titles and also holds record for the most number of major wins by a tennis player (after introduction of the Open Era in 1968). o She is the only tennis player (male or female) to win 3 grand slams in a calendar year 5 times (1988, 1989, 1993, 1995 and 1996).  World number two Roger Federer has won the eighth Halle Open ATP title in Germany. o (Britaun) won the Queens Club title for fourth time in his career o It should be noted that Halle Open along with Queens are two primary warm-up for the Wimbledon Grand Slam tournament played on grass courts  Astronomers have named a newly discovered galaxy as CR7 (COSMOS Redshift 7) after Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. o Ronaldo is famously known as CR7 after his initials and his jersey number. He had won Fifa’s Ballon d’Or award consecutively for two years in 2013 and 2014 and has scored a staggering 66 goals this season  India ranks third in global doping report for year 2013 by WADA. o •Russia was ranked first in this report with maximum number of doping athletes with 212 testing positive  has become the first Indian footballer to score 50 international goals. o Currently, he plays as a striker for Bengaluru FC in the I-League. He had started his professional career in 2002 with Mohun Bagan FC.  - pair win Stuttgart Men’s Double Open title 2015. o clinches Stuttgart grass-clay Men’s single title.  Former West Indies paceman Sir Wesley Winfield Hall has been inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. He is 80th cricketer to be inducted in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame and 18th from West Indies.  Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the only Indian to find place in the Forbes magazine’s list of 100 World’s Highest-Paid Athletes 2015. o This edition of list was again topped by US boxer Floyd Mayweather for third time.  Winners of title of Tennis. o Men’s Singles Title: Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland o Women’s Singles Title: Serena Williams of United States o Men’s Doubles: (Croatia) and (Brazil) o Women’s Doubles Title: Bethanie Mattek-Sands (US) and Lucie Šafářová (). o Mixed Doubles Title: Bethanie Mattek-Sands and pair from United States  Barcelona FC has won 2015 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League trophy for the fifth time o UEFA Champions League (simply known as the Champions League) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the UEFA.  India’s Machettira Raju Poovamma and Liksy Joseph have won silver medal each in 21st Asian Athletics Championships held in Wuhan, China.  President of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Sepp Blatter has resigned amid a corruption scandal which is under investigation in United States. o 2018 world cup in Russia and 2022 World Cup in  Ravi Shastri named as interim coach of Team India for Bangladesh tour.  Former Indian cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, and V V S Laxman have joined the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI’s) newly-constituted Cricket Advisory Aommittee.  Gurpreet Singh secures quota place in shooting for 2016 Rio Olympics. o Previously, , and Apurvi Chandela have secured an Olympic quota place for 2016 Rio Olympics o becomes 4th Indian shooter to qualify for 2016 Rio Olympics. o Abhinav Bindra is India’s only individual Olympic gold medallist and had achieved this feat by winning in the 10 m Air Rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.  Dilawar Singh of Haryana has won ‘Pedal for Kashmir’ cycling competition, held along the banks of picturesque Dal Lake in Srinagar.  Sepp Blatter has been re-elected as the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) President for a fifth term.  Indians defeat Super Kings to win IPL 2015 for second time. o Player of the Tournament: Andre Russell (KKR). o Orange (Batsman) awarded to: David Warner (Sunrisers ). o Purple Cap(Bowlers) awarded to: Dwayne Bravo (CSK). o Emerging Player of the Season: Shreyas Iyer (Delhi Daredevils). o Most Valuable Player: Andre Russell (KKR)  India’s ace discus thrower won a bronze medal in the second leg of the prestigious International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Diamond League series in Shanghai, China. o Gowda is National record holder and also gold medallist and Asian Games silver medal winner.  Ethiopian runners win both Men’s & Women’s titles in TCS World 10000m run. o In Men’s category, Mosinet Geremew bagged the title by clocking 28 minutes and 16 seconds. o In the women’s section, Mamitu Daska bagged the title by clocking 31 minutes and 57 seconds.  World no 1 Novak Djokovic from Serbia has won his fourth Masters Tennis Men’s single title. o from Russia won the Rome Masters Tennis Women’s single title. o Rome Masters Tennis is an annual tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy and also known as . o It is the most prestigious red clay tennis tournament in the world after the French Open. o Rafael Nadal has won the Men’s single title a record seven times.  India’s ace shooter Gagan Narang won the bronze medal in the 50m Rifle Prone Event of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup. o With this win he qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics by earning himself a quota place.  Tejaswini Sagar wins gold at Under-15 World School Chess Championship  Haryana Government has decided to include Deaflympics in its Sports Policy in order to boost the morale of differently-abled sportspersons in the state. o Deaflympics is an International Olympic Committee (IOC) sanctioned event, at which deaf athletes compete at an elite level. o The first event of was held in Paris in 1924. It is the first international sporting event for athletes with a disability. o Previously, it was known as World Games for the Deaf and International Games for the Deaf.  India’s top rifle shooters have won a rich haul of three gold and two bronze medals at the International Shooting Competition of Hannover in Germany. o In this shooting event, Beijing Olympics Games gold medallist Abhinav Bindra won both the individual and team gold in his pet 10 metre air rifle event. o The Gold medal winning 10 metre air rifle team members included Abhinav Bindra, Chain Singh and Gagan Narang.  Union Government has finally recognised motorsports as a o In this regard, Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has included Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) in the list of sports backed National Sports Federations (NSF)  India’s Shamjetsabam Sarjubala and have clinched gold medals at the 22nd President’s Cup Open International Tournament held in Indonesia  Former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar was appointed as chief adviser of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) Anti-Corruption & Security Unit (ACSU).  Three Indian race walkers Khushbir Kaur, Manish Rawat and Sandeep Kumar have qualified for 2016 Rio Olympics  Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar on 15 April 2015 was inducted into the prestigious Laureus Sports Academy  has won the 24th edition of Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament 2015 for second time. o It is an annual tournament held in and was established in 1983. o Named after 9th king of Malaysia and ‘Father of Malaysian Hockey’ Sultan Azlan Shah.  Sania Mirza on 12 April 2015 created history by becoming the first Indian female tennis player to achieve the world number one rank in doubles category. o Earlier, Leander Paes and were only Indians who had achieved the top rank in Men’s Doubles after they had dominated men’s doubles circuit in the late 1990s. o It should be noted that Sania Mirza is also first Indian female tennis player to win Grand Slam tournaments  Ace Indian shooter Jitu Rai on 12 April 2015 won a bronze medal in the 10m air pistol event at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Changwon, South Korea o Earlier, Apurvi Chandela had won bronze in the 10-metre air rifle event in the same tournament and became second Indian shooter after Jitu Rai to qualify for 2016 Rio Olympic Games. o Apurvi Chandela wins Bronze in ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup  Mutua is a professional tennis tournament. It is played on outdoor clay courts at the Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain.  Yuki Bhambri on 11 April 2015 has won the 15,000 US Dollar ITF Futures tournament title. o International Tennis Federation (ITF) Futures tournament title is a series of professional tennis tournaments held around the world  Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has re-appointed Rajeev Shukla as chairman of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council.  Roles in IPL o Chetan Desai- Head the Marketing Committee. o Anurag Thakur- Head of Affiliations Committee  Indian chess Grandmaster Dronavalli Harika on 6 April 2015 won the bronze medal in the World Women’s chess championships along with Swedish Grandmaster Pia Cramling o It is played to determine the women’s world champion in chess. It is administered by World Chess Federation (FIDE).  Malli Mastan Babu, one of India’s top mountaineers passed away. o Babu was regarded as the fastest “7 summiteer” that is fastest mountaineer to climb summits in all seven continents from India.  Minor planet was named after India’s chess legend and first grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand by the Minor Planet Center. o His name was given to the minor planet which was previously identified as planet 4538. Now the planet will be called as 4538 Vishyanand and is located somewhere between the Mars and Jupiter. o With this, Vishwanathan Anand has joined the league of former world chess champions and who also have minor planets named after them.  Government has launched ‘Padho Punjab- Khedo Punjab Mission’ i.e. Learn Punjab- Play Punjab Mission.  Veteran hockey player Balbir Singh Senior was awarded Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award by Hockey India.  Saina Nehwal wins Super Series Badminton Women’s Singles 2015 Title. o She defeated ’s Ratchanok Intanon.  Australia on 29 March 2015 won the ICC 2015 for the record fifth time. o In the final match Australia defeated co-hosts of the tournament, New Zealand by 7 wickets played at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Australia. o New Zealand’s Martin Guptill created a Cricket World Cup record by scoring highest score of 237 runs not out  Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal on 28 March 2015 created history by becoming first Indian woman to be ranked number one in the world in Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings in Women’s Singles category. o Saina Nehwal is the second Indian badminton player to achieve this feat, after legendary shuttler Prakash Padukone. He had achieved the top rank in 1980 in Men’s Single Category. o Saina is first Indian to win Olympics medal in Badminton and had won Bronze medal at the London Olympics 2012. o Union Government has conferred with prestigious Arjuna Award (2009), Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (2009– 2010) and Padma Shri (2010) for her contribution to sports.  Two-year-old girl Cherukuli D0lly Shivani from Vijaywada, has created new record in Archery and has entered her name into the India Book of Records.  Mahendra Singh Dhoni has become first Indian Cricket team Captain to register the 100 (ODI) match wins. o He was able to achieve this feat after Indian team defeated Bangladesh in the 2015 ICC World Cup quarter-final match by 109-run in Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Australia.  Union Government has selected legendary boxer and five-time world boxing champion MC Mary Kom as Brand Ambassador for the North East Region o Her full name is Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom and belongs Kom tribal community of the north-eastern state of . o Mary Kom is nicknamed Magnificent Mary. o Autobiography- Unbreakable. o She is also first Indian woman boxer to get a Gold Medal in the held at Incheon, South Korea.  India’s Dr. Alka Beotra has been nominated as a member of the World Association of Anti-Doping Scientists’ (WAADS) executive board. o She is only Asian in the six-member executive board of WAADS and will have tenure of 3 years starting from March 2015.  Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara became first batsman to score four consecutive one-day international (ODI) centuries in a Cricket World Cup.  Carolina Marin Martin of Spain has won the prestigious Women’s Singles Title in the All England Open Badminton Championships 2015.  South African cricketer AB De Villiers has the fastest 150 in one-day internationals (ODI’s). o He achieved this feat in 64 balls in World Cup Pool B match against West Indies held at Sydney.  West Indies opener batsman Chris Gayle created history by becoming the first batsman to score a double century in the World Cup.  India Cements has transferred the Indian Premier League (IPL) team- Chennai Super Kings Cricket (CSK) franchise to its new subsidiary Chennai Super Kings Cricket (CSKC) Limited.  35th National Games mascot Ammu- the Great Hornbill, has made into the Limca Book of Records. o It made into the record books owing to a play Kalikkunna Kuttikalkkayi Bharatham Kathirikkunnu (India Awaits Children Who Play). o The Great Hornbill is the State bird of Kerala and was selected as the Games Mascot to reflect state’s concern for conservation of this species which is facing extinction. o The feminine name Ammu was chosen for the mascot as a tribute to the women of Kerala and is a reminder that Kerala is proud to have a gender ratio which is tilted in favour of women – the only State in India  Indian Rupee symbol was designed by Udaya Kumar Dharmalingam.  The International Cricket Council (ICC) has cleared bowling action of Pakistan’s cricketer Saeed Ajmal.  Malaysia’s female professional squash player Nicol David has set a new record by topping the world squash rankings for 106th month. o She was also appointed as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) National Goodwill Ambassador for Malaysia.  Leander Paes and his Swiss teammate Martina Hingis have won mixed doubles title. o Serena Williams of United States has won Australian Open 2015 Women’s Singles title.  India is going to host International Cricket Council (ICC) World Twenty20 in 2016. o It was announced by ICC Board meeting chaired by Chairman N. Srinivasan held in Dubai. o England will host 2019 ICC World Cup.  Australian cricketer Sean Abbott has won Bradman young cricketer of the year award 2015. o Sean Abbott is the bowler, who was unwittingly at the centre of the tragic death of Phillip Hughes.  South African cricketer AB de Villiers has hit the fastest century and half-century in one-day internationals (ODI).  India’s Sania Mirza along with her American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands has won doubles title at the Tennis Tournament 2015. o It is one of the oldest professional tennis tournaments in the world, dating to 1885.  Indian cricket team has unveiled new eco-friendly ODI jersey ahead of the triangular series starting in Australia on 16 January 2015. o It is made out of 100% recycled polyester obtained from 33 recycled plastic bottles.  India’s open water swimmer Bhakti Sharma has set a new world record by swimming 1.4 miles in 52 minutes in one degree temperature in the Antarctic Ocean. o She is also the first Asian girl and youngest in the world to achieve this feat.  Haryana government has unveiled new sports policy named Haryana Physical Activities and Sports Policy-2015. o New sports policy, substantially increases the award money given to winners of international and national sports events.  Cristiano Ronaldo has won the FIFA Ballon d’Or award for year 2014. o He has earned this title of world’s best football player for a third time. o It is an annual football association award given by FIFA to the male player who has performed the best in the previous calendar year. o Inaugural 2010 FIFA Ballon d’Or was awarded to Lionel Messi  Tennis living legend Roger Federer has recorded 1000 titles wins in men’s professional circuit career.  is the third highest civilian award in India, after Bharat Ratna and . o It was established on 2 January 1954 by President and is awarded to recognized person for their distinguished service of a high order to the nation. o Every year it is announced on the occasion of Republic Day.  Bharat Ratna awardee and doyen of cricket Sachin Tendulkar has been named as the brand ambassador for ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.  Indian Golfer Arjun Atwal has won the Inaugural edition of US $500,000 Dubai Open Golf Championship title.  Indian women and men Kabaddi teams have won the 5th Kabaddi World Cup in their respective matches in the final held at Badal village in Sri Mukatsar district of Punjab.  Atletico de Kolkata has won the inaugural (ISL) football tournament by beating Kerala Blasters 1-0 in the finals held at DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai, Maharashtra. o The ISL football league was launched in 2013 to promote . It is supported by the AIFF (All India Football Federation). o ISL’s mission is to make India a global football power and promote the game so that India qualifies for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.  The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has banned Indian boxer Sarita Devi for one year. o She was banned for not accepting her bronze medal at Asian Games medal ceremony. She was also fined 1000 Swiss Franc for the act.  Five-time chess world champion has won his maiden 6th title.  Olympic Champions Germany has won the Champions Trophy Hockey title. o It is an international tournament organized by the International Hockey Federation. o It was established in 1978 by Pakistan’s Air Marshal Nur Khan and the Pakistan Hockey Federation.  , the 14-year-old prodigy from China, has created history by becoming the youngest player to win the men’s title in the IBSF World Championship.  Boxer Manoj Kumar was awarded prestigious Arjuna Award by Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in New Delhi. o Manoj Kumar is gold medalist. o Earlier, -led award selection committee had denied Manoj this award, due false belief that he was involved in a doping case. Instead of Manoj, the committee had recommended name of another boxer Jai Bhagwan for this award. o After he was sidelined, he took the legal route and filed a case in the against the ministry. He won this case and that led to the ministry accepting his nomination for the award.  Supreme Court while hearing on the Mudgal report Committee probe on IPL spot-fixing case has opine to terminate Indian Premier League (IPL) team Chennai Super Kings (CSK). o Gurunath Meiyappan- Chennai Super Kings team principal. o Srinivasan- Former President of BCCI and owner of CSK. o Sunder Raman- BCCI chief operating officer (COO).  Indian Women Boxer, has won Silver medal in the World Women’s Boxing Championships held in Jeju City, Korea.  ’s retained his title of World chess champion by defeating Indian opponent Viswanathan Anand. o Magnus Carlsen is a Norwegian chess grandmaster, No. 1 ranked player in the world and reigning World Chess Champion in classical, rapid, and blitz.  The 2014 will be a match between the current world champion, Magnus Carlsen, and challenger Viswanathan Anand  India has clinched their third South Asian women’s football (SAFF) championship.  Former India captain has been selected for Col. CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award as part of Board of Control for Cricket in India’s annual awards. o He has been conferred with this prestigious Lifetime achievement award for his contribution to Indian cricket. o Last year, former Indian all-rounder Kapil Dev was conferred with this award. The likes of , , , Salim Durrani and others have received this award in the past. o Dilip Vengsarkar is also known by the nickname ‘Colonel’.  Indian cricketer has made history by scoring the highest ODI score of 264 runs. o Sachin Tendulkar was the first Indian cricketer to reach double century landmark against in 2010. o The second one to do so was Virendra Sehwag who scored 219 against West Indies in the year 2011 o Third one was Rohit Sharma to score 209 runs against Australia in 2013.  Indian cricketer has become the fastest cricketer in the history to reach 6000 one-day international run mark. o He overtook legendary West Indian Vivian Richards’ record.  ICC Headquarter is in Dubai.  Cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and have been inducted into the Bradman Hall of Fame.  Thanks to its loss to Pakistan in a match of the Abu Dhabi Test Series, India dropped to sixth place in ICC’s Test rankingso.  USA’s Serena Williams defeated Romania’s to clinch the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore Singles title.  Zimbabwean national and Indian Sania Mirza won the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore Doubles title.  Pankaj Advani emerged the winner at the World Billiards Championship triumph in the 150-up points format  The Indian National hockey team coach is Terry Walsh.  India wins Sultan of Johor Cup title. India faced Great Britain at the Taman Daya Hockey stadium in Johor Bahru in Malaysia for the finals of the Sultan of Johor under 21 hockey Cup. o India successfully defended its 2013 win, and defeated Great Britain. This makes India the first team to the win the Sultan of Johor under 21 title twice.  The Hero Indian Super League (ISL) was launched amid festivities at Kolkata’s Salk Lake Stadium on October 12. o The ISL is a professional Indian football league. o The ISL was launched in 2013 to promote football in India. o It is supported by the AIFF (All India Football Federation). o ISL’s mission is to make India a global football power and promote the game so that India qualifies for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.  The world number 3 ranked Roger Federer, from Switzerland, defeated from France to win the Shanghai Masters Title. o This is the first Shanghai Masters title win for Roger Federer.  In the Champions League Twenty-20 final match, Chennai Super Kings defeated Kolkata Riders by 8 wickets to win the Champions League Trophy. o This is the second Champions League win for the Chennai Super Kings, who won earlier in 2010.  The Indian Women’s Kabaddi team defeated to the win the gold at the Asian Games. This is the second successive Asian Games win for the team since women’s kabaddi was introduced in 2010 in the Guanzhou Asian Games. o The Indian Men’s kabaddi team also won a gold at the Asian Games. India has won a gold consistently since the game’s introduction in the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing. This is the men’s team’s 7th successive win. o Kabaddi at the international level is governed by the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF), which was formed in 2004.  After a gap of 16 years, India defeated Pakistan in the Men’s Hockey finals of the Asian Games , to win the gold medal.  Boxer Mary Kom has won her first major goal of the ongoing Asian games at Incheon. She has become the first Indian woman boxer to win a gold at Asian games.  Second seeded Mirza and Myneni beat the top seeded Hsien Yin Peng and Hao Ching Chan of Chinese Taipei to win the gold in Mixed Doubles in tennis at the Asian Games in Incheon. o This is the third consecutive year that Sania has won in the mixed doubles category at the Asian Games.  31 year old Seema Punia, won India its first gold in the track and field events. o Discus throw is an ancient game with origins in Greece. It is part of the track and field events, and involves the competitor throwing a discus (a heavy disc) as far as they can.  In the 17th Asian Games , at Incheon, South Korera, the 31 year old came first place to win the gold medal in wrestling.  Tennis Woman’s World number one Serena Williams lifted her 3rd consecutive US Open trophy as she joined the elite club of Tennis legends and on 18 Grand Slam titles.  Sania Mirza and have clinched the US Open Grand Slam title. Sania Mirza won US Open mixed doubles title with her new partner Bruno Soares (Brazil).  16-year old Max Verstappen is set to create history by becoming the youngest ever Formula One (F1) driver.  Swiss tennis star Roger Federer achieved a new milestone as he became the first man to win 300 matches at the ATP Masters 1000 level.  India’s northern state of Himachal Pradesh has been selected as venue to host Paragliding World Cup 2015.  created history as he clinched Gold in the men’s singles badminton at 20th Commonwealth Games being held in , Scotland. With his gold medal, the country earned a fifth-spot finish with 64 medals, including 15 gold. o He created history by becoming the first Indian male shuttler in 32 years to win a gold in the Commonwealth Games. o Commonwealth Toppers: . England . Australia . Canada o The XXI Commonwealth Games will be held in Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia. o The Gold Coast’s creative concept in the Ceremony brought to life the three brand pillars of the Gold Coast – ‘The Place’, ‘The Event’ and ‘The Sport’. o The Commonwealth Games (known as the British Empire Games from 1930–1950, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games from 1954–1966, and British Commonwealth Games from 1970–1974) is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations  Italian Vincenzo Nibali won the 101st edition of Tour de France, becoming the first Italian in 16 years to win the championship. o The 2014 Tour de France began in Yorkshire, England  Sim Bhullar (21) has become the first player of Indian origin to join the National Basketball Association (NBA).  Novak Djokovic (Serbia) beat Roger Federer (Switzerland) in the final of 2014 men’s Wimbledon championship in a challenging contest.  Czech tennis star Petra Kvitova clinched her second Wimbledon title as she defeated Canada’s in a very short match.  Star Indian badminton player Saina Nehwal defeated Spain’s Carolina Marin to win the $750,000 Star Australian Super Series title.  World Champion Magnus Carlsen has become the first man in the to hold the Chess Crown by holding the World Blitz, Rapid, and Classic titles consecutively. o However, he is not the first player to have achieved this feat. Before him, Ms. did it back in 1996. o Polgar was the first chess player in the world to hold all three world titles in a row, reasonably making her the first player to hold a chess Triple Crown.  The Brazilian three-banded Armadillo (Tolypeutes tricinctus) which is FIFA World Cup 2014 mascot has been enlisted as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). o In Brazil it is locally known as “tatu-bola” as it can roll itself into a ball.  Olympic gold medal winner The Netherlands defeated Australia in the title clash at the Kyocera Stadium, Hague (The Netherlands)to win the women’s hockey World Cup.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi released commemorative postage stamps on FIFA World Cup 2014 that kick started in Brazil on the night of June 12, 2014. o India is also gearing up to host the under-17 FIFA World Cup.  Spaniard Rafael Nadal maintained his dominance in the French Open as he defeated Serbian Novak Djokovic in the final match.  Maria Sharapova won French Open women’s title after defeating Simona Halep in the final.  Brazuca– the balls to be used in the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Brazil- has been designed with six in-built HD cameras to capture 360 degree view of the on-field action.  Hockey pioneer and ‘Father of Malaysian Hockey’ is Sultan Azlan Shah.  Kerala Government has announced cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar as the Goodwill Ambassador for the 35th edition of National Games. o Mr. Chandy also announced the name of the Kochi franchise team owned by Sachin Tendulkar in the Indian Super League Football Tournament. The team will be called Kerala Blasters Football Club.  and is associated with Badminton. o China beats Japan to win Uber Cup  Real Madrid clinched the Champions League for a record 10th time beating Atletico Madrid in the final match held in Lisbon, Portugal.  The 2014 edition of Wiesden Cricketers’ Almanack recently published has retired legend Sachin Tendulkar on its cover. o Also simply called Wisden or colloquially “the Bible of Cricket” is a cricket reference book published every year in the UK. o Sri Lanka beat India to win its maiden Cricket World Cup T20 title.  Australia beat England to win their 3rd successive Women’s Cricket T20 World Cup (2014) title.  “Walk Again Project”: World Cup Soccer 2014, Brazil.  Novak Djokovic clinched 2014 Miami Masters title by defeating Rafel Nadal in the finals.  The British racer, Mr. Stuart Oliver won the Tata T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship (India’s first truck racing championship) at the Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida.  Hockey to become 60-minute game from Sept. 1, 2014 from the 70-minute game  Indian Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has been voted the cricketer of the generation by a 50-member jury of current and former cricketers and journalists. o The award is meant to honour the most outstanding cricketer between the years 1993 and 2013.  The public sector lender, Canara Bank announced cricketer Shikhar Dhawan as its brand ambassador.  The ICC World Twenty20 (also referred to as the ICC World T20 or the T20 World Cup) will be played in Bangladesh.  At the 7th Asian Air Gun Championship in Kuwait, India’s ace shooter Ms Heena Sidhu clinched the air pistol women’s gold medal and Chain Singh bagged a gold medal in men’s air rifle event.  The Indian cricketer Virat Kohli reclaimed the number one position in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen.  The India Premier League (IPL) 2014 season 7 will be held in the (UAE), Bangladesh and India o IPL is a Twenty20 cricket championship league in India. (Headquarter: Mumbai).  Sri Lanka won the 12th edition of Asia Cup Cricket Tournament 2014 by defeating defending champion Pakistan at Mirpur in Bangaldesh by five wickets. o Title sponsors: Arise India. o Powered by: Cycle Agarbathis  Indian shuttler, Arvind Bhat (34) defeated ’s World No. 25 Hans-Kristian Vittinghus to clinch the men’s singles title of the $120,000 German Open Grand Prix Gold. o This is the first time an Indian has won a German Open title in any category.  South Africa won the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2014 by defeating Pakistan.  Mr. Sourav Kothari won the National Billiard Championships held in .  The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXII Olympic Winter Games, held in Sochi, Russia. o Host nation Russia finished on top of the medal table by winning 33 medals in the tournament.  For the first time, India will host the World Bridge Championship for Bermuda Bowl (men) and Venice Cup (women) in 2015. o WBF President: Gianrrigo Rona of Italy.  The Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee submitted its report to the Supreme Court after investigating allegations of spot-fixing and betting in the Indian Premier League (IPL).  New Zealand’s Kathy Cross (56) became the first woman to be inducted in the International Cricket Council‘s (ICC’s) umpires’ panel.  Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni became the first captain to be involved in four One-Day Internationals (ODIs) ties.  Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka won his first Grand Slam title with victory over an injury-hit Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final. o Australian Open was founded in 1905. o •Held annually in January at Melbourne, Australia.  Indian ace shuttler Saina Nehwal clinched the Syed Modi International India Grand Prix Gold badminton title by defeating her compatriot P.V. Sindhu in the women’s singles competition.  The World and European champion Spain remains No. 1 for the 29th consecutive month in the FIFA men’s soccer rankings. o World Cup host Brazil is 10th.  Real Madrid forward footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo won the 2013 FIFA world’s best player award at FIFA Awards Ceremony in Switzerland. o He beat Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery of Bayern Munich to win the FIFA Ballon d’Or Award 2013.  As per a new poll conducted by YouGov for The Times, the co-founder of Microsoft and a billionaire philanthropist Mr. is the most admired person on the planet.  Ace archer created history by clinching her sixth consecutive title at the 34th National Archery Championships held at JRD Tata Stadium, Jamshedpur.  New Zealand’s cricket player Corey Anderson created a record by hitting the fastest century in One-Day International (ODI), reaching 100 in just 36 balls against the West Indies.  South India’s first high altitude cricket stadium built in Krishnagiri in the hilly Wayanad district by Kerala Cricket Association, inaugurated by state Governor Nikhil Kumar. o HPCA Stadium (Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium) in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh is situated at an altitude of 1,457 m (4,780 ft 2 in) above sea level.  Australia reclaimed the Ashes test series just four months after the last series defeat in England with a 3rd Test victory on home soil. o In 1882, Australia defeated England for the first time in Test on England’s soil. Following this, a British newspaper, The Sporting Times, published a satirical obituary stating that the English cricket had died, and the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia. The mythical ashes instantly became associated with the 1882–83 series played in Australia, before which the English skipper Ivo Bligh had vowed to “regain those ashes”. The English media therefore called the tour the quest to regain the Ashes.  As per the announcement of International Hockey Federation (FIH), Bhubaneswar, capital of Odisha will host the 35th edition of the Champions Trophy men’s hockey tournament to be held from December 13-21 in 2014. o The is an international field hockey tournament organized by the International Hockey Federation (since 1978). o Founder: Pakistan’s Air Marshal Nur Khan in 1978. o Pakistan is the only Asian champion, with 3 titles.  India clinched men’s Kabaddi World Cup 2013 for the fourth time in row, defeating its arch rival Pakistan in the neck and neck final clash played at Guru Nanak Dev Stadium in Ludhiana, Punjab.  Indian won women’s Kabaddi World Cup 2013 championship for a third consecutive time, vanquishing debutant New Zealand in the final match played at Guru Gobind Singh sports complex in Jalandhar, Punjab.  Mary Kom, the legendary boxer from North East wrote her autobiography titled “Unbreakable”. o The book was inaugurated by Bollywood Megastar at Mumbai. o Mary Kom: Five-time World Boxing champion, and the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six world championships. o Appointed the International Boxing Association’s Ambassador for Women’s Boxing in 2009  Mexican Formula One driver Sergio Perez signed a multi-year contract with the British-based team Sahara Force India. o Sahara Force India Formula One Team is a Formula One racing team based in Silverstone, United Kingdom which currently holds an Indian license. o The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and Michiel Mol.  India will host the 2017 Under-17 World Cup Football. This will be the first time India will host an international football competition at world level. o The 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup was held in the United Arab Emirates and won by Nigeria after defeating Mexico. o Chile will be the host country for the 2015 edition.  Star India Pvt. Ltd., the television network, bags sponsorship rights of the Indian cricket team covering BCCI events, International Cricket Council (ICC) events and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) events, from January 1, 2014 to March 31, 2017. o Previous sponsors wee Sahara India.  Sports goods manufacturer Adidas unveiled the new ball for 2014 World Cup – called the “Brazuca,” in honor of Brazil at a ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. o The word “Brazuca” has a dual meaning, used as a term for Brazilians living overseas – including its many footballers – but also as slang used to describe national pride or anything “Brazilianish”. o Previously, Adidas manufactured a ball named “Jabulani” for the FIFA World Cup 2010 in held in South Africa.  The Under-17 FIFA World Cup 2017 tournament will be hosted by India.  India’s rising badminton star P.V. Sindhu achieved another feat as she lifted the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold title by defeating Canada’s Michelle Li in the final clash, in Macau.  World No. 1 women’s tennis player Serena Williams (32) has been named WTA Player of the Year for 2013.  Magnus Carlsen – New King of Chess.  Sachin Tendulkar chosen for the prestigious Bharat Ratna (India’s highest civilian award). Thus Tendulkar will be the first sportsperson ever to be honoured with Bharat Ratna. o This year, Bharat Ratna is being given to Tendulkar along with Professor C.N.R.Rao, the man behind India’s maiden Mars mission.  India is hosting one of the most coveted chess battles- the World Chess Championship for year 2013 in Chennai. o A series of matches will be played between the defending world champion Viswanathan Anand (winner of the 2012 World Championship) and Magnus Carlsen (ranked No. 1 in the world), to determine the 2013 World Chess Champion.  The Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel won the Indian Grand Prix organized at the Buddh International Circuit in Noida, India.  India’s star Squash player Dipika Pallikal clinched the Macau Open title held at Macau, China.  The Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) awarded Star Private Ltd and ESPN with the cricket sponsorship rights for all international series and the domestic tournaments in India for the year 2013-14. o The right was previously with telecom giant Airtel.  India vanquished Malaysia to clinch Under-21 Sultan of Johor Cup hockey tournament in the year 2013.  Chief of the Odisha Cricket Association, Ranjib Biswal was appointed as the new Chairman of the IPL who succeeds Rajiv Shukla, who resigned at the end of his tenure.  Narayanaswamy Srinivasan has been re-elected as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for a third term.  The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare named former Indian cricket team captain as the brand ambassador for its National Tobacco Control Campaign.  The Border Security Force has appointed Indian cricketer Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador.  Mohammedan Sporting Club (MSC) of Kolkata won the football tournament. o The inaugural Durand Football Tournament was held at Simla in the year 1888 by Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, who was then, the Foreign Secretary to Government of India. o Durand is the third oldest football tournament in the world and oldest in Asia and India.  Thomas Bach (59) from Germany has been elected as the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).  World no.1 Serena Williams conquered her fifth US Open title by defeating second ranked to clinch her 17th career Grand Slam crown.  The pair of India’s Leander Paes and Czech’s Radek Stepanek clinched US Open men’s doubles title as they vanquished and Bruno Soares in the final held in New York.  The 2020 Olympic Games will be hosted by Tokyo as it has won the right to host the games, beating Istanbul in the second round of voting in Buenos Aires, Argentina. o Olympics 2016 will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  Food Security programme has been started in National capital Delhi. o The programme which involves distribution of foodgrains under the highly subsidized prices has begun at four places in the national capital.  England wins Ashes 2013 with 3-0 win over arch-rivals Australia.  US’ tennis star Serena Williams defeated Romania’s Sorana Cirstea in the final of the women’s Rogers Cupheld in Toronto to bag her 54th WTA singles title.  Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi (Born: February 9, 1993 (age 20))put up a brilliant performance to regain the Politiken Cup in Copenhagen, Denmark. o The youngest international Grandmaster in chess won the same tournament in 2009.  Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone has dropped India from the 2014 as the racing calendar for the coming year has been modified. The race organizers Jaypee Sports International Ltd. stated that the India will hold the Grand Prix in March 2015.  Britain’s Christopher Froome who belongs to Team Sky (28) has clinched the 100th edition of Tour de France title of 2013.  Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s childhood friend Santosh Lal , a first-class cricketer who invented helicopter shot passed away.  Parveez Rasool (24) created history by becoming the first cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to be named in the Indian team.  Russia who will be hosting 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi has announced to send an unlit Olympic torch into space. o The Russian Federal Space Agency will take the torch to the Soyuz TMA-11M manned spaceship in early November 2013 as part of the four-month torch relay.  As per the announcement made by the International Cricket Council (ICC), India will host the World T20 in 2016 and the 50-over World Cup in 2023.  The official mascot of the 35th National Games has been named ‘Ammu’ which is a hornbill. The games will be hosted by Kerala in November-December 2013. o First held in 1924 in Lahore under the name Indian Olympic Games, which was the birth of Indian Olympic movement  India defeated England in the final match played at Edgbaston in Birmingham city of Englnad to clinch the ICC Champions Trophy which was tournament’s last edition. o M S Dhoni has the unique record of being the first captain to win three world titles.  Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal defeated to win men’s French Open 2013 title. With this victory, Nadal now owns eight French Open titles.  World no.1 American tennis player Serena Williams defeated her Russian opponent Maria Sharapova to clinch the French Open 2013 women’s title.  and of Russia won their first Grand Slam title together by defeating defending champions and of Italy in the women’s doubles final of the French Open.  A bench of justices which is hearing a petition filed by ESPN TV channel which sought a direction to Prasar Bharati not to insist on the live signal of the ICC Trophy without any commercial, has directed ESPN to provide live signals of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2013 without any commercials. o The direction has been given so that Doordarshan would be able to telecast the ICC Champions Trophy 2013  American Twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan bagged their record 14th major doubles title by vanquishing Michael Llodra and Nicolas Mahut of France in the French Open men’s doubles final.  As per the Forbes latest rankings of the highest paid athletes in the world, India skipper M S Dhoni, with earnings of $31.5 million, has been ranked at 16th place as leaped 15 positions from his previous 31st rank in 2012.  US golfer Tiger Woods is at the pinnacle of the list with total earnings of $78.1 million last year.  ‘Treble Team’ is a term associated with football which refers to a team that wins three trophies in a single season. Man U is a Treble Team.  Indian capital, New Delhi will host famous Badminton championships– Thomas Cup and Uber Cup finals for the first time in May 2014. o Thomas Cup: Also called the World Men’s Team Championships o Uber Cup:Also called the World Team Championships for Women  Chris Gayle (the cricketer from West Indies) set a new record in Cricket when he hit the fastest century in the history of professional cricket during a cricket match of IPL (Indian Premier League) tournament at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, . o Chris Gayle playing for Team Bangalore (Royal Challengers Bangalore) hit an unbeaten with 175 off 66 balls with his 100 coming in just 30 balls, the fastest ever in Cricket history in any form of the game.  Sania Mirza joined as the fourth Vice-President of the freshly formed Tennis body in India : ITPA (Indian Tennis Players Association). o The 4 Vice-Presidents of the ITPA are: . Leander Paes . Mahesh Bhupathi . . Sania Mirza  Harmanpreet Kaur was named the Captain of the Indian women’s Cricket team, she replaced .  With his eighth career win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Tiger Woods reclaimed the world No.1 ranking for the first time since 2010.  Australia defeated hosts Malaysia to win the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey tournament for the seventh time.  World football’s governing body FIFA has announced that goal-line technology will be used during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. o A method to determine whether the Football has completely crossed the goal line or not. o On 5 July 2012, IFAB officially approved the use of goal line technology. o FIFA has already approved two systems – Hawk Eye and GoalRef. The Hawk Eye system, used in cricket and tennis, involves the strategic placing of cameras from different points within the stadium while GoalRef uses an electronic chip inside the ball. o The Critics (many from the FIFA itself) have pointed out that use of such a technology would affect the human element of the game and eliminate the joy of debating mistakes.  World chess champion Viswanathan Anand scored an emphatic victory over German Arkadij Naiditsch to clinch the Grenke Chess Classic trophy.  Angelo Mathews has been selected as Sri Lanka’s Test and one-day international captain for the rest of 2013.  Zhuang Zedong(72), Chinese ‘ping-pong diplomacy’ player passed away recently. o ‘Ping-pong’ = The game of Table tennis. o ‘Diplomacy’ = The art and practice of conducting negotiations between nations o Zhuang Zedong (72), famous Table Tennis star of China, is popularly called the “Architect of Ping-Pong Diplomacy”.  Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been appointed as vice- Cements, a company which is headed by BCCI President N Srinivasan.  World’s oldest marathon runner, 101-year-old Fauja Singh, from Ilford, east London.  American siblings Bob and Mike Bryan clinched the men’s doubles title in Australian Open 2013.  Belarus’ tennis star Victoria Azarenka vanquished Chinese opponent to clinch the 2013 title of Australian Open for the second successive time.  Indian cricket star Virat Kohli became the fastest Indian to score 4000 runs in One Day Internationals (ODIs). o Before Sourav Ganguly was the fastest Indian to score 4000 runs in ODI who had played 105 inning.  The International Olympics association has requested the discredited cyclist Lance Armstrong to return the Olympic bronze medal he won at the 2000 Sydney Olympics Games. o The cyclist was stripped off all the seven Tour de France medals he had won after a report from the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) accused him of leading a massive doping programme on his teams.  Lionel Messi added yet another feather in his cap as he won an unprecedented fourth, consecutive, Ballon d’Or at a FIFA gala in Zurich. o Lionel Andrés Messi is an Argentine footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He serves as thecaptain of his country’s national football team.  Virat Kohli has won the ‘CEAT international cricketer of the year’ 2011-12 award.  22-year old Bhakti Sharma from India is the youngest in the world to have crossed seven seas, including four oceans. o Besides, she is only the third person in the world to have swum across the Arctic Ocean, and is now targeting the Antarctic Ocean to become the youngest to swim in all five oceans.  Mike Hussey who is also called as ‘Mr Cricket’ for his consistency.  Sachin Tendulkar had announced his retirement on Dec 26, 2012 from One-Day format of cricket. It brings an end to his 23-year career in ODIs. o He had made his debut in this format against Pakistan in 1989.  The All India Football Federation (AIFF), during its annual General meeting, re-elected Praful Patel as its president.  Argentinean footballer Lionel Messi, popularly known as "The Flea", broke German great Gerd Mueller’s 40-year- old record for most goals in a year by scoring for the 86thgoal in 2012.  25 year old Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull became Formula One’s youngest triple world champion at the Brazilian Grand Prix.  Sachin Tendulkar conferred with the membership of the “Order of Australia”. He is the second.  Pankaj Advani of India beat defending champion Mike Russell of England to win seventh World Billiards Championship 2012 title.  Sun TV Network won the Hyderabad Franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for a sum of Rs 85.05 crore per annum.  First Skydiver to break Sound barrier: Felix Baumgartner from Australia. o The first skydiver to go faster than the speed of sound, reaching a maximum velocity of 1,342 km/h. o He also broke the record for the highest ever freefall, after he jumped from a balloon 39 kilometers above New Mexico