SPORTS JULY 2013

SPORTS JULY 2013

• Devendra Jhajharia created history by becoming the first differently-abled Indian to win a gold at the IPC Athletics World Championships as he bagged the yellow metal in javelin throw in the sixth edition of the event in Lyon, France on 22nd July.Jhajharia, also a world record holder in the event which he created while winning gold in the 2004 Athens Olympics, hurled the javelin to 57.04m in F-46 category, meant for one-armed athletes, at the Rhone Stadium. The 32-year-old Rajasthan athlete, whose world record stands at 62.15m, led the 11-athlete field from the very beginning as he opened with a throw of 54.71m. He came up with his best of 57.04m in his sixth and last throw.
  
• Ace Iranian thrower Mirshekari Abdolrasoul won the silver with a throw of 52.62m while Ismail Mahmoud of Egypt was third in 50.22m. With Jhajharia’s effort, India opened their medal account in the Championships organized by International Paralympics Committee and now stands at 19th in the medal tally.
  
• India is represented by a 10-member contingent in the July 19-28 Championships. All 10 athletes have qualified with ‘A’ standard. IPC President Sir Phil Cravon and CEO Xavier Gonzalez congratulated Jhajharia on his achievement. Paralympics Committee of India President Sultan Ahmed said Jhajharia will be felicitated when he returns home. The PCI also announced a cash award of Rs 5 lakh for Jhajaria.
  
• The 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships, featuring over 1,000 athletes from nearly 100 countries, is the biggest gathering of international differently-abled athletes since the 2012 London Olympics. Meanwhile, The Paralympic Committee of India announced a cash prize of Rs five lakh for Javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia on 22nd July.
  
• India’s K. Jennitha Anto on 24 July, became the World chess champion for the disabled after winning the 13th IPCA World women’s individual championship in Velke Losiny, Czech Republic.Hailing from Tamil Nadu, Jennitha scored 4.5 points from nine rounds after winning three, drawing three, and losing three games. She competed in a combined group with men and became the highest scorer among the woman players and was awarded the IPCA women’s title. Two Russian women finished tied with Jennitha on points but a higher buchcholz score helped her win the title. The triumph was more special for Jennitha as she also became a Woman International Master (WIM). The new WIM title would allow her direct entry into many National events for women, except the premier tournament. The event attracted 49 physically challenged players from 15 countries.
  
• Chris Froome from Britain on 21 July 2013 has won the 100th edition of the Tour de France. It was Britain's second successive victory in the race. Earlier in year 2012 Sir Bradley Wiggin became the first Briton to win Tour de France. The Tour de France is an annual multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in France while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. The race was first organized in 1903 to increase paper sales for the magazine L'Auto.
  
• India continues to reign at the top of the table in International Cricket Council’s latest ODI ranking released on 25 July 2013.With 122 rating points, India is the number one team followed by Australia with 114 and England with 112 points. The latest ODI rankings were released by the ICC in Dubai. Among the batsmen, South Africa’s Hashim Amla replaces countryman AB Devilliers at the top. India’s Virat Kohli has maintained his position at number three while skipper Dhoni is at number six.
  
• 32 Year old Swiss tennis legend Martina Hingis was inducted in Tennis Hall of Fame on 13 July 2013. With the induction she became the fourth youngest members to be included in the tennis hall of fame., followed by Tracy Austin (30), Bjorn Borg (31) and Hana Mandlikova (32).She had won three Australian Open titles (1997, 1998, 1999), one Wimbledon (1997) and a US Open title (1997). She held the number one ranking for 209 weeks. She also won nine grand slam doubles titles and a mixed doubles title.
  
• The clamour may have been for Sachin Tendulkar, but the Sports Ministry has recommended hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand for the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civillian honour."The letter recommending Bharat Ratna for Dhyan Chand has already been sent to the Prime Minister," Sports secretary P. K. Deb said."The Ministry has only recommended Dhyan Chand's name for the highest honour," he added. Before for the hockey wizard can be conferred the award posthumously, the recommendation, sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will be studied before it goes for approval to President Pranab Mukherjee. Dhyan Chand won three gold medals at the Olympics – 1928 in Amsterdam, 1932 in Los Angeles and 1936 in Berlin. He passed away in 1979. The government, in 2011, ignored a plea of 82 Members of Parliament, who recommended Dhyan Chand's name for the Bharat Ratna, but in January 2012, the Ministry itself forwarded his name along with that of Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra and mountaineer Tenzing Norgay for the award. And, Tendulkar was not considered as the Board of Control for Cricket in India had not recommended him.
  
• Former world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta has won the 19th edition of Commonwealth Chess Championship title, Which held at Boardwalk in Port Elizabeth in Republic of South Africa. The South African President Jacob Zuma handed the Gold medal to 23 year old Abhijeet Gupta. So far, Abhijeet has won 20 medals representing India at World, Asian and Commonwealth Chess Championships in sub-junior, junior and senior categories. Nearly 900 participants from 29 countries participated in the event. Amongst the women in the open section, WGM Soumya Swaminathan won the Silver,while national women’s champion Mary Ann Gomes won the bronze.The Indians also clean swept the junior section with G. Akash winning the gold, Sahaj Grover getting the silver and Rakesh Kulkarni ending with the bronze medal.
  
• Two of the sport’s biggest names Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell had failed drugs tests and tested positive for an Unidentified Substance at an out-of-competition test on 16 May 2013. 30 years old Gay is the second fastest man of all time and has run the three quickest 100m times of 2013, but tested positive for an unnamed substance. Asafa Powell on the other hand has clocked 9.88s but was not selected in Jamaica World Championships team to travel to Moscow in August 2013.The banned drug is named oxilofrineand is a stimulant used to boost the body's ability to burn fat. It helps athletes to boost their power-to-weight ratio with more lean muscle and less fat, and so increase their speed.
  
• India on 11 July 2013 won the West Indies Tri-Nation Series 2013 – Final after defeating SriLanka with 1 wicket at Port of Spain in Trinidad. Mahendra Singh Dhoni captained the Indian Side in the tri-nation series, whereas, AD Mathews was the captain of the Sri Lanka. Player of the match won by MS Dhoni (India),whereas,Player of the series won by B Kumar (India)
  
• Former Australia spinner Shane Warne will be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame on July 19 during the tea interval of the second Ashes Test between England and Australia at Lord's. Warne becomes the 69th male member of the Hall of Fame, and joins fellow 2012-13 inductees Brian Lara of the West Indies, England's Enid Bakewell and former Australia team-mate Glenn McGrath in being recognised by the ICC and the living members of the Hall of Fame.Lara and Bakewell were inducted last year at the ICC Awards in Colombo in September, and McGrath during the Sydney Test between Australia and Sri Lanka in January this year. Warne represented Australia in 145 Tests between 1992 and 2007, claiming 708 Test wickets at an average of 25.41. He was the first cricketer to reach 700 Test scalps.He also played in 194 ODIs, claiming 293 wickets at an average of 25.73 and was part of the Australia side that won the World Cup in 1999 at Lord's against Pakistan alongside fellow Hall of Famers Glenn McGrath and Steve Waugh.
  
• Lajja Goswami on 9 July 2013 won silver medal in women's 50-metre Rifle 3 Position event at the ISSF World Cup in Granada, Spain. Petra Zublasing of Italy won the gold after scoring 459.1 in the medal round. 24-year-old Lajja Goswami, hails from Gujarat and is a silver medalist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Lajja Goswami had teamed up with Tejaswani Sawant to win silver in pairs 50-m rifle 3 position at the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010.
  
• In the Women's Singles category of Wimbledon, Marion Bartoli of France on 6 July 2013 won her maiden Grand Slam title. 23rd seed Sabine Lisicki of Germany lost to Bartoli andin the finals, 1-6, 4-6. Marion Bartoli is 28 years old. She is the fifth oldest woman to become a first time major winner in the Open Era. While, Andy Murray on 7 July 2013 defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 at Center Court of London to become the first Briton in 77 years to win the Men’s Singles Title at Wimbledon 2013. Wimbledon was held from 24 June to 7 July 2013 in London. The 26-year-old became the Britain’s first male winner after almost eight decades, to win the championship. Earlier it was Fred Perry, who won the Championship in 1936. Daniel Nestor of Canada and Kristina Mladenovic of France defeated Bruno Soares of Brazil and Lisa Raymond of USA to win Mixed Doubles – Final at Centre Court.
  
• Andy Murray ended Britain's agonizing 77-year wait for a Wimbledon men's singles champion on 7 July, when he destroyed world number one Novak Djokovic, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in the blistering heat of the All England Club. The 26-year-old became the country's first male winner since Fred Perry in 1936. It was Murray's second Grand Slam title to follow his breakthrough triumph at the US Open in 2012 which followed his Olympic gold medal as well as a heartbreaking, tearful loss to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final.
  
• In the Women's Singles category of Wimbledon, Marion Bartoli of France on 6 July 2013 won her maiden Grand Slam title. 23rd seed Sabine Lisicki of Germany failed to match Bartoli and lost in title clash in straight sets, 1-6, 4-6. Marion Bartoli is presently French no. 1. She has won one singles major, seven other Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles.
  
• Brazil won the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013on 30 June 2013 against Spain in the final match. Brazil won 3-0 against FIFA World Cup holders Spain. On the Brazilian side, two goals were scored by Fred and one was scored by Neymar. Brazil won the FIFA Confederations Cup for the third time. Earlier, it had won the Cup in the year 2005 in South Africa, 2009 in Germany and 1997 in Saudi Arabia. Fernando José Torres of Spain was awarded with the Golden Boot Award, while Fred of Brazil won the Silver Boot Award. The Bronze Boot Award was given away to Neymar. Italy defeated Uruguay on penalties and secured the third place. The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth cup, held at Brazil from 15 June to 30 June 2013.