SPORTS JUNE 2015

SPORTS JUNE 2015

• India loses first ODI series to Bangladesh
  India on 21st June slumped to a new low as they suffered their first-ever ODI series defeat against Bangladesh following six-wicket defeat in the second match that gave the hosts an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Young Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rehman (6/43) yet again tormented the Indian batsmen with his second successive six-wicket haul as the visitors folded for 200 in 45 overs.
  
  The 19-year-old young left-arm pacer from Satkhira village became only the second bowler in ODI history to record two five-wicket hauls in his first two matches. Zimbabwe pacer Brian Vitori is the only other bowler to get two fifers in as many ODIs first up.
  
  India victory in third ODI: India beat Bangladesh by 77 runs in the third and final One Day International of a three-match series in Dhaka on 24th June. Bangladesh was chasing the 318 runs.
  
• Inderjeet and Jinson triumph
  Kerala’s two-lapper Jinson Johnson and Haryana’s shot putter Inderjeet Singh struck gold in the first leg of the Asian Grand Prix athletics on 22nd June.
  
• South Asian Games to be held from Dec 10-20
  The 12th South Asian Games will be held in Guwahati and Shillong from December 10th to 20th. The dates of the South Asian Games were decided in a meeting of Sports Secretary Ajit Sharan with state sports secretaries of Assam and Meghalaya in Delhi
  
• Indian team bags 10 medals in Asian Grand Prix Ath
  Reigning Asian champion shot putter Inderjeet Singh and 800m specialist Jinson Johnson bagged a gold each to contribute to India's 10-medal haul in the second leg of the Asian Grand Prix Athletics Series at Pathum Thani (Thailand) on 25th June.
  
  Asian Games 400m men's Bronze medallist Arokya Rajiv notched up his personal best of 45.81sec to take India's gold tally to three. Overall, the Indians finished with three Gold, two Silver and five Bronze medals to better their tally from eight in the first leg held at Bangkok.
  
  Long Jumper Ankit Sharma clinched his second Silver medal in the Asian GP Series with an effort of 7.80m (he jumped 7.78m in the first leg). M Gomathi bagged the Silver medal in the women's 800m, clocking 2:06:25 (she clocked 2:07.48 in the first leg) while in the women's 100m hurdles, Gayathri Govindraj won the Bronze medal with a timing of 13.66s while compatriot Meghana Shetty finished 6th, clocking 14.22s.
  
  Srabani Nanda also bagged her second bronze in the ongoing Asian GP Series, this time clocking 11.72 in the women's 100m sprint (she clocked 11.58s in the first leg). Her compatriot Archana finished 6th with a timing of 12.04s.
  
  Silver medalist in the 400m in the 2015 Asian Championships, MR Poovamma won the Bronze medal in the women's 400m race, clocking 52.72sec (53.51s in the first leg) while Anilda Thomas finished 5th, clocking 54.35 (53.51s in the first leg). India added two more Bronze medals to their kitty in the men's and women's 4x100m relays. The men's team finished with 39.60s while the women's 4x100m relay clocked 45.33s. In other results, young discus thrower Navjeet Kaur Dhillon had a best effort of 51.95m while women triple jumper NV Sheena finished 6th with 12.34m.
  
  In men's javelin throw, Devender Singh finished 4th on Thursday with a best throw of 73.73 metres, improving from his 6th-place finish in the previous leg where he had a best effort of 69.58 metres.
  
• Satnam Singh becomes the first Indian to be picked in NBA
  Satnam Singh Bhamara on 26th June created history by becoming the first Indian basket ball player to be drafted in the National Basketball Association(NBA) after being picked by Dallas Mavericks in New York. The 19-year-old hails from a remote village near Ludhiana in Punjab was the 52nd pick in the NBA Draft. Satnam, who was selected amongst the 60 young men will play basketball in the NBA next season. Satnam has represented the India national basket ball team at the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship and the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship. In April 2015, Satnam was declared for the 2015 NBA draft after not receiving any academic scholarships to play in the NCAA.
  
• Veselin Topalov won
  Veselin Topalov on 25 June 2015 won the Norway Chess tournament 2015 by leaving behind Viswanathan Anand into a quick draw. Topalov secured 6½ points while Anand ended the tournament in second place with 6 points.
  
• Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea win Mercedes Cup title in Stuttgart
  Indo-Romanian pair of Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea has clinched the men's doubles title at the Stuttgart Open. The fourth seeds took just an hour and 12 minutes to beat Austrian-Brazilian third seeds Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares in the final. This is the second title the two have won together, having won the clay-court Madrid Open last month.
  
• Nadal claimed clay and grass surface victories
  Spaniard Rafael Nadal becomes the first man to win titles at the event on both clay and grass surface as he was crowned the champion after defeating Serbian Viktor Troicki in the Single's final of the Stuttgart Open. The Spanish top seed defeated the Serb in straight sets. Nadal had claimed Stuttgart titles on clay in 2005 and 2007 and he won today at the newly established grass surface.
  
• ICC Test team rankings: India drop to fourth position
  India have dropped two points and one place to be at fourth position in the latest ICC Test team rankings after the drawn match against Bangladesh in Fatullah on 14th June. The Virat Kohli-led side went into the one-off Test against Bangladesh level with New Zealand on 99 points. With the match being marred by heavy rains, it did not let India have enough time to go for the victory despite forcing follow-on on the hosts. As the match ended in a draw, India have fallen to fourth spot with 97 points.
  
  It is now a three-way tie for the fourth spot with India, England and Pakistan on 97 points a piece. However, when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point, India is ahead of England and Pakistan. Sri Lanka is one point behind the trio in seventh position. Meanwhile, ninth-placed Bangladesh, as a consequence of the draw in Fatullah, have gained two points.
  
• Dhawan, Vijay rise, Kohli slips in ICC Test rankings
  Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay achieved career-best positions, but skipper Virat Kohli dropped out of the ICC rankings' top-10 after the drawn one-off cricket Test against Bangladesh in Fatullah. Vijay has moved up three places to 20th while Dhawan has vaulted 15 places to 45th. ICC said in a statement in Dubai that Ajinkya Rahane is the other notable mover, who has climbed up four places to a career-high 22nd to date. However, Kohli has slipped a rung to 11th.
  
  In the bowlers' chart, Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan have gained one place each and are now 12th and 16th, respectively. Meanwhile, Australia's Steven Smith became the second youngest batsman after Indian icon Sachin Tendulkar to achieve the number-one spot in the rankings for Test batsmen after stellar batting displays in the Kingston Test, which Australia won by 277 runs to win the series 2-0.
  
• India third in global doping report for 2013 by WADA
  India has been ranked third behind Russia and Turkey in a World Anti-Doping Agency Report for 2013. As many as 91 from the country tested positive for banned substances in that year.
  
  According to the 2013 Anti-Doping Rule Violations Report released by the WADA on June 15, Russia has the maximum number of dope offenders with 212 testing positive while the figures for Turkey were 155. Of the 91 Indians, 20 were women athletes.
  
  France came a close fourth with 90 dope cheats in the report compiled by the WADA based mainly on the information received from National Anti-Doping Organisations (NADOs). The comprehensive report, which dealt with testing of 207,513 samples, covered 115 nationalities and 89 sports. Among sports disciplines, track and field athletes lead the Indian dope cheats with 30 out of a global total of 280. Weightlifting comes second with 19 from the discipline caught for doping with nine wrestlers committing Anti-Doping Rule violation.
  
• French Open: Wawrinka wins Men's title
   Stanislas Wawrinka defeated Novak Djokovic to win his first French Open title. Wawrinka brought an end to Djokovic's 28-match winning streak as he claimed his second Grand Slam title. Djokovic had been hoping to become the eighth man to complete the set of all four major titles.
  
• Rahul Dravid named coach:Former captain Rahul Dravid has been appointed coach of the India A and Under-19 cricket teams
  
• Wawrinka climbs to 4th in world rankings after winning French Open
  Stanislas Wawrinka's maiden French Open title has helped him climb to the fourth spot in the latest world rankings. The Swiss, who moved up five places, is just one below his career best. The top three remain unchanged. Novak Djokovic, who was on the losing side in the Rolland Garros Final, continues to be world number one, while Roger Federer is second and Andy Murray third.
  
• India fail to qualify for 2018 FIFA World Cup
  In the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier match, Indian team gave a good fight before going down 1-2 against Oman at Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on 10th June. Oman, ranked 40 places above India in the FIFA chart at 101, scored through Qasim Said and Imad AlHosani, while Sunil Chhetri was on target for India with a superb goal in the 26th minute.
  
• Wesley Winfield: Veteran West Indies fast bowler Sir Wesley Winfield Hall was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. With this, he becomes 80th cricketer to be inducted in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame and 18th from West Indies itself. Sir Wesley Hall had played a total of 48 Tests in his one decade career spanning from 1958 to 1969. In his Test career, he took 192 wickets which included five wickets in an innings for 9 times and 10 wickets in a match on one occasion.
  
• SeppBlatter wins FIFA presidential election
  Despite the biggest corruption crisis in FIFA's history, the current President of FIFA, SeppBlatter of Switzerland manages to win a Fifth Term in the elections held at Zurich to the Governing Body of the World Football. Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan withdraws from the contest in second round. SeppBlatter claims to have a 'secret plan' to improve the rock-bottom reputation of world football's governing body.
  
• FIFA crisis: South Africa 'admits $10mn football payout'
  South Africa did pay 10 million dollar to a football body led by Jack Warner, a figure at the centre of FIFA corruption allegations. Danny Jordaan, head of South Africa's FA, is quoted as confirming that the amount was deducted from a FIFA payment to the country in 2008.
  
  A subsequent letter requested that money to be sent, instead, to the Caribbean Football Union, reports say. South African officials deny it was a bribe to secure the 2010 World Cup.
  
  But US prosecutors insist South Africa made an illegal payment after the government promised 10 million dollar to Mr Warner - then a FIFA Vice-President - in exchange for the "Rainbow Nation" becoming the first African country to host the World Cup. FIFA chose South Africa as host ahead of Morocco.
  
• Dilwar Singh wins 'Pedal for Kashmir' cycling race
  Dilawar Singh of Haryana, by defeating Mohammad Akbar Khan won 'Pedal for Kashmir' cycling competition, held along the banks of picturesque Dal Lake in Srinagar on 31st May. Singh took the title while Khan came runner up, followed by another local cyclist Mohammad AdilTeli.In the under-19 category for Boys, Mohit Kumar won the first prize.Wahid Ahmad Ganie was placed second, while Amir SadiqGojriin finished third. In the girls under-19 category, KomalDeshmuk from Maharashtra, beat local girl Bushra Ali to the first position.
  
• Centre to set up a training institute for youth at Majuli in Assam
  The Centre will set up a training institute for youth at river island Majuli in Assam, according to Union Sports minister SarbanandSonowal He also announced that Sports Authority of India will establish a Sports Extension Centre to hone sporting talent at Majuli.
  
• DeepikaKumari wins bronze in recurve event of World Cup
  Ace Indian archer DeepikaKumari has clinched the bronze medal in the women's individual recurve event of the World Cup. At Antalya, Turkey, on 31st May, she outclassed Chang Hye Jin of Korea in straight sets. Seeded ninth in the event, Deepika came out all guns blazing to deflate her second-seeded opponent 6-2 to come up with a clean performance. Korean archers won the Gold and the Silver in the event.
  
• Gurpreet Singh secures quota place in shooting for Rio Olympics
  Gurpreet Singh has secured India a fifth quota place in shooting for the Rio Olympics by finishing fourth in the Men's 10 metre Air Pistol final at the ISSF Shooting World Cup. In Munich on 31st May, Gurpreet scored 154 in the final. Gurpreet is the second Indian to have secured a Rio berth at the ongoing World Cup. AbhinavBindra, India's only individual Olympic gold-medallist, won a quota place with a sixth place finish in the Men's 10 metre Air Rifle final.
  
  GaganNarang, JituRai and ApurviChandela are the other Indians to have secured an Olympic quota place. Each country can win a maximum of 30 quota places from a total of 15 shooting disciplines (including shotgun events), two each from each discipline.
  
• Tendulkar, Ganguly, Laxman inducted in BCCI's advisory panel
  Former cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, SouravGanguly and VVS Laxman were on 1st June inducted into the BCCI's newly-constituted cricket advisory committee. The panel will guide the Board in all matters related to the game.
  
• Ravi Shastri to continue as Indian team director for Bangladesh tour
  Former captain Ravi Shastri was on 2nd June retained as director of the Indian cricket team for the tour of Bangladesh starting June 10 as the BCCI continued its search for a new permanent coach to succeed Duncan Fletcher.
  
  Shastri, who served as team director during the tour of Australia and the subsequent World Cup earlier this year, is a stop-gap arrangement for the short trip. Fletcher's tenure had ended earlier this year after the World Cup.Shastri represented India in 80 Tests and 150 ODIs for India and was part of the side, which lifted the 1983 World Cup.
  
• Blatter quits as FIFA chief
  SeppBlatter resigned as FIFA president on 2nd June, four days after being re-elected to a fifth term. Blatter was re-elected last week, despite seven top Fifa officials being arrested two days before the vote.Prince Ali, who was defeated by Blatter in the election, said he welcomed Blatter's decision, but that work was needed to change the world's view of FIFA.
  
  FIFA, which Blatter had ruled since 1998, was left reeling this week by the announcement of a U.S. investigation into alleged widespread financial wrongdoing stretching back for more than two decades.
  
  Swiss authorities also mounted their own criminal probe into the award of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar, respectively. Years of allegations of corruption in the vote that won it the 2022 cup, and of abuse of migrant workers, mean Qatar has struggled to convince world opinion of the justness of its cause.
  
• Inderjeet wins gold in shot put in Asian Athletics C'ships
  India has opened it’smedal account in the 21st Asian Athletics Championships in China with a Gold. At Wuhan on 3rdJUne, field star Inderjeet Singh bagged the yellow metal in men's shot put event. Inderjeet heaved the iron ball to a new championship record of 20.41 metres, which he achieved in his fourth attempt.
  
  The left-handed Haryana shot putter has already qualified for next year's Rio Olympic Games. He has become only the eighth Indian shot putter to win a gold medal in the history of Asian championships. Chang Ming-Huang of Chinese Taipei won the silver, while TianZizhong of the home country bagged the bronze.
  
• 92-year-old cancer survivor becomes oldest woman to finish marathon
  A 92-year-old cancer survivor has become the oldest woman to finish a marathon. Harriette Thompson of Charlotte, North Carolina in US, completed the Marathon in San Diego in 7 hours, 24 minutes and 36 seconds. The oldest woman to previously complete a marathon was Gladys Burrill, who was 92 years and 19 days old when she completed the 2010 Honolulu Marathon.
  
• Ravi inducted into ICC Elite Panel of Umpires
  Sundaram Ravi on 4th June became the first Indian after S. Venkataraghavan to be inducted in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Elite Panel of Umpires following an annual review and selection process.New Zealand’s Chris Gaffaney and Ravi were promoted from the International Panel of Umpires to the Elite Panel, replacing Kiwi veteran Billy Bowden and the retiring Steve Davis
  
  The Elite Panel of Umpires for 2015-2016 will be: Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker and Bruce Oxenford.
  
  Ravi has umpired in six Tests, 24 ODIs and 12 T20Is, since making his international debut in Visakhapatnam in December 2011 in an ODI between India and the West Indies.Both Ravi and Gaffaney umpired in the World Cup earlier this year in Australia and New Zealand.
  
• French Open: Djokovic stuns nine-time champion Nadal
  Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in straight sets to oust the nine-time champion from his favourite Grand Slam. Defending champion Djokovic beat the Spaniard. Djokovic became only the second man to beat Nadal at the French Open. The Serbian will now face Andy Murray of Scotland in the last four, who beat another Spaniard David Ferrer in quarter final. In Women's Singles, World Number one Serena Williams crushed Italian Sara Errani to reach the semi-finals of the French Open.
  
• MR Poovamma clinches silver in Asian Athletics Championships
   At the ongoing Asian Athletics Championships in China, M R Poovamma has clinched a Silver in the 400 metres event. At Wuhan on 4th June, she clocked 53.07 seconds in the race. For the Kodagu-born athlete, it is her second consecutive silver at the Asian Championships after her silver at the 2013 edition which was held in Pune.
  
  This is India's second medal in the Athletics Championships after Inderjeet Singh won Gold in the shot put event on Day One of the competition 4th June.
  
• Barcelona makes history with second European treble
  Luis Suarez and Neymar scored second-half goals to give Barcelona Champions League final victory over Juventus as the Spaniards became the first team to twice win the European treble. Luis Enrique capped his first season as Barcelona's head coach by matching Pep Guardiola's feat from the 2008/09 season when the Catalans captured the European, Spanish league and cup titles.
  
  Juventus suffered the indignation of becoming the first team to lose six European Cup finals, 30 years after winning the trophy for the first time amidst the tragedy of the Heysel Stadium disaster. This was the fifth time Barcelona have been crowned European champions and it is their fourth Champions League title in the last decade after their 2006, 2009 and 2011 triumphs.
  
• Serena wins Fench Open
  Serena Williams won a dramatic French Open final against Czech 13th seed Lucie Safarova to claim her 20th Grand Slam title. Safarova, playing her first Grand Slam final, led by a break in the decider but Williams won the last six games.
  
  She has become the third player - male or female - to win 20 major singles titles. Only Germany's Steffi Graf on 22 has won more since the open era began in 1968, with Australia's Margaret Court collecting 24 between 1960 and 1973. Victory at Wimbledon in July would see Williams hold all four major titles at once, having managed the feat already in 2003.