SPORTS OCTOBER 2015

SPORTS OCTOBER 2015

• South Africa won the series 3-2
  South Africa has defeated India by 214 runs in the fifth and final ODI at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. With this victory, South Africa won One day international series with 3-2. In the match: 
  • Hashim Amla (South Africa) became the fastest batsmen to 6,000 ODI runs
  • It was the first time South Africa won a bilateral ODI series in India.
  
  
• Lee Chong Wei clinches 3rd French Int'l Badminton title
  In Paris, former world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia clinched his third French International Badminton title win over Taiwan's Chou Tien Chen.
  
• India steady at 2nd spot, Virat Kohli rises in ICC ODI rankings
  India have held on to their second spot in the team list in the latest ICC ODI cricket rankings issued today, despite the series loss to South Africa in the just concluded ODI series.
  
  The Proteas retained their third position in the rankings following the 3-2 series victory, which concluded with a mammoth 214-run victory in Mumbai
  
  In the ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen, star batsman Virat Kohli rose up a rung to second in the table. South Africa skipper de Villiers retained his number one ranking, and is now 96 points clear of Kohli. Hashim Amla has dropped three places to fifth, while Skipper M S Dhoni has moved up two places to sixth.
  
  In the ICC Players Rankings for ODI Bowlers, Australia's Mitchell Starc has returned to the top of tree as Imran Tahir has slipped four places in the top 10. Dale Steyn has dropped one place to sixth, although Morne Morkel has climbed three places to eighth. R Ashwin has dropped a place to be ranked 10th.
  
• Deepika Kumari bags silver in Archery World Cup Final
  Deepika Kumari has bagged the Silver medal in recurve event at the Archery World Cup Final in Mexico City. This was Deepika's fourth World Cup Final silver after being runner-up at Istanbul 2011, Tokyo 2012 and Paris 2013, an unparalleled achievement in consistency on the circuit.
  
• Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurates Games Secretariat of 12th SAF Games in Shillong
  Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs & Sports, Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated Games Secretariat of the 12th South Asian Federation Games -2016 at J. N. Sports Complex, Polo Ground in Shillong. Out of 23 sports disciplines in the 12th South Asian Games 2016, 8 disciplines will be held in Shillong while the other 15 disciplines will be held at Guwahati.
  
• 16th National Women Boxing Championship kicks off in Assam
  The 16th National Women Boxing Championship kicked off at Bongaigaon in Assam on 28th October with preliminary matches.
  
• Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis secure year-end number one doubles ranking
  Indo-Swiss pair of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis has secured the Year-End Women's Tennis Association (WTA) number one doubles ranking on 31st October. The duo also received a trophy in acknowledgment of their superb feat.
  
  Sania and Martina, as a pair, have won 8 titles this season, with two Grand Slam titles the Wimbledon and US Open, five WTA Premier Titles and one WTA International title.
  
  The pair also reached their 10th final of the year together today. The number one pair, stormed into Final of the year-ending WTA Finals in Singapore.
  
  The duo defeated the third placed Chinese Taipei duo of Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-Jan, 6-4, 6-2 in the semi finals. With this win, the Indo-Swiss pair of Mirza-Hingis improved their winning streak to 21 matches.
  
• P V Sindhu finishes Runner-up at Denmark Open Badminton
  India's PV Sindhu has ended as Runner-up in the Denmark Open Badminton tournament. At Odense, Denmark, on 18th October, Sindhu who was unseeded in this tournament lost to the reigning Olympic champion China's Xuerui Li in the title clash.
  
• IPL to get 2 new teams, China’s Vivo Mobiles as new title sponsor
  The Board of Control for Cricket in India decided to float tenders for two teams to replace the suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, which will return to the Indian Premier League in 2018. The BCCI Working Committee decided not to axe CSK and RR, serving a two-year suspension recommended by the apex court-appointed Justice RM Lodha panel for involvement in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal.
  
  The BCCI committee also confirmed beverage giant PepsiCo Inc’s exit as title sponsor of IPL and its replacement by Chinese mobile phone maker Vivo Mobiles up to 2017. While BCCI did not disclose the deal amount, sources in the know said Vivo could be paying Rs. 80 crore for two years.
  
  The BCCI said Vivo will have to give the bank guarantee in the next 10 days. The brand, which entered India in 2014, reportedly has presence across 200 cities.
  
• Virender Sehwag announces retirement
  Veteran batsman Virender Sehwag has formally announced his retirement from international cricket, more than two-and-a-half years on from his last appearance for India.
  
  This brings down the curtains on a remarkable career in which he scored 17,253 international runs across formats.
  
  Sehwag is the only Indian batsman to score a triple-century in Tests, and he did it twice.
  
  With 8586 runs from 104 Test matches, Sehwag stands at fifth in India's all-time list. In ODIs, he scored 8273 runs, with 15 centuries including the second-highest individual score of 219. In 19 Twenty20 internationals, the right-hander made 394 runs. Aside from all those runs, Sehwag took 40 wickets in Tests and 96 in ODIs.
  
  His last Test was in March 2013 against Australia in Hyderabad and his last ODI came against Pakistan in January 2013. He lost his place in the T20 team in 2012.
  
• Govt appoints VK Malhotra as head of All India Council of Sports
  Government has appointed veteran sports administrator VK Malhotra as head of the All India Council of Sports. Mr Malhotra, who quit as President of Archery Association of India after 40 years at the helm of affairs, will be given an equivalent rank of a Minister of State in the Union Council of Ministers.
  
  The Council will be an advisory body for the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and will advise the Ministry on matters relating to the promotion and development of sports and games in the country.
  
• Pakistan withdraws from next year's blind Asia Cup in India
  Pakistan on 21st October withdrew from the Asia Cup for blind cricketers to be held in India next year, claiming threats to the security of the players due to the protests faced by visiting Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials. The Chairman of the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council Sultan Shah said that they would not be sending their team to India next year for the Asia Cup due to the current sentiments and environment in India.
  
  The Pakistan Blind team has in the past traveled to India for major events. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Olympic Association has also said that it would take up the issue of security of Pakistan contingent in the South Asian Games which will be held in India also in January next year.
  
• Saina Nehwal loses her World No.1 crown
  Ace India shuttler Saina Nehwal on 22nd October lost her World No.1 crown to All England and World Champion Carolina Marin of Spain. This follows Saina's early second round exits at the recent Japan Open and Denmark Open tournaments. In the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) ranking list released, Saina dropped to No.2 spot. P V Sindhu, who reached her maiden Super Series final at Denmark Open remains static at World No.13.
  
  In Men's singles, Kidambi Srikanth, Parupalli Kashyap and H S Prannoy slipped down the rankings chart to No.8, 10 and 17 respectively.
  
• India wins Hockey series against New Zealand
  India won the four-test men's hockey series against New Zealand 2-1 after a 1-1 draw in the final test in Christchurch on 12th October. After losing the first match of the series in Nelson against the hosts, India came back strongly to register back-to-back wins in the last two games, leaving New Zealand stunned.
  
• Pacer Zaheer Khan bids adieu to international cricket
  Zaheer Khan, one of India's greatest fast bowlers has on 15th October bid adieu to international cricket, admitting that he could no longer handle the rigours of the game.
  
  He has played 92 Test matches, 200 ODIs and 17 T20 Internationals has been in and out of the team in the last three to four years due to recurrent injuries which a took a toll on his body. In 92 Test matches, Zaheer has taken 311 wickets and is fourth highest wicket-taker in longer version amongst Indians. He picked 282 wickets in 200 ODIs he played besides 17 wickets from as many Twenty20s. He played a major role in India's 2011 World Cup triumph with 21 wickets in the tournament.
  
• Sindhu enter into Super Series final
  Indian shuttler P V Sindhu on 17th October made it to her maiden Super Series final with a stunning upset victory over reigning world champion Carolina Marin of Spain in the Denmark Open.
  
  Sindhu, a twice bronze medallist in World Championships, will now take on former world number one and reigning Olympic champion Li Xuerui -- ranked fourth in the tournament.
  
• Shashank Manohar is new BCCI President
   Shashank Manohar was on 4th October elected as the BCCI president in the special general meeting of the BCCI. He resolved to take many steps for the welfare of the cricket.
  
• Portugal’s Pinto wins Asia’s premier mountain biking race
  Luis Leao Pinto of Portugal wins Asia’s premier mountain biking race and get the crown of ‘King of the Himalaya’ for the second time. He took time of 27:29:22 in the 600 km long 7 stages biking race completed in capital Shimla of Himachal Pradesh. He won this crown in the year 2013 earlier also. The other two top riders in the Solo Men’s category were Andi Seewald of Germany and Pau Zamora of Spain. All of them have neck-to-neck race.
  
• India vs SA T20: Team India washed out at Cuttack
  South Africa outplayed India by 6 wickets in the second Twenty20 International, as the visitors took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match cricket series, in Cuttack on 5th October.
  
• Sergey Karjakin wins 2015 World Cup Chess Championship
  Youngest ever GM Sergey Karjakin of Russia annexed the World Cup Chess Championship defeating compatriot Peter Svidler in a thrilling finale.
  
• China Open: Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis win women's doubles title
  The Indo-Swiss pair of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis has won the women's doubles title at the China Open Tennis tournament. In the final in Beijing on 10th October, the pair defeated the Chinese Taipei duo of Yung-Jan Chan and Hao-Ching Chan in three sets. For the Indo-Swiss pair it is their eighth title this season.
  
• Vijender Singh wins debut professional bout
  Vijender Singh begins his professional boxing career with a bang, knocks out British Boxer Sonny Whiting in the widely anticipated bout held in Manchester. Singh, the 2008 Olympic Bronze Medalist, makes his long-awaited glittering professional debut with a victory against the experienced Whiting over four rounds in the middleweight division.
  
• India's Gurpreet bags silver, Rai grabs bronze at Asian Air Gun Championship
  In the ongoing Asian Air Gun Championship, India bagged a silver and a bronze on 29th September. In the finals of 10 metre Air Pistol event, Gurpreet Singh shot a tally of 197.6 to stand second on the podium as Asian Games Gold Medallist Jitu Rai shot 177.6 to finish third. The gold in the event was taken by Boroujeni Safari of Iran with a tally shot of 198.7.
  
  This is now the third straight day that India would have a shooter on the podium. Abhinav Bindra clinched the gold in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle event on Sunday while Ayonika Pual won the bronze in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle event.
  
• Heena clinches gold medal in women's 10 metre air pistol event
  Former world number one Heena Sidhu has clinched the gold medal in women's 10 metre air pistol event at the 8th Asian Air Gun Championships in New Delhi.
  
  Heena shot a total of 197.8 to win the top prize in the final. India also had the silver medal in the kitty as Shweta Singh came second in the day's marquee event aggregating 197.0. Korean shooter Seon A Kim took the bronze with a total score of 175.8.
  
• MC Mary Kom to hang up gloves after 2016 Olympics
  Mary Kom has finally made up her mind to hang up her gloves after the 2016 Olympics in Rio. The boxing queen said that after retiring she would devote all her time to the "Mary Kom Regional Boxing Foundation" that was set up in 2006. The hunger for an Olympic gold motivated her to continue boxing at the top level, but ace pugilist MC Mary Kom has finally made up her mind to hang up her gloves after the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
  
• Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis win Wuhan Open title
   Ace Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis have won the Wuhan Open women's doubles trophy. In the title-clash in Wuhan on 3rd October, the top-seeded pair easily overcame the Romanian team of Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Niculescu. With this win, the Indo-Swiss pairing has seven WTA doubles titles together this year.
  
  The duo earlier won the Indian Wells, Miami, Charleston, Wimbledon, the US Open and Guangzhou Open events. The pair will next play the China Open in Beijing, where they have been given the top billing. Meanwhile, Venus Williams has won the Wuhan Open Singles crown, her biggest title in five years. Venus emerged the winner when her opponent, Garbine Muguruza of Spain, retired due to exhaustion.
  
  Williams took the first set and was three points up when the Spaniard stopped play at 53 minutes, handing the American veteran the 47th title win of her career. It was also her first victory at a WTA Premier Five event since she beat Victoria Azarenka in 2010 in Dubai.