Sports Current Affairs

· Ace Indian badminton player PV Sindhu defeated China’s He Bingjiao to win the bronze medal in the women’s singles event at the Tokyo Olympics on August 01, 2021. With this win, Sindhu scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman and the only second Indian athlete to win two Olympic medals in individual events.

· Esteban Ocon, Alpine-Renault/ France, has won the Hungarian Grand Prix 2021, held on August 01, 2021, at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, Hungary. This is the maiden F1 race win for Esteban Ocon. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin-Mercedes/Germany) came second. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) finished third.

· Sri Lanka left-arm seam bowling all-rounder, Isuru Udana has announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect. Udana had a very modest international career with sporadic appearances over 12 years in which he played only 21 ODIS and 35 T20 Internationals with just 45 wickets to show for his efforts.

· Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs outshone a field of unusual suspects to claim a shock Olympic gold in the men’s 100 metres, breaking retired Jamaican star Usain Bolt’s 13-year hold on the blue-riband event. American Fred Kerley took silver in a personal best of 9.84 with Canada’s Andre de Grasse repeating his bronze of 2016 in 9.89, also a new best.

· Elaine Thompson-Herah led a Jamaican sweep in the women’s 100 meters at the Tokyo Summer Games, capturing gold in an Olympic-record time of 10.61 seconds.

· Germany’s Alexander Zverev beats Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3 6-1 to win the men’s singles gold at the Tokyo Olympics. He became the first German man to win singles Olympic gold.

· United States clinched an exhilarating 1-0 extra-time win over defending champion Mexico to claim a seventh CONCACAF Gold Cup. Just three minutes were left in extra time when the US defender head-butted a cross by Kellyn Acosta past Mexican goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera.

· Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Singh Thakur launched the theme song for the Indian Paralympic contingent in New Delhi. The song is titled “Kar De Kamaal Tu”. The composer and singer of the song is Sanjeev Singh, a Divyang cricket player from Lucknow. 54 para-sportspersons across 9 sports disciplines are participating in Paralympic Games in Tokyo, beginning August 24, 2021.

· Indian Boxer, Lovlina Borgohain has failed to reach the gold medal final match. She settles for a bronze medal. This is India’s third medal of the ongoing Tokyo Olympics. She lost to Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey by unanimous decision in the women’s welterweight (69 kg) semifinal at Tokyo 2020.

· Indian men’s hockey team defeated Germany to win their first-ever Olympic medal in 41 years. India wins the bronze medal in men’s hockey after beating Germany 5-4 at Tokyo Olympics. Before this podium finish for bronze, India last climbed up the Olympic podium in 1980, when it won its 8th gold at the Games.

· Indian wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya bagged the silver medal after losing in the final of men’s 57kg freestyle category to Russian Olympic Committee’s (ROC) Zavur Uguev. This is India’s fifth medal at the Tokyo Olympics and the second silver of the campaign. Ravi Kumar is the fifth Indian wrestler after KD Jadhav, Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, and Sakshi Malik to finish on the Olympic podium.

· Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia has won the Olympic wrestling bronze medal match after 8-0 win over Daulet Niyazbekov of Kazakhstan in the men’s freestyle 65kg category.

· Neeraj Chopra has won a Gold medal for India in the javelin throw event at Tokyo Olympics. With a throw of 87.03 metres in his first attempt, Neeraj killed the competition. In his second he improved it to 87.58m and that turned out to be the golden throw. Except for Viteszalav Veslay of the Czech Republic who threw 86.67m none of his rivals including world champion Johannas Vetter fell by wayside.

· James Anderson overtook Anil Kumble’s tally of 619 Test wickets to become the third-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket. He achieved this huge feat after KL Rahul knocked one to wicket-keeper Jos Buttler. His current wickets tally stands at 621 from 163 Tests. Anderson is currently the highest wicket-taker among the fast bowlers and is the only pacer in the 600 club. He achieved the milestone on the 3rd day of the Nottingham Test against India.

· The International Cricket Council has confirmed it will campaign for the inclusion of the sport at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Cricket, till now, has made just one appearance in the Olympics, way back in 1900 in Paris when only two teams competed at the event Great Britain and hosts France meaning the sport’s inclusion in 2028 would mark the end of a 128-year absence.

· Durand Cup, Asia’s oldest and world’s third oldest football tournament, is all set to make a comeback, after a year’s gap. The 130th edition of the Durand Cup is scheduled to be held in and around Kolkata between September 05 to October 03, 2021. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the competition was cancelled last season.

· The upcoming Tokyo Paralympics will witness the largest ever Indian contingent being send, with 54 para-sportspersons participating across 9 sports disciplines. The 54-member Indian contingents were given a formal and virtual send-off on August 12, 2021, by Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag. The 2020 Summer Paralympics Games are scheduled to be held in Tokyo, Japan from August 24 to September 05, 2021.

· World Cup-winning U19 India captain, Unmukt Chand has announced his retirement from cricket in India. He had made an unbeaten 111, leading a tense victory over Australia in the 2012 U-19 World Cup final in Townsville, Australia.

· The 20-year-old Chess player Harshit Raja from Pune, Maharashtra has become the 69th Grandmaster of India in Chess. He achieved the feat of becoming the GM at Biel Masters Open 2021 where he drew his game against Dennis Wagner to get his final GM norm with one round to spare.

· A 15-year-old young Indian Grandmaster Raunak Sadhwani has won the 19th Spilimbergo Open chess tournament in Italy.

· Lionel Messi joined star-packed Paris St Germain after leaving Barcelona, the club where he had begun, after 21 years. Messi, a six-time winner of the Ballon d’Or for Europe’s best soccer player, signed a two-year contract with an option for a third year. Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain or PSG.

· The Odisha government will sponsor the Indian Hockey teams for 10 more years after the current sponsorship ends in 2023, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced. The state government started sponsoring the national hockey teams in 2018. The teams have scripted history with their brilliant performance at the Tokyo Olympics,” the chief minister said, handing over a cash award of Rs 10 lakh to each player.

· The 2021 edition of the World Athletics U20 Championships has been started in Nairobi, Kenya. The impact of Covid on teams travelling and logistics of moving vital equipment around the world have proven to be a challenge, the governing body said in a release. The event was originally scheduled for 2020. The World U20 Championships were held from 17 to 22 August, 2021.

· Shaili Singh claimed the women’s Long Jump silver medal in the World Athletics U20 Championships. Her slight wind-aided effort of 6.59m was only 1cm short of the gold medal jump by Sweden’s Maja Askag but her silver medal ensured that Indian athletics continues to showcase the progress it has been making.

· Princepal Singh became the first Indian to be part of an NBA title-winning team when his side Sacramento Kings clinched the 2021 NBA Summer League crown. The 6-foot-9 forward made history by being the first Indian to be part of a championship roster at any level of the NBA.

· Mariyappan Thangavelu, 2016 Rio Paralympic Games gold medalist will be replaced by Asian Games gold medalist Tekchand as the new flag-bearer of India at the opening ceremony. The Paralympic Committee of India reported, “On his flight to Tokyo, Mariyappan came in close contact with a Covid positive foreign passenger.

· Max Verstappen (Red Bull – Netherlands) has been declared the winner of the Belgian Grand Prix 2021. The Belgian Grand Prix was stopped due to rain and only two laps were completed.

· In table tennis, Indian paddler Bhavinaben Patel has claimed the historic silver medal at the 2020 Paralympic Games at Tokyo, in the women’s singles summit clash. The 34-year-old Patel lost to Chinese paddler Ying Zhou, 0-3, in her maiden Paralympic Games.

· India’s Nishad Kumar has clinched a silver medal in the men’s high jump T47 event at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020. This is the second medal for India at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. The 23-year-old Nishad made a jump of 2.06m, and in doing so created an Asian record. He also equalled his jump with USA’s Dallas Wise, who also took home silver.

· In Chess, Indian Grandmaster S P Sethuraman has won the 2021 Barcelona Open chess tournament title, remaining unbeaten through the nine rounds, winning six matches and drawing three.

· India’s Sumit Antil has won the gold medal in the men’s javelin throw F64 final event at the Tokyo Paralympics, and in the process set a new world record throw of 68.55m. The 23-year-old Sumit hails from Sonepat in Haryana. Michal Burian of Australia won the silver medal (66.29m), while Sri Lanka’s Dulan Kodithuwakku won the bronze medal.

· Indian all-rounder cricketer, Stuart Binny has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on August 30, 2021. He had represented Team India in six Tests, 14 ODIs and three T20Is, scoring a total of 459 runs and 24 wickets.

· At the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics 2020, India’s greatest paralympian, Devendra Jhajharia won the silver medal in the men’s javelin throw – F46 final event on August 30, 2021. The 40-year-old Devendra performed his best throw of 64.35, for the silver. In the same event, Sundar Singh Gurjar won the bronze medal, with his best throw of 64.01. With this, the total medal tally of India at the Paralympics 2020 Games reaches to seven.

· India’s discus thrower Yogesh Kathuniya has clinched the silver medal at the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics in the men’s Discus Throw F56 final event. Yogesh claimed the second spot with a throw of 44.38m. Batista dos Santos from Brazil won gold, setting a Paralympic record with a throw of 45.59m. L. Diaz Aldana from Cuba bagged bronze.

· Shooter Avani Lekhara has scripted history as she became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Paralympics, firing her way to the top of the podium in the R-2 women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event.

· In table tennis, Indian paddler Bhavinaben Patel has claimed the historic silver medal at the 2020 Paralympic Games at Tokyo, in the women’s singles summit clash.

· South African cricketer Dale Steyn has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket with immediate effect on August 31, 2021, ending his 20 years long cricket journey.

· India’s Mariyappan Thangavelu has won the silver medal in the men’s high jump (T63) at the Tokyo Paralympics. He cleared the 1.86m mark to take home silver. In the same event, Sharad Kumar won the bronze medal, clearing 1.83m mark.

· Tokyo Paralympics 2020, Indian shooter Singhraj Adana has won the bronze medal in the P1 Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1 final. China dominated the finals with defending champion Chao Yang (237.9 — Paralympic record) and Huang Xing (237.5) winning the gold and silver medals respectively.