January - 2014

CRICKET

‘Thank You Sachin’ campaign by BCCI The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on 6 November 2013 launched Thank you Sachin campaign on social networking site Twitter. This Campaign will allow fans worldwide to connect and say thank you to Sachin Tendulkar on his retirement.

The campaign offers fans across India and the world a rare opportunity to receive a personalised picture of Sachin Tendulakar.The Board of Control for Cricket in India launched this campaign in collaboration with Twitter and Digigraph. During the Test series between India and theWest Indies(6 to 18 November 2013), all Twitter users who send an appreciative message for Sachin to the BCCI handle with the ThankYouSachin will instantaneously receive a Tweet from BCCI with a momentous picture of Sachin, including a personalised message and signature in his handwriting. Sachin Tendulkar on 10 October 2013 announced his decision to retire
from Test cricket after playing his landmark 200th Test match against the West Indies in November 2013.

India - West Indies ODI series

India has won the three one day series against West Indies by 2-1 on 27 November 2013. This was the sixth ODI title win in a row for India after it defeated West Indies by 5 wickets in the third and final match of the series at Kanpur. After India lost a series in December 2012 against Pakistan, it has played six more series and had consecutively won all the series.

The six ODI series were:

England tour to India to play 5 matches ODI - India won this series by 3-2

• ICC Champions Trophy which was played in England – India defeated the host England in the final

• A triangular series with Sri Lanka and West Indies – India won the final match against Sri Lanka

• India tour to Zimbabwe – India won the series 5-0. Virat Kohli captained the Indian side

• Seven ODI series during Australia tour to India - India defeated Australia 3-2. Two matches of the series were washed away

• West Indies tour to India to play three matches ODI – India defeated West Indies 2-1

India Australia ODI series

India won the series 3-2 against Australia on 2 November 2013 by beating Australia in the seventh match by 57 runs at Bangalore. In the seventh One Day International (ODI) match India scored Score 383/6 in 50 over
and Australia scored 326 in 45.1 over. In the seventh ODI, Rohit Sharma scored 209 in 158 balls and became the third players to score more than 200 runs. Rohit hit 16 sixes, while scoring the 209. The rest of two scorers are Indian cricketers namely Sachin Tendulkar (who scored 200 runs in 147 balls) and Virender Sehwag (who scored 219 in 140 balls). While chasing, Faulkner of Australia broke the Australian record of fastest century in an ODI in 57 balls. Glenn Maxwell also equaled the Australian record of fastest fifty in 17 balls, while scoring 60 runs in 22 balls. In the seven ODI series two successive matches were washed out at Ranchi and Cuttak. India was successful to equal the level in series 2-2 at Nagpur, during the sixth match.

• Man of the Series: Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma Scores a Double Hundred in ODI

Rohit Sharma, the Indian batsman on 2 November 2013 became the third cricketer in the wor ld to score a double hundred in an ODI match. He scored 209 runs of f 158 balls against Australia in seventh and final ODI (One-Day International) match at Bangalore’s M.Chinnaswamy Stadium. His runs included 12 fours and 16 sixes,which also means that he re-wrote the record of highest number of sixes in an ODI match. He out-beat Shane Watson’s record of 15 sixes in the ODI which he hit in the match against Bangladesh. It is worth noticing that all the three batsmen who scored double hundred in one day match are Indians . The milestone was at first achieved by Sachin Tendulkar who scored 200 runs against South Africa in the year 2010. The second one to do so was Virendra Sehwag who scored 219 against West Indies in the year 2011 and the third one is Rohit Sharma to score 209 runs against Australia in 2013. Yet another record was that of the partnership between Rohit Sharma and Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni, who collectively added 167 runs for the fifth wicket, a record against Australia. It is also important to note that India’s score of 383 for six is the highest ever total against Australia.

Records broken by Rohit Sharma

• The highest scorer against Australia

• Highest number of sixes in the ODI innings

• Second highest ODI score (209) after Virendra Sehwag (219)

Fastest Batsman to Score 5000 Runs in ODIs

Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli became the fastest batsman to score 5000 runs in one-day internationals when he scored 86 against the West Indies in the first ODI in Kochi on 21 November 2013. Virat Kohli achieved the feat in just 120 matches and 114 innings. He has so far scored 5005 runs, which included 17 centuries and 27 fifties in his short career. In terms of innings, Virat Kohli has equalled the record of Sir Viv Richards of West Indies, who also achieved the feat in 114 innings way back in 1987 but it was Viv’s 126th match.

Before Kohli, former captain Sourav Ganguly was the fastest to achieve the feat among Indian batsmen in 131 matches and 126 innings. From India, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (135 innings), Gautam Gambhir (135 innings) and Sachin Tendulkar (138 innings) are the next fastest batsmen to reach the 5000 runs in ODIs.

ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2014 Qualifier

Nepal and the UAE on 27 November 2013 qualified for the ICC T20 World cup which will be held in Bangladesh in 2014. Nepal defeated Hong Kong by five wickets in Abu Dhabi on 27 November 2013. Nepal survived a last-over scare to score the required 13 runs, with 10 runs coming from the first two deliveries and a lastball misfield producing the winning runs. The UAE has also qualified for the tournament as they defeated the Netherlands by 10 runs. This will be the first time since the ICC Cricket World Cup 1996 that the UAE and Nepal will make an appearance on the global stage. Four teams have now qualified for the ICC T20 in
Bangladesh next year. These include Afghanistan, Ireland, Nepal and UAE. The 2014 ICC World Twenty20 to be held in Bangladesh from 16 March 2014 to 6 April 2014 and a total of 16 teams are participating in this
tournament. Ireland and Afghanistan on 24 November 2013 qualified for ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2014 after winning their respective matches in the qualifiers at Dubai. Ireland defeated Hongkong by 85 runs while Afghanistan beat Kenya by 34 runs to qualify as the top teams from the two groups. Four places for the tournament are yet to be decided.

The remaining four teams will be decided after a series of matches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The contestants include Nepal, UAE, Hongkong, Namibia, Scotland, Netherlands, Italy and Papua New Guinea. The 2014 ICC World Twenty20 to be held in Bangladesh from 16 March 2014 to 6 April 2014 and a total of 16 teams are participating in this tournament. Afghanistan Cricket team also qualified for its maiden ICC World Cup
after defeating Kenya by seven wickets at World Cricket League Championship in Sharjah on 4 October 2013.

ICC test Ranking

In the latest ICC test ranking, India moved to the second position, following the 2-0 victory over West Indies on 16 November 2013. South Africa stood at the top position with 131 points, which is followed by India with 119 ratings point. England stands at third position with 116 points. India in the two match test series made a clean sweep of West Indies. India defeated the West Indies in the second match with an innings and 126 runs in Mumbai. The second match of the series was also the last match of Sachin Tendulkar, as he hung his bat and gave an end to his 24 years long cricketing career. After India won the match, the Government of India chose Sachin for the highest civilian award, Bharat Ratan on 16 November 2013.

Virat Kohli became Number 1 ranked ODI Batsman

Virat Kohli on 3 November 2013 became the number 1 batsman in one day International cricket rankings after scoring 344 runs in the series against Australia, that India won by 3-2. In the series Kohli scored 61 in Pune, 100 in Naipur, 68 in Mohali, 115 in Nagpur and 0 in Bengaluru at an average of 114.66. The 344 runs in the series gave 38 rating points to him, which helped him to jump three points to top in the ICC ranking tables.
He achieved the top position on the ODI rankings for the first time. He also became the third Indian to hold number 1 position after Sachin Tendulkar in 1996 and MS Dhoni in 2006.

Tendulkar claimed the number 1 position for the first time from Brain Lara in February 1996 and for the last  time he achieved the position in March 2008. Dhoni reached the number 1 position for the first time from Ricky Pointing in April 2006 and for the last time in July 2010. In the latest list released by the ICC, the other players who changed their rankings were George Bailey, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. The captain of Australia during the series against India skipped six places and claimed third position in rankings released.

This was the first time for Bailey in the career to achieve the third position. Shikhar Dhawan broke into the top 20 list for the first time by jumping 12 places to stand at 11th ranking in the list. Rohit Sharma achieved 15th position in the rankings list after scoring 491 runs at an average of 122.75, which includes the score of 209 runs in the final. Rohit Sharma became the fifth batsman to feature inside top 20 along with Kohli (first position), MS Dhoni (sixth position), Dhawan (eleventh position) and Suresh Raina (nineteenth position).

South Africa Defeated Pakistan ODI Series

South Africa defeated Pakistan 4-1 in the One-Day International series in UAE on 11 November 2013. In the final match at Sharjah, the South Africa defeated Pakistan by 117 runs to win the series. The two teams will play Twenty20 internationals in Dubai on 13 November 2013 and 15 November 2013. During the match, South African batsman De Villiers hit 115 off 102 deliveries with 10 fours and three sixes, which took the team to a total of 268 runs for seven in 50 overs. With the century, De Villiers also became the fastest South African to reach 6000 ODI runs from 147 innings.

South African cricketer died after being hit by ball

Darryn Randall, the South African cricketer died on 27 October 2013 after being hit by the ball on the head while batting in the premier league match. He was of 32 years old. He was hit on the side of head, when he tried to attempt a pull on a short delivery. The incidence happened during a match between Old Selbornians and Fort Hare University, which was held under the support of the Border Cricket Board at Alice on 27 October 2013. Randall collapsed after the injury and then was rushed to Alice Hospital, where the medical staffs failed to revive him. He is survived by his mother and his fiancée. Haroon Lorgat, the CSA chief executive expressed the federation’s condolences and said it would be offering counseling to those involved in the match.

TENNIS

Davis Cup

The Czech Republic on 17 November 2013 defended the Davis Cup title 2013 after Redek Stepanek defeated the Serbian Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 in the fifth rubber of the final by BNP Paribas Final in Belgrade.
With the win Stepanek handed the win too Czech Republic 3-2. With this win, Stepanek became the third player in the history to win Two Davis Cup Finals live fifth singles rubbers. He is also the first man to do so on
consecutive occasions after bypassing Serbian youngster Dusan Lajovic for the loss of just five games. In 2012, he defeated Nicolas Almagro in the fifth rubber of the 100th Final in Prague. Only France’s Henri Cochet (1927, 1929 and 1931) and Britain’s Fred Perry (1933, 1936) have won two Davis Cup Final live fifth singles rubbers before - Radek Stepanek.

Barclays ATP World Tour Final

Novak Djokovic on 11 November 2013 retained the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals title after defeating the number one, Rafael Nadal.

The world number two Djokovic, won 6-3, 6-4 at the O2 Arena in London. The ATP world tour took place from 4 to 11 November 2013. He earned 1923000 US dollar as prize money and 1500 Emirates ATP Rankings points, while Nadal earned 1013000 US dollar and 1000 points as he dropped to a 10-4 record in finals in 2013. Earlier, Djokovic won the same title in the year 2008 and 2012. This is the fifth time, when
number 1 versus number 2 in the final in 44 years.

• 2013: Number 2 Djokovic defeated Number 1 Nadal

• 2012: Number 1 Djokovic defeated Number 2 Federer

• 2010: Number 2 Federer defeated Number 1 Nadal

• 1986: Number 1 Lendl defeated Number 2 Becker

• 1983: Number 2 McEnroe defeated Number 1 Lendl

Djokovic extended his unbeaten run to 22 matches as he claimed the season-ending title for the third time. With this win, he became the seventh player to win the year-end championship at least three times namely Roger Federer (six titles), Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras (five each), Ilie Nastase (four), and Boris Becker and John McEnroe (three each).

Traralgon Title

Yuki Bhambri on 4 November 2013 won the ATP men’s singles title of Traralgon event in Australia. He defeated Bradely Klahn of America in the summit clash that was hit by rain. This is the second win of his career. Yuki, the 21 years old Indian defeated higher ranking Bradely by 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 in the finals in a match played on two days due to rain.

This is the third straight win of Yuki over a higher ranked opponent in this tournament. The 277 ranked Yuki earlier defeated, Tatsuma of Japan ranked 191 and the James Duckworth of Australia ranked 147 in the tournament to reach the finals.

BNP Paribas Masters Tennis Tournament 2013

Novak Djokovic of Serbia on 3 November 2013 won the BNP Paribas Masters Tennis tournament at Paris, France. In the title clash, Novak Djokovic defeated defending champion David Ferrer of Spain in straight sets, 7-5, 7-5. This Paris Master title was Novak Djokovic’s 40th career title and sixth title in 2013.

Novak Djokovic 2013 titles

• January: Australian Open

• March: Dubai Championships

• April: Monte Carlo Masters

• October : China Open, Shanghai Masters

• November : BNP Paribas Masters (Paris Masters)

HOCKEY

India qualified for Hockey World Cup 2014

Indian men’s hockey team on 3 November 2013 officially qualified for the Rabobank Hockey World Cup 2014. International Hockey Federation (FIH) confirmed the India’s berth in a official press release at Switzerland. Australia success at Oceania Cup on 3 November 2013 confirmed latest teams for world cup 2014. The Rabobank Hockey World Cup will be held from 31 May to 15 June 2014 at The Hague, Netherland. The India men’s team finished sixth at the Rabobank HWL Semi Final in Rotterdam and that was enough to confirm their participation in the tournament. A total of 22 teams (11 men/11 women) have now qualified for the Rabobank Hockey World Cup, with just two more places left to fill. The remaining berths will be taken by the winners of the rescheduled Men’s and Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, which takes place from 18-24 November 2013 in Nairobi, Kenya. Men’s Teams for World Cup

1. Netherlands: Hosts

2. Germany : Continental Champions Europe

3. Argent ina: Continental Champions Pan America

4. Korea: Continental Champions Asia

5. Aus t ra l ia: Continental Champions Oceania

6. England: 3rd place Hockey World League Semi-Final, Johor Bahru (MAS)

7. Belgium: 1st place Rabobank Hockey World League Semi-Final, Rotterdam (NED)

8. New Zea land: 4th place Rabobank Hockey World League Semi-Final, Rotterdam (NED)

9. Spain: 5th place Hockey World League Semi-Final, Rotterdam (NED)

10. Malaysia: 5th place Hockey World League Semi-Final, Johor Bahru (MAS)

11. India: 6th place Hockey World League Semi-Final, Rotterdam (NED)

3rd Asian Champions Trophy 2013

Indian men’s hockey team finished fifth at the 3rd Asian Champions Trophy at Kakamigahara, Japan on 10 November 2013. In a fifth-sixth place match, India defeated Oman 6-1 by scoring at regular intervals in both halves of the game. Pakistan men and Japan women were crowned as the winners of the Asian Champions Trophy following victories over Japan and India respectively. The Bronze medal in men’s category went to Malaysia, who defeated China 3-0. Malaysia women matched their male counterparts by taking Bronze in the four-nations tournament, claiming a surprise victory over China. 3rd Men’s & Women’s Asian Champions Trophy held from 2nd to 10th November 2013 at Kakamigahara,Japan. Asian Champions Trophy 2013 –

The Medallists Men Gold: Pakistan

Silver: Japan

Bronze: Malaysia

Women

Gold: Japan

Silver: India

Bronze: Malaysia

India to host Men’s Hockey World Cup in 2018

India was selected by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) on 7 November 2013 to host the Men’s World Cup of Hockey in 2018. The finals will be played from 1 to 16 December 2018. Also, England will host the Women’s World Cup of hockey from 7-21 July, 2018. This was announced by Leandro Negre, the President of FIH at Lausanne during the special ceremony. Hockey’s World Cup is held every four years and is second only to the Olympics in significance. India hosted the world cup in 2010 at New Delhi. The 2014 edition of Hockey World Cup would be played in The Hague, Netherlands

V. Baskaran Appointed as Coach

Hockey India on 20 November 2013 appointed the former Olympic gold-medallist V Baskaran as Coach of the Senior Men Hockey Team. Baskaran will work under the recently appointed Chief Coach Terence
Walsh.

Hockey India on 15 October 2013 appointed the Terence Walsh as Chief Coach of the Senior Men National Hockey Team. About V Baskaran Vasudevan Baskaran who was the captain of the team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow has 287 internationals caps and has represented India in the Olympic Games in 1976 Montreal, two World Cups in 1973 Amsterdam (Silver) and in 1978 Buenos Aires, two Asian Games in 1974 Tehran (Silver) and in 1978 Bangkok (Silver) and Champions Trophy in 1978 Pakistan (Bronze). Baskaran coached the senior men national team for ten years.

Under his coaching India had played 187 matches including major tournaments such as the Olympic Games in 2000 (Sydney), two World Cups in 1998 in Utrecht and 2006 in Germany, Asian Games 2006 in Doha, Junior World Cup in 1997 in Milton Keynes (Silver) and Champions Trophy in 1997 in Chennai. In 1980, he received the Arjuna Award and in 1981 he received Padamshri Award.

FOOTBALL

Lionel Messi awarded third Golden Shoe Lionel Messi, the Barcelonan forward footballer on 20 November 2013 won the Golden Shoe award. Messi won the award in recognition of his 46 goals in 32 leagues appearances in the Europe’s domestic football league in the 2012- 13 season. This is the third Golden Shoe award of Messi and with this win he became the first footballer win the show three times. Earlier Messi won the award in 2009-10 for 34 goals and a Spanish record 50 in 2011-12.

About Lionel Messi

Lionel Andres Messi (26) is an Argentine Footballer and a captain to the national team of Argentina. At present he plays for FC Barcelona in Spain. He is the fourth footballer to win 3 Ballons d’Or. He is the second player to win three Ballon’s d’Or consecutively after Michele Platini.Mark Schwarzer Retired Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer on 6 November 2013 announced his retirement from international football. Mark
Schwarzer (41 years old) represented Australia at international level on 109 occasions since his debut in 1993, and one of the key players in qualifying for three consecutive World Cups.

Mark Schwarzer moved to Chelsea as backup to established Petr Cech this season after more than five years and 172 appearances at Fulham.

Mark Schwarzer represented Australia at the 2006 and 2010 World cups. Mark Schwarzer is the key player in Socceroos team (Australia National football team) for twenty years. Mark played in Australia’s 6-0 loss to Brazil in his last match for the national team in September 2013

ARCHERY/SHOOTING

18th Asian Archery Competition

India’s men’s compound Archery team on 31 October 2013 won a gold medal in the 18th Asian Archery competition held at Chinese Taipei.

Abhishek Verma, Ratan Singh, Sandeep Kumar forming the compound team defeated the Korean trio of Lihong Min, Yong Hee Choi and Jongho Kim 233-231 to win the gold. The Indian compound trio showed their consistency right through the qualification round, in which they totalled 2086 points, to be ranked No.1 after they got a bye in the pre-quarters. In the quarters, India ousted Iraq 231-221 while hosts Chinese Taipei faced the elimination going down 220-232. 18th Asian Archery Championships 2013 was organized by Asian Archery Federation (AAF) in Taipei (TPE) from 29 October to 2 November 2013.

Rifle/Pistol World Cup Finals

Heena Sidhu became a part of the history by becoming the third Indian pistol shooter to win Gold at the World Cup Final on 10 November 2013 in Munich. In the Women’s 10- metre Air Pistol event at the ISSF World Cup final, the 24-year-old shooter defeated World Champion Zorana Arunovic of Serbia to bag her first Gold. Prior to her, Anjali Bhagwat (2003) and Gagan Narang (2008) have won Gold at the rifle/pistol event
in World Cup finals.

Final Results

The overall results in the Women’s event were as follows:

• 10m air pis tol: 1. Heena Sidhu 203.8 (384); 2. Zorana Arunovic (Srb) 198.6 (382); 3. Viktoria Chaika (Blr) 176.8 (381).

• 50m rifle 3-position: 1. Petra Zublasing (Ita) 462.7 (585); 2. Andrea Arsovic (Srb) 457.9 (587); 3. Wu Liuxi (Chn) 446.4 (585); 4. Lajja Gauswami 435.5 (581).

About Heena Sidhu

• Heena Sidhu was born in Ludhiana, Punjab.    

• She is an Indian shooter.

• Heena Sidhu along with Annu Raj Singh won the gold medal in women’s Pairs 10 metre air pistol at the 2010 Commonwealth Games as well.

• She also won a silver medal in the singles event in the Commonwealth Games.

• In the 2009 Beijing ISSF World Cup tournament, in 10 metre air pistol event, Heena Sidhu won the Silver medal.

• In 2010 Guangzhou Women’s 10m Air Pistol Team event, she won Silver medal in the Asian Games.

GOLF

Golf World Cup 2013

Jason Day, Australian Golfer won the Golf world cup at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Melbourne on 24 November 2013. Australia team (Jason Day and Adam Scott) also won the team Championships by beating the American team of Matt Kuchar and Kevin Streelman. With this victory Jason Day collected 1.2 million Dollars for sealing individual Title and will share another 600000 Dollars with Adam Scott for winning the team trophy. Indian Golfer Anirban Lahi r i finished with 25th place and picked up 56000 Dollars for his effort at the tournament. India fini shed 26th and last in the team Championships. The 2013 Golf World Cup, officially known as ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf was held from 21 to 24 November 2013 at The Royal
Melbourne Golf Club in Melbourne,
Victoria, Australia.

Indian Open Golf Tournament 2013

Mohammed Siddikur of Bangladesh won the 50th edition of Indian Open golf tournament on 10 November 2013 at the Delhi Golf Club (DGC), New Delhi. It was his second Asian Tour title after Brunei Open victory in 2010. The tournament carries a cash prize of 1.25 million US dollars. This win catapulted him from ninth to third on the Order of Merit. Siddikur scored a total of 274 to edge past his Indian friends Anirban Lahiri and SSP
Chowrasia to win the tournament. Mohammad Siddikur Rahman was born on 20 November 1984. He is a Bangladeshi professional golfer who plays on the Asian Tour. He is known as Tiger Woods of Bengal.

F1/MOTOR RACING

Brazilian Grand Prix 2013

Formula one racing driver  Sebastian Vettel won the F1Brazilian Grand Prix 2013 on 24 November 2013. With this victory vettel matched Michael Schumacher’s record of 13 victories in a year and equalled the nine
consecutive wins of Alberto Ascari. Vettel’s Red Bull teammate Mark Webber was second in his final F1 race. Fernando Alonso of Ferrari was third. The formula one season ending Brazilian GP is Vettel’s second victory
in Brazil, and 39th of his career. Recently, Sebastian Vettel also won the Formula One Indian Grand Prix 2013 at Buddha International Circuit on 27 October 2013.

About Sebastian Vettel

• Sebastian Vettel is a German formulae one racing driver and at present he is driving for the Red Bull a Austrian racing team.

• At present he is the world champion as he won the Championship in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

• He was born on 3 July 1987.

• While driving for Red Bull in 2009, he finished as the season as the youngest ever World Driver’s Championship runnerup.

• He became the youngest driver, who won the World Drivers’ Championship in 2010 and the same year he helped Red Bull to win the first team’s World Constructors Championship.

US Grand Prix 2013

Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull’s team on 17 November 2013 won United States Grand Prix. France’s Romain Grosjean in Lotus was second with Red Bull’s Mark Webber took the third place.

This was his eighth successive race of Vettel in a season. With this win he succeeded ahead of Michael Schumacher’s previous record of winning seven races in a row in the same season, which was set in 2004. This was also vettel’s 12th win of the season and if he wins the year-ender in Brazil than he will tie with Michael Schumacher Formulae one record of 13 victories in a single season. The win in the Brazil grand prix that is scheduled to happen on 24 November 2013 will bring to him ninth victory in a row, which was set by Alberto Ascari. The Mark Webber (37) of Red Bulls will be driving last time in the Brazil grand prix, as it will be his last race in the Formulae one.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2013

Formula 1 racing driver, Sebastian Vettel on 3 November 2013 won the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Yas Marina circuit, Abu Dhabi. Sebastian Vettel clocked 1 minute 43.893 seconds to finish at the top of the table. Vettel’s teammate Aussie Mark Webber finished with second position, with Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany finishing third. Sebastian Vettel won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for the second time in his career. (First time is in 2009). This victory has drawn Vettel level with compatriot Michael Schumacher’s mark of seven successive wins. Earlier, Sebastian Vettel (26 years old) had clinched the title at the Indian Grand Prix on 27 October 2013. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race that was held at the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi on 3 November  2013.

CHESS

FIDE World Chess Championship 2013

Magnus Carlsen of Norway won the FIDE World Chess Championship 2013 at Chennai on 22 November 2013.

Magnus Carlsen defeated the previous world champion Viswanathan Anand of India by 6.5 - 3.5 in the match that was held from 7th November in Chennai, India. The last 10th game (out of 12 possible) finished in a draw after 65 moves of play and Carlsen accumulated the necessary 6.5 points to claim the title.

The victory was worth 8.4 crore Rupees for Magnus Carlsen. Anand settled for 5.6 crore Rupees. The match was sponsored by the Tamil Nadu state and organized by FIDE and AICF. This is Carlsen’s maiden World Chess Champion title in his first attempt itself. Magnus Carlsen also became the first Western player since Bobby Fischer to hold the title. With this victory, Magnus Carlsen also became the second youngest world champion since Garry Kasparov, who was also 22 when he won the title in 1985. The Magnus Calsen’s victory was also the end of Anand’s six-year reign as the World champion. It was Anand’s first loss in a world title match since 2007. Magnus Carlsen,  who became the youngest world No. 1 at 19, also holds the record of being the strongest rated player in chesshistory with a published rating of 2872, on 1 February 2013. About 2013 FIDE Wor ld Chess Championship The 2013 FIDE World Chess Championship match which took place from 7 to 22 November in Chennai, India. It is a match for the highest crown in chess between the Defending Champion Viswanathan Anand (India) and the Challenger Magnus Carlsen (Norway).

WRESTLING

Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships

Indian weightlifter, Deepak Lathore won Gold and two Silver medals in the Boys’ 50 Kg category of the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships on 25 November at Penang, Malaysia. On the opening day of the event, Lathore took the Gold in Snatch with a lift of 83 kg. In Clean and Jerk, he lifted 102 kg to claim the Silver. With a total lift of 185 kg, he won another Silver in the event. The 2013 Commonwealth Senior, Junior and Youth weightlifting Championships are being held at Penang city of Malaysia from 24 to 30 November 2013. In this event, India is represented by 41 Weightlifters in three categories.

About Commonwealth Weightlifting Federation

The Commonwealth Weightlifting Federation (CWF) was established in 1947. It is one of the oldest sporting federations of the Commonwealth and is unique in that it encompasses Commonwealth nations from the five continents and recognised by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF).

Powerlifting Asian Open Championships

British Paralympic powerlifter Ali Jawad on 5 November 2013 won gold at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Asian Open Championships with a world-record lift. Ali lifted 185.5kg in the 59kg class in Malaysia to better his record by 10.5kg. The championship was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Ali Jawad is 24 years old. Jawad had won gold at the 2007 Powerlifting European Championships in Greece and
became World Junior Champion at the 2008 championships in the USA. But at the London Paralympics 2012, he lost the bronze medal to Chinese lifter Wang Jian. Jawad is one of five British athletes competing in Kuala Lumpur which includes fellow Paralympian Natalie Blake and ex-serviceman Micky Yule.

VARIOUS

World champion water-skier Sarah Teelow Died

Sarah Teelow, the world champion water skier of Australia died on 25 November 2013 after a fall during a high-speed endurance race on Australia’s Hawkesbury River. The 21 year old, Teelow fell from her skis after the start of the 75 mile Bridge to Bridge Water Ski Classic near Sydney. She was airlifted to the hospital in critical condition, with spinal and head injuries and later she died in the hospital.

She is the seventh water-skier to die in an accident in Australia in last five years. Teelow had won the Formula 2 category at the World Waterski Racing Championships in Spain in September. Teelow was the daughter of two-time world waterski champion, Tania Teelow. World Athletes of 2013

The Jamaican sprinters, Usain  Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce were crowned the male and femaleWorld Athletes of the Year, 2013 on 16 November 2013. They were selected as the world athletes of the year by the sport’s governing IAAF at a ceremony in Monaco. Gold in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4x100 relay at the Moscow Worlds in August helped Bolt to take his all-time tally to eight golds and two silvers at the championship. Usain Bolt had been the World Athlete of the Year in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012, previously. Bolt won 10 out of his 11 100m races (including heats), and was unbeaten in his five races over 200m. Whereas, the Olympic Sprint Champion, the Fraser-Pryce claimed gold medals in three events in Moscow. Fraser- Pryce, regained her 100m title at the 2013 IAAF World Championships, winning in 10.71, which remained the fastest time of the year. Earlier, she had gold and two silvers. Fraser- Pryce became the second Jamaican woman to win, after Merlene Ottey in 1990. Bolt and Fraser-Pryce also received a prize of 100000 US dollars.

G V Mavalankar Shooting Championship

West Bengal, the host of the 23rd All India G V Mavalankar Shooting Championship topped the medals tally on 16 November 2013. The championship concluded at the Chandmari Range in West Bengal. This is the first time that West Bengal topped the medal table of national level of shooting championship. West Bengal, shooters won five gold, five silver and a bronze to top the 10 day long championship. Maharashtra stood at the second position in the championship with four gold, five silver and three bronze medals. Whereas, Chandigarh was third in the list as it won three gold, one silver and one bronze medal. In the All India G V Mavalankar Shooting Championship, in all 1400 shooters from 15 states, military and paramilitary forces participated in 72 events in four different categories namely, boys, girls, men and women. Of all the participants, more than 500 shooters have qualified for the national meet, which will be held in New Delhi from 11 December 2013.

GS Sandhu reappointed as India Boxing Coach

Gurbax Singh Sandhu was on 20 November 2013 reappointed as the national coach of the men’s Indian boxing team till the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. This decision was taken in consultation with the Sports Authority of India at New Delhi. First appointed as coach in 1993, Gurbax Singh Sandhu has ably served for almost two decades during which Indian boxers have made ground-breaking progress in the international arena including winning the country’s first Olympic medal, and first World Championship medal, through Vijender Singh (75kg category).

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