David Ferrer wins Heineken Open for 4th time

World No. 5 and top seed David Ferrer beat second—seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber 7—6 (5), 6—1 on January 12 to win the Heineken Open title for the third—straight year and fourth time overall.

Ferrer matched the record of the great Australian Roy Emerson who won the Auckland singles crown in 1960, 1965, 1966 and 1967. Spain’s Ferrer claimed the title in for the first time in 2007 and now the past three.

The win gave Ferrer the 19th singles title of his career and his eighth in the past 12 months. His win in Auckland last January gave him the first of seven singles titles he won in eight finals appearances in 2012.

Usain Bolt and Fraser-Pryce Won Athlete of the Year Award At JAAA Golden Cleats Awards Ceremony

Usain Bolt, the fastest man of the world and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the women's 100m Olympic champion won the male and female Athlete of the Year awards respectively on 8 January 2013 at Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) Golden Cleats Awards ceremony which took place at Terra Nova Hotel in St Andrew. 

Glen Mills, the Racers Track Club head coach won the Coach of the Year Award for the second time in a row, bringing his total of winnings to 3. It was Mills who conditioned Bolt and Yohan Blake, which in turn helped them in grabbing gold and silver respectively in 100m and 200m at the London Olympics. 

In the meanwhile, the Howard Aris Award was won by Fedrick Dacres, the 2012 World Junior discus champion and Jeneive Russell, the 2012 World Junior 400m hurdles champion. Howard Aris Award was established in 2012 to commemorate late former JAAA president. The award recognises the athletes who represent their county with the distinction in non-traditional events. The athletes additionally, also won the scholarships worth 250000 dollar, acceptable at the University of Technology, the University of the West Indies or GC Foster College.

Usain Bolt acclaimed the renowned status by defending three gold medals, which are 100m, 200m and 4x100m at 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Simon Taufel to be the First Umpire to deliver the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture 2013

Simon Taufel, the umpire who has been the five-time ICC Umpire of the Year from 2004 to 2008 would be the first umpire to deliver the prestigious MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture that would take place on 24 July 2013. This announcement was made by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on 11 January 2013. 

The lecture of 2013 would be the 13th lecture, ever since its inception and Taufel would be the third Australian after Adam Gilchrist (2009) and Richie Benaud (2001 – the first lecture) to deliver this lecture. 

MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture

MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture first began in the year 2001 in the memory of the former Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) president Colin Cowdrey. He played an important role in enshrinement of the Spirit of Cricket in the preamble of the Code of the Laws of Cricket in the year 2000.

Vijay, Heena clinch gold medals in shooting nationals

London Olympics silver medallist Vijay Kumar on December 30 clinched the gold medal in the men’s rapid fire pistol event at the 56th National Shooting Championship in New Delhi.

While Vijay shot 572 and 25 in the finals to win the top prize in his event, Punjab’s Heena Sidhu bagged the gold in the women’s air pistol competition after she shot 383 + 99.5 in the qualifiers and finals respectively.

Harpreet Singh (569 + 21) of Navy clinched the silver in the men’s rapid fire pistol event ahead of Army’s Pemba Tamang who shot 572 and 18.

In Heena’s event, Annu Raj Singh won the silver with scores of 383 + 96.8 while the bronze went to Priyanka Susvirkar of Railways who shot 378 + 100.8.

In the 3-position men’s event, Surendra Singh Rathod of Army won the gold with scores of 1158 + 97.9.

The silver went to Sanjeev Rajput who scored 1154 + 97.6 while the bronze was won by Chain Singh of Army for shooting 1150 + 100.4.

Aribam Dicky Sharma of Army bagged the gold in the 3-position junior men’s event. The silver went to Brahma Puri of Gujarat while H Sanahal Singh of Army had to be satisfied with a bronze.

In the air pistol junior women’s meet, Shreya Gawande of Maharashtra won the gold, with Punjab’s Malaika Goel and MP’s Surabhi Pathak winning the silver and bronze respectively.

Gawande won yellow metal in the air pistol youth category too, with Goel of Punjab and Haryana’s Manjeet finishing second and third respectively.

Indian I-League football Club Mohun Bagan banned for Two Years

I-League football club Mohun Bagan on 29 December 2012 slapped with a two-year suspension by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for abandoning their violence-marred I-League match against East Bengal on 9 December 2012.

As per the AIFF’s Statement Mohun bagan had breached Regulation 22, the 123-year-old club, had been withdrawn from the current I-League season, with all its past and future matches in the 2012/13 null and void. In effect, this season will have 13 teams now.

The I-League Core Committee of All India Football Federation (AIFF) received the detailed Report dated 26th December 2012 of the Justice A K Ganguly relating to I-League Match No. 68 between Kingfisher East Bengal (KEB) and Mcdowell Mohun Bagan (MMB) played at Yuba Bharati Stadium, Salt Lake City Kolkata on 9 December 2012.

Justice Ganguly in his report has concluded that the decision of MMB for not playing the match after the interval cannot be supported on the grounds of Force Majeure and accordingly MMB has breached Regulation 22 of the I-League Regulation 2012-2013.

The I-League core committee is going to meet on 9 January 2013 to decide if the quantum of punishment on Mohun Bagan is enough or if additional fine and suspension were needed.

About Mohun Bagan Football Club

• Founded in 1889, Mohun Bagan is the oldest football club in India.
• It is the first Indian club to win the IFA Shield final, in 1911, beating East Yorkshire Regiment.
• It have won the erstwhile National Football League thrice — in 1997-98, 1999-2000, 2001-02 — and their best performance in the re-christened I-League has been a runner-up finish in 2008-09.

Apurvi Chandela won Women’s Air Rifle Gold in the Sahara National Shooting Championship

Apurvi Chandela of Rajasthan on 24 December 2012 won Women’s Air Rifle Gold in the Sahara 56th National Shooting Championship. The 19 year old managed to take a lead with 0.2 points from Pooja Ghatkar with a 10.7 last shot, till the ninth shot the game between two was tied.

Pournima Zanane, the former champion and National record holder was successful in winning the Bronze and was 0.2 points ahead of the Avneet Sidhu the World Championship finalist. Pournima clinched the bronze 0.2 point ahead of the World championship finalist Avneet Sidhu. Nikita Salunke lost her race in the final but was successful in winning a junior gold.

Shiva Keshavan, the Luge Athlete Reclaimed Gold at the Asian Championship

Shiva Keshavan, the top luge athlete of India won the gold medal for second time successively and set the Asian record of 49.590 seconds in the Asian Championship.

In the race, at first Keshavan was at second place during his first run at 0.129 seconds behind Hidenari Kanayama of Japan. At the third place was the runner up of last year Oguchi Takahisa with just 0.058 seconds after Shiva. All the three athletes broke the track record of previous years. The previous record was 50.072, which was set back in 2004.

In the second heat however, the champion of last year, Shiva collapsed the scores, breaking the Asian track record by 0.482 seconds. Inspite of having the disadvantage from his first run, Shiva won with good margin.

At fourth and fifth position were Yamaura Yohan of Japan and Kim Dong Hyeon of Korea respectively.

Shiva Keshavan now has two out of three Asian records. The only record that he needs to break is start record of 3.190 seconds which was set in 1999.

India won the World Cup Kabaddi Tournament 2012

India on 15 December 2012 won the 3rd World Cup Kabaddi Tournament for the third consecutive time in the Men’s category and second consecutive time in the Women’s category. Indian men defeated arch rival Pakistan with a decisive margin of 37 points whereas, Indian women thrashed Malaysia 72-12. Both the finals were played at the Guru Nanak Dev Stadium in Ludhiana. The Kabaddi world cup was a 15-day tournament. In men's category, third prize went to Canada and in women's category, it was given to Denmark.
Indian men registered a hat trick by outclassing Pakistan in every aspect of game. At the end of the first half, Indian men squad was leading with a point difference of 34-9. India’s raider and stoppers showed an extraordinary sport in collecting points for their country. Women’s final was virtually a one sided show as Malaysian team was no match against Indian eves.

India lifts World T20 for blind

India on December 13 triumphed in the inaugural Blind Cricket Twenty20 World Cup after defeating Pakistan by 29 runs in the title clash in Bangalore. After Ketan Bhai Patel guided India to 258 with a hurricane knock of 98, the hosts restricted the visitors to 229 for nine in the allotted 20 overs.

Batting first, Prakash Jayaramaiah made useful 42 while vice-captain Ajay Kumar Reddy contributed 25, helping India to post a competitive total. For Pakistan, Mohammed Jameel scored a quickfire 47, Ali Murthaza struck 38 while Mohammed Akram helped himself to 32 runs.

Having won eight matches on the trot in the group stage, Pakistan could not maintain the winning streak when it mattered most.

India had only lost to Pakistan in the group stage and thrashed Sri Lanka in the semifinal.

Pakistan had spanked England by nine wickets in the semifinals.

The victory is India’s first in a World Cup final after they lost to Pakistan in 2006.

Air India won Lal Bahadur Shastri hockey tournament

Air India emerged champion against Bharat Petroleum in the 23rd Lal Bahadur Shastri hockey tournament at the Shivaji Stadium on 4 December 2012.

This was second title of this season for Air India. Air India had already shared the MCC-Murugappa Cup with Indian Oil. Air India had an edge over Bharat Petroleum because the team was full of expereinced players. Besides, there was also an advantage because Bharat Petroleum did not give its 100 percent which was evident when it wasted a lot of opportunities. For Bharat Petroleum this was another runner-up in the second event consecutively.

Air India, in the meanwhile, won the cheque worth 2 lakh Rupees along with the title of the tournament. Amir Khan, the Bharat petroleum striker was decided as the Best Player of the Tournament. V.S. Vinaya of Air India team, on the other hand won the title of Top Scorer of the Event with six goals.

IOC suspends the Indian Olympic Association

The International Olympic Committee reportedly suspended the Indian Olympic Association for holding elections under a controversial government sports code.

The IOC had repeatedly told the Indian body to adhere to its own constitution and the Olympic Charter and not follow the government's sports code for  elections.

The IOC's decision taken in Lausanne, Switzerland- will prevent India from taking part in Olympics.
The IOA has been directed by a Delhi court to hold the elections adhering to the government's sports code, while the IOC wants the governing body to abide by the Olympic charter. 
The IOC had repeatedly told the IOA not follow the government's sports code for the elections on the ground that it would be a violation of the Olympic Charter and compromise autonomy.
But the IOA went ahead saying they were bound by the Delhi High Court order.
Suspension meant that the IOA will stop receiving IOC funding and its officials will be banned from attending Olympic meetings and events.
India's athletes will be barred from competing in Olympic events under their national flag, but they can participate under the IOC banner.
The news of the suspension was greeted with dismay and anguish as sportspersons and IOA officials spoke about the far-reaching implications of the decision.

Anna Ushenina is new World women's chess champion

 
Anna Ushenina of Ukraine claimed the women's World Championship crown, defeating Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria in the first set of tie-break games in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia.
 

After a 2-2 deadlock in the normal games, the stage was set for an exciting finale and Ushenina came up triumph winning the second game under rapid time control after the first game had ended in a draw.

The Ukrainian won 60000 USD for her efforts in the championship and gets to play the next World Championship against Yifan Hou of China next year as part of the new cycle in the women's World Championship.

The 64-players championship ended in a tie-break much like the men's World Championship earlier this year where Vishwanathan Anand won defeating Boris Gelfand of Israel in the rapid tie-break.

The Indian challenge in the championship had lasted till the semi-finals where D Harika went down to Stefanova after an intense struggle.

Anna Ushenina of Ukraine won the Women’s World Championship Crown of Chess

Anna Ushenina of Ukraine on 1 December 2012 won the Women’s World Championship Crown of Chess at Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia after defeating Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria in first set of tie-break game. Anna won the title along with 60000 US dollar for the efforts made by her to win the Chess championship. In 2013 Anna would be playing the next world championship against Chinese Yifan Hou, which is a part of new cycle in Women’s World Championship.

Ravindra Jadeja Became Only Indian to Score Three Triple Tons in First-Class Cricket

Ravindra Jadeja became first Indian and only eighth batsman in the first-class cricket history of world to score three triple-centuries in the unbeaten 320 runs against Railways in the Ranji Trophy Group A match on 2 December 2012 in Rajkot.

With the help of Jadeja’s innings, Saurashtra reached the giant score of 534 for six in their first innings on second day of 4-day combat.

Jadeja had scored 303 against Gujarat in his first match of this season and eventually the second triple century and third as well to become the only Indian batsman to reach this podium.

There are five other Indian batsmen who have scored two triple centuries in their first-class cricket and these are VVS Laxman, Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Vijay Hazare and Raman Lamba. With his triple century, Jadeja has joined the league of seven other non-Indians who have reached this landmark and these are Mike Hussey, WG Grace, Graeme Hick, Sir Don Bradman, Wally Hammond, Bill Ponsford and Brian Lara.

2014 FIFA WC mascot named Fuleco

The 2014 World Cup mascot has been named Fuleco by the Brazilian public, the ruling football body FIFA said.

FIFA said that 48 per cent of Brazilians joining the popular vote chose Fuleco as the name for the armadillo, with Zuzeco getting 31 per cent and Amijubi 21 per cent.

Fuleco is a fusion of the words “futebol” and “ecologia,” and FIFA said the choice showed that Brazilians cared for the environment just as much as for football.

FIFA said that the mascot has a high recognition and acceptance rate in the World Cup host country, with 89 per cent of Brazilians saying they have seen the mascot and Fuleco getting a 7.3 average out of 10 for appeal.

Bolt named World Athlete of the Year

Usain Bolt has won the IAAF World Athlete of the Year award for the fourth time over United States hurdler Aries Merritt and Kenyan runner David Rudisha.

The Jamaican sprinter, who defended his 100 and 200 meter gold medals at this summer’s Olympic Games, had previously won the award in 2008, 2009, and 2011.

United States sprinter Allyson Felix won the women’s World Athlete of the Year award. The other finalists were Valerie Adams and Jessica Ennis.

The awards were announced on the final day of the IAAF’s 100th anniversary celebration.

Life Ban on Mohammad Azharuddin Lifted by Andhra Pradesh High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on 8 November 2012 lifted the life ban from playing Cricket on Mohammad Azharuddin which was imposed by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Year 2000.

The life ban on Mohammad Azharuddin came after he was found involved in the betting scandal and the match-fixing episode as per the BCCI three-member committee, comprising its erstwhile president A C Muthaiah and two vice-presidents Kamal Morarka and K M Ram Prasad.

Overturning the BCCI decision, the bench of Justice which was comprised of justices Ashutosh Mohanta and Krishna Mohan Reddy gave relief to Azharuddin allowing his appeal challenging the order of a local court.

The bench of Justice agreed with the argument of Azharuddin’s counsel K Ramakant Reddy that there is no evidence against him.

Azharuddin made his debut for India in 1984-85 and played his final international match in June 2000.Mohammad Azharuddin was stranded on 99 Test appearances due to the ban. He had made 6215 runs in test matches at an average of 45.03 after bursting on the scene in 1984-85 with centuries in each of his first three Tests.

In One-Day Internationals, he scored 9378 runs and hit seven hundreds across 334 matches.

Mohammad Azharuddin in his 49 years of age is currently a member of parliament from Moradabad constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

Pakistan won the Asian Kabaddi Championship

Pakistan on 6 November 2012 was declared champion of the Asian Kabaddi Championship after Indian team walked out from the field in a protest against the referee’s decision of penalizing the Indian Coach.

The Pakistani team was leading the game by 40 points against 31 points scored by the Indian side. The protest by the Indian players came after the Coach of Indian side; Goormel Singh was shown a green card after continuously disturbing the finals in protest of decision of the referee.

Cricketer Vernon Philander Named South-African Sportsman of the Year 2012

South African fast bowler Vernon Philander on 4 November 2012 at the South African Sports Awards ceremony in Sandton named Sportsman of the year beating two Olympic gold medallists for the award.

The top title of Sports Star of the Year went to Olympic gold-medallist swimmer Chad Le Clos who had won gold in the men's 200m butterfly at the London Olympic Games 2012.

27 Years old Vernon Philander made huge public impact since his Test debut in 2011 and he is now ranked the number two bowler in the world only behind his fellow teammate Dale Steyn.

Earlier in 2011, Hashim Amla had won the award and was nominated again this year.

Vernon Philander is the fastest player to take 50 Test match wickets in more than 100 years of cricket history and the phenomenal thing is that he has done  it in his debut year of Test match cricket.

He was named Man of the Match in South Africa's Test victory at Lord's this year in 2012when the Proteas claimed the No.1 ranking in Test match cricket.

Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna won First ATP Tour Masters Title

Indian Tennis Player Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna on 4 November 2012  won their first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title together defeating Pakistan's Aisam- Ul- Haq Qureshi and Netherlands' Jean- Julien Rojer by 7-6(6), 6-3 in the final of the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris.  Mahesh Bhupati, till date, had won 16 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophies, while for Bopanna it his second shield. Also, together for Bhupati and Bopanna it is their second title of the year 2012. Earlier they had won the Dubai ATP event in March 2012 and ended runners-up at Cincinnati and Shanghai.