Sports - Current Affairs for August, 2016

Sania Mirza and Monica Nicelescu on 28th August 2016 won the Doubles title at the Connecticut Open in New Haven in the US.

• In the final clash, the Indo-Romanian team defeated Ukraine and Taiwanese pair Kateryna Bondarenko and Chuang Chia Jung
• The pair won the game 7-5, 6-4
• This is their first title together
• Sania and Nicelescu partnered in 2010 and played one tournament together before calling time on their partnership
• Sania recently parted ways with Swiss Martina Hingis after a hugely successful partnership

Poland’s Olympic champion Anita Wlodarcyzk broke her world record in the hammer throw on 28th August with a throw of 82.98 metres in Warsaw.

• She set the new mark at Kamila Skolimowska Memorial Event at the Polish capital on a day where she had three throws over the 80m mark
• No other thrower has gone over 80m and Anita has won it 11 times in total
• 31 year old’s new record beats her previous best of 82.29m as she won the Olympic gold at Rio earlier in the month

Tilakaratne Dilshan, veteran Sri Lanka batsman retired from international cricket.

• He will play his last One Day International on 28th August 2016
• He will play his last T20 International in Colombo on September 9, 2016
• He is most famous for inventing the Dilscoop
• He retired from test cricket in 2013
• He played 87 tests and scored 5492 runs at 40.98 and picked 39 wickets
• Dilscoop is his signature of hitting the ball behind the keeper
• He was also a Test wicket keeper of repute
• He made his debut against Zimbabwe in 1999
• Amassing 10248 runs, including 22 centuries and 47 half centuries, he has scored 1884 runs in 78 T20 Internationals so far
• He is the fourth Sri Lanka batsman and the 11th in the world to pass the 10,000 run mark
• His career best score is 161 not out against Bangladesh in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup.
• His career spanned his talents as an all rounder- he was a good off-break bowler taking 106 ODI wickets with best figures of 4 for 4 against Zimbabwe in Pallekele in 2011.
• In 78 T20 Internationals, Dilshan has amassed 1884 runs including a high score of 104 against Australia

Kenya has disbanded its National Olympics Committee (NOC-K) on account of poor handling of the east African country’s team during the Rio Olympics.

• Sports minister Hassan Wario has made the announcement on 25th August 2016
• A committee has also been set up to investigate the misconduct and will submit findings by September 30
• Directorate of Criminal Investigation has also been asked to begin the probe
• The entire Kenyan team had accommodation and travel mishaps
• Additionally provision of kits to accredited list of participants never reached the athletes
• NOC-K has been disbanded with immediate effect and responsibilities have been transferred to Sports Kenya which is currently the interim custodian
• Team captain Welsey Korir also complained about the arrangements
• Francis Paul, the secretary general of NOC-K said he would consult with the International Olympic Committee over Wario’s decision
• Despite these problems, Kenya enjoyed its most successful Olympics in Rio winning six gold medals, six silvers and one bronze all in track and field.

Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu set the world record of 4:26:36s capturing a gold medal in record time and beating the previous record set by Ye Shiwen of China in London 2012 Olympics.

• Australian team comprising Bronte Campbell, Cate Campbell, Brittany Elmslie and Emma McKeon won the 4x100 m freestyle relay retaining the title they won in 2012 with a timing of 3:30:65s.
• Sarah Sjostorm broke her own world record in the 100m butterfly to become the first Swedish woman to win the Olympic gold medal for swimming. Sjostorm is a three times world champion and set a time of 55.48s to break her previous mark of 55.64s.
• Adam Peaty set a world record of 57.55 seconds in the men’s 100m breastroke heats.
• The previous Olympic record was help by South African swimmer Cameron Van Der Burgh.
• Katie Ledecky of the US broke her own world record to win the women’s 400m freestyle gold medal.
• Ledecky set a new mark of 03:56:46s cutting down on 1.91 seconds of the previous record set in Australia by her.
• Lilly King, a 19-year-old first time Olympian set the Olympic record of 1:04:93s to win the 100m breast-stroke gold.
• Japan’s Ippei Watanabe secured the men’s 200m breast-stroke Olympic record clocking 2:07:22 s in the semi finals.
• Canadian teenagers broken the 100m Olympic freestyle swimming record - Penny Oleksiak and Simone Manuel touched the wall in 52.70s. This marks the second time there has been a tie for gold in women’s 100m freestyle
• With a brilliant performance, Singapore’s Joseph Schooling beat Michael Phelps and took him his first Olympic gold medal with a new Olympic record of 50.39s.
• US swimmer Ryan Murphy competed the fastest swim in history with a 51.85s 400medal relay. He became the 2nd fastest performer and the second under 52 seconds in the individual race with a timing of 51.97

At the Rio Olympics, Brazil star forward Neymar gave the 2016 Rio Olympics host nation its biggest victory as he handed the country its first Olympic football gold medal, winning penalty in a 5-4 shootout victory over Germany.

• Neymar is undeniably Brazil’s biggest soccer star.
• He was injured in the FIFA championships this year.
• In a dramatic penalty kick shotout, the 24 year old star secured a historic win for his nation.
• Earlier, the Brazilian skipper put his side in the lead with a superb free kick in the 27th minute of the game before Germany skipper Maximilian Meyer came with an equaliser just before the hour to force the extra period.
• This victory of Brazil comes two years after an embarrassing 1-7 home loss to Germany’s senior team in the World Cup semi-finals two years ago.

Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter on 19th August 2016 won gold in the 4X100 relay final at the Rio Olympics matching Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake and Nickel Ashmeade to finish in 37.27 seconds.

• Bolt obtained three sprinting gold medals in 3 consecutive olympics and finished his career with 100 percent win in finals.
• Japan won silver while Canada landed bronze.
• On 14th August 2016, Bolt clinched gold in the 100m final to become the first manto win an event 3 times at consecutive Olympic Games.
• He followed the win with a gold medal in the 200m which also makes him the first athlete to win 200m three times at the Olympic Games
• Bolt is regarded as the fastest person ever timed and became the first man to hold both 100 and 200m world records since fully automatic time became mandatory.
• He also holds the world record in the 4X100 m relay and is the reigning world and Olympic champion at three events
• He is the first main Olympics to win 9 gold medals for sprinting.
• He was the first to win consecutive Olympic 100m in 2008 and 200m titles in 2012.
• He has been awarded IAAF World Athlete of the Year, Track and Field Athlete of the Year and Laureaus World Sportsman of the year

Spanish sportsperson Ruth Beitia won the first Olympic gold medal for Spain in women’s athletics when she took the Rio high jump to claim her first global outdoor crown.

• The 37-year-old three times European champion cleared 1.88m, 1.93m and 1.97m in her first attempt and became the oldest Olympic champion in the jumps on countback.
• All 4 remaining athletes failed to get over two metres. Mireya Demireva of Bulgaria won Silver while Blanka Vlasic from Croatia added bronze to her collection.
• Meanwhile, Russia won its first Olympic gold in women’s handball overcoming France 22-19 in a final that was fast paced.
• Defending champions Norway beat Netherlands to take bronze.
• India ended with a medal count of 2 towards the close of the Rio Olympics- bronze for wrestler Sakshi Malik and silver for badminton ace PV Sindhu.
• The flag bearer for the Indian nation towards the close of the Rio Olympics closing ceremony will be Sakshi Malik.

For the second time, India won an Olympic medal with the victory of ace shuttler PV Sindhu who beat Japan’s Nozomu Okuhara ranked sixth in the world in straight sets spanning 51 minutes 21-19, 21-10.

• She is the first Indian to enter an Olympics badminton final.
• BAI announced INR 50 lakhs for Sindhu after she won the historic silver medal.
• It also announced INR 10 lakh award for coach Pullela Gopichand who trained Sindhu to achieve the feat.
• She lost to Spain’s Carolinia Marin by 21-19, 12-21 and 15-21 in a thrilling final match.
• This is India’s first silver medal in badminton.
• The first medal- a bronze- was won by Saina Nehwal for India in the 2012 London Olympics.
• Padma Bhushan and Dhronacharaya awardee P. Gopichand is credited with her success too.
• Sindhu became the first woman shuttler from India to reach the final of Badminton in the Olympics too.
• She is now the fourth Indian to win a silver at the Olympics after shooters Rajyavardhan Singh Rathor and Vijay Kumar a well as wrestler Sushil Kumar.
• She won the award for India following two silver medals in the 2012 London Olympics and one in Athens 2004.
• The two time World championship bronze medallist also became the fifth woman player from the country to win a medal in the Olympics and the first to clinch a silver.
• Other women players who have won in the Olympics for India include:
• Karnam Malleshwari (2000, Sydney)
• MC Mary Kom (London 2012).
• Saina Nehwal (London 2012) and
• Sakshi Malik (Rio, 2016)
• American Ryan Crouser also broke a record at the Olympics, hurling the longest throw of his life to win the men’s short put final breaking the Olympic record and snatching gold.
• 23-year-old Crouser set the record at 22.52 m shattering Olympic record set by East Germany's Ulf Timmermann in 1988.

Opening India’s account at the Rio Olympics, Sakshi Malik became the first woman wrestler from India to bag the Olympic medal and only the fourth female athlete from the country to stand at the pinnacle of world sport.

• The 23-year-old wrestler from Haryana is also a silver medallist at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and Bronze winner at the 2014 Inchoeon Asian Games.
• She beat Kyrgyzstan’s Aisuluu Tynbekova 8-5 to script history.
• This is the first medal for a lady wrestler in India at the Olympics.
• It is also India’s 25th medal since 1947.
• The UP government has also announced the Rani Laxmi Bai award for bravery and outstanding achievement of women goes to Sakshi for her tremendous feat.
• Sakshi clinched bronze in the 58 kg category freestyle wrestling; she also received INR 50 lakh cash award and promotion to gazetted officer’s grade.
• Indian railway employee Sakshi also receives INR 2.50 crore from the Haryana state government in honour of her achievement.
• Meanwhile South Korea won its first taekwondo gold medal at the Rio Olympics restoring pride to a country that has invented the game.
• Seventh ranked Sohul Kim beat Serbia’s Tijana Bogdanovic to find their form. Kim won 7-6 in the 49 kg category.
• Bronze medals were won by Patimat Abakorova of Azerbaijan and Panipak Wongpattanakit of Thailand.

British sailor Giles Scott won the Finn gold medal in the medal race on 16th August 2106.

• Slovenia’s Vasilij Zbogar took silver while Caleb Paine of the US secured the first medal for sailing for the nation with a bronze
• Simone Biles won the gold medal for her scintillating floor exercise to garner a record equalling fourth gold in the Olympics at Rio on 16th August 2016.
• She captured the floor with 15.996 points while Aly Raisman earned 15.500 points to gain another gold meal for the US.
• Amy Tinkler from Britain secured bronze
• 19-year-old Biles became the first woman in 32 years and fifth overall to win 4 gold medals at a single Games event.
• Polish sportswoman Anita Wlodarcyzk on 15th August 2016 broke her own world record to win the gold at Rio Olympics.
• Her winning mark was 82.29m
• China’s Wenxiu Zhang won the silver medal with mark of 76.75 m and Sophie Hitchon of Great Britain won bronze.
• Anita is the first woman to throw the hammer at over 80m
• Soviet Union’s Larisa Latynina, Hungry’s Agnes Keleti, Czechoslovakia’s Vera Caslavska and Romania’s Ekaterina Szabo were the only other women to have won gold at a single game apart from Anita.
• In what was Bahrain’s first Olympic gold medal, Bahrain’s Ruth Jebet won the gold in women’s 3000 metres steeplechase.
• She won the race in the second quickest time of 8:59.75 seconds as against Russia’s G. Samitva-Galkina’s world record of 8:38.16.

Usain Holt stormed to victory in the 100m final. He thus became the first man to win three successive Olympic titles on track.

• Justin Gatlin took silver with a timing of 9.89 while Canada’s Andre de Grasse claimed brazen in 9.91 seconds.
• Victory also took Bolt closer to winning the triple triple combination of gold in 100m, 200m and 4x100 m relay in three successive Olympics.
• Bolt has now garnered 5 Olympic golds and 7 in world championships.

Uzbekistan’s light flyweight Hasanboy Dusmatov won the first gold medal for the nation at the Olympic boxing competition on 14th August beating Colombia’s Yuberjen Martinez who settled for silver.

• Bronze was awarded to Joahnys Argilagos of Cuba and Nico Hernandez of the US
• Gold was Uzbekistan’s first in Rio with Hernandez’s medal being the first in the run for the US since 2008
• Dusmatov is only the second Olympic boxing champion after lightweight gold medallist Mahammatkodir Abdullayev to win the medal for his nation.

Williams’ record equalling fifth Olympic tennis medal was silver rather than gold as she lost to Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock with her partner Rajeev Ram.

• Williams looked on course for gold, but settled for silver instead
• She has also won the women’s doubles three times with Serena and a singles gold.
• He Olympic haul matched the medal tally of Britain’s Kitty Godfree in the 1920s.

British player Andy Murray beat Argentinian player Juan Martin del Potro to win the Olympic tennis final on 14th August 2016.

• He became the first player to successfully defend the title in the history of the Olympic games
• It was the World Number 2’s 18th successive victory after clinching the second Wimbledon title in July
• It was the second Olympic medal for del Potro after he won the bronze in London
• Japan’s Kei Nishikori beat Spain’s Rafael Nadal to clinch bronze.

South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk ran the fastest single lap in history to win the 400m gold medal in 43.03 seconds in the Rio Olympics.

• He broke Michael Johnson’s 17 year strong world record while doing so
• Johnson had achieved a 1999 mark of 43.18 seconds
• South African also spoilt Kirani James chance of gold; the 2012 champion Hames took silver in 43.76
• LaShawn Merritt of the US, the 2008 Olympic champion claimed brazen in 43.85, marking the first time the top three have run under 44 seconds in a one lap Olympic final.

Triple jumper Caterine Ibarguen won the first Olympic gold medal in athletics for Colombia on 14th August 2016.

• She performed the best leap of the season at 15.17 m
• Two time world champion Ibarguen was a favourite for the Rio Games and soared past Yulimar Rojas who took silver
• She was unable to break Ukraine athlete Inessa Kravet’s world record of 15.50m set in 1995.
• The 20 year old Ibarguen also became the youngest female winner of a triple jump Olympic medal and Kazakhstan’s Olga Rypakova secured bronze.

India’s leading squash player Dipika Pallikal on 13th August 2016 won the Australian Open Square Women’s Singles Title in Melbourne.

• She defeated eighth seed Mayar Hany of Egypt to win the 40 minute match.
• She also won the Winnipeg Winter Open in Canada in 2015
• Dipika is the first Indian to break into top 10 in the PSA Women’s rankings
• In 2014, she won the women’s doubles title at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with Joshna Chinappa
• She has also been awarded the Padma Shri and is the first squash player in India to receive the Arjuna award

Katie Ledecky broke the field and her own world record in winning the 800m freestyle at the Rio Olympics on 12th August, uniting the 200m,400m and 800m titles for the first time since 1968.

• The 19-year-old American also won the 4x200 m relay for four golds overall, touching in 8 minutes 04.79 seconds beating the record of 8:06:68 set in Austin, Texas on January 17.
• Ledecky shot to victory touching half a length in front of her closest rivals.
• She joined Janet Evans and Brooke Bennett as the only swimmers to win this event at 2 Olympics.
• She now has prominent in top 11 performances in the event.
• She is also the first Olympian to take the 200m, 400m and 800m gold at one Games since US teenager Debbie Mayer achieved the feat in Mexico City in 1968.

Lalita Babar qualified for the women’s 3000m steeplechase final after finishing fourth in the 2nd qualifying heat with a national record time while compatriot Sudha Singh was eliminated in the Olympic Games.

• Lalita also became the first Indian woman to reach track final in Olympics since PT Usha in 1984 LA Games.
• Lalita who won a brazen medal at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea finished with the seventh best time in the neats in a new national record of 9 minutes, 19.76 seconds.
• She clipped 7 seconds of the national mark which had been clocked by Sudha Singh in Shanghai in May
• Top three in the three heats gained automatic qualification while Lalita was one of the six fastest among the rest

With a victory in the 100 metre freestyle, she became the first African American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming.

• 20-year-old Simone upset world record holder Cate Campbell of Australia and tied with Penny Oleksiak of Canada at Rio Games.
• Oleksiak is the youngest swimmer in the field; Canadian became the first swimmer born in the 21st century to win a gold medal in any Olympic sport.
• It was the first victory by the US in the women’s 100 free since 1984.
• Last Olympic tie for gold was in men’s 50 free at the 2000 Sydney Games.

Rafael Nadal has won his second Olympic tennis gold medal, teaming with Marc Lopez to win the men’s doubles championship for Spain in the Rio Games.

• Nadal and Lopez beat Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau of Romania 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in the final.
• Nadal is a 14 time champion at major tournaments.
• He also won an Olympics title in singles in the year 2008.
• This is the first medal for Lopez.
• Meanwhile, silver for Mergea and Tecau is the first tennis medal for Romani in Olympics.
• Bronze went to Steve Johnson and Jack Sock of the US who whom the Wimbledon doubles championship in 2014.

Joseph Schooling won the men’s 100m butterfly final on 12th August to secure Singapore’s first Olympic gold medal and denied Michael Phelps a 23rd medal.

• Phelps, the defending champion and world record holder finished second.
• Schooling has set an Olympic record at 50.39.
• Phelps now has 27 medals.

In a memorable women’s 10,000 championship, Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana shattered the world record by running 29:17:46 to win the gold medal at the Rio Olympic games.

• Vivian Cheruiyot won silver in 29:32:53 minutes and bronze was claimed by defending champion Tirunesh Dibaba who closed in 29:42:56.
• US Olympic Trials champion Molly Huddle broke the American record at 30:13:17, by around 9 seconds.
• In just her second track 10K, Ayana broke into record books at a timing 42 seconds faster than Junxia’s long standing record.

Michael Phelps of the United States won the Olympic 200m individual medley on 11th August to capture the 22nd gold medal of his career and became the first swimmer to win the same event at four consecutive Games.

• Japan’s Kosuke Hagino won Silver and Wang Shun of China won the bronze moving dramatically through the field on the final length after turning in fifth and seventh place.
• Phelps has now won 2 individual and 2 relay golds at his 5th Olympics, two years after coming out of retirement.
• His total medal haul has now risen to 26 including two bronzes and three silvers.
• Phelps has attained 4 consecutive golds in the same event placing him in the same Olympic pantheon as Al Oerter in the discus and Carl Lewis in the long jump.

Kristin Armstrong became the third time winner of an Olympic gold medal before her 43rd birthday

• Armstrong crossed the finish line five seconds quicker than the Russian compatriot Olga Zabelinkskya
• Double London medallist Russian player was on an 18 month suspension for use of banned stimulants
• Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen won the bronze medal
• Armstrong retired in 2009 but returned after a 3 year break and 3 hip surgeries
• She broke the record for the oldest female Olympic cycling champion

Michael Phelps added 21 Olympic gold medals to his collection

• American swimmer crushed Chad le Clos to regain the 200m butterfly titlte
• Among the women, Katinka Hosszu and Katie Ledecky were winners
• Phelps also won the 4X200 m freestyle
• World record holder Phelps, the most decorated athlete in the history of the games, clocked 1.53.36 minutes to add to his title

American swimmer Katie Ledecky on August 7, 2016 set a new world record winning the gold medal in the women’s 400m freestyle at Raio Olympics

• She clocked 3 minutes 56.46 seconds to beat Britain’s Jazmin Carlin who clocked 4 minutes 01.23 seconds at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Raio
• American Leah Smith clocked 4 minutes and 01.92 seconds to get the brazen
• Ledecky is not only a two time Olympic medallist, she is also a 9 time world champion
• She is the current world record holder for the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle and the 500, 1000 and 1650 yard freestyle events
• She won FINA Swimmer of the Year award in 2013 and has broken 12 world records during her career
• In 2016, she was the youngest person on the Time’ magazine’s 100 list

Brazil’s Rafaela Silva beat top seed Sumiya Dorjisuren of Mongolia to win gold in the women’s 57 kg judo on 8th August 2016 sending the crowd into joyous celebration of their first gold as host country

• This marks a triumph for Silva who was disqualified in London 2012 games
• While Rome won the silver medal, the bronze was jointly won by Portugal’s Telma Monteiro and Japan’s Kaori Matsumoto

Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar became the first Indian sportsperson to qualify for the apparatus finals of artistic Gymnastics at the Rio Olympics 2016

• She was the first Indian gymnast to enter the final on her debut at the games after she finished 8th in the qualifying round
• Karmakar succeeded in performing the tough Produnova routine to secure 14.850 points following two attempts and made it to the finals after other gymnasts completed their routine
• Though she was initially sixth, a strong performance from the Canadian team saw her slip to 8th yet make it for the finals on August 14 where top 8 made the cut for the medal round

The country won its first ever Olympic gold medal beating regional rival China

• Hoang Xuan Vinh, a 41-year-old a serving army colonel who first learned to shoot with AK47 rifles, made history in Rio overnight when a near-perfect final shot in the men's 10 metre air pistol clinched him gold.
• Vietnamese state media reported that Vinh would receive $100,000 from the state on his return
• Vinh's victory shunted Brazil's Felipe Almeida Wu and China's Pang Wei into second and third respectively, something that was seized on by jubilant Vietnamese.

Grandmaster and former world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta has won the Commonwealth Chess championship crown in Colombo, Sri Lanka, while International Master Tania Sachdev also finished with a gold medal.

• In fact, all the medals in the senior category were won by the Indians players.
• Grandmasters S L Narayanan and Deep Chakravarthy got the silver and bronze medals respectively in the open section, while Mary Ann Gomes and Kiran Manisha Mohanty reached the podium in the women's section.

Adam Peaty of Britain set a world record of 57.55 seconds in the men's 100m breaststroke heats - The triple gold medallist of the 2015 World Championships did not know how he did it as well, reports Xinhua.

• First-time Olympian Zhang Mengxue won the gold medal in the women's 10-metre air pistol event on Sunday, extending China's gold medal streak in the sport.
• With a score of 199.4 points in 20 shots, the 25-year-old Zhang handily defeated Vitalina Batsarashkina from Russia, the silver medallist with a score of 197.1. Anna Korakaki from Greece won the bronze.

International Paralympic Committee has banned Russia from its games in the coming month September 2016 due to the widespread doping culture in the nation

• IPC also announced the decision to suspend Russian Paralympic Committee in Rio
• Russia announced it will be appealing against the ban to the Court for Arbitration for Sport
• IPC decision followed the publication of the McLaren report which said that Russian para-athletes were found guilty of doping
• IOC opposed a blanket ban on Russia as against IPC

American teenager Virginia Thrasher claimed the first Rio Olympics gold Medal in shooting

• The 19-year-old won the women's 10m air rifle title at the Deodoro shooting venue, holding her own to see off China's Du Li on the final shot.
• She finished with 208 points, one clear of 2004 Athens champion Du as Olympic chief Thomas.
• The bronze medal went to China's defending champion Yi Siling.

Ministry of Communication launched the commemorative postage stamps on Rio Olympic Games saying that the unique initiative will motivate Indian athletes and sportspersons

• Issuing stamps on wrestling, badminton, shooting and boxing the Department of Post has hoped to rekindle the spirit of patriotism.
• Record number of players are participating from India in the Rio Games this year.

International Olympic Committee on 3rd August 2016 added 5 new sports to the programme for 2020 Tokyo Olympics

• Sports to be added will be basketball, softball, karate, skateboard, climbing sports and surfing in 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
• Decision was taken by the 129th IOC session held in Rio de Janeiro.
• Organising committee for the Tokyo 2020 Games proposed the new sports in response to the new flexibility provided by Olympic Agenda 2020.
• Tokyo 2020, the first Organising Committee also took advantage of this charge.
• Inclusion of new sports will add 18 events and 474 athletes.

India boxing star Vijender Singh on 3rd August 2016 broke into the World Boxing Association rankings at 10th after being crowned in the Asia Pacific super middleweight championship last month.

• Vijender beat former WBC champion from Europe Kerry Hope to win the title recording 7 straight wins- 6 of them knockouts.
• India is placed above American Trevor McCumby who had 22 wins, 17 of them knockouts.
• Higher above them is US based Russian Matt Korobov who has 26 wins in 27 fights so far
• Top slot is held by American Jesse Hart.

Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports Shri Vijay Goel has inaugurated the Wall of Wishes at India Gate Lawns in New Delhi in the presence of boxer MC Mary Kom to celebrate the Olympic contingent for India.

• India is sending its largest ever Olympic contingent to Rio games this year.
• The Minister also launched the Digital campaign for general public (#kheloIndia) to wish the Olympic Contingent from India all the best for the Rio Games.

Indian off-spinner R. Ashwin has surged to the top of the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for test bowlers after superb outing in the first test against West Indies in Antigua.

• Ashwin has top ranked the 2015 year end rankings.
• He replaced Yasir Shah to grab the number one ranking for bowlers.

Martial arts champion Vivek Teja won the Martial Arts Championship in Sydney, Australia to become a world karate champion.

• He beat Australian teakwondo star Mathew Rose to win the title.
• He has won over 60 medals at national and international tournaments.
• He is the first Indian to have expertise and skill in all martial arts styles of the world.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi flagged off the Run for Rio from Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium India Gate to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Lodhi road.

• Youth and children participated in the 5 km run to show the Rio bound athletes that the whole country is supporting them.
• PM Narendra Modi also released an SAI publication on Indian Olympics Journey which carries interesting information regarding Olympic attainments and future plans.
• India is sending its largest ever contingent of 119 athletes to participate in the Rio Games.

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) cemented his lead in the Formula One Driver’s Championship to score 19 points after winning the German Grand Prix with ease on 31st July with Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg coming fourth on home turf.

• Second was Daniel Ricciardo and his Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen was third
• 4 time champion Sebastian Vettel finished fifth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Nico Hulkenberg who was seventh on home turf for Force India.

India will host the Kabaddi World Cup this year, featuring 12 countries in October 2016.

• The countries playing in the event include US, UK, Canada, Australia, Iran, Poland, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Korea, Kenya and Japan.
• The current president of the International Kabaddi Federation is currently JS Gehlot.
• Kabaddi became a part of Asian Games in 1990 and India has won maximum gold medals since then.

Ariya Jutanugam earned her place in history on 31st July 2016 when she became the first Thai golfer (man or woman) to win the major title with a final round 72 and a 16 under par 272 total at the British Open Women’s tournament.

• Jutanugam’s lead was six shots by the time she birdied the long second and short sixth and beat playing partner Lee Mirim before securing a three stroke victory.
• Lee shared second place with 2014 champion Mo Martin.
• Ireland’s Leona Maguire won the Smyth Salver for the top amateur.

Leading tennis ace Novak Djokovic defeated Japanese player Kei Nishikori 6-3, 7-5 on 30th July 2016 to win the Toronto Hardcourt tournament and claim his 66th career singles title.

• The Serb player collected his 7th trophy of the season duplicating the win over Asia’s top player three months ago in the Miami final.
• Djokovic improved to 10-2 in the series as he handed Nishikori a defeat in 81 minutes.
• Djokovic now leads the Masters 1000 winner list by two over Rafael Nadal.
• Djokovic closed with 13 winners as he improved 51-4 this season.

A 3 person International Olympic Committee panel will make the final ruling regarding individual Russian athletes allowed to compete in the Rio Games

• Panel will decide whether to accept or reject the final proposal.
• Panel will comprise three executive board members: Ugur Erdener (Turkey) chairman of the IOC medical commission. Claudia Bokel (Germany) head of the athletes commission and Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr (Spain) vice president of the modern pentathlon federation.
• Panel will examine every single decision and athlete to ensure IOC is satisfied with the decision taken.
• This came after the IOC board decided not to ban Russia’s entire team from the games because of state sponsored doping.
• Russians banned include 67 track and field athletes barred by IAAF and 30 rejected under the new IOC eligibility criteria.