1. Government recognises e-sports as part of multisports events
Tags: Sports Sports News
The Government of India has officially recognised ‘E-Sports’ (Electronic Sports) as a part of Multi-sports events on 27th December.
Important facts
E-sports will be handled by the Department of Sports under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
This decision was taken by President Draupadi Murmu, using the powers given in provision 3 of Article 77 of the Constitution, after changing the rules related to e-sports.
It is noteworthy that since the inclusion of e-sports as a demonstration sport in the Jakarta Asian Games 2018, there has been a demand to make it a part of the multi-sport event.
The International Olympic Committee is also promoting e-sports and in this exercise, the first Olympic e-sports week will also be celebrated in Singapore in June 2023.
Next year's Asian Games in China will see the debut of e-sports.
The Indian Esports Industry has been fighting for E-sports not to be clubbed under the umbrella term “Gaming”.
What is E-sports?
e-sports or “electronic sports,” transforms online gaming into a spectator sport.
The experience is similar to watching a professional sporting event, with spectators watching video gamers compete against each other in a virtual environment.
The e-sports Industry has maintained that e-sports is a competitive sport where e-sports athletes use their physical and mental abilities to compete in certain genres of video games in a virtual, electronic environment.
2. PV Sindhu among top 25 highest-paid female athletes in Forbes annual list
Tags: Sports Popular Sports News
India's badminton star PV Sindhu is the only Indian sportsperson to feature in the top 25 of Forbes' annual list of the world's highest-paid female athletes.
Important facts
- Sindhu, the 2016 Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, is ranked 12th in the list, which is topped by Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka.
- The 27-year-old Sindhu, who won the singles gold and doubles silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham earlier this year, earned $7 million out of her total earnings of $7.1 million.
- For the third year in a row, Osaka topped Forbes' annual list of the world's highest-paid female athletes. The list is once again dominated by tennis players.
- Naomi Osaka, the world number 42, topped the list with a total annual earning of $51.1 million, while Serena Williams is a distant second with $41.3 million and Eileen Gu, the freestyle skier, third with a total coffer of $20.1 million.
List of 15 highest paid female athletes of the year
- Naomi Osaka (Japan) – Tennis – $51.1 million
- Serena Williams (USA) – Tennis – $41.3 million
- Elieen Gu (China) – Skiing – $20.1 million
- Emma Raducanu (UK) – Tennis – $18.7 million
- Iga Swiatek (Poland) – Tennis – $14.9 million
- Venus Williams (USA) – Tennis – $12.1 million
- Coco Gauff (USA) – Tennis – $11.1 million
- Simone Biles (USA) – Gymnastics – $10 million
- Jessica Pegula (USA) – Tennis – $7.6 million
- Minjee Lee (Australia) – Golf – $7.3 million
- Candace Parker (USA) - Basketball - $7.2 million
- P.V. Sindhu (India) - Badminton - $7.1 million
- Leylah Fernandez (Canada) - Tennis -$7 million
- Lydia Ko (New Zealand) - Golf - $6.9 million
- Ons Jabeur (Tunisia) - Tennis - $6.5 million
3. Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur inaugurated the National Level Kabaddi Championship at Udupi Karnataka
Tags: Sports Sports News
Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Singh Thakur inaugurated the National level Kabaddi championship in Udupi in Karnataka on December 24.
Important fact
- National level Kabaddi tournament will be held at MGM ground in flood light, in which 12 teams from different states will participate.
- The winner will get the Atal Trophy and prize money of Rs one lakh.
- The runner-up will be awarded Rs 75,000, the third prize winner Rs 50,000 and the fourth prize winner Rs 25,000.
- The winners will be presented with the Atal trophy.
- The Atal Utsav and Booth Sangam will be inaugurated on December 25 by former chief minister B S Yediyurappa along with selected presiding officers of six vote booths.
- Atal Trophy was started in 1999 by Zilla Yuva Morcha through volleyball tournament and this time kabaddi tournament is also being organized.
4. PM launches Grih Pravesh programme for over 2 lakh beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana
Tags: Government Schemes Sports News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 18 December inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of several development projects worth over 6,800 crore rupees in Tripura and Meghalaya.
Important facts
The projects include 'Grih Pravesh' programme for beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Urban and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Rural.
These houses, developed at a cost of over Rs 3400 crores, will cover over 2 lakh beneficiaries.
Other projects include connectivity projects for widening of Agartala Bypass (Khairpur-Amtali) NH-08 under PMGSY III, foundation laying of 32 roads with a length of over 230 km and improvement projects of 112 roads with a length of over 540 km.
The Prime Minister also inaugurated the State Institute of Hotel Management at Anandnagar and Agartala Government Dental College.
About Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation launched the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana rural in 2016.
The scheme was initiated with the objective of ‘Housing for All by 2022’.
The scheme has 2 Components - Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural).
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin was earlier called Indira Awas Yojana which was renamed in March 2016.
5. Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties, win 3rd FIFA World Cup title
Tags: Sports Sports News
Argentina won the FIFA World Cup 2022 title third time on 18 December after defeating defending champions France 4-2 on penalties. The final match was played at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar.
Important facts
Argentina has been able to win the World Cup after 36 years. It has now won the title for the third time after 1978 and 1986.
The match remained tied at 2-2 for the stipulated 90 minutes. Lionel Messi scored a goal to put Argentina ahead 3–2, but Kylian Mbappe scored in the 117th minute to level the match at 3–3. After this, Argentina won the match in the penalty shootout.
Lionel Messi scored the first goal in the match on a penalty in the 23rd minute. He became the first footballer in the world to score in all knockout matches of a World Cup.
Messi won the Golden Ball award for the best player in the FIFA World Cup 2022, while Mbappe won the Golden Boot award for being the top goalscorer and Emiliano Martinez of Argentina won the Golden Glove award for being the best goalkeeper.
Embappé technically became France's first Golden Boot winner with a total of 8 goals.
Enzo Fernandez wins the Young Player Award.
2022 FIFA World Cup Awards
Top 4 team Rankings: (Winner), France (2nd), Croatia (3rd) and Morocco (4th)
Golden Boot Award: Kylian Mbappe (France)
Golden Ball Award: Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Golden Glove Award: Emiliano Martinez (Argentina)
FIFA Young Player Award: Enzo Fernandez
FIFA Fair Play Award: England
Silver Boot Award: Lionel Messi
Bronze Boot Award: Olivier Giroud (France)
Silver Ball Award: Kylian Mbappe
Most Goals in FIFA World Cup 2022
Kylian Mbappe (France) - 8
Lionel Messi (Argentina) - 7
Julian Alvarez (Argentina) - 4
Olivier Giroud - 4
Alvaro Morata (Spain) - 3
Bukayo Saka (England) - 3
Cody Gakpo (Netherlands) - 3
6. Cindy Hook appointed CEO of 2032 Olympic organising committee
Tags: Person in news Sports News
American executive Cindy Hook has been appointed as CEO of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The organising committee announced her appointment.
Important facts
She is currently a member of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and the Singapore Economic Development Board.
US-born Cindy Hook, 58, led Deloitte's Asia Pacific branch for nearly three years before stepping down in June this year with the intention of retiring from corporate work.
She previously worked for the international professional services network in the U.S. and in Australia, moving to Sydney in 2009 to lead the auditing practice for six years and later becoming CEO of the Australian operation in 2015.
Brisbane 2032 chairman Andrew Liveris described Hooke as someone who knows what it takes to run a multi-billion dollar business on time and on budget.
The International Olympic Committee in July last year decided to host the 2032 Games in Brisbane as part of a revised process.
Australia has twice previously hosted the Summer Olympics, at Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000.
7. Sports Minister Anurag Thakur unveils Hockey World Cup trophy
Tags: Sports Sports News
Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur on 16th December unveiled the Hockey World Cup trophy in New Delhi.
Important facts
The Federation of Indian Hockey (FIH) Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar - Rourkela Trophy arrived at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in the national capital.
The event was also graced by 1975 World Cup winners Ajit Pal Singh, Ashok Dhyanchand, Brig HJS Chimni, and former Olympians Harbinder Singh, Padma Shri Zafar Iqbal, and Vinit Kumar (Vice president, Delhi Hockey) among other dignitaries.
About the Trophy Tour
The trophy will travel across 13 states and one union territory before returning to Odisha on December 25, giving fans and the public a chance to engage with the coveted trophy.
The nationwide Trophy Tour was launched in Bhubaneswar on 5th December by the Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik.
The trophy will go to West Bengal, Manipur, Assam, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, New Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh.
Men’s Hockey World Cup- 2023
The World Cup will be jointly hosted by Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from 13 to 29 January 2023.
Matches will be played in the newly constructed Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, and in the iconic Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
The Hockey World Cup is organised every four years.
Teams of Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023
Pool A: Australia, Argentina, France, South Africa
Pool B: Belgium, Germany, Korea, Japan
Pool C: Netherlands, New Zealand, Malaysia, Chile
Pool D: India, England, Spain, Wales
Semi Final 1: 27th January, 2023
Semi Final 2: 27th January, 2023
Final: 29th January, 2023
8. FINA World Swimming Championships 2022: Chahat Arora sets national record in 100m breaststroke
Tags: Sports Sports News
In Swimming, Indian swimmer Chahat Arora set a national record in the women's 100-metre breaststroke at the FINA World Swimming Championships 2022 in Melbourne, Australia on 14 December.
Important facts
Chahat Arora completed the 100-metre breaststroke race in 1 minute, 13.13 seconds.
Lithuania's Ruta Meilutyte, topped the overall heats in 1 minute, 3.81 seconds, which was 9.32 seconds quicker than Chahat Arora.
The 19-year-old Lara Van Niekerk of South Africa came second in 1 minute 3.93 seconds, while Lilly King of the USA came third in 1 minute 3.94 seconds.
Chahat will participate in the women's 50m breaststroke event on 17 December. Siva Sridhar will compete in the 100-metre individual medley on 15 December.
The FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) 2022, the 16th edition of the competition, will conclude on 18 December.
The Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) is the world governing body for aquatic sports such as swimming, diving, waterpolo, synchronised and open water swimming.
9. Jos Buttler, Sidra Ameen win ICC Player of the month awards
Tags: Person in news Sports News
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on 12 November announced the winners of the ICC Player of the Month awards for November 2022.
Important facts
England's T20 World Cup-winning captain Jos Buttler was named the ICC Player of the Month for the first time after his stellar performance in November.
Playing his 100th T20 match against New Zealand in Brisbane, opener Buttler played a key role in the victory, scoring 73 off 47 balls.
Butler has achieved this award by leaving behind his compatriot spinner Adil Rashid and Pakistan's star fast bowler Shaheen Afridi.
Pakistan's Sidra Amin became the country's second consecutive winner of the Women's Player of the Month award after a stellar performance in the ODI series win against Ireland.
Sidra played an unbeaten inning of 176 runs against Ireland in the month of November, this was also the highest score of his cricket career.
Sidra has won this award leaving behind Thailand's Natthakan Chantham and Ireland's Gabby Lewis.
10. Axelsen and Yamaguchi win BWF World Tour Finals
Tags: Sports Sports News
Men's badminton world number one Viktor Axelsen won the men's singles title after defeating Indonesian ace Anthony Ginting at the season-ending World Tour Finals in Bangkok on 11 December.
The BWF moved its $1.5 million flagship event to the Thai capital's Nimibutra Arena after the tournament's original host China pulled out of the tournament due to Covid restrictions.
Men's Singles Final
Defending champion Axelsen appeared fresh, relaxed, energetic and in control as he cruised to a 21-13 win in the first game.
His confidence had been shakey following a surprise loss to India's H S Prannoy on 9 December -- only his third defeat this year -- but he appeared to be a different player on 11 December.
Women's Singles Final
Defending world champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan won the women's singles title by defeating Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan.
In the women's singles final, Yamaguchi won in straight games 21–18, 22–20 in a close match.
With that, Yamaguchi became the first women’s singles player since Ye Zhaoying in 1997 to claim the All England Open, World Championships and end-of-season finals all in the same year, as per the Badminton World Federation.
About BWF World Tour
The BWF World Tour is a Grade 2 badminton tournament series, sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF).
It is a competition open to the top world ranked players in singles (men's and women's) and doubles (men's, women's and mixed).
The competition was announced on 19 March 2017 and came into effect starting from 2018.
