Category: Sports

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) won the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League claiming a five-wicket win over Gujarat Titans (GT) in a rain-affected, but thrilling final on May 29 at a packed Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. B. Sai Sudharsan slammed 96 in 47 balls as Gujarat Titans posted 214 for four after being asked to bat first.

The winning team was given a revised target of 171 in 15 overs after rain interrupted play at the start of the second innings of a final, which had already pushed to the reserve day owing to heavy downpour on May 28. CSK completed the task in the last ball. Ravindra Jadeja struck a six and a four off Mohit Sharma in the final two balls in the T20 league to win it for CSK.

In the first innings, GT were off to a flying start with their opening duo of Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill putting on 67 runs in seven overs. While Gill was sent back by star left-arm spinning all-rounder Jadeja for a 20-ball 39, Saha went on to make 54 off 39 balls to lay a strong foundation for a daunting total. Sudharsan hit six sixes and eight fours in his whirlwind knock. 

Manchester City will face Inter Milan in the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey on June 10. It is the first competitive match between the two sides as they aim to lift the most coveted European sports title.

Man City confirmed its place in this season’s showpiece event with a splendid 4-0 win over Real Madrid in the semi-final second leg at Etihad on May 17, with a 5-1 aggregate win. Inter Milan had already secured its spot in the final by beating AC Milan 3-0 on aggregate in their semi-final clash a day before.

It will be the second time Manchester City has figured in the final after its maiden appearance in 2021 when Chelsea edged the team out by 1-0. Meanwhile, Inter Milan is a three-time winner of European football’s most prestigious tournament. The team last won the Champions League in 2010 when it beat Bayern Munich 2-0 to complete the treble, a feat never before achieved by any team from either Italy or Germany.

India’s Olympic gold medal-winning javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won the Doha Diamond League by a margin of 0.04 metres on May 5. The 25-year-old posted a best throw of 88.67 metres. Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Jakub Vadlejch ranked at the second spot in the League with a best throw of 88.63m, while world Champion Anderson Peters finished third with a best throw of 85.88m.

The Indian Olympian began his 2023 season on a high, finishing first in the highly-competitive 10-man men’s javelin field. He kickstarted the tournament by registering a javelin throw of 88.67 m. The first Indian to win the Diamond Trophy last year, this was his first attempt at the prestigious League hosted at the Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium, a venue known for being a favourable venue for some of the biggest throws registered in the game.

The latest win is the third time Neeraj has topped the field at the Diamond League after the win in Lausanne in August 2022 and the Diamond League Final victory in Zurich. His personal best throw of 89.94 m came when he finished second at the Stockholm Diamond League in June 2022.

Cambodia kicked off its first ever hosting of the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) on May 5, in a historical uproar of singing, dancing, flag-waving and fireworks. The opening ceremony of the 32nd SEA Games took place at the Morodok Techo National Stadium in Phnom Penh. The biennial multi-sport event was first held in Bangkok in 1959.

The evening opening ceremony had athletes from across the region, and showcased the country’s rich history and thanking its leader for recent modernisation. Tickets to the Games have been given away for free, and the demand is huge. Inside the Morodok Techo National Stadium at the opening ceremony, all of the venue’s 60,000 seats were packed.

The main production, which was a presentation of golden finery, elegant costumes and warriors, told the story of the kingdom. Athletes presented the national martial art Kun Bokator, marking its debut at this year’s Games.

The leaders in attendance included the Prime Minister of Vietnam and the President of Laos. Prime Minister of Cambodia Hun Sen Hun Sen entered the stadium to great applause. One of the world’s longest-ruling leaders, he spoke briefly, expressing his gratitude for peace in the country under his leadership and declaring the opening of the Games.

Events kick into full gear on May 6, with the Games running to May 17, before the Para Games in early June.

Ibi Lollen won two bronze medals at the 21st Asian Armwrestling Championship, which concluded in Ajman, UAE, on May 3. The young sportsperson from Arunachal Pradesh won the medals in both left hand and right hand categories in the senior women’s 65 kg weight category, said All Arunachal Pradesh Arm Wrestling Association (AAPAWA) President Pakjar Taipodia.

Lollen was the lone player from the northeast Indian state to represent the country in the championship. It was after 20 years that an arm wrestler from Arunachal Pradesh has won a medal at the Asian championship. In 2003, the present AAPAWA president and coach Pakjar Taipodia had won one silver and one bronze medal in right hand and left hand categories, respectively. The coach said there are many more players in Arunachal Pradesh, who can win medals at international level.

Over 500 athletes from 16 countries were in the fray at the Asian Armwrestling Championship. The contest, comprising the 21st edition of the Asian Armwrestling Championship and the Asian Para-Armwrestling Championship, was organised by the Asian Armwrestling Federation in cooperation with the UAE Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation at the Bahi Ajman Place hotel.

Indian men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won gold after beating the Malaysian pair of Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi 16-21, 21-17, 21-19 in the final of the Badminton Asia Championships in Dubai on April 30. The World No. 6 Indian pair defeated the 8th-ranked Malaysian pair in a stunning three-game battle at Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Indoor Hall, Al Nasr Club.

The Sunday’s match was interesting throughout, as both the pairs balanced the scores. From 1-1 to 10-10, the pairs moved neck and neck. Rankireddy and Shetty conceded the opening game, but fought back from 7-13 in the second game to complete a dramatic win in an hour and 7 minutes.

The pair won India its only second gold medal at the Badminton Asia Championships after Dinesh Khanna’s men’s singles Gold medal in 1965. This is another big win for the Indian duo, whose performance last year helped India win the Thomas Cup for the first time. In 2022, the pair also won gold in men’s doubles at the Commonwealth Games and a bronze at the World Championships in Tokyo.

Since 1962, India has won two gold and 16 bronze medals at the continental Championships in various events.

In a first, Paris 2024 Olympics will see an opening ceremony outside of a stadium and in the heart of the city, as its organisers unveiled their plan to open the ceremony on the River Seine, with at least 6,00,000 spectators expected to attend the grand party.

A total of 116 Parisian and regional boats from 42 river companies have been identified to sail on the river on July 26, 2024. The boats mostly will come from Paris, with a Strasbourg-based provider Batorama too sending its boats to participate in the opening ceremony.

The boats will transport the athletes, sailing six kilometers from Pont d’Austerlitz to the Pont d’Iena, with the river and Paris’ iconic monuments such as Notre Dame, the Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower as backdrop. The cruising route is also one of the classic tourist attractions of the French capital.

The Olympics Games will see the sale of an estimated 100,000 tickets for the opening ceremony, ranging from 90 euros to 2,700 euros.

Paris has hosted the Olympics twice before, in 1900 and 1924. Next year, it will become the second city after London to host the games for the third time when athletes around the world gather from July 26 to August 11.

The Portuguese-language Michaelis dictionary, one of the most popular in Brazil, added “pelé” as a new adjective for someone who is “exceptional, incomparable, unique”. The inclusion came after a campaign by the Pelé Foundation to honour the football star gathered more than 1,25,000 signatures.

The entry reads: “pe.lé adj. That or someone who is out of the ordinary, who or who by virtue of their quality, value or superiority cannot be equalled to anything or anyone, just like Pelé, nickname of Edson Arantes do Nascimento (1940-2022), who is considered the greatest athlete of all time; exceptional, incomparable, unique.”

The publishers behind Michaelis dictionaries announced on April 26 that the word would be included in the digital edition of their Portuguese-language dictionary immediately and in the printed version once the next edition was published.

The Brazilian soccer legend passed away on 29 December 2022 at the age of 82. He had been battling cancer in the hospital since November. FIFA famously titled him ‘The Greatest’ to recognise his pioneering work in football and influence both on and off the field.

Pelé is the only player to have won the World Cup three times. He is widely considered to be the best footballer in history. During his playing career spanning two decades, he scored a record 1,281 goals with Brazilian club Santos, Brazil’s national team, and the New York Cosmos.

Kolkata Knight Riders’ batter Rinku Singh is spending ₹50 lakh to build hostel for underprivileged cricketers in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. The hostel will house more than 50 children and provide them with the necessary facilities.

Born in a humble family in Aligarh to a father who worked for an LPG company as a cylinder-delivery executive, Rinku Singh spent his childhood in a dilapidated, tin-roofed house, alongside his nine-member family. He has committed to providing the poor youth with the facilities he never had. He persevered as a budding cricketer and now wishes to provide opportunities for young cricketers who face similar financial struggles.

The hostel will have 14 rooms and each one can accommodate four trainees. A shed and a pavilion, and separate toilets are being constructed. These trainees can have food at the canteen being run at the place. The facility will cost around Rs 50 lakh, and the whole expenditure is being borne by the cricketer.

Rinku Singh has been outstanding in the Indian Premier League 2023 season. He smashed five consecutive sixes on the last five deliveries of a match against the Gujarat Titans, securing a win for the Kolkata Knight Riders. So far, he has scored 174 runs in five matches at an impressive strike rate of 162.62 in this IPL.

Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma completed 6,000 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Hyderabad on April 18. It took him 232 matches (227 innings) to accomplish the feat, and has scored 41 fifties and one hundred in the IPL.

Rohit was at 5986 runs before the start of the match and needed 14 runs to reach the milestone. On the second ball of the third over, he hit the second of his three consecutive fours to complete 6,000 runs in IPL history.  He scored 28 runs in the innings, but became just the fourth player to score 6,000 IPL runs after Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner.

The current captain of India men’s cricket team in all formats has enjoyed a stellar career in the IPL, having won the cup six times. Rohit is also the most successful captain in the history of the tournament with five titles. He began his IPL stint in 2008 with Deccan Chargers and won his first IPL title in 2009 when the competition was played in South Africa. He left Deccan Chargers for Mumbai Indians in 2011.