Category: Sports

Teenage armless archer Sheetal Devi achieved a historic feat by becoming the first Indian woman to secure two gold medals in a single edition of the Asian Para Games. Indian para-athletes on October 28 created history with a record-breaking 111 medals at Hangzhou Asian Para Games.

Indian para athletes have now achieved most medals for the country in any major international multi-sport event. They won 29 gold, 31 silver, and 51 bronze medals, placing fifth in the medal count.

India surpassed 2018’s best Asian Para Games tally of 72 medals, earning 39 more medals, and athletics accounting for 55 of India’s total of 111 medals. “We have made history, our para athletes have made the country proud,” Paralympic Committee of India President Deepa Malik said.

Sheetal Devi, a 16-year-old from Jammu and Kashmir was born with phocomelia syndrome, a rare congenital disorder, which kept her limbs underdeveloped. She holds her bow with her foot. Discovered at a military camp in a remote part of Kishtwar and adopted by the Indian Army in her childhood, the teenager became the first armless woman to win a Para World Archery Championships medal in July.

The para athletes did better than their able-bodied counterparts who had won a record haul of 107 medals in the Hangzhou Asian Games held from September 23 to October 8.

Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) has announced its support for Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2034 World Cup, ending the possibility of Indonesia’s own proposal to co-host the event with Australia. 

PSSI Chief Erick Thohir had recently said the country was in talks with Australia for a possible joint 2034 World Cup bid, despite the Asian confederation having declared its support for Saudi Arabia’s candidacy. Thohir, who also serves as a government minister and was formerly the owner of Serie A club Inter Milan, said the country would now look to host the event after 2034. The country, however, continues to prepare for its bid to host the FIFA World Cup after 2034, and other FIFA competitions, he added.

Indonesia’s joint bid proposal with Australia could also have involved games in New Zealand, Malaysia, and Singapore. Australian officials had mentioned the possibility of a joint bid for the 2034 World Cup with Jakarta in June.

Global football body FIFA has invited bids from the Asia and Oceania regions for the rotating World Cup hosting rights, with October 31 as deadline, after naming Morocco, Spain and Portugal as joint hosts for 2030. Saudi Arabia’s bid is the latest step in a campaign to turn the Kingdom into a global sports powerhouse.

In an extraordinary display of skill and resilience, 37-year-old Gael Monfils etched his name in the record books by becoming the oldest player to clinch a title at the prestigious Stockholm Open. The Frenchman’s remarkable triumph not only showcased his exceptional talent but also defied the conventions of age in professional tennis.

Monfils, a seasoned player with a career spanning two decades, delivered a series of stunning performances throughout the tournament, demonstrating a perfect blend of experience and vitality. His journey to the title was marked by relentless determination and strategic gameplay, attributes that have defined his illustrious career.

The final match saw Monfils unleashing his signature athleticism and powerful strokes, leaving the audience and his opponent spellbound. His victory was a testament to his unwavering spirit and his ability to compete at the highest level, despite the challenges posed by younger adversaries.

This historic win at the Stockholm Open has added another feather to Monfils’ cap, highlighting his sustained excellence in the world of tennis. His journey defies the age norms in the sport, proving that with passion, dedication, and the right mindset, age is just a number. Monfils’ success story serves as an inspiration to aspiring tennis players worldwide, showcasing that perseverance and hard work can lead to remarkable achievements, irrespective of age.

Shubman Gill on October 22 became the fastest batter to score 2,000 runs in ODI cricket. The Indian cricketer achieved the feat in 38 innings, overtaking South African opener Hashim Amla, who did so in 40 innings, during India’s 2023 World Cup clash against New Zealand in Dharamsala. In the same match, Mohammed Shami clinched a fifer in the important group stage clash.

Shami, who was benched for the first four matches of the championship, was brought into the playing XI after Hardik Pandya suffered an ankle injury in India’s match against Bangladesh in Pune on October 19. With figures of 5/54 in 10 overs, he became the first Indian pacer to achieve two five-wicket hauls in the ODI World Cup history.

Ravindra Jadeja hit the winning runs in Sunday’s match and helped team India defeat New Zealand in World Cup after two decades. He scored 39 runs off 44 balls. India won the match by four wickets. Virat Kohli scored 95 runs off 104 balls.

On the bowling front, besides Shami’s five wickets, Kuldeep Yadav took two wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj took one wicket each.

India batter Virat Kohli completed his 69th half-century in one-day internationals to become the leading run-scorer in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Kohli brought up his half-century, while chasing 274 runs against New Zealand at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on October 22.

This was Kohli’s 69th fifty in ODIs and his third in this World Cup. He overtook Mohammad Rizwan of Pakistan and India captain Rohit Sharma to become the leading run-getter in the 2023 World Cup.

Kohli then formed a 52-run stand with Shreyas Iyer to settle India’s innings after two quick dismissals of Rohit Sharma and Shubhman Gill. After Iyer, Kohli made the next crucial 54-run partnership with KL Rahul to bring India closer to the 274-run target.

In the first innings, Daryll Mitchell became the first New Zealand batter to score a century against India in ODI World Cups after 48 years, guiding his team to a 273-run total.

From the Indian side, Mohammed Shami claimed a five-wicket haul and became the first Indian bowler to pick multiple five-wicket hauls in ODI World Cups.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 14 confirmed that India would bid to host the 2036 Olympics. The Prime Minister made the announcement during the inauguration of the 141st International Olympic Committee (IOC) session at the Jio World Centre in Mumbai.

Speaking at the session, IOC President Thomas Bach informed that the committee has sold seven million tickets for Paris Olympics to people from 180 countries, and there is huge demand for the remaining three million tickets yet to be released.

Bach declared the 2024 Paris Olympics as the final games before the artificial intelligence (AI) era. Calling the Olympics to be the most complex event in the world, he said that AI will help to reduce, streamline, and optimise the work of Organizing Committees in all aspects of planning and running the Games. The technology will help with Games’ efficient organisation, running the Olympic Village more efficiently, managing spectator flows, transportation, and venues. It can also play a part in the broadcasting of the event, he said.

The IOC session was held in India after 40 years, with the last session hosted in New Delhi in 1983.

Tokyo Olympics javelin throw champion Neeraj Chopra was nominated for the Men’s World Athlete of the Year 2023 award by the World Athletics on October 12. The other 10 athletes shortlisted for the Men’s World Athlete of the Year 2023 award include sprinter Noah Lyles (USA), the 100m and 200m world champion and the world leader in 200m; Soufiane El Bakkali (Morocco), the 3000m steeplechase champion; Mondo Duplantis (Sweden), the reigning world champion in the men’s pole vault; race walker Alvaro Martin (Spain), world champion in the 20km and 35km events.

Chopra became the first Indian to win the gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August. The 25-year-old later finished second in the Diamond League 2023 before defending his title at the Asian Games in Hangzhou this month.

The athletes shortlisted for the Men’s World Athlete of the Year 2023 award were selected by an international panel of athletics experts, comprising representatives from all six continental areas of World Athletics. A three-way voting process will determine the final five finalists to be announced on November 13 or 14.

The World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family will cast their votes by email. Meanwhile, fans will be able to vote online via the World Athletics social media platforms. The voting will close on October 28.

The World Athletics Council’s vote will count for 50% of the result, while the World Athletics Family’s votes and the public votes will each count for 25% of the final result. The winners will be revealed on World Athletics’ social media platforms on December 11.

The Indian men’s hockey team sealed their spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics by winning the high-stake final match against Japan in the recent Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

The Indian team displayed a dominating performance, scoring 5 goals, while Japanese could manage to send the ball only once into the nets. The top goal scorer for India was Harmanpreet Singh, who successfully converted two penalty corners in the 32nd and 59th minutes, respectively. The opening goal came from Manpreet Singh in the 25th minute. The other two goals came from Amit Rohidas, through a penalty corner in the 36th minute, and Abhishek, a field goal in the 48th minute.

In hockey, the Asian Games works as a qualifying event as the winners in both men’s and women’s categories automatically get a spot at the Olympics. Indian men’s team finished third at the 2018 edition and so, had to take part in FIH qualifiers to progress to Tokyo Olympics where it won bronze.

However, this time in Hangzhou, the Indian team successfully topped the group stage with five wins out of five matches. In the semifinals, the team defeated South Korea 5-3 to set up the summit clash with 2018 champion Japan.

The 19th edition of the Asian Games, held from September 23 to October 8 in Hangzhou, won quotas for next year’s Paris Olympics in some of the events. Besides the men’s hockey team, Indian boxers Lovlina Borgohain, Nikhat Zareen, Parveen Hooda and Preeti Pawar, and javelin thrower Kishore Kumar Jena earned quotas for the Paris Olympics at the recent games in Hangzhou, China.

Incredible India signed off Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games in China with a record 107 medals (28 gold, 38 silver, 41 bronze) to finish fourth on the medal tally. This is the nation’s biggest-ever haul in a single edition of the quadrennial games.

The feat of 100 medals was registered on October 7 as the Indian women’s kabaddi team won a gold medal beating Chinese Taipei at the 19th Asian Games 2023.

It is only the second time that India has won over 100 medals in any of the three international games — The Olympics, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. India won 101 medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. The latest record crossed this mark comfortably.

Among the major highlights of this year’s games, Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra defended his Asiad javelin title with a massive 88.88 m throw. Athletics fetched the highest number of medals among all disciplines, with 29 medals. Indian shooters also did better with 22 medals from their best count of 14 at Doha 2006 games; 12 of these medals have come in team events. The men’s and women’s cricket and kabaddi team did the double, picking gold medals in each of these sections.

The Indian duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty downed South Korea’s Choi Solgyu-Kim Wonho 21-18 21-16 to clinch a historic gold medal, becoming the first-ever Indian badminton doubles pair to win the Asian Games gold medal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the momentous achievement of the Indian sportspersons.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed three major USA cities, Dallas, Miami and New York, as the venues for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. The country is set to host the T20 World Cup for the first time, with Grand Prairie in Dallas, Broward County in Florida and Nassau County in New York chosen as the venues for the grand event.

USA and West Indies were selected as co-hosts for the global tournament in November 2021. The venues were chosen following an extensive evaluation of several options.

Modular stadium technology will be used to increase facilities for the success of the upcoming cricket cup, with 20 teams competing for the trophy. The stadiums will be increased in size to expand seating and media and premium hospitality areas. The technology has been used at previous ICC events and routinely used in other major sports around the world.

Several other potential venues have been identified for pre-event matches and training. These include George Mason University in Washington, which is the home for Major League Cricket (MLC) team Washington Freedom.