Tiger Woods Won Arnold Palmer Invitational 2013;Regained World Number 1 Ranking

Pankaj Advani, eight time world champion on 13 February 2013 entered pre-quarterfinals of the BetVictor Welsh Open Pro Snooker Series. He is the first Indian cueist to reach at this position. He defeated former world champion Shaun Murphy of England, 4-3 at Wales. Also, he is the only active player who entered at such a highest level in snooker as well as billiards in same season.

Earlier in the season, Pankaj Advani defeated renowned players in Pro circuit such as John Higgins, Ryan Day, Alan McManus, Mark King, Steve Davis, Nigel Bond, Jimmy White and Michael Holt.

Sebastian Vettel of Germany, the Red Bull driver became youngest triple champion in the history of Formula One on 25 November 2012 by finishing 6th behind Jenson Button in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Vettel, 25 got himself involved in opening lap collision and made very little damage to his Red Bull car in the run in rain-swept conditions at Interlagos circuit. The only title rival of Vettel was two-time champion Spaniard Fernnando Alonso who finished in the second position in his Ferrari. However he had pre-race 13 points deficit while Vettel won the title by merely three points.

Vettel was the third driver in the history of Formula One to win three consecutive titles. Others who have done this before are Michael Schumacher and Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio. The Red Bull team of Vettel took the third constructors’ championship in the sequence on 18 November 2012 in Texas and finished with 281 points while Alonso with 278 points.

India first participated at the Olympic Games in 1900, with a lone athlete (Norman Pritchard) winning two medals in athletics. The nation first sent a team to the Summer Olympic Games in 1920, and has participated in every Summer Games since then. India has also competed at several Winter Olympic Games since 1964. The 1920 team consisted of two wrestlers, two athletes and a manager. Out of the four sportsmen, only Mr. Phadeppa Dareppa Chaugule completed his event that is the Marathon. He ranked 19th with a timing of 2 Hours 50 Minutes 45.4 Seconds for a distance of 42 .750 KMs. He thus becomes India’s first Olympic Marathon runner.

Indian athletes have won a total of 23 medals, mostly in field hockey. For a period of time, India’s men’s field hockey team was dominant in Olympic competition, winning eleven medals in twelve Olympics between 1928 and 1980, including six successive gold medals from 1928–1956.

The National Olympic Committee for India is the Indian Olympic Association, and was created in 1927.

The 2008 Summer Olympics was the most successful Olympics ever for India with the nation winning three Olympic medals in three different sports and also winning first individual Olympic gold medal won by Abhinav Bindra.
The 2012 Summer Olympics saw an 83 member Indian contingent participating in the games. The contingent was led by Sushil Kumar, a bronze Medalist for India at the 2008 Summer Olympics, in the opening ceremony of the London Olympics. This is the largest ever contingent from India participating in the games in 55 events. The first medal of the London Olympics for India was won by Gagan Narang in the 10m air rifle. ^[1] The second medal of the London Olympics was won by Vijay Kumar in 25 meter rapid fire pistol.The third medal was won by Saina Nehwal in the Women’s Singles Event in Badminton. The fourth medal will be won by Mary Kom, who, having reached the semi-finals of Women’s Flyweight (51 kg), is guaranteed at least a bronze medal.

F1 Racer Sebastian Vettel defeated Lewis Hamilton to win European Grand Pix 2012

Formula One (F1) racer Sebastian Vettel defeated Lewis Hamilton by 1minute 38.086 seconds and won European Grand Pix 2012, Valencia on 24 June 2012. Vettel became the first F1 repeat winner of the season. Vettel is from Red Bull’s team and Hamilton is from McLaren.
There were 57 numbers of Laps on the Valencia Street Circuit in European Grand Pix 2012. The circuit length was 5.419 km had the race distance of 308.883 km. There were 12 teams participated in European Grand Pix 2012.

Pos	Team	Mat	Net RR	Pts
1	DD	9	+0.902	14
2	KKR	9	+0.694	11
3	MI	9	-0.187	10
4	CSK	9	-0.015	9
5	RCB	9	-0.462	9
6	RR	9	+0.163	8
7	PWI	9	-0.064	8
8	KXIP	9	-0.347	8
9	DC	8	-0.713	3

IPL Teams in 2012th Edition

• Chennai Super Kings
• Deccan Chargers
• Delhi Daredevils
• Kings XI Punjab
• Kolkata Knight Riders
• Mumbai Indians
• Pune Warriors India
• Rajasthan Royals
• Royal Challengers Bangalore

DAY ,DATE ,MATCH, TIME ,TEAM, TEAM VENUE

Mon 30-Apr

8pm Chennai Super Kings Kolkata Knight Riders Chennai
4pm Deccan Chargers Pune Warriors India Cuttack
Tue 01-May 8pm

Rajasthan Royals Delhi Daredevils Jaipur
Wed 02-May

8pm Royal Challengers Bangalore Kings XI Punjab Bangalore
Thu 03-May

8pmPune Warriors India Mumbai Indians Pune
Fri 04-May

8pm Chennai Super Kings Deccan Chargers Chennai

4pm Kolkata Knight Riders Pune Warriors India Kolkata
Sat 05-May  8pm

Kings XI Punjab Rajasthan Royals Mohali
4pm Mumbai Indians Chennai Super Kings Mumbai

Sun 06-May

8pm Royal Challengers Bangalore Deccan Chargers Bangalore
Mon 07-May

8pm Delhi Daredevils Kolkata Knight Riders Delhi
4pm Pune Warriors India Rajasthan Royals Pune
Tue 08-May

8pm Deccan Chargers Kings XI Punjab Hyderabad
Wed 09-May

8pm Mumbai Indians Royal Challengers Bangalore Mumbai

4pm Deccan Chargers Delhi Daredevils Hyderabad

Thu 10-May

8pmRajasthan Royals Chennai Super Kings Jaipur

Fri 11-May 57

8pm Pune Warriors India Royal Challengers Bangalore Pune
4pm  Kolkata Knight Riders Mumbai Indians Kolkata

Sat 12-May

8pmChennai Super Kings Delhi Daredevils Chennai
4pm Rajasthan Royals Pune Warriors India Jaipur

Sun 13-May 8pm Kings XI Punjab Deccan Chargers Mohali

4pm Royal Challengers Bangalore Mumbai Indians Bangalore

Mon 14-May

8pm Kolkata Knight Riders Chennai Super Kings Kolkata

Tue 15-May

8pm Delhi Daredevils Kings XI Punjab Delhi

Wed 16-May

8pm Mumbai Indians Kolkata Knight Riders Mumbai
4pm Kings XI Punjab Chennai Super Kings Dharamsala

Thu 17-May

8pm Delhi Daredevils Royal Challengers Bangalore Delhi

Fri 18-May

8pm Deccan Chargers Rajasthan Royals Hyderabad
4pm Kings XI Punjab Delhi Daredevils Dharamsala

Sat 19-May 8pm Pune Warriors India Kolkata Knight Riders Pune

4pm Deccan Chargers Royal Challengers Bangalore Hyderabad

Sun 20-May 8pm Rajasthan Royals Mumbai Indians Jaipur

PLAY OFF WEEK
Tue 22-May QUALIFIER 1* 8pm First Placed Team Second Placed Team Pune

Wed 23-May ELIMInATOR* 8pm Third Placed Team Fourth Placed Team Bangalore

Fri 25-May QUALIFIER 2 8pm Winner of Eliminator Loser of Qualiier 1 Chennai

Sun 27-May FInAL 8pm Winner of Qualiier 1 Winner of Qualiier 2 Chennai

* If Royal Challengers Bangalore finish as First Placed Team or Second Placed team then they will play in Qualiier 1 in Bangalore on 23-May.

The Eliminator will then move to 22-May in Pune.

Jan 29,  9:3 PM
World number one, Novak Djokovic has won his third Australian Open title, defeating Spain ‘s Rafa Nadal, 5-7,6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5, in an epic five hour, 53 minute match.

Djokovic, who won the title at Melbourne Park in 2008 and 2011, has now won five Grand slam titles in total and continues his recent domination over the Spaniard, having beaten him in their last seven meetings, all in finals.

Hosts Australia  swept the 4-match Test series, 4-0, after defeating India by 298 runs in the fourth and final cricket test at Adelaide. This was India’s second consecutive series defeat on foreign soil.

Facing a daunting victory target of 500, the touring Indian side resumed the final day today at the overnight score of 166 for 6, with Wriddhiman Saha and Ishant Sharma at the crease.

Failing to withstand the pressure of batting one full day with just 4 wickets in hand, India were dismissed for 201 in the second innings, with the batsmen failing to match the accurate and hostile bowling attack of the hosts.

Paceman Peter Siddle was adjudged man of the match, while Aussie Skipper Michael Clarke was named man of the series.

Both the teams are scheduled to play two Twenty-20 matches, before the tri-nation ODI series, that includes Sri Lanka, beginning on the 5th of February. The first T-20 will be played at Sydney on 1st February.

Ace shooter Gagan Narang, who notched up four gold medals at last year’s Commonwealth Games, was  conferred the country’s highest sporting honour — the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award — in a glittering ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan here.

The 28-year-old rifle shooter, who was the first Indian marksman to qualify for next year’s London Olympics with a bronze in the World Championships last year, was an automatic choice for the prestigious award.

Narang, who was disgruntled at being “ignored” for the award last year, received the trophy, that consists of a medal, citation and cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh, from President Pratibha Patil.

Besides winning four gold medals in the 2010 CWG, Narang bagged a silver in the men’s 10m air rifle singles event at the Asian Games last year. He also won a team silver at the Asian Games when he combined with Abhinav Bindra and Sanjeev Rajput in the 10m air rifle event.

Among the Arjuna awardees, the most high-profile among the ones chosen this year — Indian pace spearhead Zaheer Khan — could not attend the function as he was recently operated upon on his injured ankle in England.

Kvitova beats Sharapova to win maiden Wimbledon title

Wimbledon: Petra Kvitova won her first Grand Slam title Saturday by beating Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-4 in the Wimbledon final.

Kvitova was playing in her first major final, but it was three-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova that showed her nerves. The 2004 Wimbledon champion double-faulted six times, including twice to get broken to 4-2 in the first set.

The 21-year-old Kvitova is the first left-handed woman to win the Wimbledon title since Martina Navratilova in 1990.

Using a fast-paced and well-placed forehand, Kvitova did little wrong on Centre Court as Czech greats Navratilova and Jana Novotna sat in the Royal Box with a host of other former Wimbledon champions.

Kvitova kept Sharapova on the run with 18 winners, and never seemed to lose confidence despite being broken three times.

Sharapova was the clear favorite entering the match. Besides winning the title at the All England Club in 2004, she also won the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. Shoulder surgery in October 2008 slowed her career, but she returned to the semifinals at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since then at the French Open last month.

At Wimbledon, Sharapova had not lost a set heading into the final. But she struggled with her serve in the semifinals, double-faulting 13 times before beating German wildcard Sabine Lisicki.

Sharapova won the toss at the net before the final and elected to receive, perhaps because she wanted some time to get into game action before testing her serve.

Li Na Becomes First Chinese to Win French Open

Li Na made sporting history at the French Open today when she became the first player from China to win a Grand Slam singles title.

The 29-year-old from Wuhan defeated defending champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-4, 7-6 (7/0)) to take her place in the pantheon of Chinese sports stars.

Li clinched the watershed win with a superb 7-0 tie-break performance in the second set, falling onto her back in the red dirt when Schiavone hit long on match point

It was a thrilling display of shot-making from the Chinese player who has said she hopes that by winning a Grand Slam title she will act as a catalyst for the growth of tennis in her giant homeland.

For 30-year-old Schiavone it was a bitter pill to swallow one year after she upset the odds to become Italy’s first and so far only Grand Slam women’s champion.

CSK Retain IPL Title

Chennai Super Kings retained the Indian Premier League title after crushing Royal Challengers Bangalore by 58 runs in a thoroughly one-sided final here today.

After putting up a formidable 205 for five riding on a smashing 95 from Murali Vijay, the champions restricted their opponents to a meagre 147 for eight thereby winning an incredible eighth match on trot at the Chepauk.

Chasing 206, RCB depended on Chris Gayle (0) but the big Jamaican fell prey to the law of averages as he was snapped up by Dhoni in the very first over bowled by Ravichandran Ashwin. The match was over as a contest after that moment only.

POINTS TABLE OF THE CRICKET WORLD CUP 2011

World Cup 2011 Group A

Teams                MP     W     D     L     NR     NRR           PTS
New Zealand     5       4     0     1     0     +1.957           8
Sri Lanka            5       3     0     1     1     +2.705            7
Australia            4       3     0     0     1     +1.645            7
Pakistan              4       3     0     1     0     +0.760           6
Zimbabwe          4        1     0     3     0     -0.690            2
Canada                5        1     0     4     0     -2.046            2
Kenya                  5        0     0     5     0     -3.005           0

World Cup 2011 Group B

Teams            MP     W     D     L     NR     NRR     PTS

India                  5         3     1      1     0     +0.992         7
West Indies      4        3     0     1     0     +2.206         6
South Africa    4        3     0     1     0     +1.352          6
England             5        2     1     2     0     +0.013          5
Bangladesh      4        2     0     2     0     -1.241            4
Ireland              4        1     0     3     0     -0.444           2
Holland             4        0     0     4     0     -2.728          0

World Cup Records and   Facts

Ireland batsman Kevin O’Brien entered into World Cup record books by hitting the fastest century in the mega event’s history in just 50 balls during his side’s Group B match against England .

27-year-old O’Brien reached the milestone by taking a double off Michael Yardy in the 41st over of Ireland run chase after England had batted first and posted 327 for eight.

O’Brien’s record is the sixth fastest overall in ODIs. Shahid Afridi holds the record of fastest hundred in ODIs in 37 balls. He also hit another ton in 45 balls. Others who have hit faster centuries in ODIs than O’Brien are Mark Boucher (44 balls), Brian Lara (45) and Sanath Jayasuriya (48).

In the 34th National Games, Services have taken a commanding lead over their rivals in medal standings. At the end of the ninth day of the competitions on Monday, they had a haul of 44 gold, 33 silver and 26 bronze. Maharashtra were a distant second with 34 gold, 37 silver and 36 bronze.

Women’s number one tennis player Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark has won the singles title of Dubai Tennis Championship. In one sided final match played in Dubai last night, she defeated world number sixteenth C Kuznetsova of Russia 6-1. 6-3.

The No. 1-ranked tennis player Rafael Nadal was named the sportsman of the year while Lindsey Vonn, an American skiing champion, won the sportswoman of the year award at a ceremony on Monday in Abu Dhabi.

In the other awards, Spain’s World Cup squad won the team of the year; Italian motorcycle champion Valentino Rossi claimed the comeback of the year award; French football great Zinedine Zidane won the lifetime achievement award and American surfer Kelly Slater took the action sportsperson of the year.

Winners were chosen by 46 the sports stars who make up the Laureus sports academy.

Sachin Tendulkar’s genius made way for another evening of celebrations as the cricketing fraternity got together to honour him with the Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year award.

Lifetime Award for Jimmy

Former India all-rounder and man-of-the-match in the 1983 World Cup semifinal and final, Mohinder Amarnath, was felicitated with the Castrol Lifetime Achievement award.

Note: Event held in Mumbai on Jan 29,2011