UPSC Prelims 2024 Special: Revision Checklist for important Sports tidbits (2024)

— The 19th Asian Games were held in Hangzhou, China, from September 23 to October 8, 2023. These games were originally slated to take place from September 10 to 25, 2022, but were postponed because of the escalating number of COVID-19 pandemic infections in China.

— “Heart to Heart, @Future” is the slogan for the Games.

— The Emblem’s official name is “Tides Surging”. It portrays the Qiantang River in Hangzhou, one of the world’s three greatest river tidal bores.

— The three mascots for Hangzhou 2022 are Congcong, Chenchen, and Lianlian. They represent Hangzhou’s three World Heritage Sites: the Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and West Lake.

— Two medal sports—breakdancing and eSports—make their debut at the 2023 Asian Games.

— In addition, board games Go, Xiangqi, and Chess, which were absent from the 2018 Asiad, will make a comeback to the Asian Games in 2023.

— The Asian Games were first held in 1951 in New Delhi.

— For the opening ceremony, PR Sreejesh carried the Indian flag, while Harmanpreet Singh from hockey and Lovlina Borgohain from boxing did it for the closing ceremony.

(Source: twitter)

Important events and personalities associated Hangzhou Asian Games

5000m race

Parul Chaudhary: She becomes the third Indian track and field athlete to win gold at the 2023 Asian Games, winning the women’s 5000m event.

Javelin Throw

Annu Rani: She became the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games gold in javelin throw with her season-best effort of 62.92m.

Neeraj Chopra: He won a gold medal with a throw of 88.88m.

Kishore Jena: He is also associated with Javelin throw and bagged a silver medal marking his personal best of 87.54m.

Kabaddi

The Indian men’s kabaddi team defeated Iran to win the gold medal in the 2023 Asian Games.

Steeplechase

Avinash Sable: Hebecame the first Indian male to win a gold medal for his country in the 3000m steeplechase at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China. He also won silver in the 5000-meter steeplechase event.

Archery

Jyothi Vennam: She won three gold medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games under the category of individual, women, and mixed teams.

— For the first time since 1978, India’s performance in archery during this season was the greatest in any Asian Games. South Korea was relegated to second place.

Badminton

Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy won a historic gold medal after defeating South Korea’s Choi Sol Gyu and Kim Won Ho in the men’s doubles final at Hangzhou.

Hockey

— In the gold medal game, the Indian men’s hockey team defeated Japan, the reigning champions, 5-1, to win the championship and guarantee a spot at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, 2023

— The 2023 ODI World Cup marked the 13th season of cricket’s elite competition. However, India hosted the World Cup for the fourth time in 2023.

— Australia won the 2023 edition of the ICC Men’s cricket world cup for the 6th time by defeating India in the finals.

— India has won the championship twice. India won two World Cups, the first in 1983 under Kapil Dev and the second in 2011 with Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

— West Indies, which won the first World Cup in 1975, did not qualify for the ICC World Cup 2023.

Facts about ICC World Cup 2023

— Number of teams participated – 10

— Player of the series – Virat Kohli

— Highest run scorer: Virat Kohli (765) – Highest till now

— Most centuries: Quinton de Kock (4)

— Most fifties: Virat Kohli (6)

— Highest Wickets: Mohammed Shami (24)

— Best bowling average: Rohit Sharma (7) – He just bowled 0.5 over giving 7 runs and 1 wicket.

— The tournament became the first instance where every participating team managed to win at least two games each.

— The highest score by a team was 428 by South Africa against Sri Lanka.

— Angelo Mathews became the first player ever to be timed out in international cricket due to a helmet failure in Sri Lanka’s World Cup group match against Bangladesh.

Tennis

— At 43 years old, Rohan Bopanna became the oldest grand slam winner when he and Matthew Ebden (Australia) won the doubles match against Italian duo Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the Australian Open 2024 finals.

Facts about Grand Slams

Australian Open

— The Australasian Championships, a men-only competition, was the inaugural event, held in 1905. In 1927, the tournament was renamed the Australian Championships, and in 1969, it became the Australian Open.

— The Australian Open was traditionally played on grass courts until 1987, when it was moved to Melbourne Park. Since then, the competition has been played on hard courts.

— The most successful singles champion is Novak Djokovic, who won ten titles between 2008 and 2023.

— With eleven wins, Margaret Court is the most successful singles champion.

Roland Garros

— The French Open, also known as Roland Garros, was first staged at the Stade Francais club in Paris in 1891 and was initially a one-day men’s singles competition only open to members of French clubs.

— Actually composed of white limestone and several millimetres of finely ground red brick dust, Roland Garros’ renowned red clay is actually composed of white limestone.

— Rafael Nadal won 14 titles at the competition between 2005 and 2022, solidifying his reputation as the King of Clay.

— With seven Roland Garros victories, Chris Evert leads all players, closely followed by Steffi Graf with six.

Wimbledon

— Wimbledon, often known as The Championships, is the world’s oldest tennis tournament, first played in 1877, and is widely regarded as the most prestigious.

— Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam that continues to be played on its original grass surface.

— In 2017, Roger Federer won a record eight men’s singles titles.

— Martina Navratilova is the most successful women’s singles player, winning the trophy nine times between 1978 and 1990.

U.S Open (Highest prize money)

— For men alone, the inaugural US National Singles Championships were held in 1881.

— It is the only Grand Slam competition that has been held annually since its founding and the second-oldest significant sporting event in the United States, behind the Kentucky Derby.

— Three different surfaces have been used to play the US Open: grass (1881–1974), clay (1975–1977), and hard court (1978–present).

— Between 1881 and 1929, Americans Richard Sears, Bill Larned, and Bill Tilden won a record seven titles each at the US Open.

— Chris Evert and Serena Williams share the Open Era record of six titles each.

Paris Olympics, 2024

— Sharath Kamal, a table tennis player, will carry the Indian team’s flag during the Paris 2024 Olympic opening ceremony.

— To demonstrate gender equality, there will be an equal number of male and female athletes at the Games for the first time.

ICC Women’s T-20 World Cup, 2023 (Under-19)

— It was the first edition which was hosted by South Africa.

— India won the title, defeating England in the final.

FIFA Women’s World Cup, 2023

— Hosted by: Australia and New Zealand

— Teams participated: 32

— Winner: Spain

— Runnerup: England

— Golden boot: Hinata Miyazawa (Japan) — 5 goals

— Best player: Aitana Bonmatí (Spain)

Men’s Hockey World Cup, 2023

— The 15th edition of the Hockey World Cup was hosted by India and held at Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.

— Mascot: Olive Ridley Turtle

— Winner: Germany

— Runnerup: Belgium

Chess

— Vaishali Rameshbabu became India’s third female grandmaster, after Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli, when she crossed the 2500 FIDE ratings to win the grandmaster title at the IV El Llobregat Open in Spain.

— Vaishali and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa became the first grandmaster sibling pair in history.

Post Read MCQs

QUESTION 1

Consider the following about Asian Games 2023:

1. Kishore Jena bagged a silver medal marking his personal best in Javelin throw in Asian Games 2023.

2. Parul Chaudhary is associated with steeplechase.

3. The Indian men’s kabaddi team won the gold medal in the 2023 Asian Games.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

QUESTION 2

Consider the following sports personalities and associated sports:

1. Jyothi Vennam – Badminton

2. Chirag Shetty – Hockey

3. Avinash Sable – Archery

How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

QUESTION 3

With reference to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, 2023, consider the following statements:

1. India hosted the World Cup for the sixth time in 2023.

2. A total of 16 teams participated in the tournament.

3. Mohammad Shami was selected as the player of the series.

4. Angelo Mathews became the first player ever to be timed out in international cricket.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) Only three

(d) All four

QUESTION 4

Consider the following statements:

1. Rohan Bopanna became the oldest grand slam winner in the doubles category of the Australian Open 2024 finals.

2. The French Open is also known as Roland Garros.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answers

1. (a)

2. (d)

3. (a)

4. (c)

(Other Sources: http://www.icc-cricket.com, http://www.itftennis.com, http://www.olympics.com)

Subscribeto ourUPSC newsletterand stay updated with the news cues from the past week.