1) Indian-origin Sim Bhullar makes NBA history.
- Gursimran `Sim` Bhullar became the first player of Indian descent to play in the high-profile National Basketball Association (NBA) league as he made his debut for Sacramento Kings.
- The 22-year-old came on with 16 seconds remaining in the Kings` 116-111 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Sleep Train Arena.
- The 7-foot-5-inch Canada-born had signed a 10-day contract to join the Kings` roster.
About National Basketball Association:
- Founded: June 6, 1946.
- Commissioner: Adam Silver.
- Number of Teams: 30.
Most Recent Champion(s):
- San Antonio Spurs (5th Title).
- The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the pre-eminent men`s professional basketball league in North America, and is widely considered to be the premier men`s professional basketball league in the world.
- It has 30 franchised member clubs (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada), and is an active member of USA Basketball (USAB), which is recognized by FIBA (also known as the International Basketball Federation) as the national governing body for basketball in the United States.
- The NBA is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues.
2) Apurvi Chandela wins Bronze in ISSF Rifle and Pistol World Cup.
- Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela won Bronze medal in the 10-metre air rifle event at the (international Shooting Sport Federation) ISSF and Pistol World Cup in Changwon, South Korea.
- She won the bronze after a shot score of 185.6 in the qualifying fifth final round.
- In this world cup, Pejcic Snejezana of Croatia won gold medal and Ivana Maksimovic of Serbia won the Silver medal.
- With this win, Apurvi Chandela has qualified for the 2016 Olympics, which will be held in Rio de Janario, Brazil.
- She was placed at third person in the list of eight-strong competitors. Among these eight competitors six were qualified for the Olympics.
- It should be noted that Apurvi Chandela is the second Indian marksman after pistol shooter Jitu Rai to qualify for the Rio Olympics.
- Jitu Rai after winning won silver in the 50m Free Pistol event in 2014 at the World Championships in Granada, Spain had qualified for the 2016 Olympics.
About ISSF Rifle Shooting:
- Founded: 1907.
- Head Quarters: Munich, Germany.
- President: Olegario Vazquez Rana.
- The ISSF World Shooting Championships are governed by the International Shooting Sport Federation.
- World Shooting Championships began in 1897, after the successful 1896 Summer Olympics, and although the ISSF was not founded until 1907, these early competitions are still seen by the organization as the beginning of a continuous row of championships.
- By this logic, the 2006 competition in Zagreb was called the 49th ISSF World Shooting Championships. These championships, including all ISSF shooting events, are held every four years since 1954.
3) Yuki Bhambri wins $15,000 ITF Futures tournament title.
- Yuki Bhambri has won the 15,000 US Dollar ITF Futures tournament title.
- In the final he recorded a straight-set win over Dzmitry Zhyrmont of Belarus played at Karshi, Uzbekistan.
- This win has pocketed 27 ranking points on Bhambri which will take him to a rank between 215 and 220. It was also Yuki’s 10th ITF Futures singles title.
- This win also has ensured Yuki’s entry into the French Open qualifying event which will be the Clay Court Grand Slam that will begin on the 19 May 2015.
- About ITF Futures tournament title:
- ITF Futures tournament title is a series of professional tennis tournaments held around the world.
- These tournaments are organized by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
- This title represents the lowest rung of the men’s professional tennis ladder.
- These tournaments are incorporated into the ATP rankings which helps young professionals to progress on to the ATP Challenger Tour and then in ATP World Tour.
4) New Zealand wins Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament 2015.
- New Zealand has won the 24th edition of Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament 2015 for second time.
- In the final match, New Zealand defeated World Champions Australia by 3-1 goals in the penalty shoot-out.
- Earlier, New Zealand had won the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament in 2012. It is third time Australia came as runner-ups position in tournament (1999, 2006 and 2015).
- India won the bronze i.e. finished third by defeating South Korea by 4-1 goals in the penalty shoot-out after both the teams were tied at 2-2 at regulation time.
About Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament:
- It is an annual tournament held in Malaysia and was established in 1983.
- Initially it was a biennial tournament but since 1998, it is played every year.
- Named after 9th king of Malaysia and ‘Father of Malaysian Hockey’ Sultan Azlan Shah.
- Australia has won the tournament for record 8 times in 1983, 1996, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013 and 2014.
5) Sania Mirza becomes first Indian female tennis player ranked World No.1 in Women’s Doubles.
- Sania Mirza created history by becoming the first Indian female tennis player to achieve the world number one rank in doubles category.
- She achieved this feat after winning WTA Family Circle Cup along with her Swedish partner Martina Hingis.
- With this win Sania scored 470 points, making her tally to 7965 and surpassing Italy’s Sara Errani (7640) and Roberta Vinci (7640) to the number one rank in the ranking table.
- In WTA Family Circle Cup finals, the top-seeded Indo-Swiss pair had defeated of Casey Dellacqua and Darija Jurak by 6-0, 6-4 score.
- Earlier, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi were only Indians who had achieved the top rank in Men’s Doubles after they had dominated men’s doubles circuit in the late 1990s. It should be noted that Sania Mirza is also first Indian female tennis player to win Grand Slam tournaments.
6) Lewis Hamilton wins Chinese Grand Prix of Formula One.
- Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton from Britain won Chinese Grand Prix of Formula One on the Shanghai International Circuit in China.
- This was his second win of the season and his fourth Chinese Grand Prix win. It was also Lewis Hamilton’s overall 35th Grand Prix win.
- In Chinese Grand Prix, Hamilton was followed by teammate Nico Rosberg at second place.
Other rankings:
- Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel (Germany) and Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) took third and fourth places respectively.
- Williams drivers Felipe Massa (Brazil) and Valtteri Bottas (Finland) took fifth and sixth places. Romain Grosjean (France) of Lotus Team and Felipe Nasr (Brazil) of Sauber team took seventh and eight position.
- Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) of Red Bull Team was placed at ninth position.
- Marcus Ericsson (Swedan) of Sauber Team finished at tenth position.
7) Jitu Rai wins bronze at ISSF World Cup.
- Ace Indian shooter Jitu Rai won a bronze medal in the 10m air pistol event at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Changwon, South Korea.
- Rai won the bronze medal after he scored 181.1 points in the final and had missed out for the gold medal shoot-out by 0.4 points.
- In 10m air pistol event, Jin Jongoh of South Korea won gold medal with a score of 206.0 in the gold medal shoot-out. Naung Ye Tun of Myanmar won silver medal with score of 201.0.
- Earlier, Apurvi Chandela had won bronze in the 10-metre air rifle event in the same tournament and became second Indian shooter after Jitu Rai to qualify for 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
- Jitu Rai after winning won silver in the 50m Free Pistol event in 2014 at the World Championships in Granada, Spain had qualified for the 2016 Olympics.
8) Sania seals historic world No.1 rank with Charleston title.
- Sania Mirza created history by becoming the first female tennis player from India to achieve the world number one rank in doubles.
- Sania achieved her stupendous title win at the WTA Family Circle Cup with partner Martina Hingis.
- The top-seeded Indo-Swiss pair defeated Casey Dellacqua and Darija Jurak 6-0 6-4 in just 57 minutes in the lop-sided final of the $731,000 clay court event.
- Before Sania, only Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi had achieved the top rank when they dominated men’s doubles circuit in the last 90s.