1) Pune, Rajkot became interim IPL franchises to replace CSK, RR.
- Pune and Rajkot became the interim franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) till 2017 in place of the suspended teams of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR).
- The Pune franchise was bought by Kolkata-based business tycoon Sanjiv Goenka`s company New Rising, while the Rajkot bid was won by Intex Mobiles through reverse bidding.
- CSK and RR are facing two-year suspensions which were imposed by the Supreme Court-mandated RM Lodha panel following the 2013 IPL corruption scandal. CSK and RR stand suspended till 2017.
- The 2016 season of IPL will be held from 9 April to 29 May 2016. The opening and the final match of the season will be played in Mumbai and the new players’ auctions would be conducted in Bengaluru on 6 February 2016.
2) India won four-match Test series against South Africa.
- India won the four-match Test series against South Africa by 3-0.
- India defeated South Africa by 337 runs in the fourth and final match played at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi.
- Ravichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane won the Man of the Series, Man of the Match Trophies respectively.
- The test series between India and South Africa was named as Freedom Trophy. The trophy was dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela who won independence for their country with nonviolence.
3) Rohit Sharma became co-owner of UP Warriors in Pro Wrestling League.
- Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma became the co-owner of the Pro Wrestling League team, UP Warriors.
- After Bollywood actor Dharmendra, Sharma is the second big name to co-own a team in Pro Wrestling league.
- The team includes celebrated Indian wrestlers like Sushil Kumar and Joginder Kumar.
- With this, Sharma also joined cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli who have ventured into franchise-based leagues.
About Pro Wrestling League:
- The Pro Wrestling League (PWL) is an initiative of Pro-Sportify and Wrestling Federation of India. It is the richest wrestling event ever.
- The six-city based franchise tournament will commence at New Delhi`s KD Jadhav Stadium on 10 December 2015.
Six teams of the league are:
- UP Warriors
- Haryana Hammers
- Punjab Royals
- Mangalayatan University Dilli Veer
- Bengaluru Yodhas
- Revanta’s Mumbai Garuda
4) International Cricket Council announced OPPO as Global Partner.
- OPPO is one of the world’s leading mobile telephone device companies.
- ICC roped in OPPO on a four-year deal which runs from 2016 until 2020.
- Earlier, ICC had entered into an eight-year global partnership deal with Japanese car maker Nissan Motor Company.
About OPPO:
- OPPO Electronics Corp. is a Chinese electronics manufacturer based in Dongguan, Guangdong province, China.
- The company’s major product lines include smartphones and Blu-ray Disc players.
- OPPO has a strong presence in more than 20 countries and a significant number of regions worldwide, including Australia, China, USA and right across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia.
5) Gurpreet wins 25m standard pistol gold.
- Gurpreet Singh won the men’s 25-metre standard pistol gold in the 59th National shooting championship at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, Delhi.
- The 27-year-old Gurpreet, a rapid fire specialist who has won the Olympic quota place in air pistol.
- Former national champion Mahaveer Singh won a three-way tie against Harpreet Singh and Yogesh Singh to clinch the silver two points behind Gurpreet.
- In the junior section, Achal Pratap Singh Grewal won the gold, two points ahead of Shivam Shukla.
6) Elizabeth Susan Koshy clinched gold in 59th National Shooting Championships.
- Kerala`s Elizabeth Susan Koshy won the Women`s 50m Rifle Three Position Gold at the 59th National Shooting Championships held at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting range in New Delhi.
- Haryana’s Anjum Moudgil won the silver medal and N. Gaayathri of Tamil Nadu fetched the bronze in the championship.
- Commonwealth Games gold medalist Tejaswini Sawant along with veteran Anjali Bhagwat and Priyal Keni won the team gold for Maharashtra in the event, in which the Railways won silver and Haryana won bronze.
About Elizabeth Susan Koshy:
- Elizabeth Susan Koshy made her international debut at the Junior meet in Germany in 2011.
- In 2011, she won five gold medals in Thiruvananthapuram at the State championship.
- She won gold in the 2015 National Games women`s 50m Rifle Prone event, the first for Kerala.
7) Indian cyclist Deborah Herold makes history with 4th place in ranking.
- Indian cyclist Deborah Herold became the first Indian female cyclist to be ranked fourth in the World Elite Women Ranking for the 500m time trial event.
- The ranking was issued by cycling world body International Cycling Union (UCI).
- India is the highest ranking Asian country in 500m time trial at 13th followed by China at the 15th spot.
About Deborah Herold:
- 20-year-old Deborah is a tribal girl from Andaman and Nicobar Islands who survived the 2004 Tsunami that devastated the islands.
- She was trained at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Andaman and emerged as one of the rising stars of Indian cycling.
- She had won four gold medals at the Track Asia Cup Cycling Championship 2014.
- In 2015, she became the first ever Indian to win five medals at the Taiwan Cup Track International Classic, including a gold, three silver and a bronze.
8) South Asian Games 2016’s Mascot and Logo unveiled.
- Orgnaising committee of 12th South Asian Games (OC-SAG) unveiled mascot of the games and logo at ITA Cultural Center Machkhowa in Guwahati, Assam.
- The mega event will be jointly held in Guwahati and Shillong from 6 February to 16 February 2016.
- The mascot Tikhor is a one horned rhino and is the brand ambassador of the games carries the message of peace, stability, amity and progress in the South Asian region.
- On the other hand, the logo has eight petals representing the countries participating in the mega event.
9) Japan`s Nozomi Okuhara, Kento Momota won singles titles at World Dubai Superseries Finals.
- Japanese shuttlers Kento Momota and Nozomi Okuhara won Men`s singles and Women’s singles title respectively at the BWF World Superseries finals held at the Hamdan Sports Complex, Dubai.
- Momota crushed Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen and clinched the Men’s singles title and Okuhara defeated China’s Wang Yihan to grab the women’s singles crown.
- Momota was the first Japanese player to win a medal in BWF World Championships 2015 held in Jakarta.
- Nozomi Okuhara became the youngest women`s singles champion ever at the Japanese National Badminton Championships.
10) Vijay Kumar won gold in the 59th National shooting championship.
- Vijay Kumar won the centre fire pistol gold in the 59th National shooting championship at the Dr. Karni Singh Range in Tughlakabad in New Delhi.
- Vijay Kumar won the silver medal in the 25m rapid fire pistol event in 2012 Olympics held in London.
- Gurpreet Singh won 25m standard pistol gold, Pemba Tamang Rapid fire pistol gold and Achal Pratap Singh Grewal Air pistol & Standard pistol events gold.
11) Lahiri wins Asian Tour Order of Merit title.
- Anirban Lahiri became the fourth Indian to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit title.
- He was declared the new Asia No.1 for 2015, as his lead on the money list has swollen to over $600,000 with one event remaining in the season.
- Jyoti Randhawa (2002), Arjun Atwal (2003) and Jeev Milkha Singh (2006 & 2008) are the three Indians to have previously claimed the Asian Tour Order of Merit crown.
- It has been a great year for Lahiri, who as a rookie on the European Tour secured two wins in the co-sanctioned (European and Asian Tours) Maybank Malaysian Open and Indian Open to reach a career-high 33 in the world rankings.
- The 28-year-old recorded five more top-10 finishes, including a fifth place at the PGA Championship, the best result by an Indian at the Majors.