1) World record by Sania-Martina as they win 29th match on trot.
- India’s Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis broke a 22-year-old world record by winning their 29th women’s doubles match in a row en route to their entry into the women’s doubles final of the WTA Sydney International, in Sydney.
- The World No 1 pair came from behind to beat the pair of Romanian Raluca Olaru and Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova.
- They now surpassed the pair of Puerto Rican Gigi Fernandez and Belarus’ Natasha Zvereva, who won 28 matches on the trot during their successful pairing back in 1994.
- The Indo-Swiss pair has continued their good show from 2015 when they won 9 titles which included the Wimbledon, US Open and the year-ending WTA finals.
- The 2016 has also started on a fabulous note as they have now made it to the second straight final, having won the Brisbane International.
- A win in the final will be their 11th WTA title together.
2) Sania Mirza & Martina Hingis pair wins the Sydney Title.
- Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis’ awe-inspiring run continued unabated as they lifted their second trophy of the season with the WTA Apia International title after clinching their 30th win a row.
- They now have 11 WTA doubles titles together: Indian Wells, Miami, Charleston, Wimbledon, US Open, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Beijing and the WTA Finals last year, and now Brisbane and Sydney this year.
- The Swiss-Indian partnership is also an impeccable 11-1 together in WTA doubles finals.
- The year 2016 has also started on a fabulous note for the fuo, which won the Brisbane International trophy.
3) Marat Safin Inducted Into International Tennis Hall of Fame.
- Former World No.1 tennis player Marat Safin of Russia has joined the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
- The first Hall of Fame members in the International Tennis Hall of Fame were inducted in 1955.
- With this, he will become first Russian national to be inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
About Marat Mubinovich Safin
- Born in Moscow on January 27, 1980, Safin is the older brother of former world No. 1 WTA player, Dinara Safina.
- They are the first and only brother – sister tandem in tennis history who has both achieved No.1 rankings.
- He is a two-time Grand Slam Champion (2000 US Open and 2005 Australian Open) and the dual Davis Cup champion, winning the trophies with the Russian national team in 2002 and 2006.
- During his career he won a total of 15 ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) in men’s singles category.
- He wrapped up his tennis career in 2009 and was ranked 61st best player in ATP’s world best men’s singles rankings at that time.
- In December 2011, Safin was elected to the Russian Parliament as a member of Vladimir Putin’s United Russia Party, representing Nizhny Novgorod.
About International Tennis Hall of Fame:
- The International Tennis Hall of Fame honours players and contributors to the sport of tennis.
- The hall of fame and museum are located in the Newport Casino, US, which was commissioned in 1880 by James Gordon Bennett, Jr. as an exclusive resort for the rich and wealthy.
- The first Hall of Fame members in the International Tennis Hall of Fame were inducted in 1955.
- Martina Hingis became the first Global Ambassador for the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2015.
4) Popov claims 14th Delhi International Open chess title.
- Russia’s Ivan Popov suffered a surprise last-round loss but was not to be denied the 14th Delhi International Open chess title.
- Popov claimed the winner’s trophy and Rs. 3 lakh.
- Ukraine’s Valeriy Neverov inflicted a 43-move defeat with white pieces to force a three-way tie at eight points.
- Popov clinched the title on a superior tie-break score ahead of runner-up Hungarian Attila Czebe and third-placed Neverov.
5) Virat Kohli becomes fastest to 24 ODI centuries.
- Star Indian batsman Virat Kohli became the fastest to register 24 hundreds and pile up 7,000 runs in one-day cricket, surpassing the twin milestones in just his 161st innings.
- The top-order batsman got the better of the Australian bowling attack at the hallowed turf of the Melbourne Cricket Ground with a run-a-ball knock that was laced with seven fours and two sixes.
- Tendulkar got to his 24th ton in his 219th innings while scoring 7000 plus runs in 189 innings.
- The quickest to 24 centuries list has some big names in former Australian captain Ricky Ponting (278) and Sri Lankan greats Sanath Jayasuriya (370) and Kumar Sangakkara (378).
- The 27-year-old left behind South African run-machine AB de Villers (166) in terms of getting to the landmark early.
- Former India captain Sourav Ganguly (174), West Indian legend Brian Lara (183), former Caribbean batsman Desmond Haynes (187), South African great Jacques Kallis (188) and Tendulkar (189) also got the 7000 run mark early in their respective careers.
6) Team India regains top spot in latest ICC Test rankings.
- The Indian Test team led by Virat Kohli climbed to the top of the ICC’s Test Rankings after South Africa crashed to a 0-2 home series defeat against England in Johannesburg.
- India now has 110 ranking points and has one point more than Australia, who is second in the list with 109 points in their kitty.
- South Africa is now third in the rankings.
7) Delhi Acers defeated Mumbai Rockets to clinch Premier Badminton League title.
A high-octane action coupled with Bollywood star quotient kept the spectators enthralled in the final of the Premier Badminton League between Delhi Acers and Mumbai Rockets
Delhi`s Rajiv Ouseph won the the final match against RMV Gurusaidutt
Delhi Acers walked away with PBL TRophy and winners` check of INR 3 crore
Mixed doubles
Kamilla Juhl Vladimir and Vladimir Ivanov (Mumbai Rockets) beat Akshay Dewalkar and Gabrielle Adcock (Delhi)
Men’s singles
Tommy Sugiarto (Delhi) beat HS Prannoy (Mumbai)
Mixed doubles
Koo Keat Kien and Tan Boon Heong (Delhi) Mathias Boe Vladimir Ivanov (Mumbai)
Women’s singles (trump match)
Han Li (Mumbai) beat PC Thulasi (Delhi).
Men’s singles second match (trump match)
Rajiv Ouseph (Delhi) beat Gurusaidutt (Mumbai)
8) Chris Gayle smashes 12-ball fifty, equals Yuvraj Singh`s T20 World Record.
- West Indies` explosive opening batsman Chris Gayle, who was in news recently for all the wrong reasons, blasted a 12-ball half century to equal the world record.
- In the Big Bash League (BBL) Twenty20 tournament in Australia, the 36-year-old Gayle blazed his way to equal Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh`s record for the fastest ever half century in T20 history.
- The onslaught carried on in the third over as Gayle belted another 22 to reach 44 from 11 balls.
- He was finally caught skying a catch off Travis Head on 56 off 17 — the fastest 50 in BBL’s five-year history.
- The previous record was 18 balls, first set by Tim Ludeman last season.
- The controversial Gayle already held the record for the fastest T20 century needing just 30 deliveries for the Bangalore Royal Challengers in 2013.
9) England’s Snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan won Dafabet Master title 2016.
- Ronnie O’Sullivan eased to win the Dafabet Masters title 2016.
- He defeated Barry Hawkins in the final at London’s Alexandra Palace.
- This is to note that Dafabet Master Title 2016 is the sixth Master title won by Ronnie O’Sullivan.
- At the same time by winning his sixth Master title Ronnie O’Sullivan has equaled the World record of winning maximum Masters Title which was previously made by Stephen Hendry.
- He also made the record of winning with biggest winning margin (10 – 1) in a Masters final.
- Before Ronnie O’Sullivan, Steve Davis made this record by defeating Mike Hallett with 9–0 in 1988.
About Dafabet Masters 2016
- The Dafabet Masters 2016 is the 42nd edition of Dafabet Masters (Championship), took place from Janaury 10, 2016 to January 17, 2016 at Alexandra Palace in London, England.
- It was organized by World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA).
- The Dafabet Masters 2016 was professional non-ranking snooker Championship.
- About Ronald Antonio O’Sullivan
- Ronald Antonio O’Sullivan is a professional snooker player from England. He won his first major professional Snooker championship in UK Championship 1993.
- By winning UK Championship 1993 Ronald Antonio O’Sullivan became the youngest player to win a snooker title (at the age of 17).
- He won his first Master (Snooker) title in 1995 which made him the youngest player to claim Masters title in this sport (19 years old).
- He was appointed as the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2016.
10) ICC, MRF Tyres announce four-year partnership.
- The International Cricket Council (ICC) and MRF Tyres announced a four-year deal which confirms the tyre maker as a Global Partner for ICC events from 2016 in Chennai.
- The announcement was made at the MRF Tyres headquarters in Chennai at a function attended by ICC Chief Executive, David Richardson, MRF Tyres`s Chairman and Managing Director, K.M. Mammen, former India captain and MRF brand ambassador, Sachin Tendulkar, and other officials.
- The ICC and MRF Tyres recently completed a partnership at the 2015 World Cup.
11) Uttar Pradesh won 2014-2015 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
- Uttar Pradesh clinched their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy with a thumping 38-run win over two-time champions Baroda in the final played under lights at the Wankhede Stadium.
- It was Uttar Pradesh’s ninth straight win in the tournament, including five in the preliminary league phase and three more in the super league stage.
About Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy
- The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is a Twenty20 cricket domestic championship in India, organized by Board of Control for Cricket in India, among the teams from Ranji Trophy.
- The 2008-09 season was the inaugural season for this trophy. It is named after a famous Indian cricketer, Syed Mushtaq Ali.
- BCCI launched its own state structure in 2006-07 season with 27 Ranji teams divided in 5 Zones with the name of Inter-State T20 Championship which was renamed and relaunched as the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
12) Indian Olympic Association signed 2-year marketing deal with Infinity Optimal Solutions.
- The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has signed a two-year commercial and marketing deal with Infinity Optimal Solutions (IOS) to the tune of about Rs. 12 crore.
- As per the contract, the IOS will manage sponsorship and public relations for the IOA for all the major national and international events in that period.
- The IOA has appointed the IOS Sports and Entertainment agency to generate sponsorship for the Indian contingent that will compete in the Olympics in Rio from August 5 to 21.
Sponsors:
- The managing director of IOS, Neerav Tomar, said that the company was looking at three principle sponsors and few associates and partners for the Rio Olympics.
- Olympic medallists in London, Sushil Kumar, Saina Nehwal, Gagan Narang and Mary Kom expressed happiness about the new professional partnership that would take Indian sport forward.
- The IOS, which manages some of country’s top sportspersons like Suresh Raina, Saina Nehwal, Sushil Kumar, Vijender Singh and Mary Kom, has been in the field of sports and entertainment for about 10 years.
13) Roger Federer Wins 300th Grand Slam Singles Match.
- Roger Federer climbed into rarefied territory on a rainy Friday at the Australian Open. With win over 27th seed Grigor Dimitrov in Rod Laver Arena, the No. 3 seed clinched the 300th Grand Slam match win of his storied career, becoming the first man to reach the milestone.
- Only Martina Navratilova (306) stands in front of him. Federer, at 34 a decade Dimitrov’s senior, is the oldest man to reach the round of 16 at the Australian Open since Andre Agassi played his way into the quarter-finals in 2005.
- He is looking to become only the third man to win five Australian Open singles titles after Roy Emerson (six) and Novak Djokovic (five), having won the title in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2010.
- No. 15 David Goffin beat No. 19 Dominic Thiem his first win against a top—20 player at a Grand Slam. He faces a tougher proposition next- Federer.