1) 12th South Asian Games Inaugurated with Fanfare.
- The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today inaugurated the 12th South Asian Games, 2016 in a glittering ceremony at the Sarusajai Sports Complex in Guwahati before a rapturous and capacity crowd.
- A host of dignitaries were present on the occasion including, the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports(IC), Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, the Chief Minister of Assam Shri Tarun Gogoi, the Chief Minister of Meghalaya Shri Mukul Sangma, the Governors of Assam and Meghalaya, the Union Petroleum Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan among others.
- The event was telecast live on Doordarshan to millions homes across the region.
- Each participating nations carried waters from one of their major rivers and the Indian Ocean. The waters were later merged into the Brahmaputra, symbolizing the confluence of the nations and the way forward in harmony and togetherness.
- The Flame of the 12th South Asian Games was brought into the grounds by Gagan Nareng and was relayed through by eminent sport personalities including Monalisa Mehta, Bhogeshwar Baruah, Anju Bobby Goerge, Krishna Poonia and Rani Nagpal. Baichung Bhutia did the final lap and lit the digital flames in the centre of the ground.
- The 12th South Asian Games, 2016 is the first international multi-sporting mega event in the North Eastern region. Athletes from eight member countries namely – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be participating. Around 3500 athletes and sports officials from 8 countries are participating in the biggest ever sporting spectacle in the North East India.
2) Australia won three-match Women ODI series against India, 2-1.
- The Australian women cricket team won the three-match ODI series against Indian women team. In the third and final match played at Hobart, India defeated the Australian team by five-wickets.
1st Match: Played at Manuka Oval, Canberra Australia Women won by 101 runs. Alex Blackwell (Australia Women) was declared the Man of the Match. Grace Harris (Australia Women) played her ODI debut match.
2nd Match: Played at Bellerive Oval, Hobart. Australia Women won by 6 wickets with 20 balls remaining. Smriti Mandhana (India Women) was declared the Man of the Match.
3rd Match: Played at Bellerive Oval, Hobart. India Women won by 5 wickets with 18 balls remaining. Mithali Raj (India Women) was declared the Man of the Match.
3) ICC suspended Pakistan`s leg-spinner Yasir Shah for doping offence.
- Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah has been given a three-month ban after pleading guilty to an inadvertent doping offence, the International Cricket Council.
- The 29-year-old bowler’s urine sample, provided in an in-competition test conducted, was found to contain the presence of chlortalidone and he was subsequently provisionally suspended in December.
- Chlortalidone is a diuretic drug which features in the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (Wada) list of prohibited substances.
4) Joshana Chinappa won gold in Squash.
- Joshana Chinappa of India won the Gold in Women’s individual Squash event by defeating Maria Toorpaki of Pakistan. In Men’s Squash competition Nasir Iqbal of Pakistan won the gold while compatriot Farhan Zaman won the Silver.
5) Indian Wrestlers Win 14 out of 16 Gold In South Asian Games.
- Indian grapplers simply annihilated their opponents, scooping 14 gold medals out of a total 16 on offer as the wrestling competition in the 12th South Asian Games
- Indian wrestlers thus ended their campaign with a whopping 14 gold and two silver.
- India won gold in all the eight women’s categories, while their men counterparts won six gold and two silver.
- Among men, Mausam Khatri and Pardeep won a gold each in 97 kg and 74 kg respectively, while Mandeep had to settle for a silver as he lost to Pakistan’s Zaman Avwar in the 125 kg final bout.
- In the 2010 edition, India had won three gold and a silver in men’s wrestling while Pakistan had won two gold and a silver.
6) New Zealand cricket team won Chappell-Hadlee Trophy.
- New Zealand won the three-match Chappell-Hadlee Trophy of cricket against Australia.
- In the third and final match played at Seddon Park, Hamilton, the Black Caps defeated Australia by 55 runs.
- This win of the Black Caps can be termed as the best farewell gift for Brendon McCullum who retired from One-Day International (ODI) cricket after the match.
- They also retained the Chappell-Hadlee trophy by putting tremendous bowling and fielding display.
7) Team India wins Gold Medal in 40 Km Cycling.
- In the cycling 40 Km Team Time Trail event (WE), team India wins Gold. Team India covered the required distance in 59.23 mts while the silver medal winning Lankan team covered the same in 1.02.07 Hr.
- Pakistan team got the Bronze medal.
- The Indian team was represented by Bidyaluxmi Tourangbam, Rutuja Satpute, Manisha G and Chaoba Devi Clangbam.
- Pakistan team members were Sahiba Bibi, Rashida Munir, Razia Shabbir and Fiza Riaz while Sri Lankan team represented by Udeshani Niranjani Kumarasinghe, Lasanthi Krishna Gunathilaka Horathal Pedige, Sriyalatha Wickramasinghe Udagedera Durayalage and Sudarika Priyadarshani Peththaperuma Arachchige
8) New Zealand cricketer Brendon Barrie McCullum retired from One-Day Internationals.
- New Zealand cricketer Brendon Barrie McCullum retired from One-Day Internationals (ODIs).
- He made his debut in ODIs as a 20-year-old batsman in 2001 against Australia at Sydney and he played his against the same side in 2016.
- He made his test debut against South Africa in 2003 and has played 99 tests so far and would retire from tests after playing two tests against Australia in February 2016.
- He played 260 ODIs and scored 6083 runs matches. They include 5 centuries and 31 half-centauries.
- He is the first and so far only player to have scored two Twenty20 International centuries; He played 71 T20 Internationals and scored 2140 runs.
- He was the captain for the New Zealand side in 2015 ICC Cricket World cup final which was won by Australia.
- He was conferred with the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for 2014-15.
- He was selected as New Zealand Cricket Almanack Player of the Year for the years of 2008 and 2015.
- He was honoured as ICC Twenty20 International Performance of the Year in 2010
- He won ICC Spirit of Cricket Award in 2015.
9) UNESCO Report on Fight against Discrimination and Racism in Football presented.
- The report entitled “Colour? What Colour?” was presented at the General Assembly of the European Club Association, an independent body directly representing football clubs at European level, in Paris.
- The report, which was launched by UNESCO and Juventus in November 2015, presents measures to fight racism and discrimination in international football.
- The UNESCO/ Juventus partnership and the report was presented by Eric Falt, UNESCO`s Assistant Director-General for External Relations and Public Information, and Nada Al-Nashif, UNESCO`s Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences.
10) India Wins 1000th South Asian Games Gold Medal.
- India, the overall champion over all the 11 previous editions of the South Asian Games, crossed a historic milestone of winning its 1,000th gold in the Games.
- The host which entered the fortnight-long competition with a tally of 900 gold medals, crossed the landmark when swimmer Veerdhawal Khade won the men’s 50m butterfly title.
- India had won 44 golds in the inaugural edition at Kathmandu in 1984 followed by 61 (Dhaka, 1985), 91 (Kolkata, 1987), 61 (Islamabad, 1989), 64 (Colombo, 1991), 60 (Dhaka, 1993), 106 (Chennai [then Madras], 1995), 102 (Kathmandu, 1999), 103 (Islamabad, 2004), 118 (Colombo, 2006) and 90 (Dhaka, 2010). The host is also likely to overhaul its best ever tally of 118-59-37 achieved in Colombo 2006 with five days remaining.
11) Mccullum Plays Record 100th Consecutive Test.
- Players who have played 100 or more consecutive Tests from debut. Brendon McCullum has become the first to achieve this feat. He made his Test debut on March 10, 2004 against South Africa in Hamilton and appeared for the 100th time in Tests for New Zealand in this match.
- Four players have played 100 or more consecutive Tests, but none, before McCullum, from their debuts. The next longest sequence is of 98 Tests by AB de Villiers. For New Zealand, John Reid (58) is the only other player to play more than 50 consecutive Tests from debut. Stephen Fleming and Daniel Vettori are the two other New Zealand players who have played 100 or more Tests.
| Player |
Brendon McCullum |
AB De Villiers |
Adam Gilchrest |
Rahul Dravid |
Sachin Tendulkar |
| Span |
2004-2016 |
2004-2015 |
1999-2008 |
1996-2005 |
1989-2001 |
| Tests |
100 |
98 |
96 |
93 |
84 |
12) BCCI banned Pakistan umpire Asad Rauf for 5 years for involvement in 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal.
- The disciplinary committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), banned Pakistan umpire Asad Rauf for five years on charges of “corruption” and “misconduct” in relation to the Indian Premier League betting and spot-fixing scandal of 2013.
- After leaving India in 2013, Rauf denied the allegations of corruption made against him. He was subsequently sacked by the International Cricket Council, his employer since 2000.
- An experienced umpire, Rauf, who was part of the Elite Panel from 2006 to 2013, officiated in 49 Tests, 98 ODIs and 23 T20Is.
13) Kavita Raut Qualifies For 2016 Rio Olympics.
- Kavita Raut won the Gold in marathon event at the South Asian Games.
- Kavita Raut qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
- The 30-year-old now joins OP Jaisha, Lalita Babar and Sudha Singh in the list of those who have booked a spot for Rio in women’s marathon.
- Not only did India secure Gold in the Women`s marathon, but they won in the Men’s event as well with Nitendra Rawat winning the top prize.
- Joining Rawat on the podium was Kheta Ram who took home the bronze. With the completion of the marathon, the athletics competition also came to an end at the Games with India finishing with a total haul of 59 medals that include 28 Golds, 22 Silvers and 9 Bronze medals