Correct Answer :   Assam

Assam won the first gold medal of the 37th National Games on Saturday (21st Oct 2023) when their women's badminton team defeated Maharashtra 3-0 in the finals at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee stadium.Karnataka defeated Maharashtra 3-1 to win the men's team gold.

In the doubles competition, Ritika Thaker and Simran Singhi of Maharashtra lost to Ashmita Chaliha and Isharani Baruah of Assam to take home the gold.

The entire Maharashtra team was unable to handle their strength.With a commanding 21-16, 21-11 victory over Purva Barve, Ashmita, a member of India's Asian Games team, launched Assam's ascent to the top of the podium..

Source : vygrnews

Correct Answer :   Jitendra Singh

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said in New Delhi on 23rd Oct 2023.

Administrative initiatives under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, such as the Pre-Retirement Counselling workshops, Anubhav Awards and Pension Adalat have ensured timely disbursal of pensionary benefits to the large number of retiring employees every year, he said.

The Union Minister was addressing the "Anubhav" Awards – 2023 presentation ceremony, All India Pension Adalat & Pre-Retirement Counselling (PRC) Workshop.

Dr Jitendra Singh said the ‘Whole of Government’ approach is evident from the fact that even during the Covid pandemic years there was not a single case of delay in pension payment due to the uninterrupted services provided by the Department of Posts.

The Bhavishya portal has also evolved over time and technology is being applied by the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoP&PW) to ensure that the retirees are handed over Pension Payment Orders well in time before superannuation, he said.

Dr Jitendra Singh said the Anubhav portal, launched at the initiative of the Prime Minister, has been a huge success. The campaign has resulted in publication of 1,901 Anubhav write-ups, which is highest in number since its inception in March 2015.

Later, Dr Jitendra Singh chaired the All-India Pension Adalat. Pension Adalats have become an effective medium of prompt disposal of long-pending pension disputes, he said. Of the 45 cases brought before the Pension Adalat, 30 cases were resolved.

Till date eight Pension Adalats have been conducted by DoP&PW and out of 24,671 taken up in the Pension Adalat, 17,551 grievances were resolved (71%) by the different Ministries/Departments/  Organisations which participated in this initiative.

Speaking on the occasion, Secretary, DoP&PW, Shri V. Srinivas, said the Department will be organising Nation-wide Digital Life Certificate campaign 2.0 in the month of November, 2023 to enable 70 lakh Central Government pensioners to submit life certificates. DLC camps will be organised in 500 locations in 100 cities across India in collaboration of 17 banks.

Additional Secretary, DoPPW, Shri SN Mathur; Shri Atul Kumar Goel, MD & CEO, PNB and Shri Debadatta Chanda, MD & CEO, Bank of Baroda also addressed the workshop..

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   Unnati Hooda

India's young badminton player Unnati Hooda has won the Abu Dhabi Masters 2023 women's singles badminton title.

She defeated Samia Imad Farooqui in the final. This is the second BWF Super 100 World Tour title for 16 year old Unnati Hooda.

Earlier, she had become the youngest Indian to win the BWF title at the age of 14.

Correct Answer :   Karthikeyan Murali

In Qatar Masters, the 24-year-old Indian chess grandmaster, Karthikeyan Murali, became the third Indian player to beat the world's number one player, Magnus Carlsen in classical chess 2023.

Karthikeyan Murali is the third Indian after Harikrishna and Viswanathan Anand to have beaten Carlsen.

Karthikeyan's win occurred in the seventh round of the tournament, where he skillfully wielded the black pieces.

With this significant triumph, he joined the ranks of other leading players such as SL Narayan, Javokhir Sindarov, David Paravyan, Arjun Erigaisi, and Nodirbek Yakubboev, all of whom held a remarkable score of 5.5 out of 7.

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   China

* The fourth Asian Para Games will be organized in Hangzhou city of China from 22 to 28 October 2023.

* India will be represented in these games by a 446-member contingent including 303 athletes.

* Of the 303 players in the Indian team, 191 are male and 112 female players.

* In the recently concluded Asian Games, India had secured fourth place with 107 medals.

Correct Answer :   Raunak Sadhwani

Raunak Sadhwani and Govhar Beydullayeva won gold in The FIDE World Junior Rapid Chess Championship 2023

Indian GM pulled off a crucial victory over Tobias Koelle and clinched the title as two other co-leaders, Arseniy Nesterov and Dimitris Alexakis, drew their game and tied for second place with Or Globus.

Nesterov claimed silver thanks to superior tiebreaks and became the only unbeaten player in the open section; Alexakis took bronze.

Final standings open :

1. Sadhwani Raunak : 8½

2. Nesterov Arseniy : 8

3. Alexakis Dimitris :

4. Globus Or : 8
    
5. Koelle Tobias : 7½.

In the girls' section, Govhar Beydullayeva of Azerbaijan proved her mettle by winning the title with an even more impressive score of  9/11. Sardinia seems to have a special victorious vibe for Govhar as she won her second title here after her triumph at the 2022 World Junior Championship in this Mediterranean island.

1.Beydullayeva Govhar : 9
    
2. Balabayeva Xeniya : 8½

3. Sultanbek Zeinep : 7½

4 : Nurgali Nazerke : 7½

5. Kurmangaliyeva Liya : 7.


Source : FIDE

Correct Answer :   All of the above

The International Olympic Committee announced on Monday (16th Oct 2023) it has accepted a proposal by local organizers of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles to add baseball/softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash to the event's sports program.

The Los Angeles Olympics will mark the first time ever that flag football and squash have been played. Baseball and softball were included most recently at the Tokyo games in 2020, while cricket was played during Paris Olympics in 1900 and lacrosse was included in the program in St. Louis in 1904 and in London in 1908.

"The choice of these five new sports is in line with the American sports culture and will showcase iconic American sports to the world, while bringing international sports to the United States. These sports will make the Olympic Games LA28 unique," IOC President Thomas Bach said in a statement. "Their inclusion will allow the Olympic Movement to engage with new athlete and fan communities in the U.S. and globally."

LA28 organizers announced earlier this month they were proposing to add the five sports, saying they would reflect the "diversity, optimism and creativity" of Los Angeles.

In a statement Monday, LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman said, "I have long believed that we have an incredible opportunity in Los Angeles to create the most compelling Games, not just for us, but for the world. Our Olympic sport programme, in its entirety, reflects this belief. We are excited to embark on game-changing collaborations with major professional leagues that will unlock massive opportunities to amplify the Olympic and Paralympic story and captivate new audiences."

According to the IOC, sports are selected for the Games after an analysis of various criteria, including gender equality. It also considered the "utilization of existing facilities, involving a wide range of sports communities both in the United States and globally, and incorporating some of the most popular sports in the United States and across the globe."

USA Baseball CEO Paul Seiler issued a statement saying he was "thrilled" to have baseball/softball in the lineup.

"The inclusion of baseball and softball will undoubtedly enhance the experience of the Games, as both sports have enjoyed global success in recent years and deserve to be celebrated on the international stage," Seiler said.

Source : CBS News

Correct Answer :   Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma on Saturday (14th Oct 2023) became the third cricketer after Chris Gayle and Shahid Afridi to smack 300 sixes in the one-day international format.

Rohit achieved the feat with his third six against Pakistan during an ICC ODI World Cup match against Pakistan in Ahmedabad. It was a handsome drive over long on off Haris Rauf.

India captain Rohit struck a brilliant 131 off 84 balls against Afghanistan, which included nine sixes, taking him past Gayle (553) to the top of the list for most sixes in international cricket across all formats.

He also became the first player to score seven World Cup centuries, overtaking the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.

In reaching his century off just 63 balls, Rohit also made India’s fastest ton at a World Cup.


Source : Sport Star

Correct Answer :   Manikanta H Hoblidhar

Manikanta H Hoblidhar of Services created new men's 100m national record on the opening day of National Open Athletics Championships here on Wednesday (11th Oct 2023).

The 21-year-old Manikanta clocked 10.23 seconds to win heat No 3 and qualify for the final.

He erased the previous national record of 10.26 seconds which was in the name of Amiya Kumar Mallick of Odisha, set in 2016.

Correct Answer :   Neeraj Chopra

World Athletics has nominated Neeraj Chopra for the Men's Athlete of the Year award 2023. The global governing body of Athletics issued the statement announcing Neeraj's nomination. Javelin thrower Neeraj is an Indian Olympic and World Championships Gold medalist.
 
This week marks the opening of the voting process for the 2023 World Athletes of the Year ahead of the World Athletics Awards 2023. World Athletics has confirmed a list of 11 nominees, selected by an international panel of athletics experts, comprising representatives from all six continental areas of World Athletics..

Source : AIR