Correct Answer : Option (B) - Salima Tete

National women’s hockey team midfielder Salima Tete was on Thursday (23rd March 2023) appointed the AHF Athletes Ambassador from India for a term of two years, starting March 25, 2023.

* Tete accepted the certificate and the position during the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Congress in Mungyeong, Korea.

* Tete, who led the Indian women’s junior hockey team to a fourth-place finish at the 2021 FIH Women’s Junior World Cup in Potchefstroom, South Africa, is among four players from Asia to be appointed for the position.

* As the AHF Athletes Ambassador, Tete, along with the other selected athletes from Asia, will play a leadership role in international representation, development, and advocacy of athletes.

* She will also be working towards promoting awareness about athletes’ rights and welfare from the region...

Source : News18

Correct Answer : Option (A) - India

* India won a silver and a bronze while China retained its top spot by winning two gold medals on the second day of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup shooting championship 2023 in Bhopal,Madhya Pradesh.

* India's world champion Rudraksh Patil and R. Narmada Nitin won bronze in the 10m air rifle mixed team event, while Varun Tomar and Rhythm Sangwan won silver in the second event of the day to take India's medal tally to three including one gold, one silver and one bronze.

* China topped the medal tally with three gold and two bronze medals.

* On Friday (24th March 2023), the third day of the competition, the finals of 10 meter air rifle men's and women's categories will be held..

Source : AIR

Correct Answer : Option (C) - India

* The host India clinched both men and women titles of the Asian Kho Kho Championship 2023 held at Tamulpur in Assam.

* In the women category, Indian Eves defeated Nepal by an inning and 33 points.

* On the other hand, the men's team too continued its brilliant form and defeated  Nepal by an inning and six points. India remained unbeaten in both categories throughout the tournament.

* A total of nine countries participated in the event. Assam Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary and minister U G Brahma distributed the prizes..

Source : AIR

Correct Answer : Option (D) - Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez dominated the field around the Jeddah Street Circuit to take the fifth victory of his Formula One career at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The Mexican driver - who also topped qualifying on Saturday (18th Mar 2023) - lost first place off of the line to Fernando Alonso but fought back brilliantly to retake P1 soon after.

His teammate Verstappen stormed through the field to finish in P2 despite starting the race in P15 due to issues in qualifying, whilst Aston Martin's Alonso rounded out the podium places in P3.

The Aston Martin driver was originally demoted down to P4 after the race after gaining an additional 10-second penalty as his team failed to serve an earlier five-second penalty correctly in the pit lane, though that decision was later reversed by the FIA giving the Spaniard a landmark 100th career podium.

Mercedes duo George Russell and Lewis Hamilton came home in P4 and P5 but it was yet another disappointing day for Ferrari as Sainz and Leclerc could only finish in P6 and P7 respectively. Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly and Kevin Magnussen also took valuable points.

Source : Sporting News

Correct Answer : Option (B) - Sarabjot Singh

India's Sarabjot Singh clinched the gold medal while Varun Tomar finished with bronze in the men's 10m Air Pistol event at the ISSF Rifle/Pistol World Cup 2023 in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday (22nd March 2023).

* It is regarded as the first-ever gold in the World Cup Shooting Championships. Sarabjot Singh won the gold with a perfect score of 10.9.

* Meanwhile, ace Indian shooter Manu Bhaker and Yashaswini Singh Deswal failed to progress beyond the qualification round in the 10m Air Pistol event.   

* Sarabjot Singh, a 2021 junior world gold medallist in the team and mixed team categories, defeated Azerbaijan's Ruslan Lunev 16-0 in the gold-medal match in the first final of the Bhopal ISSF World Cup.

* Earlier, Sarabjot Singh, 21, finished second in the qualification round with 585 points. He scored 98, 97, 99, 97, 97, 97 in the six qualification series.

* In the ranking round, Sarabjot Singh (253.2 points) and Ruslan Lunev (251.9) were first and second respectively, as they made the cut for the gold-medal round. Varun Tomar, with 250.3, had to settle for bronze.

* India’s Shiva Narwal topped qualifying, also with 585 points, but was competing for ranking points only (RPO). Compatriot Arjun Singh Cheema, with 579 points, finished ninth.

* Sumit Rawan (13th) failed to progress beyond the qualifiers.

* Meanwhile, in the women’s 10m Air Pistol event, Manu Bhaker, a Youth Olympic Games champion, finished a disappointing 16th with 568 points in qualifying.

* Divya Thadigol, who was third in the qualification round with 579 points, got eliminated in the ranking round after she finished fifth with 197.1 points...

Source : Olympics

Correct Answer : Option (B) - Pankaj Advani

India’s Pankaj Advani retained his Asian Billiards title in the 100-up format, defeating fellow countryman Brijesh Damani 5-1 in the final played at Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation (QBSF) Academy on Sunday (19th March 2023).

* Advani, who is a 25-time International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) world champion, defeated Damani with a scoreline of 100(51)-18, 100(88)-9, 86(54)-101(75), 100-26, 100(66)-2, 101(64)-59 in the final.

* In the women’s section, China’s Bai Yulu won the title beating Panchaya Channoi of Thailand 3-0 in the final.

* This is the eighth Asian Billiards title in all for Advani, the Indian cue sports ace who has been bestowed the Arjuna Award in 2004, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2006, Padma Shri in 2009 and Padma Bhushan in 2018. Advani had won the same title last year at Doha.

* Advani, who had lost to Damani in the group stage earlier in the championship, was in great form on Sunday and won the first two games with ease.

* Advani, who reached the final by beating Pauk Sa of Myanmar 5-1 in the semifinals, scored half-century breaks in each of the six frames including a century break in the fourth.

* However, Damani, who got the better of compatriot Shrikrishna Suryanarayanan 5-4 in the last-four stage, also scored a break of 75 in the third frame but eventually had to settle for silver losing 1-5.

* The 37-year-old Advani from Bengaluru has won the billiards world titles 17 times, the IBSF World Billiards Championship on 16 occasions and the World Team Billiards Championship once.

* Advani has won gold medals in English Billiards singles in the 2006 and 2010 Asian Games...

Source : News18

Correct Answer : Option (A) - Rani Rampal

The Indian Railways’ Modern Coach Factory Stadium in Raebareli was renamed as Rani's Girls Hockey Turf after former Indian women’s hockey team captain "Rani Rampal".

She became the first female hockey player from India to have a stadium named after her.

Rani Rampal, a Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna and Padma Shri awardee, shared pictures from the inauguration ceremony on social media, where she is seen interacting with the players and other staff members.

"Words seem too less to express my happiness and gratitude as I share that the MCF ( Modern Coach Factory) Raebareli has renamed the hockey stadium to Rani's Girls Hockey Turf to honour my contribution to hockey," tweeted Rani Rampal, who has two Asian Games medals to her name - a silver at 2018 Jakarta and a bronze at 2014 Incheon..

Source : Olympics

Correct Answer : Option (C) - Carlos Alcaraz

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz defeated Russia's Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-2 to win the Indian Wells Masters 2023 singles title. With this, he has become the ninth and youngest player to win the Indian Wells and Miami titles.

Nadal won six titles before the age of 20. With this, Alcaraz has reached number 1 in the World ATP rankings.

Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Sunday evening with a 19-match winning streak behind him, confidence flowing. He was the in-form player on the tour, a champion established as the best hard-court player of his generation. And yet, by the end, none of that mattered. Forty-five minutes into the final, he was completely out of ideas.

Alcaraz’s victory followed a maiden WTA 1000 triumph for Elena Rybakina, who also won her first important title since her maiden grand slam triumph, edging out Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (11), 6-4 in a tense, mentally exhausting tussle.

With his third career Masters 1000 title and eighth overall, Alcaraz will regain the ATP’s No 1 ranking, rising above Novak Djokovic, who is absent from Indian Wells and the Miami Open due to his vaccination status. This was the first time that Alcaraz has won a Masters 1000 title without dropping a set..

Source : The Guardian

Correct Answer : Option (D) - Rohan Bopanna

Rohan Bopanna proved age was just a number after becoming the oldest ATP Masters 1000 champion at 43 years old, with victory in the BNP Paribas Open men’s doubles.

* Alongside playing partner Matthew Ebden, the unseeded pair dispatched top-ranked duo Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski, to claim the men’s doubles title at Indian Wells, winning 6-3 2-6 10-8.

* The triumph was the pair’s second title together following last month’s success in Doha at the Qatar open. Bopanna described the win as “Truly special.”

* In winning his 24th tour-level trophy, the former doubles world number three broke the record for oldest masters champion held by former partner Daniel Nestor.

* The Indian, whose family own a coffee plantation in the Indian state of Karnataka, added: “Some days I tell Matt I maybe just practiced 20 minutes, but I’d rather rest the body and be ready for our matches.”

* Ebden and Bopanna now hold an 11-4 record together this season and have moved up to 18th and 11th in the ATP doubles rankings..

Source : CNN

Correct Answer : Option (C) - Australia

Australia's star player Ashleigh Gardner won the Women's Player of the Month award for the month of February 2023.

* She left behind the other two players involved in this race, South African opener Laura Wolvaardt and England all-rounder Nate Sciver-Brunt.

* Also, she played an important role in getting his team the T20 World Cup title.

* The Women's Player of the Month award for January 2023 was won by Grace Scrivens (England).