Sports - General Knowledge Questions

Correct Answer :   Satwiksairaj Rankireddy

Indian shuttler Satwiksairaj Rankireddy managed to feature in the Guinness World Record by striking the fastest smash in the ongoing Korea Open 2023 on Tuesday (18th July 2023).

Satwiksairaj broke a decade-long record which was set in May 2013 by Malaysian Tan Boon Heong, who had produced a speed of 493 km/h with his smash.

Satwiksairaj broke the record by surpassing his speed by 72 kmph and registered a record-breaking speed of 565 kmph.

The third-seeded Indian men's doubles team of Satwiksairaj and Chirag Shetty defeated 21-16, 21-14 Supak Jomkoh/Kittinupong Kedren of Thailand in order to advance into the pre-quarterfinals. Although they were behind in the second game, they came through to win the match in straight games.

Only Satwik and Chirag from India managed to win on the opening day of the competition.

Dhruv Kapila and MR Arjun, the other men's doubles team, had to leave their match earlier due to an injury.

Shashwat Dalal and Harshit Aggarwal did not advance from the qualifications.

The top singles players from India, including PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy, and Kidambi Srikanth, will make their tournament debuts in South Korea on Wednesday (19th July 2023)..

Source : Business Standard

Correct Answer :   Marketa Vondrousova

Marketa Vondrousova, the Czech tennis sensation, has captured the hearts of fans and etched her name in history with an extraordinary achievement.

In 2023, she became the first unseeded woman player to claim the coveted Wimbledon women's singles title. With her crafty playing style, strategic brilliance, and unwavering determination, Vondrousova has risen to prominence in the tennis world.

Let's delve into her remarkable journey, from her early beginnings to her triumph on the grass courts of Wimbledon, and explore the impact she has made as a trailblazer in the sport.

Early Life and Background : Marketa Vondrousova was born on June 28, 1999, in Sokolov, Czech Republic. Her father introduced her to tennis at the age of four, and her mother played volleyball professionally. Vondrousova tried various sports before focusing on tennis at a young age.

Junior Career :

Vondrousova was a former world No. 1 junior player. She achieved early success on the ITF Junior Circuit, winning titles and reaching the semifinals of the French Open and Wimbledon in 2013. Vondrousova won two Grand Slam doubles titles and represented the Czech Republic in the Junior Fed Cup.

Vondrousova made headlines by reaching the final of the 2019 French Open as an unseeded player. She defeated several seeded players on her way to the final but ultimately finished as the runner-up. Her performance marked her as the first teenage major finalist in nearly a decade..

Source : Zeenews

Correct Answer :   Prithviraj Tondaiman

India shooter Prithviraj Tondaiman bagged the bronze medal in the men’s trap event at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup Lonato 2023 in Italy on Sunday (16th July 2023).

Prithviraj Tondaiman’s bronze was India’s only medal at the Lonato shooting meet. This was his second individual ISSF World Cup medal, having won a bronze in Doha in March.

Prithviraj Tondaiman finished third in the final with 34 points. Britain’s Nathan Hales won the gold medal with 49 points while Qi Ying of the Republic of China bagged the silver medal with 48 points. A total of six shooters qualified for the men’s trap final.

Earlier, Prithviraj Tondaiman finished third in the qualifying round with 122 points. The 36-year-old scored 23, 25, 24, 25, 25 in the five-round qualification series. Paris 2024 Olympics quota winner Bhowneesh Mendiratta and Zoravar Singh Sandhu failed to progress beyond the qualification stage in the men’s trap event..

Source : Olympics

Correct Answer :   Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz stunned Novak Djokovic to win the Wimbledon men's singles tennis title on Sunday (16 July 2023).

* The 20-year-old Spaniard won 1-6, 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in four hours and 42 minutes to end Djokovic's hopes of a calendar Grand Slam for this year at least.

* It was Alcaraz's second Slam title with his first coming at last year's US Open.

* After dropping the first set, the youngster won a second-set tiebreak - ending Djokovic's Open era Grand Slam record of 15 consecutive breaker wins - before taking the initiative in the third.

* The seven-time champion fought back in the fourth set to level the match, but Alcaraz would not be denied in just his fifth grass-court tournament as he joined Manolo Santana and Rafael Nadal as Spanish men's singles winners at Wimbledon.

* Alcaraz said in his on-court interview, "It's a dream come true. It's great to win but even if I'd lost I'd have been very proud playing against a legend of our sport. For me, it's incredible.

* "For a boy of 20 years old, I really didn't expect to reach this situation. It's really really fast. I'm really proud of myself and the team I have around me.

* "After the first set, I thought, 'Carlos, increase the level.' I have to congratulate Novak. What can I say about him? You inspire me a lot. I started playing tennis, watching you. Since I was born, you already were winning tournaments. It's amazing. You said 36 is the new 26 and you make that happen."

* It was Djokovic's first defeat at Wimbledon since 2017 and means he remains on 23 Grand Slam titles, one behind the all-time record held by Margaret Court.

* He was fulsome in his praise of the victor afterwards, saying "I thought I'd only have trouble with you on clay and hard courts but now...

* "You never like to lose matches like this but, when all the emotions have settled, I have to be very happy. I won close games before - maybe I should have lost a couple of finals I won here - so this is even stevens."

The Spanish sensation has done it 🇪🇸@carlosalcaraz triumphs over Novak Djokovic, 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in an all-time classic#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/sPGLXr2k99

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 16, 2023

Source : Olympics

Correct Answer :   Parul Chaudhary

Long-distance runner Parul Chaudhary has won the fifth gold for India in the ongoing Asian Athletics Championships 2023 in Bangkok.

The 28-year-old has obtained a huge lead at the fag end of the event to clinch the 3000m Steeplechase event in the women’s category. She leapfrogged her Chinese counterpart Xu Shuangshuang and finished the event in 9 minutes 38.76 seconds.

There’s clear daylight between her and Shuangshuang as the latter finished her run in 9 minutes 44.54 seconds.

Representing India, both Chaudhary and Priti fought for the top spot, but the latter missed the bronze by a whisker as Japan’s Yoshimura Reimi eclipsed her by 0.02 seconds, sealing the third place.

Yoshimura completed her run in 9 minutes and 48.48 seconds.

For the past three months, Parul has opted for “high-altitude training”, a type of endurance training for athletes to better their performance and ability to perform a task for a longer duration.  

She has trained in Colorado Springs, US, a site which is a go-to option for American middle-distance runners and steeplechasers. The base if situated at an altitude of 1,800m above sea level.

It’s good news that the triumphant athlete’s hard work has yielded success.

Athletics, #AsianAthleticsChampionships: All the doubts should be put to bed after this brilliant performance of Parul Chaudhary! You can import as many East Africans but she is still the best Steeplechaser in Asia! Well done Parul.

9:38.76 mins in trying conditions!🥇🇮🇳🇮🇳👏👏 pic.twitter.com/S30VDzPZpY

— Vishank Razdan (@VishankRazdan) July 14, 2023

Source : Outlookindia

Correct Answer :   Yashasvi Jaiswal

Yashasvi Jaiswal has become the 17th India batter to score a century on Test debut, and the first to do so outside Asia in more than 21 years.

The 21-year-old reached the milestone on the second afternoon of the Dominica Test, bringing it up with a standing sweep for a single off the part-time bowling of fellow debutant Alick Athanaze.

Jaiswal opened the batting alongside captain Rohit Sharma, with Shubman Gill moving down to the No. 3 spot vacated by Cheteshwar Pujara's axing. When he reached his hundred, off 215 balls, India were 205 for no loss after they had bowled West Indies out for 150 on day one.

"It was an emotional moment for me," Jaiswal said after the day's play. "I enjoyed it quite a bit. I am still batting so I will try to play for as long as possible. This is just the start of my career, so now it will be about how focused and disciplined I can be going forward.

"My effort [on the third day] will just be on how I can give a good start to the team. I will just focus on my process and trust on what I have practiced. I just have to go and keep playing."

Jaiswal has shown a remarkable appetite for runs in every format he has played. When he was called up for this West Indies tour as part of an India side picked with an eye on the future, he had scored 1845 first-class runs at an average of 80.21, with nine hundreds in just 26 innings. His List A career of 32 games already includes a double-hundred. And he was the fifth highest run-getter in IPL 2023, with his 625 runs coming at a strike rate of 163.61. Jaiswal has now brought that appetite to Test cricket.

Earlier, Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw have achieved this feat as openers of the Indian team. With this, he has become the 17th Indian to score a century in Test debut. The first Indian batsman to score a century on Test debut was Lala Amarnath, who achieved this feat in 1933..

Source : Espncricinfo

Correct Answer :   Shubham Todkar

India’s Shubham Todkar and Popy Hazarika won the gold medals in the men’s 61kg and women’s 59kg categories, respectively. T Madhavan, meanwhile, bagged a silver medal in the men’s 67kg event.

In the Thursday (13th July 2023) morning session, India’s Shubham Todkar topped the podium in the senior men’s 61kg with a total lift of 259kg (115kg snatch + 144kg clean and jerk).

Shubham Todkar finished first ahead of Sri Lanka’s Kamal Deshappriya Egodawatte, who lifted a total of 238kg (108kg snatch + 130kg clean and jerk). David Mok of Singapore bagged the bronze with a combined lift of 198kg (90kg snatch + 108kg clean and jerk).

Later, Popy Hazarika won India’s second senior gold medal of the day. The 24-year-old, who won a silver medal at the 2021 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, upgraded her medal’s colour to gold after lifting 189kg (84kg snatch + 105kg clean and jerk).

Popy Hazarika beat Malta’s Tenishia Thornton, who finished second with a total lift of 186kg (82kg snatch + 104kg clean and jerk). The third place went to Anneke Spies of South Africa, who lifted a total weight of 185kg (80kg snatch +105kg clean and jerk). A total of six lifters competed in the senior women’s 59kg category.

In the final event of the day, T Madhavan settled for silver in the men’s 67kg category. The Indian, who was also competing at the junior category, lifted a total weight of 268kg (125kg snatch + 143kg clean and jerk) to finish second.

Samoa’s Vaipava Nevo Ioane won the senior gold medal with a total lift of 280kg (120kg snatch + 160kg clean and jerk). The final podium place was bagged by Titus Ika of Nauru with a combined lift of 262kg (100kg snatch + 152 clean and jerk)

With three medals won on Thursday, India’s total medals count in the senior category rose to eight. Indian weightlifters had clinched a total of five medals, three golds and two silvers, on the opening day of the event on Wednesday (12th July 2023).  

On Friday, N Ajith (73kg) and Ajay Singh (81kg) will be in action in the men’s events while Harjinder Kaur (71kg) will compete in the women’s category..

Source : Olympics

Correct Answer :   Jyothi Yarraji

Jyothi Yarraji opened India’s gold medal account in the Asian Athletics Championships 2023 by winning the women’s 100m hurdles race and clinching her maiden top finish in a major international event here on Thursday (13th July 2023).

The 23-year-old Yarraji clocked 13.09 seconds to win the final race ahead of two Japanese runners Terada Asuka (13.13s) and Aoki Masumi (13.26s) on a rain-drenched track at the Supachalasai Stadium.

Yarraji’s national record stands at 12.82 seconds.

On Wednesday (12th July 2023), Abhishek Pal had opened India’s medal account with a bronze in men’s 10,000m race..

Source : The Print

Correct Answer :   Wanindu Hasaranga

The International Cricket Council (ICC) 11th July 2023 announced the winners of the ICC Player of the Month awards for June 2023.

The ICC Men’s Player of the Month award goes to Sri Lanka’s record-breaking spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, who was instrumental in his side’s successful ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier campaign.

The ICC Women’s Player of the Month prize goes to Australia’s star all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner following a memorable performance in the first Women’s Ashes showdown, making her the first to win three ICC Player of the Month awards, having also won in December 2022 and February 2023..

Source : ICC Cricket

Correct Answer :   Pune

India’s top table tennis league Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) tournament is being organized at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune this year (2023) under the aegis of the Table Tennis Federation of India after a gap of four years.

The league round-robin will be held between the 13th and the 27th of July.

The semifinals will be held on the 28 and the 29th of July and the final will be held on the 30th of July.
 
The Ultimate Table Tennis league consists of six teams. There are 36 players in total with six from each team - four Indian players and two International players.

Each team will play five matches.

India’s ace table tennis player Sharath Kamal is participating in the UTT league.

He will be leading the Indian team to the 26th Asian Championships to be held from the 3rd to the 10th of September this year in South Korea.

Source : AIR