Sports

• IPL 2023 ended with a nerve-racking final where MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings clinched their fifth title and ended their campaign in style by defeating defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) by five wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium on May 30. signed off.
• The 16th edition of the IPL saw several records broken, including the season with most 200-plus runs, most sixes hit and most centuries in a single edition.

IPL 2023 Awards Winners :

• IPL 2023 Champions: Chennai Super Kings
• IPL 2023 Runner-up: Gujarat Titans
• Orange Cap Winner: Shubman Gill (GT) – 890 Runs
• Purple Cap Winner: Mohammed Shami (GT) – 28 Wickets
• Most Sixes: Faf du Plessis (RCB) – 36 Sixes
• Most Fours: Shubman Gill (GT) – 85 fours
• Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Season: Shubman Gill (GT)
• Player of the Final – Man of the Match: Devon Conway (CSK)
• Emerging player: Yashasvi Jaiswal (RR)
• Electric Striker of the Season: Glenn Maxwell (RCB)
• Best Catch of the Season: Rashid Khan (GT)
• Fair Play Award: Delhi Capitals
• Gamechanger of the Season: Shubman Gill (GT)
• Longest six of the season: Faf du Plessis (RCB) – 115 metres

Qns : Which player won the Orange Cap in IPL 2023?

(A) Nishant Sindhu
(B) Hardik Pandya
(C) Rashid Khan
(D) Shubman Gill

Ans : (D) Shubman Gill

• India’s top shuttler HS Prannoy has won the Malaysia Masters badminton title. He defeated Weng Hong Yang of China 21–19, 13–21, 21–18 in the men’s singles final in Kuala Lumpur on 28th May 2023.
• Facing for the first time, Prannoy and Weng saw a close battle in the first game, with Prannoy taking a slight 11-10 lead at the mid-period.
• India’s HS Prannoy has created history by winning the title of Malaysia Masters badminton tournament.
• Prannoy is the third Indian player to win this title after Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu. With this, he became the first Indian to win men’s singles gold medal.

Qns : Who won the Malaysia Masters badminton title 2023 in men’s singles?

(A) Priyanshu Rajawat
(B) Lakshya Sen
(C) Sameer Verma
(D) HS Prannoy

Ans : (D) HS Prannoy

• Indian long jumper Murali Sreesankar won gold while compatriot Jessvin Aldrin won silver at the International Jumping Meet in Kallithea, Greece on 24 May.
• Successfully defending his title in the men’s long jump event, Commonwealth Games silver medalist Murali Sreesankar registered his season-best jump of 8.18m.
• He beat his compatriot and national record holder Jeswin Aldrin, who had claimed silver in the World Athletics Continental Tour bronze level event with an effort of 7.85 metres.
• This was Murali Sreeshankar’s third competition of the year and also the third gold medal. He won the gold medal at the MVA High Performance athletics meet in Chula Vista, USA in May with an effort of 8.29m – 0.07m short of his personal best. Earlier, he won the long jump event at the third Indian Grand Prix in March with a jump of 7.94m.

Qns : Who won the gold medal in the men’s long jump event at the International Jumping Meeting athletics 2023?

(A) Sandeep Singh Maan
(B) Sanjay Kumar Rai
(C) Murali Sreesankar
(D) Ankit Sharma

Ans : (C) Murali Sreesankar

• The Indian junior hockey team began their title defense by thrashing Chinese Taipei 18-0 at the Men’s Asia Cup 2023 in Salalah, Oman on 24 May.
• In his first Pool A match, Arjit Singh Hundal scored four goals in the match for India, while Amandeep scored a hat-trick.
• Captain Uttam Singh, Bobby Singh Dhami and Chandura Bobby Poovanna scored one goal each while Aditya Arjun Lalge, Sharda Nand Tiwari, Angad Bir Singh, Ameer Ali and Rawat Yogember also scored one goal each.
• With three points and a goal difference of 18, India now top Pool A. India will play Japan on 25 May, followed by matches against Pakistan on 27 May and Thailand on 28 May. The top two teams from each pool will advance to the semi-finals.
• The tournament serves as a qualifier for the FIH Junior Men’s World Cup 2023, which will be held in Malaysia in December.

Qns : Which team did the Indian junior hockey team defeat in their first match at the Men’s Asia Cup 2023?

(A) Australia
(B) Chinese Taipei
(C) Japan
(D) South Korea

Answer : (B) Chinese Taipei

• The third Khelo India University Games began with the Kabaddi event on the evening of 23 May 2023 in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh.
• The league matches of the Kabaddi competition began on 23rd May in the presence of national and international players.
• 15 teams from different universities are participating in this event. Around 1200 players from different universities are participating in basketball, weight lifting, boxing and kabaddi.
• The Khelo India University Games will continue till 3rd June and the closing ceremony will be held in Varanasi. These games will be organized at four places Gautam Budh Nagar, Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Varanasi.

Qns : In which district of Uttar Pradesh did the 3rd Khelo India University Games start?

(A) Agra
(B) Allahabad
(C) Ghaziabad
(D) Gautam Buddha Nagar

Ans : (D) Gautam Buddha Nagar

• In the Italian Open final, world number three tennis star Daniil Medvedev defeated Holger Roon on 21 May to win his first claycourt title.
• In the men’s singles final, the Russian player defeated the 20-year-old Danish player 7-5, 7-5. It is Medvedev’s fifth title of 2023 and the win lifted him above Novak Djokovic to second in the world rankings.
• Overall, he held 20 career titles. He will also be the second seed in the French Open, which starts on May 28 at Roland Garros.

Qns : In the Italian Open 2023, which player won his first clay court title?

(A) Novak Djokovic
(B) Rafael Nadal
(C) Daniil Medvedev
(D) Holger Roon

Ans : (C) Daniil Medvedev

• Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Neeraj Chopra has become the world number one player in the latest rankings of men’s javelin throw released by World Athletics on 22 May 2023.
• Neeraj Chopra topped the table with 1455 points, 22 points ahead of Anderson Peters of Granada. The Indian javelin legend had achieved world no. 2 ranking on August 30, 2022 but has been trailing world champion Peters since then.
• In September 2022, Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian athlete to lift the prestigious Diamond League trophy by winning the Diamond League 2022 final in Zurich.
• Neeraj Chopra, who holds the Indian national record in men’s javelin throw, returned from the season-opening Doha Diamond League on 5 May 2023 and finished first with a throw of 88.67m. Anderson Peters had finished third in the Doha meet with a throw of 85.88m.

World Athletics Javelin Throw Top-5 Ranking (Men)
By May, 2023

1. Neeraj Chopra (India) – 1,455 points
2. Anderson Peters (Grenada) – 1,433 points
3. Jakub Wadljech (Czech Republic) – 1,416 points
4. Julian Weber (Germany) – 1,385 points
5. Arshad Nadeem (Pakistan) – 1,306 points

Qns : On 22 May 2023, who became the world No. 1 player in the men’s javelin throw rankings?

(A) Anderson Peters
(B) Rohit Yadav
(C) Arshad Nadeem
(D) Neeraj Chopra

Ans : (D) Neeraj Chopra

• India ended the Archery World Cup 2023 Stage 2 in Shanghai, China with three medals on 20th May.
• Indian archer Prathamesh Javkar won the first World Cup gold medal in the men’s individual compound event by defeating world number one Mike Schloesser of the Netherlands in the second round of the Archery World Cup in Shanghai.
• 19-year-old Jyoti Surekha Vennam and 20-year-old Ojas Praveen Deotale won India’s second consecutive gold medal in the mixed team event.
• Avneet Kaur, on the other hand, won the second medal for India. She secured a bronze medal in the individual women’s compound. The 18-year-old beat Turkey’s Ipek Tomaruk 147-144 in the bronze medal match after losing to Great Britain’s Ella Gibson in the semi-finals.
• It was the second consecutive World Cup gold medal for the mixed doubles pair. Earlier, he had also won the Antalya stage last month.

Qns : How many medals did India win at the Archery World Cup 2023 Stage 2 in Shanghai, China?

(A) One
(B) Two
(C) Three
(D) Four
Ans : (C) Three

• The South Asian Youth Table Tennis Championship 2023 concluded on 17 May in Itanagar.
• It was a three-day international event in which more than 100 athletes and officials from six countries Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Nepal participated.
• In Under-19 Boys Singles, Ankur Bhattacharjee won gold by defeating Payas Jain 4-2. Payas had to contend with silver.
• Meanwhile, in the Under-19 girls’ singles, Suhana Saini defeated Yashaswini Ghorpade 4-1 in what turned out to be a one-sided final. In mixed doubles, Payas Jain and Yashaswini won gold after defeating their Maldivian rivals Akhyar Ahmed Khalid and Fathimath Dhema Ali.

Qns : Which country hosted the South Asian Youth Table Tennis Championship 2023?

(A) Bhutan
(B) Bangladesh
(C) India
(D) Maldives

Ans : (C) India

• Indian shooters Hriday Hazarika and Nancy Mandhotra have won silver medals in the men’s and women’s 10m air rifle events at the ongoing ISSF World Cup 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
• It was the first ISSF World Cup medal for 21-year-old Hriday Hazarika and 19-year-old Nancy Mandotra. Hazarika made it to the final of the men’s 10m air rifle.
• Hazarika shot 251.9 in the final. Jalan Peckler topped the table with a score of 252.4.
• Nancy Mandhotra won the silver medal by scoring 253.3 in the final. With these two medals, India’s tally in the World Cup went up to four.
• The Baku meet is the final stage of the ISSF World Cup for rifle and pistol shooters. The final leg before the ISSF World Championships in Doha in November will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Qns : Who won silver medals in the men’s 10m air rifle events at the ISSF World Cup 2023?

(A) Manu Bhaker
(B) Hriday Hazarika
(C) Abhishek Verma
(D) Deepak Kumar

Answer : (B) Hriday Hazarika

• Indian shooters Sarabjot Singh and Divya TS jointly won the gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event at the ISSF World Cup 2023 for rifle and pistol shooters in Baku, Azerbaijan on 11 May.
• Sarabjot Singh, who won an individual gold in men’s 10m air pistol event in Bhopal, and Divya TS defeated veteran Serbian pair of Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Damir Mikec and former world champion Zorana Arunovic 16-14 in a tense final.
• Along with this, it was the first ISSF World Cup medal for Divya TS.
• Earlier, Sarabjot Singh shot 293 in three series in the qualification round, while Divya TS shot 288 for a total of 581. Damir Mikec and Zorana Arunovic also achieved par scores, but ended up second due to a lower score of 10 (19) than Sarabjot Singh and Divya TS (24).

Qns : Who won the gold medal in men’s 10m air pistol mixed team event at the ISSF World Cup 2023?

(A) Sarabjot Singh
(B) Shahzar Rizvi
(C) Abhishek Verma
(D) Damir Micek

Answer : (A) Sarabjot Singh

• India’s Rhythm Sangwan has won a bronze medal in the women’s 10m air pistol event at the ISSF World Cup 2023 for rifle and pistol shooters in Baku, Azerbaijan.
• Rhythm Sangwan shot 219.1 in the final to finish third behind Greece’s Anna Korakaki, Rio 2016 Olympic champion, and Ukraine’s Olena Kostevich, Athens 2004 Summer Games gold medallist.
• This was Rhythm Sangwan’s first individual senior medal in the Shooting World Cup.
• In the qualification round, 19-year-old Rhythm Sangwan shot 581 to finish third and qualify for the finals.
• India has sent a 34-member team to the ISSF World Cup Baku 2023. This event will end on May 14.

Qns : Who won the bronze medal in the women’s 10m air pistol event at the ISSF World Cup 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan?

(A) Shikha Narwal
(B) Esha Singh
(C) Rhythm Sangwan
(D) None of the above

Ans : (C) Rhythm Sangwan

• The Indian campaign has come to an end at the ongoing Asian Weightlifting Championships in Jinju, South Korea.
• Ajit Narayan and Achinta Shiuli, competing in the men’s 73kg category, failed to get medals. Indian players have won three medals which are all silver medals.
• Bindayarani Devi and Jeremy Lalrinnunga were the only ones to show their full potential in the championship. Bindayarani started India’s run on 6 May with a silver medal in the women’s 55 kg category.
• She also won the silver medal in the clean and jerk event by lifting 111 kg. Weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga won a silver medal in the men’s 67 kg snatch category.
• The Asian Weightlifting Championship will continue till 13 May. But India is not represented in any of the rest of the categories.

Qns : Where did the Asian Weightlifting Championships 2023 take place?

(A) New Delhi, India
(B) Beijing, China
(C) Jinju, South Korea
(D) Tokyo, Japan

Answer : (C) Jinju, South Korea

• On 7th May 2023, In the men’s World Boxing Championships in Tashkent, Mohammad Hussamuddin reached the quarter-finals after a 5-0 win over Russia’s Savin Idvad in 57kg.
• Hussamuddin will take on Xavier Ibanes of Bulgaria in the quarterfinals.
• In 51 kg, Deepak Boharia defeated Olympic bronze medalist Sakin Bibosiwon 5-2 to enter the pre-quarterfinals.

Qns : Who did Mohammad Hussamuddin defeat in the men’s World Boxing Championships in Tashkent?

(A) Jack Root
(B) Saken Bibossinov
(C) Savvin Eduard
(d) None of the above

Answer : (C) Savvin Eduard

• In the Asian Weightlifting Championships, India’s weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga won the silver medal in Jinju, Korea on 7th May 2023.
• Competing in his first tournament since the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Jeremy was the only one in a 12-lifter field not to finish his program (DNF).
• The 20-year-old lifted 141kg in the 67kg category to win a medal in the snatch event.
• Jeremy failed to lift 165 kg on his first two clean and jerk attempts. He then increased his weight to 168 kg, which was 2 kg more than his personal best.

Qns : In the Asian Weightlifting Championships, which Indian weightlifter won the silver medal in Jinju, Korea?
(A) Sakshi Malik
(B) Jeremy Lalrinnunga
(C) Sushil Kumar
(D) Yogeshwar Dutt
Ans : (B) Jeremy Lalrinnunga

• Indian archery teams won 5 gold medals, 5 silver medals, and 2 bronze medals at the Asia Cup-World Ranking Tournament, Stage II in Tashkent.
• In the compound women team event, Parneet Kaur, Raginee Markoo, and Pragati defeated Kazakhstan to win gold.
• In the compound men team event, Amit, Kushal Dalal, and Abhishek Verma beat Hong Kong to win gold.
• In the compound mixed team event, Parneet Kaur and Abhishek Verma beat Kazakhstan to finish at the top of the podium.
• In the compound women individual event, all three medals were claimed by Indians.
• In the compound men individual event, all three medals were won by Indians.
• In the recurve men team event, the team of Mrinal Chauhan, Tushar Prabhakar Shelke, and Jayanta Talukdar defeated China to win gold.
• In the recurve women team event, the Indian team won silver.
• In the recurve mixed team event, India won silver.
• Two other silvers came in individual recurve men and women categories.

Question: How many gold medals did Indian archery teams win at the Asia Cup-World Ranking Tournament Stage II in Tashkent?
A. 5
B. 3
C. 2
D. 1
Answer: A. 5

• Neeraj Chopra, Olympic champion javelin thrower, won the season-opening leg of Diamond League in Doha with a throw of 88.67m.
• He beat a star-studded field and maintained the lead till the end to win the event.
• With this win, Neeraj Chopra has also bagged the world lead.
• Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur congratulated Neeraj Chopra on his win and called him a true champion who has made the nation proud.

Question: Who won the season-opening Javelin leg of Diamond League in Doha?
A. Neeraj Chopra
B. Anurag Singh Thakur
C. Czech Republic’s Vadlejch
D. Grenada’s Peters
Answer: A. Neeraj Chopra

• Rohit Sharma-led India became the number one Test team overtaking Australia in the latest rankings released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on 2 May
• Australia’s reign at the top of the men’s Test rankings ended after 15 months, with India surpassing the Aussies ahead of next month’s ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final.
• India are currently on top with 121 points, while Australia are second with 116 points. Earlier this year, India registered a 2-1 series win against Australia to retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the fourth time in a row.
• England (116 points), South Africa (104) and reigning champion New Zealand (100) occupy third, fourth and fifth spots respectively.
• India will face Australia in the WTC final on June 7 at the Oval in London.

Qns : Which team has surpassed Australia to become the number one Test team in the latest ICC rankings?

(A) South Africa
(B) New Zealand
(C) India
(D) England

Answer : (C) India

• Experienced Mairaj Ahmed Khan and youngster Ganemat Sekhon combined effectively to give India their maiden medal at the ongoing ISSF World Cup Shotgun in Cairo, Egypt.
• The Indian mixed doubles pair defeated Luis Raul Gallardo Oliveros and Gabriela Rodríguez 6-0 in the final of the skeet mixed team event on the fourth day of the tournament.
• Italy won the bronze through their crack pairing of two-time World Championship silver medalist Simona Scoschetti and Rio Olympic champion Gabriele Rossetti.

Qns : Which Indian shooter won the gold medal in the skeet mixed team category at the ISSF World Cup Shotgun in Cairo, Egypt?

(A) Mairaj Ahmad Khan
(B) Ganemat Sekhon
(C) Option A
(D) A & B Both

Answer : (D) A & B Both

• Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty on 30 April created history by becoming the first Indian men’s doubles pair to win a gold medal at the Badminton Asia Championships.
• Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty defeated the eighth seeded Malaysian pair of Ong Yew Sin and Teo Yee 16-21, 21-17, 21-19 in 67 minutes in the final played.
• The previous best performance by an Indian men’s doubles pair in a continental event was in 1971 by Dipu Ghosh and Raman Ghosh who won a bronze medal.
• Overall, this is India’s second gold medal in the event. Dinesh Khanna won the men’s singles gold in Lucknow in 1965 by defeating Thailand’s Sangob Ratnusorn.

Qns : Who won the gold medal at the 2023 Badminton Asia Championships in men’s doubles category?

(A) Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty
(B) Ong Yew Sin and Teo Yee
(C) Dipu Ghosh and Raman Ghosh
(D) None of the above

Ans : (A) Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty