March 2022: Sports Affairs

 MARCH 2022: SPORTS AFFAIRS

This article contains important sports-related current affairs of March 2022. This article will be daily updated for the students of govt. exams, banking exams, or any other one-day exams and will also be helpful for UPSC & State PSC aspirants. We will also provide pdfs for all the material for free. 

1. Carlos Alcaras won Rio Open Tennis

• Carlos Alcaraz of Spain has won the Rio Open Tennis by defeating Diego Schwartzman of Argentina.
• The Rio Open is played on outdoor clay courts at the Jockey Club Brasileiro in Rio De Janerio, Brazil.

2. IPL 2022 edition to begin on 26 March 2022

• IPL President Brijesh Patel confirms that the 15th edition of IPL 2022 will begin on 26 March 2022.
• This year 10 teams will play in the tournament.
• This year two teams are added Lucknow Super Giants & Gujrat Titans.
• There will be 74 matches that will be played at Wankhede Stadium & Brabourne Stadium of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai's D Y Patil Ground & Pune's Gahunje Stadium.

3. South Asian Athletic Federation (SAAF) Championship to be hosted in Nagaland

• This is the 56th National Cross-Country championship.
• It will be held from 26th March 2022.
• The name of the Mascot is Akimji- a connotation of the word AMBITION derived from the Sumi dialect of Naga Tribe which exemplifies the ambition of the new generation of Naga youth.

4. India's R. Pragganandhaa defeated Magnus Carlsen in Chess tournament

• The Indian Chess grandmaster R. Pragganandhaa defeated Norway's Chess master Magnus Carlsen.
• He is only the third grandmaster of India to win against Carlsen, the first two were Vishwanathan Anand & Pentala Harikrishna.

5. BCCI ropes in RuPay as IPL's Official Partner

• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has roped in RuPay as an official partner of the Indian Premier League for the next two seasons.
• Other Official partners are Dream11, Unacademy, Cred & Upstox.
• The title sponsorship is picked by the Tata Group by replacing Chinese company Vivo.

6. ICC Women's World Cup to begin in New Zealand

• New Zealand to host the 12th ICC Women's World Cup from 4th March 2022.
• The participating teams are Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa & West Indies.
• The Women's ODI World Cup was first held in 1973 which is cricket's oldest world championship whereas the Men's ODI World Cup was first held in 1975.

7. Southeast Asian Games to be held in Vietnam

• The 31st Southeast Asian games will be held in Vietnam from 12 May to 23 May, 2022.
• It is the largest sporting event in Southeast Asia.
• It is biennial event.
• It will have 40 sports with 526 events and 10,000 participants.
• Vietnam's capital Hanoi will be the main destination.
• Motto - "For a Stronger South Asia".

8. Mirabai Chanu won gold at the Singapore Weightlifting International 2022

• Indian weightlifter, Mirabai Chanu has won the gold medal in the 55 Kg category at the Singapore Weightlifting International 2022.
• She has also won the silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

9. Ashwin overtakes Kapil Dev's 434 Test Wickets

• The veteran Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwani overtook Kapil Dev's 434 Test wicket by taking his 435th test wicket on day 3 of the ongoing match between India & Sri Lanka at Mohali.
• He became India's 2nd highest wicket-taker after legendary Kapil Dev.

10. Hockey India announces list of 33 players for India 'A' Men's & Women's core probables

• Former Indian Men's Hockey Team Captain Sardar Singh will be the coach of India 'A' Men's side.
• Former Indian Men's Hockey Team Forward and two-time Olympian Deepak Thakur will be the coach of India 'A' Women's side.

11. India won gold in ISSF World Cup in Cairo

• India's Saurabh Chaudhary has won the gold medal in 10m Air Pistol event in International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup held in Cairo, Egypt.
• This is his 3rd ISSF World Cup gold & first in the new format.

12. Para Archer Pooja Jaatyan won silver at World Championships

• She has become the first Indian to win a silver medal in an individual section of the Para World Championships.
• This was the 13th World Para Archery Championships that took place in Dubai, UAE.

13. International Olympic Committee withdraws Olympic Order Award from Russia

• In the midst of the war between Russia & Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee has withdrawn the Olympic Order Award from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

14. Rafael Nadal won the singles title of the Mexican Open 2022

• The Spanish tennis player, Rafael Nadal has won the single title of the Mexican Open 2022.
• This is his 3rd title in 2022.
• He also won Australian Open 2022 for his record 21st Grand Slam singles title.
• He also won his first title in Mexico when he was 18 and thereby holds the record for the youngest as well as oldest tournament winner in history.
• The Mexican Open is an ATP 500-level tournament played on hard courts.

15. FIFA & UEFA suspends Russia from all competitions

• The International Football Federation, FIFA & its European affiliate UEFA has suspended Russian clubs and its national teams from all competitions for an indefinite period.
• The suspension took place because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

16. Sadia Tariq won gold in Wushu Stars Championship

• Indian Wushu player Sadia Tariq has won the gold medal in the junior tournament of the Wushu Stars Championship which took place in Moscow, Russia.
• She hails from Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir.
• She has also been a gold medallist in the Junior National Wushu Championship for the past two years.
• Wushu is the collective term for the martial art practices that originated and developed in China.

 17. Mithali Raj becomes first Woman Player to participate in 6 World Cups

• The veteran Indian Cricket Player, Batter, Indian Women's Cricket Team Captain Mithali Raj has become the first woman cricket player to participate in 6 ODI World Cups.
• She made her ODI World Cup debut in 2000 and then also participated in 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017, and now in 2022.
• She is only the 2nd cricket player after Sachin Tendulkar to achieve this milestone.

18. Craig Ervine becomes full-time limited-overs captain of Zimbabwe Cricket Team

• Also, Sean Williams will continue to lead the Test Side.

19. Ravindra Jadeja World's Number 1 All Rounder in the ICC Test Rankings

• 2nd is Jason Holder and 3rd is Ravichandran Ashwin.

20. Priyanka Nutkki, 23rd Female Chess Grand Master of India

• Priyanka Nutkki, age 19, has become the 23rd Female Chess Grand Master of India, in the 47th National Women's Chess Championship of the MPL.
• She belongs to Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.