Sports News in Brief: February 2010

BOXING
Vijender wins silver in Champion of Champions tournament
Olympic hero Vijender Singh broke the bronze jinx and fetched one of India's two silver medals at the two-day Champion of Champions invitational boxing tournament in Guangzhou, China. The 24-year-old Olympic and World Championship bronze medallist lost 0-6 to China's Zhang Jin Ting in the in the middle weight (75kg) category final.

The other silver medal for India came through Olympian Dinesh Kumar, who settled for silver in 81kg after losing 2-10 to Chinese Meng Fan Long.

CRICKET
Cricket can now bid for 2020 Olympics
Cricket's push to be a part of the Olympic Games received a major boost with International Olympic Council (IOC) granting recognition to International Cricket Council (ICC) on February 12, 2010. This could be seen as a first step towards cricket becoming Olympic sports. Its Twenty20 version can now bid to join the 2020 Olympic Games though ICC has not made it clear which format it will push for.

Cricket was granted the status of a recognised Olympic sport in 2007, for sports not in the Olympic programme but which conform to certain criteria, pending a decision for a permanent slot in the Games.

Cricket was part of the 1900 Olympics in Paris and has not appeared since then. The game was part of the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games and its Twenty20 version is set to feature at Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.

Sachin becomes first batsman to hit a double hundred in an ODI
Sachin Tendulkar rewrote the record books on February 24, 2010, hammering the first double century in the history of one-day cricket to add another feather to his well-adorned cap. The capacity crowd at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior witnessed history as Tendulkar, statistically the greatest batsman the game has ever seen, pushed South African bowler Charl Langeveldt's delivery through the off-side and ran a single to achieve a feat which no other cricketer has achieved.

One Day International cricket, since its 1971 inception, had to wait nearly four decades to see a batsman score 200. The previous best mark was shared by Zimbabwean Charles Coventry (194 not out) and Pakistan's Saeed Anwar (194).

Top 10 highest individual knocks in the history of one day cricket are:
200*: Sachin Tendulkar (Ind) vs South Africa in Gwalior on February 24, 2010.
194*: Charles Coventry (Zim) vs Bangladesh in Bulawayo on August 16, 2009.
194: Saeed Anwar (Pak) vs India in Chennai on May 21, 1997.
189*: Viv Richards (WI) vs England in Manchester on May 31, 1984.
189: Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) vs India in Sharjah on October 29, 2000.
188*: Gary Kirsten (SA) vs United Arab Emirates at Rawalpindi on February 16, 1996.
186*: Sachin Tendulkar (Ind) vs New Zealand in Hyderabad on November 8, 1999.
183*: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Ind) vs Sri Lanka in Jaipur on October 31, 2005.
183: Sourav Ganguly (Ind) vs Sri Lanka at Taunton on May 26, 1999.
181*: Matthew Hayden (Aus) vs New Zealand in Hamilton on February 20, 2007.
181: Viv Richards (WI) vs Sri Lanka in Karachi on October 13, 1987.

India-South Africa Test Series
India crashed to a humiliating innings and six runs defeat in the first Test played in Nagpur. This was the first Test defeat under Mahinder Singh Dhoni's captaincy.

India levelled the two-Test series after winning the second Test at Eden Gardens, Kolkata by an innings and 58 runs. With this win India managed to retain the number one Test team title it received when it first topped the ratings in December 2009, as also pocketed a cheque for Rs 78.75 lakh.

India-South Africa One-day series
India eked out one-run victory in the first match played at Jaipur. India, batting first, had set a target of 299 runs. South Africa was bowled out by India for 297. The second match at Gwalior by 153 runs. The highlight of the match was Sachin Tendulkar becoming the first batsman in the world to hit a double century in One-day format.

India lost the third and last match at Ahmedabad by 90 runs thus depriving itself a chance to register their first ever clean sweep against South Africa. India won the series 2-1. Sachin Tendulkar was declared the man-of-the-series.

Australia-West Indies One-day series
Australia defeated West Indies by 113 runs in the first match played at Melbourne.

GAMES
South Asian Games, 2010
The 11th edition of South Asian Games (SAG) opened at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, on January 29, 2010. The aquatic show was the main attraction of the opening ceremony, in which a concert hosted by Pt. Ravi Shankar and Beatles star George Harrison for Bangladesh's Independence day and the March 7 address of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman were displayed on a water screen.

This was the third time that the Bangladeshi capital hosted the Games, thus becoming the first city to hold the games three times.

Athletes from eight countries— Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka—competed in 23 different sports. India continued its dominance with 175 medals, including 90 gold medals. Pakistan narrowly beat the host to occupy the second spot with 19 golds, while the host Bangladesh capture 18 golds, including the most popular and prestigious football and cricket titles. Sri Lanka's Shehan Abeypitiya became the fastest man while Pakistan's Naseem Hamid was crowned the fastest woman of the region.

The logo of the Games was 'Kutumb', a flying doel, known in English as the Oriental Magpie Robin. It is the National Bird of Bangladesh. The mascot also featured a Magpie Robin.

Delhi will host the next South Asian Games. India was picked to host the regional sporting event after Bhutan, whose turn it was to host the next SAG, expressed its inability to stage the meet. India has hosted the South Asian Games twice thus far—in 1987 (Kolkata) and in 1995 (Chennai).

Winter Olympics, 2010
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held on February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Approximately 2,600 athletes from 82 nations participated in 86 events in fifteen disciplines. Cayman Islands, Colombia, Ghana, Montenegro, Pakistan, Peru and Serbia made their winter Olympic debuts. Also Jamaica, Mexico and Morocco returned to the Games after missing the Turin Games.

The 2010 Winter Olympics were the third Olympics hosted by Canada, and the first by the province of British Columbia. Previously, Canada hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta.

Canada topped the medals tally with 14 gold, 7 silver and 5 bronze medals. Germany was second, followed by USA.

The 2014 Winter Olympics will be held from February 7 to February 23, 2014 in Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia.

GOLF
Asian Tour International crown
Gaganjeet Bhullar scripted a sensational come-from-behind victory at Asian tour International crown, played at Bangkok. This was his second Asian tour title.

SHOOTING
Commonwealth Championships, 2010
With 23 gold medals, 17 silver and 9 bronze medals, India topped the medals tally of the championships held in Delhi in February 2010. England was second in the medals tally, followed by Australia.