The past week was full of exciting and historic moments in the world of sports. Here are the top 10 sports news of the week that you should not miss.
- Uruguay clinches maiden U-20 World Cup title by defeating Italy 1-0
Uruguay created history by winning their first U-20 World Cup title after edging out Italy 1-0 in the final on Sunday. Luciano Rodriguez scored the only goal of the game in the 86th minute, while Randall Rodriguez matched the record of six clean sheets in the tournament. Uruguay ended a streak of four consecutive wins by European teams in the tournament and became the first South American team to win the title since Argentina in 2007. Italy, who were aiming for their second U-20 World Cup title, had to settle for the runners-up spot for the third time.
- Harry Tector, Thipatcha Putthawong honoured as ICC Players of the Month for May
Ireland’s Harry Tector and Thailand’s Thipatcha Putthawong were awarded as the ICC Men’s and Women’s Players of the Month for May respectively. Tector became the first Ireland men’s cricketer to win the accolade after hitting his career-best 140 against Bangladesh in the second ODI at Chelmsford. He also rose to seventh position in the men’s ODI batting rankings. Putthawong became Thailand’s second winner of the award after Naruemol Chaiwai in April, following her impressive bowling figures in her country’s gold-medal winning performance at the Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia. She took nine wickets in four matches at an average of 6.66 and an economy rate of 3.33.
- Novak Djokovic wins French Open 2023
Novak Djokovic claimed his third French Open title and 22nd Grand Slam trophy after defeating Rafael Nadal in a thrilling five-set final on Sunday. The world number one came back from two sets down to win 6-7 (4), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in four hours and 11 minutes at Roland Garros. Djokovic became the first man in the Open Era to win each of the four majors twice and also equalled Roger Federer and Nadal’s record of 22 Grand Slam titles. Nadal, who was aiming for his record-extending 14th French Open title and his 23rd Grand Slam title, suffered only his third defeat in 108 matches at Roland Garros.
- Australia crowned ICC World Test Champions with win over India
Australia are World Test Champions after completing a 209-run win over India in the WTC Final at The Oval. The Aussies dominated the match from the first day, when they posted a mammoth 469 in their first innings, thanks to centuries from Steve Smith and Travis Head. India were bowled out for 296 and 234 in their two innings, with Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland taking four wickets each in the second innings. Head was named the Player of the Match for his 163 in the first innings and 18 in the second. With the resounding victory giving them their ninth ICC title, also their first-ever WTC mace.
- India’s performance in Asia U20 Athletics world championship
India finished third in the medal tally at the Asia U20 Athletics world championship held in Jakarta, Indonesia from June 3 to June 6. The Indian contingent won a total of 15 medals, including four gold, six silver and five bronze. The gold medalists were Neeraj Chopra (javelin throw), Hima Das (400m), Anjali Devi (800m) and Praveen Chitravel (triple jump). Chopra also broke the world junior record with a throw of 86.48m, while Das clocked a personal best of 51.32 seconds . India also won silver medals in men’s 4x100m relay, women’s 4x400m relay, mixed 4x400m relay, men’s shot put, women’s discus throw and women’s hammer throw. The bronze medals came from men’s 400m hurdles, women’s 100m hurdles, women’s long jump, men’s high jump and men’s hammer throw. India improved their performance from the previous edition in 2019, when they won 12 medals. Japan topped the championships with 23 medals, followed by China with 19 medals.
- Serbia and USA win FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2023
Serbia’s men and the United States women won the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2023, which took place in Vienna, Austria on May 30 – June 4. In the men’s category, Serbia extended their historic World Cup heroics, capturing their sixth title in just eight editions after defeating USA 21-19 in the final. Dejan Majstorovic scored seven points in the thriller against the US. Latvia defeated Brazil 22-12 to claim the bronze medal. Strahinja Stojacic, Serbia’s top scorer with 55 points, was named 3×3 World Cup MVP in Vienna. He headlined the Team of the Tournament and was joined by USA’s Jimmer Fredette and Latvia’s Nauris Mieizis. In the women’s category, USA took home gold for the third time with a 16-12 win against last year’s champions France. Hailey Van Lith and Cierra Burdick combined for 14 points to carry their side to victory. Cameron Brink was the centerpiece of their offense, finishing the tournament with 39 points, which earned her the title of World Cup MVP. Laetitia Guapo (France) and Marena Whittle (Australia) also featured in the Team of the Tournament. In the women’s bronze medal game, Australia defeated China 20-21. Marena Whittle scored 11 points, taking her campaign total to a whopping 70 points. Polish dunker Piotr “Grabo” Grabowski won the FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2023 dunk contest.
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic announces retirement from football at 41
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has announced his retirement from football at the age of 41, leaving Italy’s Serie A as the league’s oldest-ever goal scorer. The Swedish striker scored 15 goals in 19 games for AC Milan this season, taking his career tally to 561 goals for club and country. He made his professional debut with Malmo in 1999 and went on to play for nine clubs in six countries, winning more than 20 major trophies. He also retired as Sweden’s all-time leading goal scorer with 62 goals in 122 international matches. He retired from international football after Euro 2016 but made his return ahead of Euro 2023. He did not play at the tournament due to injury. In an emotional speech announcing his retirement, Ibrahimovic stressed that he will be a “Milan fan for life” but added that “It’s time to say goodbye to football, not you”.
- Khelo India University Games concludes, Punjab University tops with 69 medals
The third edition of Khelo India University Games, organised in four cities of Uttar Pradesh from May 25 to June 3, concluded in Varanasi on Saturday evening. A simple closing ceremony was held in view of the train accident in Odisha. More than 4,000 athletes from 108 universities in the country participated in the games. Panjab University topped the medal table with 26 gold, 17 silver and 26 bronze medals, followed by Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar with 24 gold, 27 silver and 17 bronze medals and Jain University, Karnataka with 16 gold, 10 silver and six bronze medals. The games featured 21 different sports, including rowing which made its debut this year. The Khelo India University Games is an inter-university meet where athletes representing different institutes from all over the country vie for medals in a variety of sporting events. The games are a part of the Indian government’s Khelo India initiative, which is focused towards promoting grassroots sports and identifying young talents from all across the country.
- India wins women’s junior hockey asia cup
With a 2-1 victory over South Korea, the Indian hockey team won the Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 championship at Kakamigahara, Japan. India has won the Women’s Junior Asia Cup for the first time. India has already earned a spot in the 2023 FIH Women’s Junior World Cup in Chile. Japan overcame China 2-1 to get to the World Cup as the third team. India’s goals came from Annu (21’) and Neelam (40’), whereas Korea’s only goal came from Seoyeon Park (24’). India got things going offensively by earning a penalty corner in the first minute, but they were unable to take use of it. On the other hand, Korea used counterattacks to take the initiative and manage the situation. Both teams played intense hockey in the first quarter, but no goals were scored.
- Manchester City wins UEFA champions league
Read more: Indian Affairs: Top 10 National News Of This Week
Manchester City captured their first UEFA champions league title with a 1-0 win over Inter Milan in Istanbul. Rodri scored the decisive goal in the 68th minute as he fired home from Bernardo Silva’s cutback. City completed a remarkable treble of trophies after winning the Premier League and the FA Cup this season. They also became the first English team to win all four major competitions in a single season, having also lifted the League Cup and the Community Shield. Pep Guardiola won his third UEFA champions league title as a manager and his 30th major trophy overall. He also became the first manager to win two trebles in European football, having done so with Barcelona in 2009. Inter Milan missed out on their fourth Uefa champions league title and their first since 2010. They finished fourth in Serie A this season and will play in the Europa League next season.