Sporting Highlights-2019

Jan 28

Novak Djokovic wins record seventh title at Australian Open, beating Rafael Nadal in straight sets

Feb 1

Qatar defeat Japan to secure first AFC Asian Cup

Feb 3

New England Patriots beat Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl – sixth triumph for Patriots legend Tom Brady

Mar 17

Marcel Hirscher claims eighth consecutive Alpine Ski World Cup title, and MikaelaShiffrin her third

Apr 14

Golfer Tiger Woods ends 11-year wait to claim 15th major title at U.S. Masters

May 12

Manchester City, Barcelona, Juventus and Bayern Munich retain Europe's top soccer league titles.

May 13

Mumbai Indians defeat Chennai Super Kings by 1 run in a

last-ball thriller to become the first team to win the indian Premier League for the fourth time

Jun 1

Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur in all-English Champions League final

Jun 12

St Louis Blues defeat Boston Bruins to win NHL Stanley Cup

Jun 13

Toronto Raptors are first Canadian team to win NBA Finals, beating Golden State Warriors

Jul 7

United States power to record fourth victory at FIFA Women's World Cup – outclassing Netherlands

Jul 7

Brazil defeat Peru to claim ninth Copa America

Jul 14

Novak Djokovic beats Roger Federer in longest ever Wimbledon final – first Grand Slam singles final to go to fifth-set tiebreaker

Jul 14

England beat New Zealand in dramatic Cricket World Cup Final

Jul 21

Raucous scenes as Irish golfer Shane Lowry wins British Open at Royal Portrush, Northern Ireland

Jul 28

Colombia's Egan Bernal is first cyclist from Latin America to win Le Tour de France

Aug 25

P V Sindhu wins historic gold in BWF World Championships final, crushes Nozomi Okuhara in straight games in the women's singles final to win the elusive gold in her third successive final. Sindhu became the first Indian to finish on the top step of the podium in the world meet

Aug 26

Rafael Nadal returns to U.S. Open – where he claims 19th Grand Slam title following record 12th French Open victory

Sep 15

Spain win second FIBA Basketball World Cup

Sept 25

Ace cueist Pankaj Advani wins record extending 23rd World Title

Oct 12

Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge becomes first person to break two-hour barrier in marathon, running 1:59:40 in unofficial challenge

Oct 13

Simone Biles becomes most decorated artistic gymnast with 25th World medal

Oct 30

Washington Nationals win baseball World Series for first time

Nov 2

Japan hosts Rugby World Cup, where South Africa claims trophy for third time

Nov 3

Lewis Hamilton wins sixth F1 title

Nov 23

Brazil's Flamengo beat River Plate to secure Copa Libertadores

Dec 7

Anthony Joshua regains heavyweight boxing titles with points victory over Andy Ruiz Jr

Calls it Quits

Saori Yoshida (Japan, wrestling) Jan 8

Japan's Saori Yoshida is the most successful wrestler, male or female, ever. She won 13 straight world titles and three Olympic gold medals, with her sole defeat in four Olympic Games coming in the Rio 2016 53 kg final.

Her career spanned 2002 to 2019, and aside from her debut year at 59 kg, remained unbeaten in major international competitions at the lower weight until the Rio final 14 years later.

Bonus: Usain Bolt (Jamaica; "from all sport") Jan 23

Here's a bonus entry: Usain Bolt might have retired from track in 2017, but the Jamaican eight-time Olympic champion had been trying his luck at football.

After unsuccessful trials with a number of clubs, it appeared that Bolt might have finally landed on his feet with Australia's Central Coast Mariners.

But the club and Bolt's representatives were unable to come to an agreement on a contract, with his agent Ricky Simms eventually confirming to the Olympic Channel that the sprint legend had retired from all sport on January 23.

Lindsey Vonn (United States of America; alpine skiing) Feb 1

In the end, it was injury that brought the career of (as of now) the winningest female skier of all time to a close.

Lindsey Vonn confirmed in February that recurring knee issues meant she would retire after one last World Championships.

The 2010 Olympic downhill champion ended her career on February 1 with world bronze in Åre, in addition to 82 World Cup wins, just four behind the all-time record of IngemarStenmark.

Yuvraj Singh (India; cricket) June 10

Yuvraj Singh, who played a key role in India's 2011 World Cup win, announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on June 10, after serving Indian cricket for 19 long years.

The 37-year-old, however, will be available for overseas franchise-based leagues.

One of India's finest all-rounders, Yuvraj featured in 40 Tests, 304 ODIs and 58 T20Is for India.

He donned the India colours for the last time in 2017 as an indifferent form and injury issues forced him out of national reckoning.

Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia; badminton) June 13

Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei announced his retirement from badminton in June 13 after failing to regain full fitness following treatment for nose cancer.

He was World No. 1 for 199 consecutive weeks between 2008 and 2012, meaning he has spent a lifetime challenging Chinese sovereignty in the sport.

Lee reached three Olympic finals, taking silver at Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Rio 2016. He lost to superstar shuttler Lin Dan twice in Beijing and London, and Chen Long at Rio 2016.

He has since been named Malaysia's chef-de-mission for Tokyo 2020, although he has turned down coaching and mentorship roles.

Sally Pearson (Australia; athletics) Aug 5

Australia's hurdles poster girl Sally Pearson announced her shock retirement from track and field in August 5, a year out from the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Pearson, 32, said multiple injuries meant she would not be able to compete at her best in Japan, and left her in too much pain.

Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon; football) Sep 7

An Olympic champion at Sydney 2000, Samuel Eto'o also won three UEFA Champions League titles with Barcelona and Inter Milan in his 22-year career.

The Cameroonian retired as his country's top international goalscorer, with 56 goals. Cameroon legend Samuel Eto'o calls it quits on September 7 after stellar 22-year career

Nicola Adams (Great Britain; boxing) Nov 6

Britain's Nicola Adams became the first woman to win Olympic boxing gold, making history at her home Games of London 2012 where the sport was introduced for women fighters for the first time ever.

Adams successfully defended her Olympic title at Rio 2016. The 37-year-old announced on November 6 that she had decided to retire from the sport for medical reasons.

Indian shooters raise hopes of bumper Olympics

Hitting the target with monotonous regularity, Indian shooters' dominance in a phenomenal 2019, at times, made world events look like domestic tourneys.

In terms of overall medals, the tally stood at 21 gold, six silver and three bronze as India topped all the Rifle-Pistol World Cups and Finals this year.

The number of Olympic quotas, which now stands at a record 15, is not only a refection of the country's rapid rise in the sport over the last one year but also sets up the shooters nicely for a record haul in Tokyo Olympics, after the meltdown at Rio de Janeiro.

Indian shooting's best show at the Olympics remains the two medals won at London in 2012, but if the shooters' exploits in recent months are anything to go by, the country can easily emulate or better that in Tokyo.

However, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), having endured an unpleasant experience in Rio, is far from basking in its shooters' glory yet.

That called for taking some very tough decisions, including banning the shooters from signing any fresh commercial deals in the run-up to the Olympic Games, a move that may not have found favours with many.

Rohit Sharma ends year as highest ODI run getter, Kohli tops run-scoring charts across all formats

Rohit Sharma ended 2019 as the highest ODI run-getter after the belligerent opener notched up 1,490 runs in the limited overs format in the calendar year.

The strokemaker struck a purple patch with the willow and reserved his best at the 2019 ICC World Cup in the United Kingdom, amassing 648 runs laced with record breaking five tons to win the ICC Golden Bat.

Indian skipper ViratKohli finished as the leading run scorer across all formats for a fourth straight year in a row with a staggering 2,455 runs in total.

Kohli scored 1,377 runs in 26 ODIs, 612 runs in eight Tests and 466 runs in 10 T20Is in 2019.

Coming into the third and final ODI against the West Indies at Cuttack, Rohit was only nine short of eclipsing the former Sri Lankan swashbuckler, who tallied 2,387 runs in 1997.

Chhetri's legend grows amid World Cup dreams going up in smoke

Goal-machine Sunil Chhetri remained a notch above the mediocrity that is Indian football, which endured a forgettable year thanks to early exits from the World Cup qualifiers and the Asian Cup besides an 11-rung drop in FIFA rankings.

The year did witness a development of far-reaching consequences when the All India Football Federation (AIFF) dumped the 12-season old I-League (after 11 years as National Football League) to second-tier level in domestic club competition.

The top slot was taken by cash-rich but much younger Indian Super League which began in 2014.

After a long tussle between majority of the clubs on one side and the AIFF on the other, the national federation, after an intervention by the Asian Football Confederation, recognised ISL as the top-tier league in the country.

The ISL-winning side will now get a chance to play in the continent's top tier Asian Champions League while the I-League winners will compete in the second-tier AFC Cup.