Categorized Sports Current Affairs Notes for UPSC 2024

These notes reorganize the sports current affairs from January to December 2024
(Adda247 Yearbook 2025, pp. 317–340) into thematic categories for easier study,
eliminating duplicates and ensuring no critical details are missed. Each category
groups related events with concise descriptions, optimized for UPSC revision.

Cricket: International Achievements

●​ Player Milestones:
○​ Rohit Sharma: First to play 150 T20I matches (Jan, vs Afghanistan) and
hit 600 international sixes (Jun).
○​ Ravichandran Ashwin: 500 Test wickets (Feb, vs England, Rajkot),
surpassed Anil Kumble as India’s top Test wicket-taker on home soil,
retired with 537 Test wickets (Dec, Brisbane).
○​ James Anderson (England): 700 Test wickets, third globally (Mar, vs
India).
○​ Virat Kohli: First Indian with 12,000 T20 runs (Mar, IPL), fastest to
27,000 international runs, crossed 9,000 Test runs (Oct, vs New
Zealand).
○​ Jasprit Bumrah: 400 international wickets (Sep, vs Bangladesh),
surpassed Kapil Dev’s 51 Test wickets in Australia with 52 (Dec,
Brisbane).
○​ Ravindra Jadeja: First Indian left-arm spinner with 300 Test wickets
(Oct, vs Bangladesh).
○​ Kagiso Rabada (South Africa): Fastest to 300 Test wickets (11,817
balls, Oct).
 ●​ Team Achievements:
○​ Australia U19: Won 2024 U19 World Cup, defeating India by 79 runs
(Feb).
○​ New Zealand Women: Won ICC T20 World Cup, defeating South Africa
by 32 runs (Oct).
○​ India: Biggest Test victory in Australia by runs (295, Nov, Perth).
○​ Zimbabwe: Record T20I total of 344/4, led by Sikandar Raza’s 133*
(Oct, vs Gambia).
●​ Retirements:
○​ David Warner (Australia, ODI, Jan), Shaun Marsh (all formats, Jan),
Dinesh Karthik (all formats, Jun), Kedar Jadhav (all formats, Jun),
Dawid Malan (England, international, Aug), Shakib Al Hasan
(Bangladesh, Tests/T20, Sep), Wriddhiman Saha (all formats, Nov),
Siddarth Kaul (Indian cricket, Nov).
●​ Awards & Honors:
○​ Neetu David: Inducted into ICC Hall of Fame with Alastair Cook, AB de
Villiers (Oct).
○​ Jhulan Goswami: Stand named at Eden Gardens, unveiled Jan 22,
2025 (Sep).

Cricket: Domestic & League Events

●​ Tournaments:
○​ Mumbai: Won Ranji Trophy (Mar, 42nd title, vs Vidarbha), Irani Cup
(Oct, after 27 years), Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (Dec, vs Madhya
Pradesh).
○​ India-A: Won Duleep Trophy, defeating India-C by 132 runs (Sep).
 ●​ IPL 2024/2025:
○​ Sunrisers Hyderabad: IPL’s highest total (277/3, Mar, vs Mumbai
Indians).
○​ Mahendra Singh Dhoni: First wicketkeeper with 300 T20 dismissals
(Apr, vs DC).
○​ Yuzvendra Chahal: First with 200 IPL wickets (Apr).
○​ Rishabh Pant: Costliest IPL player (₹27 crore, Lucknow Super Giants,
Nov 2025 auction).
○​ Vaibhav Suryavanshi (13): Youngest IPL signee (₹1.10 crore, Rajasthan
Royals, Nov 2025 auction).
●​ Infrastructure:
○​ BCCI: Inaugurated Centre of Excellence (New National Cricket
Academy, Oct, Bengaluru).
○​ Amit Shah: Launched Gandhinagar Premier League (Feb,
Ahmedabad).

Cricket: Governance & Anti-Corruption

●​ Leadership:
○​ Jay Shah: BCCI secretary to ICC chairman (Aug), began tenure as
youngest ICC chairman at 36 (Dec).
●​ Bans:
○​ Rizwan Javed (UK): 17.5-year ban for ECB Anti-Corruption Code
breach (Feb).
○​ Devon Thomas (West Indies): Five-year ban for anti-corruption
violations (Apr).
 ○​ Praveen Jayawickrama (Sri Lanka): One-year ban, six months
suspended, for anti-corruption breach (Oct).

Chess

●​ Individual Achievements:
○​ Koneru Humpy: Women’s individual silver, 2023 World Rapid Chess
Championships (Jan, Uzbekistan).
○​ Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (18): Defeated World Champion Ding
Liren (Jan).
○​ Wei Yi: Won Tata Steel Chess Tournament (Jan).
○​ Ashwath Kaushik (8, Singapore): Youngest to defeat a grandmaster
(Feb, Switzerland).
○​ Arjun Erigaisi: India’s No. 1 (Apr, world No. 9), world No. 2 (Nov),
crossed 2800 ELO (Dec, 2801, world No. 4).
○​ Dommaraju Gukesh (17): Youngest World Championship challenger
(Apr), youngest world champion at 18 (Dec, vs Ding Liren, Singapore).
○​ Divya Deshmukh (18): FIDE U-20 Girl’s World Championship (Jun).
○​ Karthik Venkataraman: 61st Indian National Chess Championship
(Aug).
○​ Anish Sarkar (3, Kolkata): Youngest-rated player globally (Nov, FIDE
1555).
○​ Aarit Kapil (9, Delhi): Youngest Indian to defeat a grandmaster (Dec).
●​ Tournaments:
○​ Magnus Carlsen: Won Norway Chess (Jun), Tata Steel Chess India blitz
and rapid (Nov, Kolkata).
○​ Aravindh Chithambaram: Chennai Grand Masters 2024 (Nov).
Shooting

●​ Olympic Quotas & Medals:

○​ Rhythm Sangwan: Bronze in women’s 25m pistol, Paris 2024 quota
(Jan, Jakarta).
○​ Manu Bhaker: Flagbearer for Paris 2024 closing ceremony (Aug).
●​ World Cup & Championships:
○​ Yogesh Singh: Gold in men’s 25m centre fire pistol (Jan, Asia Olympic
Qualifiers).
○​ Raiza Dhillon, Gurjoat Singh: Bronze in mixed skeet team (Jan,
Kuwait).
○​ Sonam Maskar: Silver in women’s air rifle (Feb, Cairo).
○​ Rhythm Sangwan, Ujjwal: Gold in 10m air pistol mixed team (Feb,
Cairo).
○​ Arjun Babuta, Sonam Maskar: Silver in 10m air rifle mixed team (Feb,
Cairo).
○​ Divyansh Singh Panwar: Fourth World Cup gold in 10m air rifle (Feb,
Cairo).
○​ Sarabjot Singh: First Indian medal at ISSF World Cup (Jun, Munich).
○​ Vivaan Kapoor: Silver in men’s trap (Oct, World Cup Final).
○​ Anant Jeet Singh: Bronze in men’s skeet (Oct, World Cup Final).
○​ Indian trio (Raajwardan Patil, Mukesh Nelavalli, Harsimar Singh): Team
gold in 25m rapid fire pistol, ISSF Junior World Championship (Oct,
Peru).
●​ Events:
○​ India to host ISSF Junior World Cup 2025 (Nov).
Hockey

●​ International:
○​ India women: Runner-up at FIH Hockey 5s World Cup (Jan, lost 7-2 to
Netherlands, Muscat).
○​ India men: Fifth Asian Champions Trophy title (Sep, 1-0 vs China).
○​ India women: Defended Asian Champions Trophy title (Nov, 1-0 vs
China).
○​ India men’s junior: Fifth Junior Asia Cup title (Dec, 5-3 vs Pakistan,
Muscat).
○​ India women’s junior: Defended Junior Asia Cup title (Dec, 3-2 shootout
vs China, Muscat).
●​ Domestic:
○​ National Women’s Hockey League 2024–25: Scheduled in Ranchi (Apr
30–May 9).
○​ Railway Sports Promotion Board: Won Senior Women
Inter-Departmental Championship (Nov, 3-1 vs Indian Oil).
○​ Odisha: First gold at 14th Senior National Championship (Nov, 5-1 vs
Haryana).
●​ Appointments:
○​ PR Sreejesh: Co-chair of FIH Athletes Committee (Mar), head coach of
junior men’s team (Aug), co-flagbearer for Paris 2024 closing ceremony
(Aug).
●​ Rankings:
○​ Indian men’s team: Fifth in FIH world rankings (Aug, 2955 points).
Football

●​ International:
○​ Real Madrid: Spanish Super Cup (Jan, 4-1 vs Barcelona), La Liga
2023-24 (May), UEFA Champions League (Jun, 2-0 vs Borussia
Dortmund), FIFA Intercontinental Cup (Dec, 3-0 vs Pachuca).
○​ Syria: 4th Intercontinental Cup (Sep, 3-0 vs India).
○​ Bangladesh: SAFF U-20 Championship (Sep), U-19 Asia Cup (Dec, 59
runs vs India).
○​ Indian Men’s U-17: SAFF U-17 Championship (Oct, vs Bangladesh,
Bhutan).
●​ Domestic:
○​ NorthEast United FC: First Durand Cup (Aug, 4-3 shootout vs Mohun
Bagan), 40th Governor’s Gold Cup (Nov, 4-3 shootout vs Gangtok
Himalayan SC).
○​ TG English School (Manipur): 63rd Subroto Cup (Aug, 4-3 shootout).
●​ Player Milestones:
○​ Sunil Chhetri: Retired from international football (Jun, post-Kuwait
qualifier).
○​ Ngangom Bala Devi: First Indian woman with 50 international goals
(Oct).
○​ Andrés Iniesta (Spain): Retired after 22 years (Oct).
●​ Rankings:
○​ Indian men’s team: 117th in FIFA (Feb, lowest in seven years), 125th
(Dec, post 1-1 vs Vietnam).
●​ Events:
 ○​ Telangana FA to host FIFA World Cup qualifier (India vs Kuwait, Jun,
Hyderabad).

Badminton

●​ International:
○​ Tai Tzu Ying (Chinese Taipei): India Open 2024 women’s singles (Jan).
○​ Indian women’s team: Gold at Badminton Asia Team Championships
(Feb, Malaysia).
○​ China: Men’s and women’s titles at BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals
(May, Chengdu).
○​ Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty: Thailand Open men’s doubles
(May).
○​ Tanvi Patri (14, Odisha): Women’s singles at Asian U-15 Junior
Championships (Aug, Chengdu).
●​ Domestic:
○​ Harshit Mahimkar, Prisha Shah: Men’s and women’s singles at
Maharashtra State Open (Nov).
○​ PV Sindhu: Laid foundation for PV Sindhu Centre for Badminton (Nov,
Visakhapatnam).
○​ PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, Treesa Jolly, Gayatri Gopichand: Won Syed
Modi International titles (Dec, Lucknow).

Tennis

●​ Grand Slams & Tournaments:

○​ Germany: United Cup (Jan, vs Poland).
○​ Rohan Bopanna, Matthew Ebden: Miami Open men’s doubles (Apr).
 ○​ Iga Swiatek (Poland), Andrey Rublev (Russia): Madrid Open singles
(May).
○​ Alexander Zverev (Germany): Italian Open singles (May), second
Masters 1000 (Nov).
○​ Jannik Sinner (Italy): U.S. Open (Sep, vs Taylor Fritz).
○​ Carlos Alcaraz (Spain): China Open (Oct, vs Sinner).
●​ Player Milestones:
○​ Rohan Bopanna: Oldest men’s doubles No. 1 at 43 (Jan, Australian
Open).
○​ Novak Djokovic: 419th week as ATP No. 1, oldest No. 1 (Apr), first
Olympic gold (Aug, Paris).
○​ Sumit Nagal: First Indian to win ATP Masters 1000 match on clay (Apr,
Monte Carlo).
○​ Prajnesh Gunneswaran: Retired from professional tennis (Nov).
●​ Honors:
○​ Maria Sharapova, Bob and Mike Bryan: International Tennis Hall of
Fame 2025 (Dec).

Athletics

●​ Records & Achievements:

○​ Beatrice Chebet (Kenya): Women’s 5km world record (14:13, Jan,
Barcelona).
○​ Man Singh: Gold at Asian Marathon Championships (Jan).
○​ Noah Lyles (USA): Men’s 100m Olympic gold, 0.005s margin (Aug,
Paris).
 ○​ Neeraj Chopra: Second at Doha Diamond League (May, 88.36m),
Lausanne Diamond League (Aug, 89.49m), Diamond League final
(Sep, 87.86m).
○​ Nayana James: Women’s long jump gold (Sep, 6.43m, Taiwan).
○​ Gulveer Singh: National record in men’s 5000m (13:11.82, Sep, Japan).
●​ Events:
○​ Bhagwan Singh, Mahesh Khurana: Completed Pangong Frozen Lake
Marathon (Feb, Leh-Ladakh).
○​ Peter Mwaniki, Lilian Kasait (Kenya): Won TCS World 10K Bengaluru
elite categories (May).

Paralympics (Paris 2024, Aug–Sep)

●​ Shooting:
○​ Avani Lekhara: First Indian woman with two Paralympic golds (10m air
rifle SH1).
○​ Manish Narwal: Silver in men’s 10m air pistol SH1.
○​ Mona Agarwal, Rubina Francis: Bronze in women’s 10m air rifle SH1,
10m air pistol SH1.
●​ Athletics:
○​ Preethi Pal: Bronze in women’s T35 100m (14.21s), 200m T35
(30.01s).
○​ Nishad Kumar: Silver in men’s T47 high jump.
○​ Yogesh Kathuniya: Silver in men’s discus throw F56.
○​ Deepthi Jeevanji: Bronze in women’s 400m T20.
○​ Sumit Antil: Gold in men’s javelin throw F64, first Indian male to defend
title.
 ○​ Sharad Kumar (silver), Mariyappan Thangavelu (bronze): Men’s high
jump T63.
○​ Sachin Khilari: Silver in men’s shot put F46.
○​ Dharambir (gold), Pranav Soorma (silver): Men’s club throw F51.
○​ Hokato Sema: Bronze in men’s shot put F57.
○​ Praveen Kumar: Gold in men’s high jump T64.
●​ Badminton:
○​ Nitesh Kumar: Gold in men’s singles SL3.
○​ Suhas Yathiraj: Silver in men’s singles SL4.
○​ Thulasimathi Murugesan (silver), Manisha Ramadass (bronze):
Women’s singles SU5.
●​ Archery:
○​ Sheetal Devi, Rakesh Kumar: Bronze in mixed team compound.
○​ Harvinder Singh: India’s first Paralympic archery gold.
●​ Judo:
○​ Kapil Parmar: Bronze in men’s 60kg J1.

Wrestling

●​ International:
○​ Aman Sehrawat: Gold in men’s 57kg (Jan, Zagreb Open, 10-0 vs
China).
○​ Ravi Kumar Dahiya: Bronze at Grand Prix De France (Jan, Nice).
○​ Udit: Silver in men’s 57kg; Abhimanyou, Vicky: Bronze in 70kg, 97kg
(Apr, Bishkek).
○​ Chirag Chikkara: Third Indian to win U-23 World Championship (Oct).
●​ Olympics:
 ○​ Vinesh Phogat: Disqualified from Paris 50kg for weight violation, retired
(Aug).

Other Sports

●​ Squash: Anahat Singh: Girls’ U-19 title at Scottish Junior Open (Jan,
Edinburgh).
●​ Equestrian: Divyakriti Singh: First Rajasthan woman with Arjuna Award
(Jan). Shruti Vora: First Indian to win three-star Grand Prix (Jun, Slovenia).
●​ Motorsport: Carlos Sainz: Oldest Dakar Rally winner at 61 (Jan). Lando
Norris: First Grand Prix win (May, Miami). Charles Leclerc: First Monegasque
Monaco Grand Prix win since 1931 (May). Diana Pundole: First Indian
woman national saloon car racing champion (Aug, Chennai).
●​ Table Tennis: Sreeja Akula: Maiden international title at WTT Feeder Corpus
Christi (Jan, Texas). G. Sathiyan: First Indian men’s singles WTT Feeder
Series title (Mar, Beirut). Indian men’s team, Ayhika/Sutirtha Mukherjee:
Bronze at Asian Championships (Oct, Astana).
●​ Wushu: Naorem Roshibina Devi: IWUF Female Athlete of the Year (Feb).
●​ Kabaddi: Puneri Paltan: 10th Pro Kabaddi League title (Mar, 28-25 vs
Haryana Steelers).
●​ Rafting: Shimla hosted first Asian River Rafting Championships (Mar).
●​ Volleyball: Indian women’s team: Gold at 4th CAVA Women’s Nations
League (Aug).
●​ UFC: Puja Tomar: First Indian UFC win (Jun, vs Rayanne dos Santos,
Louisville).
●​ Billiards/Snooker: Pankaj Advani: Songhe Singapore Open billiards title
(Oct). Kamal Chawla: Gold at IBSF World Men’s 6-Red Snooker
Championship (Oct, Mongolia).
●​ Archery: Deepika Kumari: Silver in women’s recurve, World Cup Final (Oct,
Tlaxcala). Jyothi Surekha Vennam: Gold in women’s compound, Abhishek
Verma: Silver (Nov, GT Open, Luxembourg).
●​ Boxing: Deepali Thapa: First Indian schoolgirl to win Asian Youth Boxing
Championship (Sep, UAE). Mandeep Jangra: WBF super featherweight title
(Nov, Cayman Islands).
●​ Finswimming: West Bengal: Won 4th National Finswimming Championship
with 151 medals (Nov).
●​ Handball: Japan: 20th Asian Women’s Championship (Dec, 25-24 vs South
Korea).
●​ Esports: Pavan Kampelli: India’s first eFootball bronze at Asian Esports
Games (Dec, Bangkok).
●​ Weightlifting: Bindyarani Devi: Bronze in women’s 55kg at IWF World Cup
(Apr, Phuket).
●​ Gymnastics: Dipa Karmakar: Gold in women’s vault, Asian Championships
(May, Tashkent), first for India.
●​ Surfing: Indian team: Silver at Maruhaba Cup, Asian Surfing Championships
(Sep, Maldives).
●​ Arm Wrestling: Indian team: Runner-up at Asian Arm Wrestling Cup (Oct,
Mumbai).
Multi-Sport Events & Governance

●​ Khelo India:
○​ Winter Games 2024: Mascot ‘Sheen-e She’ (snow leopard, Feb,
Ladakh).
○​ University Games: Inaugurated in Guwahati (Feb).
○​ Youth and Para Games 2025: To be hosted in Bihar (Nov).
●​ National Games:
○​ Uttarakhand: 38th National Games (Jan 28–Feb 14, 2025), mascot
‘Mauli’ (Monal bird, Dec).
●​ International:
○​ India, Saint Christopher & Nevis: MoU for sports cooperation (Aug).
○​ India: Letter of Intent to host 2036 Olympics, Paralympics (Nov).
●​ Awards:
○​ PT Usha: ‘Lifetime Achievement’ by SJFI, DSJA (Feb).
○​ Abhinav Bindra: Among 11,000 Paris 2024 Olympic Torch Relay
bearers (Feb).
○​ Sharath Kamal: India’s flagbearer for Paris 2024 Olympics (Mar).
●​ Anti-Doping:
○​ NADA: Hosted “Road to Paris 2024” conference (Mar).
○​ Rachna Kumari: 12-year ban for second doping violation (Mar).
○​ Pramod Bhagat: 18-month suspension for anti-doping breach, missed
Paris 2024 Paralympics (Aug).
○​ Bajrang Punia: Four-year suspension for refusing urine sample (Dec).

This categorized format groups similar events, removes redundant entries (e.g.,
duplicate retirements), and ensures comprehensive coverage for efficient UPSC
study.