Walter Swinburn: Legendary jockey and Shergar Derby winner dead at 55
- Walter Swinburn, one of the most renowned jockeys of his generation and rider of the Shergar, passed away on 12 December 2016 at the age of 55 following a prolonged illness.
- He was famously known for winning the Epsom Derby horse race three times in his career as a jockey.
​PV Sindhu wins Most Improved Player award
- Rio Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu has won the Badminton World Federation (BWF) 2016 Most Improved Player of the Year award at the Players’ in Dubai.
- At the 2016 Rio Olympics, she became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal.
India won hockey junior World Cup
- India have become the first nation to win the hockey junior World Cup at home after beating Belgium 2-1 to win their second world title after 15 years.
- The match was played at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium on 18th December 2016
- This will be India's third appearance in the final of the Junior Hockey world cup, with previous outings in 1997 and 2001.
Bates Named ICC ODI & T20I Player
- New Zealand women captain Suzie Bates became the first player to win both the ICC Women’s ODI and T20I Player-of-the-Year awards.
- Bates has been named the T20I Player of the Year for the first time as she was list with 429 runs at an average of 42.90
- Bates scored 472 runs in seven ODI innings at an average of 94.40.
Smriti Named in ICC Women’s Team
- Indian batswoman Smriti Mandhana became the only Indian cricketer to be named in the first ever ICC Women’s Team of the Year 2016.
- The women’s team of the year will be captained by West Indies’ Stafanie Taylor.
Brazil football player Danilo choosen to be player of the year
- Chapecoense goalkeeper Danilo, who was killed in the Colombian air crash (southern Brazil to face local side Atletico Nacionabetween southern Brazil to face local side Atletico Naciona) in November 2016 was posthumously named Brazil’s player of the year.
- Danilo, whose last-gasp save in the semi-final against San Lorenzo helped his side into the Copa Sudamericana final, got 48% of the internet vote.
Virat Kohli Becomes First Indian Captain To Score Three Double Centuries
- Virat Kohli became the first Indian to score three double hundreds in a year, playing against England on 11th December 2016.
- His first-ever Test double century came against West Indies and another against New Zealand.
Sunil Gavaskar Bestowed SJAM’s Award
- Sunil Gavaskar was conferred with the Golden Jubilee Lifetime Achievement Award by the Sports Journalists’ Association of Mumbai (SJAM) in Mumbai.
- The award was presented by former India captain Ajit Wadekar & former India player Madhav Apte.
- Gavaskar was presented with a citatation & a certificate which has details of all his 34 centuries.
Cristiano Ronaldo won his fourth Ballon d'Or
- Ronaldo is now one Ballon d'Or behind Messi, who was second this time with French striker Antoine Griezmann third. Ronaldo, the highest-paid sportsman in the world, first won the Ballon d'Or in 2008 after Premier League and Champions League triumphs with Manchester United.
- The first Ballon d'Or was won by Stanley Matthews, at the time with Blackpool, who beat Alfredo Di Stefano for the inaugural title in 1956.
- The Ballon d'Or is decided by a vote of 173 journalists.
L&T to convert Sardar Patel Stadium to world’s biggest cricket stadium
- Larsen & Turbo (L&T) has bagged a contract from the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) to make Sardar Patel Cricket Stadium that is situated in Motera, Ahmadabad in Gujarat to the world’s biggest cricket stadium in terms of seating capacity.
- Sardar Patel Stadium will have 1,10,000 seats as against 54,000 seats after renovation
- Once the stadium is ready then it will take over the Melbourne Cricket Ground of Australia in terms of seating capacity.
- Melbourne Cricket Ground has a seating capacity of 100,024 people.
