2015 Tour de France

The 2015 Tour de France was the 102^nd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling’s three Grand Tours. The 3360.3 km long race started in Utrecht, the Netherlands on July 4, 2015 and concluded with the Champs Elysees stage in Paris on 26 July. A total of 198 riders from 22 teams entered the 21-stage race, which was won by Chris Froome of Team Sky. The second and third places were taken by Movistar Team Riders Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde.

Froome became the first Briton to win the Tour de France twice, after his 2013 victory. He also won the mountains classification. Peter Sagan of Tinkoff Saxo won the points classification. The young rider classification was won by Quintana. Movistar Team finished as the winners of the team classification. However, Chris Froome won only one stage out of 21 but won the title with 72 seconds margin. Team Sky holds second position in Team Classification list.

Yellow jersey of General classification is won by Chris Froome. Green Jersey of Points Classification is won by Peter Sagan. White Jersey with Red Polka dots of Mountains Classification is won by Chris Froome. White Jersey of Young rider classification is won by Nairo Quintana. Team Classification jersey was awarded to Movistar Team and Combativity award was awarded to Romain Bardet.

The 2016 Tour de France will be 103^rd edition of the Tour de France. It will start in French department of Manche for the first time in the history of the Tour de France. The race is also scheduled to have a stage finish in Andorra. 

CONCACAF Gold Cup 2015

CONCACAF Gold Cup is the main association football competition of the men’s national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the regional champion of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The tournament is won by Mexico this year beating Jamaica by 3-1 in the final. This was the tenth time Mexico won this title.

The Gold cup is held every two years. Beginning in 2015, the winners of two successive gold cups will face each other in a playoff to determine the CONCACAF entrant to the next Confederations Cup. If the same team has won the Gold Cup on both relevant occasions, there will be no playoff and that team will automatically qualify for the Confederations Cup. This time playoff will be played between 2013 champion USA and 2015 champion Mexico.

Mexico scored the maximum 16 goals in the tournament. Clint Dempsey from USA remained top scorer of the tournament with 7 goals. In 1990, CONCACAF renamed the CONCACAF championship as the CONCACAF Gold Cup, with the USA hosting the first competition in 1991. The host country was the inaugural champion of the eight team tournament. Mexico dominated the remainder of the decade winning three consecutive CONCACAF Gold cup titles in 1993, 1996 and 1998.

Since the formation of the Gold Cup in 1991, the CONCACAF Championship has been won seven times by Mexico, five times by United States, and once by Canada. Runners-up include Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, and Jamaica. 

Caribbean Premier League 2015

The 2015 Caribbean Premier League season was the third season of the Caribbean Premier League established by West Indies Cricket Board. The season is won by Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel and claims their maiden title after beating defending champions Barbados Tridents by 20 runs in final in Port-of-Spain. Kamran Akmal and Cameron Delport score fifties. Both did partnership of 102 in 76 deliveries.

Both batsman enjoyed reprieves. Akmal was dropped off Keiron Pollard bowling for 44 in the 12^th over while Delport was given a life on 31 when Ravi Rampaul failed to hold on to a return chance. Both the batsman were out in the same over but in the end, Dwayne Bravo scored 29 off 15 deliveries and help the side accumulate 62 off the last five overs.

Trident bought in USA Batsman Steven Taylor for his second game of the season and he along with Dwayne Smith powered his side to a rapid start. Trident move to 47 runs in four overs. Like their Semi-Final match against Amazon Warriors, it was the Red Steel spinners who kept the pressure on the batsmen. Suleiman Benn and Derone Davis bowled well and picked up wickets in time. Even though Pollard and Jason Holder were at the crease but they eventually ended 20 runs short.

Kamran Akmal got man of the match award for his innings and Dwayne Bravo got player of the series award. Chris Gayle remains the top scorer with 430 runs in ten matches which include a century and three half centuries. Dwayne Bravo picked up 28 wickets in the tournament and took two four wicket haul and one five wicket haul in season in 13 matches. The next season will take place in 2016. 

Sebastian Vettel wins Hungary Grand Prix

German driven Sebastian Vettel delivered an emotional high speed tribute to his late colleague Jules Bianchi on Sunday when he stormed victory for Ferrari in a dramatic and incident filled Hungarian Grand Prix. The four time world champion claimed his second victory of the season and 41^st of his career drawing him level with the Brazilian legend Ayrton Senna in equal third on all-time list.

The Red Bull pair of Russian Daniil Kvyat and Australian Daniel Ricciardo finished in second and third respectively. The ferocity of the contest, lit up by Vettel blazing speed and tenacity, served as an appropriate tribute to Frenchman Bianchi, who died on July 17 from injuries sustained when he collided with a recovery vehicle in torrential rain at last October’s Japanese Grand Prix.

It was the first podium this year without a Mercedes driver. Dutch teenager Jos Verstappen finished fourth for Toro Rosso. Series leader and defending two time champion Britain Lewis Hamilton finished sixth after starting from pole position, for Mercedes to enlarge his advantage in the title race after an afternoon of incidents, mishaps and penalties.

Behind him, team-mate Kimi Raikkonen followed closely as both Rosberg and Hamilton attempted to defend, but just as Silverstone three weeks previously, the two Mercedes men were out started comprehensively. Hamilton was relegated to fourth on the opening lap during which, in an attempt to pass Rosberg, he ran wide across a gravel trap at the chicane. The next Grand Prix will take place in Belgium on August 23, 2015. 

The Open Championship

The Open Championship is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is administered by The R&A and is the only major outside the United States and held in United Kingdom. The Open is currently the third major of the year, following The Masters, The US Open, and The PGA Championship. The current champion is Zach Johnson.

Zach Johnson won the 144^th Open at the old course at St. Andrews in 2015. Johnson defeated Marc Leishman and Louis Oosthuizen in a 4-hole playoff. The Open is a 72-hole stroke play tournament contested over four days. It starts with 156 world leading professionals along with winner of top amateur championships. Further places are given to players, amateurs and professionals who are successful in a number of qualifying events.

There is a cut after 36 holes after which only the leading 70 players play in the final 36 holes. In the event of a tie after 72 holes, a four hole aggregate playoff is held, if two or more players are still tied, it continue as a sudden death until there is a winner. There are a number of medals and trophies that are given for various achievements during The Open.

The field for Open is 156, and golfers gain a place in a number of ways. Most of the field is made up of leading players who are given exemptions. Further places are given to players who are successful in The Open Qualifying series and in final qualifying. Any remaining places, and places made available because qualified players are not competing, are made available to the highest ranked players in the Official World Golf Ranking.

2015 Pro Kabaddi League

The Pro Kabaddi League is a professional Kabaddi League in India, based on the format of the Indian Premier League. The second edition of the tournament is getting start on 18^th July 2015 with eight franchises consisting of players from around the world. As many as 25 players can feature in the squad for each of the eight Franchise teams for the League in 2015. It also became the second most watched sport in the country.

There are eight teams in the tournament. Dabang Delhi - Delhi didn’t get into the winning positions with their Dabang style last year. It could change this year with the arrival of 26 year old Manikandan, who is known to be deceptively powerful with the ability to time his tackles to perfection. Bengaluru Bulls – This year they hope 21 year old Vinoth Kumar will fill the absence of Ajay Thakur this year. Thakur is a right side raider while Kumar starts from the left.

Telugu Titans – They spent Rs 41.2 Lakh to acquire services of attack minded Iranian all-rounder Hadi Oshtorak and Meraj Sheykh. This is the team to watch out for this season. U Mumba – they got Prapanjan this year in place of Sharfudheen who got fractured last year. Then there is also the presence of hard tackling Iran Captain. Patna Pirates – Both Indian and Pakistani team skipper play in this team and this year they also have Deepak Narwal and Santosh Singh on their side.

Puneri Paltan – They have a completely new squad this season, with 14 new faces in the squad of 25. Strong 24 year old raider Yogesh Hooda will assist Wazir on the attacking front. Jaipur Pink Panthers – It is tough to spot the weakness in the defending champion’s squad. They also have signing of 2010 Asian Games gold medalist Sonu Narwal. Bengal Warriors – Along with surprise package Jang Kun Lee from South Korea, the squad lacked a strong leader on court. They have good players in their team but lack leadership role. 

Results: Wimbledon 2015

The Third Tennis Grand Slam of the year 2015 is over. It was the 129^th edition of the championships. Novak Djokovic of Serbia won his third Wimbledon title in men’s singles, defending his championship from 2014. Serena Williams won her sixth Wimbledon and 21^st major title. She also became the oldest woman to win a Grand Slam title in the Open Era.

Federer, 33, had hoped to become the first man to win Wimbledon eight times. The Swiss won a thrilling second tie-break but Djokovic came through to win in two hours and 56 minutes. Djokovic adds a third victory at All England Club to one US Open and five Australian Open titles, and the Serb has now won 48 matches and lost just three in 2015. The world number one most recent defeat came against Stan Wawrinka in last month French Open Final.

In Ladies doubles final, Martina Hingis and Indian Sania Mirza won the title. In Mixed Doubles Final, Martina Hingis and Timea Babos won the final. In Rankings, Novak Djokovic stands at first place followed by Roger Federer. Andy Murray is at third place. Rafael Nadal dropped to 10^th place after losing in second round.

In Women Singles, Serena Williams is at first place followed by Petra Kvitova. Simona Halep is at third place followed by Maria Sharapova. In Gentlemen doubles, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan are at first place. In Ladies Doubles, Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza climbed to first place for the first time. In Mixed Doubles, Bruno Soares and Sania Mirza are at second place. In Boys Doubles, Indian Sumit Nagal and Ly Hoang Nam won the title. The next tennis tournament will be US Open, which will take place in New York from 31 August to 13 September. 

The Ashes

The Ashes is a test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term was originated in a British Newspaper immediately after Australia 1882 victory at the Oval, their first Test win on English soil. The obituary stated that English Cricket had died and the body will be cremated and the Ashes taken to Australia. The mythical ashes immediately became associated with 1882-83 series played in Australia, before which the English Captain Ivo Bligh had vowed to regain those Ashes.

After England had won two of the three tests on the tour, a small urn was presented to Bligh. The contents of the urn are reputed to be the Ashes of a wooden bail and were humorously described as Ashes of Australian Cricket. An Ashes series is traditionally of five tests, hosted in turn by Australia and England. Australia is the current holder, having won all of five tests. Out of 68 Ashes Series played, 32 are won by Australia & 31 by England and 5 remain as draw.

The 2015 Ashes series is hosted by England. In Last five Ashes encounters, three series are won by England. In overall, 320 Tests matches had been played out of which 128 are won by England and 103 by England. Rest of the test matches resulted in a draw. Don Bradman is the highest run maker in Ashes. Out of 37 matches he hit 19 centuries and scored more than 5000 runs at an average of 89 which is a record. Shane Warne had played Ashes for 14 years and taken 195 wickets which is a record.

In the current series, key players from Australia are Steven Smith, Michael Clarke, Mitchell Starc, Chris Rogers, and Mitchell Johnson. From England key players are Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Moen Ali, Alastair Cook, Joe Root, and Ben Stokes. The last time Australia had won Ashes in England was in back 2001, when they won Ashes by 4-1. Since then Australia had never won Ashes in England. They will try to break this streak in this year while England will play to regain their lost momentum and revenge last Ashes Clean Sweep. Stay tuned for the result.

2015 FIFA Women World Cup

The 2015 FIFA Women World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women World Cup. In March 2011, Canada won the right to host the event; the first Canada had hosted the event and third time in North America. United States won the FIFA Women World Cup over Japan by 5:2. In this World Cup, teams were expanded to 24 from 16 in 2011. Canada team received direct entry from the host.

Carli Lloyd hat-trick apparently was not enough. Team USA wanted more as they scored four goals in the first 16 minutes of the FIFA World Cup to an overwhelming victory over Japan. Carli Lloyd also became the first women to score a hat-trick in a World Cup Final. The United States, winners in 1991 and 1999, became the first nation to win the crown three times and avenged their loss to Japan on penalties in the 2011 Final.

Lloyd scored her first goal after just three minutes with the second coming two minutes later and the third after 16 minutes. Lauren Holiday and Tobin Heath also found the net for the Stars and Stripes. Yuki Ogimi got one back on 27 minutes for the Asian champions with their second coming thanks to a 52^nd minute own goal by US defender Julie Johnson.

It was the third meeting between the two teams in a major championship with the Americans winning the Olympic gold ahead of Japan in 2012, when Lloyd scored both goals in a 2-1 win. Lloyd also won the Golden Ball Award as the tournament best player. England finishes off third in the tournament while Germany was placed fourth.

Golden Ball Award was given to Carli Lloyd, Amandine Henry and Aya Miyama. Golden Boot Award was given to Celia Sasic, Carli Lloyd, and Anja Mittag. Golden Glove award was given to Hope Solo. Kadeisha Buchanan from Canada got the Hyundai young player award. At last, Fair play award was given to France. The next FIFA Women World Cup will held in 2019 in France.

British Grand Prix 2015

Hamilton had to pass both Williams after losing the lead off the line and second place at a re-start following an early safety car. But the Mercedes driver fought back to take the lead at the first pit stops. Rain made a chaotic end to the race but Hamilton came through to win from team-mate Nico Rosberg and Ferrari Sebastian Vettel.

Felipe Massa took fourth ahead of Williams’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas, Red Bull Daniel Kvyat was sixth, Force India Nico Hulkenberg claimed seventh and Kimi Raikkonen from Ferrari was eighth. The world champion’s fifth win of the season, extends his championship lead to 17 points. Hamilton fended off a challenge from Bottas for second on the first lap, at the end of which the safety car was deployed because of a pile up at the first corner, involving both Lotuses and both McLarens.

Three of the four cars were taken out of the race in one go. Alonso was able to continue, but needed to pit for a new front wing. At the restart, Hamilton tried an aggressive move on Massa immediately after the safety car line, which indicates the place from which drivers can begin to race and at Silverstone is on the entry to the final Vale Club corner complex.

Rain started after Lap 36 of 52 and came with greater intensity over the track. During rain, both of William’s cars were passed by Vettel as the teams juggled with tyre choices in the intermittent rain at the end of the race. It was an unexpected surprise for Ferrari at the end of one of their least competitive races of the season. Next Formula One race will held in Hungary. Last year it was won by Daniel Ricciardo from Red Bull followed by Fernando Alonso from Ferrari. Stay tuned for this year result.

Chile Won Maiden Copa America Title

The Copa America 2015 was the 44^th edition of the Copa America, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America, and took place in Chile between the dates of 11 June to 4 July 2015. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, South America football governing body.

Chile emerged as the champions defeating Argentina in Final, winning their first title in history. They have automatically qualified for the 2017 FIFA Confederation Cup in Russia. Twelve teams competed in the tournament, ten members of CONMEBOL and two guests from CONCACAF. Uruguay was the defending champions, but was eliminated by Chile in quarter-finals. Peru took the third place for the second consecutive tournament, winning a play-off against Paraguay.

In the final, Chile beat Argentina with a penalty 4-1 shoot-out following a 0-0 draw after extra time. Gonzalo Higuain failed to convert a goal after 90 minutes and then failed to convert a penalty too. Argentina suffered another heart break for a second successive year, having lost to Germany in the 2014 World Cup final. Both sides had struggled to create clear-cut opportunities during normal extra time.

Palo Guerrero from Peru and Eduardo Vargas from Chile won the award of Top Goal scorer. Jeison Murillo from Colombia won the award of Best Young player. Claudio Bravo won the award of Best Goal Keeper and Fair Play Trophy award is given to Peru Team. In all matches Chile played, attendance in stadium was 94%. This shows the support and love given by Chile fans.