SPORTS

Olympics

● Olympics games were started in 776 BC

on Mount Olympia in the honour of

Greek God, ‘Zeus’. The modern Olympic

Games were started in Athens, the

capital of Greece on 6th April, 1896 with

great efforts made by French nobleman,

Baron Pierre de Coubertin.

● The Olympic Games are organised after

every 4 years. The Olympic Flag is made

up of white silk and contains five

interwined rings as the Olympic Emblem.

● The five interlaced rings are arranged in

3-2 pattern on a white background, with

the blue ring to the extreme left, followed

by yellow, black, green and red, in the

same order. Blue for Europe, Black for

Africa, Red for Americas (North and

South America), Yellow for Asia and

Green for Oceania (Australia and New

Zealand).

● The official Olympic Motto is Citius,

Altius, Fortius, a Latin phrase meaning

Swifter, Higher, Stronger. 2020 summer

Olympic will be held in Tokyo, Japan.

Commonwealth Games

● The first Commonwealth Games were

held in 1930 in Hamilton, Canada.

● Since 1930, the games have been

conducted every 4 years except for 1942

and 1946 due to World War II.

● The Commonwealth Games Federation

(CGF) is the organisation which is

responsible for the direction and control

of the Commonwealth Games.

● There are currently 53 members in the

Commonwealth of Nations.

● The 2018 Commonwealth Games (21st)

were held an Gold Coast, Queensland,

Australia. Most gold medals were won by

Australia. 2022 Commonwealth Games

will be held at Birmingham, England.

The Asian Games

● The Asian Games, also called the Asiad,

are a multi-sport event held every 4 years

among athletes from all over Asia.

● The games are regulated by the Olympic

Council of Asia (OCA), under the

supervision of the International Olympic

Committee (IOC). The first Asian

Games were held in 1951 in New Delhi

(India). 18th Asian Games of 2018 were

held at Jakarta (Indonesia) in which

India finished at eighth position. The

next game is scheduled to be held in

Hangzhou, China in 2022.

Cricket World Cup

● The first Cricket World Cup was

organised in England in 1975. A separate

women’s Cricket World Cup has been held

every 4 years since 1973.

1975 England West Indies beat

Australia

1979 England West Indies beat

England

1983 England India beat West Indies

1987 India Australia beat England

1992 Australia Pakistan beat England

1996 Pakistan Sri Lanka beat Australia

1999 England Australia beat Pakistan

2003 South Africa Australia beat India

2007 West Indies Australia beat Sri

Lanka

2011 India India beat Sri Lanka

2015 Australia and

New Zealand

Australia beat New

Zealand

2019 England England beat New

Zealand

2023 India Scheduled

2007 South Africa India beat Pakistan

2009 England Pakistan beat

Sri Lanka

2010 West Indies England beat

Australia

2012 Sri Lanka West Indies beat

Sri Lanka

2014 Bangladesh Sri Lanka beat India

2016 India West Indies beat

England

2020 Australia Scheduled

Hockey World Cup

The first Hockey World Cup was

organised in Barcelona (Spain) in 1971.

Women’s Hockey World Cup has been

held since 1974. The 13th Men’s Hockey

World Cup held in the Netherlands

(Hague) in 2014. The 14th Men’s Hockey

World Cup was held in Bhubaneswar

India in 2018. Belgium won this

championship beating Netherlands.

Football World Cup

● The Football World Cup is organised by

FIFA (Federation of International

Football Association). The World Cup

is called ‘Jules Rimet Cup’ named after the

name of FIFA President Jules Rimet. The

first Football World Cup was organised in

Uruguay in 1930.

● In 1942 and 1946, the Football World Cup

was not played due to World War II.

● The 20th FIFA World Cup held in Brazil in

which Germany became the champion by

defeating Argentina 1-0 in the final.

● Brazil is the only nation to have

participated in every World Cup so far.

The 2018 Football World Cup was held at

Russia. France won this Championship

beating Croatia. 2022 Football World Cup

is scheduled to be held at Qatar.

● The United Nations (UN) is a world

organisation formed in 24th October,

1945. It came into existence after

World War II, when the leaders of the

world, including American President

Roosevelt and British Prime Minister

Churchill, decided to create a world

organisation that would help to ensure

peace.

● The original membership of 51 nations

has grown to 193 members. The 193rd

member being the newly created

South Sudan. The United Nations

Headquarters is in New York City. The

UN also has offices in Nairobi (Kenya),

Geneva (Switzerland) and Vienna

(Austria).

● The General Assembly is the main

place for discussions and policy

making in the United Nations.

● The Security Council has primary

responsibility for the maintenance of

international peace and security. The

Security Council is made up of 15

members.

● There are five permanent members of

the Secutiry Council-China, France,

Russia, United Kingdom and USA and

10 non-permanent members elected

for 2 years terms starting on 1st

January.

Country Term Ends

Belgium 2020

Dominican Republic 2020

Estonia 2021

Germany 2020

Indonesia 2020

Niger 2021

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2021

South Africa 2020

Tunisia 2021

Vietnam 2021

● Economic and Social Council is the

principal body for coordination, policy

review, policy dialogue and

recommendations on economic, social and

environmental issues. The secretariat

comprises the Secretary-General and

other staff who carry out day-to-day work

of the U.N.

● The International Court of Justice

(ICJ), located in the Hague, Netherlands,

is the primary judicial organ of the United

Nations, established in 1945 by the United

Nations Charter, the Court began work in

1946, as the successor to the Permanent

Court of International Justice.

● Trygve Lie of Norway (1946-52) was the

first Secretary-General of the UN.

● Antonio Guterres is the new Secretary-

General of UN. He succeed Ban ki-Moon.