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General
Awareness Updates – August 2016 Sports Muhammad Ali,
the silver-tongued boxer and civil rights champion who famously proclaimed
himself “The Greatest” and then spent a lifetime living up to the billing, has
died, aged 74. Born Cassius
Marcellus Clay on Jan. 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky, to middle-class
parents, Ali started boxing when he was 12, winning Golden Gloves titles before
heading to the 1960 Olympics in Rome, where he won a gold medal as a light
heavyweight. As his profile rose, Ali acted out against American racism. After
he was refused services at a soda fountain counter, he said, he threw his
Olympic gold medal into a river. He burst into the
American consciousness in the early 1960s, when as a young heavyweight champion
he converted to Islam and refused to serve in the Vietnam War, and became an
emblem of strength, eloquence, conscience and courage. Ali was an
anti-establishment showman who transcended borders and barriers, race and
religion. His fights against other men became spectacles, but he embodied much
greater battles. He converted to
Islam in 1963. But he kept his new faith a secret until the crown was safely in
hand. Ali successfully defended his title six times, including a rematch with
Liston. Then, in 1967, at the height of the Vietnam War, Ali was drafted to
serve in the U.S. Army. He had said
previously that the war did not comport with his faith, and that he had “no
quarrel” with America’s enemy, the Vietcong. He refused to serve and was
sentenced for five years in prison. On appeal, he was released but not allowed
to leave the country. CRICKET Ballr Cup West Indies Tri-Series, West
Indies Winner: Australia Runner-up: West Indies Third Place:
South Africa Player of the Series:
Josh Hazlewood (Australia) India in Zimbabwe ODI Series Result:
India won the three-match series 3–0. Player of the Series:
K. L. Rahul (India) Twenty20 Series Result:
India won the three-match series 2–1. Player of the Series:
Barinder Sran (India) Sri Lanka in England ODI Series Result:
England won the five-match series 3–0. Player of the Series:
Jason Roy (England) Test Series Result:
England won the three-match series 2–0. Players of the Series:
Jonny Bairstow (England) and Kaushal Silva (Sri Lanka) Twenty20 Series Result:
England won the one-match series 1–0. Player of the Series:
Jos Buttler (England) MOTORRACING Canadian Grand Prix Winner: Lewis Hamilton
(Britain/Mercedes) Second: Sebastian Vettel
(Germany/Ferrari) Third:
Valterri Bottas (Finland/Williams-Mercedes) Russian Grand Prix Winner: Nico Rosberg
(Germany/Mercedes) Second: Sebastian Vettel
(Germany/Ferrari) Third:
Sergio Perez (Mexico/Force India-Mercedes) Austrian Grand Prix, Spielberg, Austria Winner: Lewis Hamilton
(Britain/Mercedes) Second: Max Verstappen
(Netherlands/Red Bull-TAG Heuer) Third:
Kimi Raikkonen (Finland/Ferrari) British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Winner: Lewis Hamilton
(Britain/Mercedes) Second: Max Verstappen
(Netherlands/Red Bull-TAG Heuer) Third:
Nico Rosberg (Germany/Mercedes) European Grand Prix, Baku, Azerbaijan Winner: Nico Rosberg
(Germany/Mercedes) Second: Sebastian Vettel
(Germany/Ferrari) Third:
Sergio Perez (Mexico/Force India-Mercedes) TENNIS 2016 Wimbledon Championships Men’s Singles Winner: Andy Murray
(UK) Runner-up: Milos Raonic (Canada) Women’s Singles Winner: Serena
Williams (U.S.) Runner-up: Angelique Kerber
(Germany) Men’s Doubles Winners: Pierre-Hugues
Herbert/Nicolas Mahut (France) Runners-up: Julien
Benneteau/Eduoard Roger-Vasselin (France) Women’s Doubles Winners: Serena Williams/Venus
Williams (U.S.) Runners-up: Timea Babos
(Hungary)/Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan) Mixed Doubles Winners: Henri
Kontinen (Finland)/Heather Watson (UK) Runners-up: Robert Farah
(Colombia)/Anna-Lena Gronefeld (Germany) Aegon Classic, Birmingham Women’s Singles Winner: Madison Keys
(U.S.) Runner-up:
Barbara Strycova (Czech Republic) Halle Open, Germany Men’s Singles Winner: Florian Mayer
(Germany) Runner-up:
Alexander Zverev (Germany) Mercedes Open, Stuttgart, Germany Men’s Singles Winner: Dominic Thiem
(Austria) Runner-up:
Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) Ricoh Open, Rosmalen, Netherlands Men’s Singles Winner: Nicolas Mahut
(France) Runner-up: Gilles Muller
(Luxembourg) Women’s Singles Winner: Coco Vandeweghe
(U.S.) Runner-up:
Kristina Mladenovic (France) Maria Sharapova
has been banned for two years by the International Tennis Federation for using
a prohibited drug. The Russian was provisionally banned in March after testing
positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open in January. The heart disease drug,
which 29-year-old Ms Sharapova says she has been taking since 2006 for health
issues, became a banned substance on 1 January 2016. The five-time Grand Slam
winner said she “cannot accept” the “unfairly harsh” ban – and will appeal. She
will challenge the suspension, which is backdated to 26 January 2016, at the
Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Aged 17, Ms
Sharapova became the first Russian to win Wimbledon in 2004, added the U.S.
Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008, before completing a career Grand
Slam with the French Open title in 2012. |
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