Sports Current Affairs MCQs

Notes:
Ayush Mhatre has been named captain of India’s ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2026 squad, with Vihaan Malhotra as vice-captain. The tournament will be held in Zimbabwe and Namibia from January 15 to February 6, 2026. India, five-time champions (2000, 2008, 2012, 2018, 2022), are in Group A with New Zealand, USA, and Bangladesh.

Notes:
Fourteen-year-old Amieyra Khoslla won the Gold Medal in Youth Girls (Under-17) at the 29th National Sport Climbing Championship (NSCC) 2025 held in Bengaluru from 26–29 December. She competed in the bouldering discipline, showing excellent strength, technique, and calm mindset. In the qualification round on 27 December, she scored a perfect 100.0, topping all four bouldering problems. The championship was organised by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) with the General Thimayya National Academy of Adventure (GETHNAA).

Notes:
The 44th Junior National Kho Kho Championship began at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium, Gunjur, Bengaluru. Around 1,000 young athletes from states and union territories are competing in boys’ and girls’ categories. Nearly 40 matches were played on the opening day. The tournament follows a league-cum-knockout format, with semifinals on 3 January and finals on 4 January 2026. 58th Senior National Kho Kho will be in Kazipet, Telangana (11–15 January), and 35th Sub-Junior Nationals in Kurukshetra, Haryana (31 Jan–4 Feb).

Notes:
The Sports Authority of India (SAI) launched a four-day Sports Sciences Workshop for combat sports coaches at its Sports Science Division in New Delhi to improve scientific coaching methods. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) is the apex national sports body of India established by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. It was established in 1984 to continue the legacy of the Ninth Asian Games held in New Delhi in 1982. SAI is a registered society fully funded by the Government of India. Its main objectives are promoting sports and achieving excellence at national and international levels.

Notes:
National record-holder and Asian Games gold-winning Indian middle-distance runner Jinson Johnson announced his retirement at age 34. He is from Kerala and specializes in 800 metres and 1500 metres events. His career highlight was winning the 1500 metres gold at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games with a time of 3:44.72 minutes. He also won a silver medal in the 800 metres at the same Asian Games. In 2018, Johnson broke Sriram Singh’s 42-year-old men’s 800 metres national record at the National Inter-State Championship in Guwahati with 1:45.65 minutes.

Notes:
Recently, 21-year-old Aaryan Varshney became India’s 92nd Grandmaster by securing his final norm at the Andranik Margaryan Memorial Tournament in Armenia. He achieved the Grandmaster (GM) title with a round to spare, adding to India’s growing chess legacy. Aaryan was trained entirely at home by his father, Gaurav Varshney, a physics teacher, without any professional coach. He began serious chess training at age seven, focusing on game analysis and practical play. His first rating was 1261 in 2014, rising above 2300 within four years. He won the National Under-13 Championship in 2018. He earned the International Master (IM) title in 2024 through open tournaments.

Notes:
Former Australian hockey player Michael Nobbs has passed away today after a prolonged illness at the age of 72. He earned 76 international caps for Australia between 1979 and 1985. Nobbs played in the 1981 Hockey World Cup in Bombay and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. He coached the Indian men’s hockey team at the 2012 London Olympics, taking over in 2011 after India failed to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Games. Apart from India, he also coached the Japanese national hockey team.

Notes:
India will host the Asian Rifle and Pistol Championship 2027 in Delhi, a historic first for Indian shooting. The championship will offer eight Olympic quota places for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. These eight quotas will be in addition to 12 quota places from the World Cup Shooting event. The World Cup (Rifle, Pistol, Shotgun) will be held in Delhi from 21 to 30 April 2027. Hosting rights were confirmed by the Asian Shooting Confederation to the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).

Notes:
The Esports World Cup Foundation included chess among 16 titles at the first Esports Nations Cup 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from 2–29 November 2026. The chess event will run from 2–8 November 2026 with 128 players representing nations, maximum two per country. The tournament starts with 16 round-robin groups of eight players, with top four advancing to knockouts.

Notes:
India finished its campaign at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Tianjin, China, with five medals and sixth place overall. Tejaswin Shankar won India’s only gold by topping the men’s heptathlon event. He scored 5,993 points, setting a new national indoor record and improving his 2021 mark. Pooja won silver in the high jump. Tajinderpal Singh Toor secured silver in the shot put. Ancy Sojan claimed bronze in the long jump. Aadrash Ram Jothi Shankar won bronze in High Jump.