The year 2018 is soon coming to an end. However, it did bring about some fantastic sporting spectacles along with it. The entire year was packed with some much awaited sporting events. The FIFA World Cup, the Winter Olympics, and the Asian Games are only a few of the prestigious sporting tournaments that were held this year. In this piece, we bring you some of the biggest sporting tournaments and events of 2018 along with their winners.
1. Australian Open – Tennis (15 January – 28 January)
Venue: Melbourne, Australia
The 2018 Australian Open was the 106th edition of the event. Swiss Roger Federer, the defending champion, retained his title and won his sixth Australian men’s singles title. Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki won the women’s singles title, her first Grand Slam title ever.
2. Under-19 Cricket World Cup – Cricket (13 January – 3 February)
Venue: New Zealand
The 2018 under-19 Cricket World Cup was won by India. In the process, India won its fourth title, the maximum by any nation ever. 16 teams participated in the event. Shubman Gill from India was awarded the player of the series.
3. Winter Olympics – Multisports (9 February – 25 February)
Venue: Pyeongchang, South Korea
This multisport event saw participation from over 90 nations across the world and featured over 100 sporting events. The Winter Olympics are held once in four years. Norway bagged the top spot at this event, winning 39 medals in total followed by Germany and Canada with 31 and 29 medals respectively. The motto for the event was ‘Passion. Connected.’ The mascot for the event was Soohorang, a white tiger.
4. Winter Paralympics – Multisports (9 March – 18 March)
Venue: Pyeongchang, South Korea
The 2018 Winter Paralympics was an international multi-sport event held for athletes with disabilities. 49 nations and over 500 athletes participated in the event. The United States of America topped the medal tally with a total of 36 medals.
5. Commonwealth Games – Multisports (4 April – 15 April)
Venue: Gold Coast, Australia
The Commonwealth Games saw 71 nations, more than 4,400 athletes participating in 275 events. The host nation Australia topped the medals tally, followed by England and India at the second and third places respectively. The motto for this year’s event was ‘Share the Dream.’ Borobi, a blue koala, was the official mascot.
6. French Open – Tennis (27 May – 10 June)
Venue: Paris, France
The French Open also called Roland Garros is one of the most awaited tennis tournaments in the world. It is the only Grand Slam to be played on a clay court. Spanish player Rafael Nadal, the defending men’s singles champion, won his 11th title, proving that he is rightly called the ‘King of Clay.’ The women’s title was won by Simona Halep of Romania. This was her first women’s singles Grand Slam title.
7. FIFA World Cup – Football (14 June – 15 July)
Venue: Russia
The FIFA World Cup is one of the most eagerly anticipated sporting events. The 2018 FIFA World Cup was won by France – its second title till date – with Croatia emerging the first runners-up. Belgium and England bagged the third and fourth positions respectively. 32 teams participated in this event that was held in an Eastern European country for this first time. The official mascot was Zabivaka, a wolf dressed in the colours of the Russian national football team.
The Golden Ball awarded to the best player of the tournament was won by Luka Modric of Croatia. The Golden Boot awarded to the top scorer was won by English footballer Harry Kane.
8. Wimbledon Championship – Tennis (2 July – 15 July)
Venue: London, England
By virtue of being the oldest of the Grand Slam tournaments, the Wimbledon Championship is one of the most prestigious events of the sporting world. In 2018, the men’s singles title was won by Serbian Novak Djokovic, his fourth title till date. The women’s singles title was won by German player Angelique Kerber. This was her first Wimbledon title and her third Grand Slam win.
9. Asian Games – Multisports (18 August – 2 September)
Venue: Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia
The 2018 Asian Games was the first Asian Games ever to be co-hosted by two cities. It saw participation from over 45 nations and over 11,000 athletes. China topped the medal tally followed by Japan and South Korea in second and third place respectively. The motto of this edition of the Games was ‘Energy of Asia.’ The three mascots of these games were Bhin Bhin, a greater bird-of-paradise; Atung, a Bawean deer; and Kaka, a Javan rhinoceros.
10. U.S Open – Tennis (27 August – 9 September)
Venue: New York, United States of America
The 2018 U.S Open men’s singles title was won by Serbian Novak Djokovic. With this win, Djokovic won his third U.S Open title. The women’s singles final was won by Japanese player Naomi Osaka, who defeated Serena Williams to win her first Grand Slam title. She also became the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam singles event.
11. Asia Cup – Cricket (15 September – 28 September)
Venue: United Arab Emirates (UAE)
The 2018 Asia Cup for Cricket was won by India, who were also the defending champions. India defeated Bangladesh to lift its seventh Asia Cup. Apart from these two nations, four other nations participated in the tournament – Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong. Shikhar Dhawan from India was awarded the Player of the Tournament for scoring the maximum number of runs.
12. Summer Youth Olympics – Multisports (6 October – 18 October)
Venue: Buenos Aires, Argentina
The 2018 Summer Youth Olympics saw participation from 206 countries and close to 4,000 athletes. Russia led the medals tally followed by China and Japan in second and third place respectively. The motto of this edition of the Youth Olympics was ‘Feel the future.’
13. Women’s World Twenty20 – Cricket (9 November – 24 November)
Venue: West Indies
The 2018 Women’s World Twenty20 was won by Australia after it defeated England. It was the nation’s fourth title ever. Australia’s Alyssa Healy was awarded the Player of the Tournament for her outstanding performance.
14. Hockey World Cup – Hockey (24 November – 16 December)
Venue: Bhubaneswar, India
The 2018 Men’s Hockey World Cup was won by Belgium, who defeated the Netherlands to win the coveted championship. Defending champions Australia stood third. 16 teams participated in this tournament and a total of 157 goals were scored. Arthur Van Doren of Belgium was awarded the best player of the tournament.
How many of these magnificent sporting events did you follow? Do let us know in the comments below!
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