By: D.K Choudhary
India Jumps at 129th Spot in FIFA Ranking
i. According to data released by the world football governing body FIFA on January 12, 2017, the Indian football team jumped six places up to 129th in January 2017 which is the best FIFA ranking in over a decade.
ii. It is India’s best ever ranking since December, 2005, when they were at the 127th spot. India won nine of 11 international matches since last one year.
iii. Indian team was placed at 135th position in December 2016 which was the six-year highest annual ranking since 2009.
iv. The top 3 positions remain unchanged with Argentina, Brazil and Germany holding first, second and third place respectively.
FIFA
The Federation Internationale de Football Association is the international governing body of association football, futsal, and beach soccer.
♦ President: Gianni Infantino ♦ Motto: For the Game. For the World.
♦ Headquarters: Zürich, Switzerland ♦ Founded: 21 May 1904
Gujarat Wins Maiden Ranji Trophy Title Against Mumbai
i. Gujarat won its maiden Ranji Trophy title on January 14, 2017 by 5 wickets after beating Mumbai at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. Man of the Match: Parthiv Patel.
ii. Gujarat scored 47/0 on the final day to create history. This was the highest total run-chase 
in Ranji Trophy finals. Earlier, the highest was 310 by Hyderabad vs Nawanagar way back in 1937-38.
iii. With the win Gujarat became the 17th side in the history of domestic cricket to win the tournament.
iv. Mumbai, which has won the Ranji title 41 times in the past, ended up as the runner-up in the tournament for the fifth time. Earlier Mumbai had stood second in 1990-91 after losing to Haryana in the final match by 2 runs.
IOC Disqualifies Three Chinese Weightlifters Olympic Title for Doping
i. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has taken away the Olympic gold medals from three Chinese women weightlifters for doping at 2008 Beijing Games. This bans China from International Championship for one year.
ii. They three weightlifters were Cao Lei in the 75-kilogram class; Chen Xiexia at 48kg; and Liu Chunhonog at 69kg. All the three Chinese weightlifters tested positive for the banned growth hormone GHRP—2. Liu also tested positive for sibutramine.
iii. Besides, the IOC also disqualified five more athletes from both the Beijing and London 2012 Olympics, including Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus, who took a bronze medal in women’s shot put competition in Beijing Olympics, whose sample was positive for anabolic steroids.
iv. Ostapchuk previously lost her gold medal and Olympic title from the 2012 London Games in a separate doping case.
International Olympic Committee (IOC)
♦ The International Olympic Committee is the supreme authority of the worldwide Olympic movement.
♦ Formation: 23 June 1894
♦ Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland
♦ President: Thomas Bach
