Oh, an even-numbered year! What a delight it is for every sports fan, if the Euro Cup or the FIFA World Cup set the ball rolling, Olympics or the mouth-watering occurrences of Commonwealth and Asian Games always introduce stories which have a lifetime impact on the viewers.
Like every year, 2018 was packed with a lot of actions and excitement, though this time there were several moments which shook the sporting arena.
Here we list some events that made the year 2018 a mixed bag.
January
Australian Open
- Roger Federer won a record 20th Grand Slam Title, retained the title after beating Marin Cilic in the final.
- Wozniacki won her first Grand Slam!
February
2018 Winter Olympics (PyeongChang)
- Norway topped the table, setting a new record for most medals won in one Winter Olympics.
March
IBSF Snooker Team World Cup
- Pankaj Advani and Manan thrashed Pakistan to win the inaugural edition of the tournament
IBSF World Cup Snooker Champions 2018 ??What an awesome feeling to win it from 2-0 down against Pakistan in the final! Really enjoyed partnering with the super talented Manan Chandra- superb show mate ?? pic.twitter.com/FKTnbF64wp
— Pankaj Advani (@PankajAdvani247) March 3, 2018
#SandpaperGate Ball-tampering scandal
- Steven Smith, David Warner banned from playing international cricket domestic cricket for 12 months, Cameron Bancroft banned for 9 months.
- Darren Lehmann called quits as the head coach of the Australian Cricket team.
April
2018 Commonwealth Games (Gold Coast)
- India gave a spirited performance and came third with 26 Golds
- Olympic Medallist PV Sindhu was the flag-bearer
May
Indian Premier League
- Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings return after serving a two-year suspension
- Chennai Super King won their third title, the Royals came fourth.
June
Afghanistan Vs India
- Afghanistan played their first Test match after ICC awarded Test status in 2017
- India won by a record 262 runs and an innings
- The test ended in two days
July
2018 FIFA World Cup (Russia)
- France won the biggest trophy in world football
- Defeated Croatia in finals
- Didier Deschamps became the third manager to win World Cup both as player and manager
August
2018 Asian Games (Jakarta, Palembang)
- For the first time ever games were hosted in two different cities
- India came 8th in the medal tally, winning 15 medals
September
2018 US Open
- Djokovic wins the 14th Grand Slam, tieing Pete Sampras
- Naomi Osaka became first Japan’s able-bodied Grand Slam Singles winner
October
Afghanistan Premier League
- Afghanistan Cricket Board held the inaugural edition in UAE
- Balkh Legends won the 5-team tournament
- Hazratullah slammed six sixes in an over
November
World Chess Championship 2018 (London)
- World number 1 Magnus Carlsen won the tournament for the fourth time
- After a gruelling 12 drawn games, Magnus defeated Fabiano Caruana 3-0 in tie-breaker
December
Hockey World Cup (Bhubaneswar)
- Belgium won the title for the first time
- Despite putting a great show, the hosts, India, had to go medal-less
Ballon d’Or
- Luka Modric won the prestigious award for the best player
- Ada Hegerberg of Norway won the Féminin award
- Kylian Mbappé adjudged best under-21
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