FREE PREVIEW Week 5-6 3 lessons

Sports, Awards, Persons in News & Important Days 2025

Cricket and other sports results of 2025, chess and sports administration, Padma, literary and film awards, people in the news, notable deaths and the themes of important days.

Lessons in this module

Sports 2025: Cricket, Chess, Hockey and More

Lesson • 5 quiz questions

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Awards and Honours 2025

Lesson • 5 quiz questions

Read notes ↓

Persons in News, Notable Deaths and Important Days

Lesson • 5 quiz questions

Read notes ↓

Lesson notes

1. Sports 2025: Cricket, Chess, Hockey and More

2025 was a historic sporting year for India: a third Champions Trophy, the first Women's ODI World Cup, a teenage chess champion and the right to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games.

Cricket

ICC Champions Trophy: India beat New Zealand by 4 wickets in the final in Dubai on 9 March 2025. It was India's third title (after 2002 and 2013). Rohit Sharma was Player of the Match.
ICC Women's ODI World Cup: India beat South Africa by 52 runs in the final at DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai, on 2 November 2025. It was India's first Women's World Cup title.
The women's team was captained by Harmanpreet Kaur; Deepti Sharma was Player of the Tournament.
Men's Asia Cup (T20 format, UAE): India beat Pakistan by 5 wickets in the final on 28 September 2025, winning a record ninth Asia Cup under captain Suryakumar Yadav.
IPL 2025: Royal Challengers Bengaluru won their first title, beating Punjab Kings by 6 runs in Ahmedabad on 3 June 2025, under captain Rajat Patidar.
Virat Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket on 12 May 2025.

Chess, hockey, kho kho and athletics

Divya Deshmukh (19) won the FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 in Batumi, Georgia, beating Koneru Humpy in the final on 28 July 2025. She became India's 88th Grandmaster and fourth woman GM.
The FIDE (open) Chess World Cup 2025 was held in Goa (31 Oct–27 Nov); Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan won.
Hockey: India won the Men's Asia Cup 2025 at Rajgir, Bihar, beating South Korea in the final on 7 September 2025, and qualified for the 2026 World Cup.
The first Kho Kho World Cup was held in New Delhi (13–19 January 2025); India won both the men's and women's titles, beating Nepal in both finals.
Neeraj Chopra threw 90.23 m at the Doha Diamond League on 16 May 2025, his first throw beyond 90 m and a new national record.

Sports administration

On 26 November 2025, Commonwealth Sport's General Assembly in Glasgow chose Ahmedabad to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, the centenary Games. India last hosted in 2010 (Delhi).
Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe was elected IOC President on 20 March 2025 and took office on 23 June 2025, the first woman and first African in the post.
India's National Sports Governance Act, 2025 set up a National Sports Board and a National Sports Tribunal.

Quick facts

Champions Trophy 2025: India beat NZ, Dubai, 9 Mar (3rd title)
Women's ODI World Cup 2025: India beat SA by 52 runs, 2 Nov (1st title)
Asia Cup 2025 (men): India beat Pakistan, 28 Sept (9th title)
IPL 2025: RCB (first title), captain Rajat Patidar
FIDE Women's World Cup: Divya Deshmukh (India's 88th GM)
Hockey Asia Cup 2025: India, at Rajgir (Bihar)
2030 Commonwealth Games: Ahmedabad (decided 26 Nov 2025)

💡 Note the venues: Champions Trophy final in Dubai, Women's World Cup final in Navi Mumbai, Hockey Asia Cup in Rajgir, Chess World Cup in Goa.

📝 5-question quiz on this lesson: enrol free to take it and track your score.

2. Awards and Honours 2025

Awards questions are common in every exam. This lesson covers the Padma awards, the International Booker Prize won by a Kannada writer, the Jnanpith, the National Film Awards and the Ramon Magsaysay Award.

Padma awards 2025

Announced on the eve of Republic Day 2025: 139 awards in all, including 7 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri.
Padma Vibhushan recipients included violinist Dr L. Subramaniam, former CJI J. S. Khehar, dancer Kumudini Lakhia and gastroenterologist Dr D. Nageshwar Reddy.
Posthumous Padma Vibhushan awards went to Malayalam writer M. T. Vasudevan Nair, folk singer Sharda Sinha and Suzuki Motor's former chairman Osamu Suzuki (Japan).
Padma Bhushan recipients included hockey goalkeeper P. R. Sreejesh.

Literature

Banu Mushtaq won the International Booker Prize 2025 (announced 20 May 2025) for 'Heart Lamp', a collection of short stories translated from Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi.
It was the first Kannada book and the first short-story collection to win the prize; Deepa Bhasthi was the first Indian translator to win it.
Hindi writer Vinod Kumar Shukla was chosen for the 59th Jnanpith Award (announced March 2025). He was the first writer from Chhattisgarh to receive it. He died on 23 December 2025.
Kannada novelist S. L. Bhyrappa, author of 'Parva' and 'Vamshavruksha', died on 24 September 2025 in Bengaluru.

Cinema and social service

The 71st National Film Awards (for films of 2023) were presented by President Droupadi Murmu on 23 September 2025.
Malayalam actor Mohanlal received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
Best Feature Film: '12th Fail'. Best Actor was shared by Shah Rukh Khan ('Jawan') and Vikrant Massey ('12th Fail'). Best Actress: Rani Mukerji ('Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway').
Educate Girls, an NGO founded by Safeena Husain in 2007, won the Ramon Magsaysay Award 2025, the first Indian organisation to win it.

Quick facts

Padma awards 2025: 139 (7 PV, 19 PB, 113 PS)
International Booker 2025: Banu Mushtaq, 'Heart Lamp' (Kannada)
Translator of 'Heart Lamp': Deepa Bhasthi
59th Jnanpith: Vinod Kumar Shukla (Hindi, Chhattisgarh)
Dadasaheb Phalke Award: Mohanlal (presented 23 Sept 2025)
Best Film (71st NFA): 12th Fail
Magsaysay 2025: Educate Girls (first Indian organisation)

💡 Karnataka link: Banu Mushtaq (Hassan) wrote in Kannada. KPSC aspirants should also remember S. L. Bhyrappa (died 2025) and L. Subramaniam (Padma Vibhushan 2025).

📝 5-question quiz on this lesson: enrol free to take it and track your score.

3. Persons in News, Notable Deaths and Important Days

This lesson brings together people who were in the news in 2025 for new posts, the notable Indians who died during the year, and the themes and guests linked to important days.

New faces in key posts (2025)

Vice-President: C. P. Radhakrishnan (from 12 September 2025).
Chief Justice of India: B. R. Gavai (14 May) and then Surya Kant (24 November 2025).
Chief Election Commissioner: Gyanesh Kumar (19 February 2025).
ISRO Chairman: V. Narayanan (January 2025).
Chief Minister of Delhi: Rekha Gupta (20 February 2025).
IOC President: Kirsty Coventry (took office 23 June 2025).

Notable deaths in 2025

Manoj Kumar, actor known as 'Bharat Kumar' and Dadasaheb Phalke awardee (2015), died on 4 April 2025.
Dr K. Kasturirangan, former ISRO Chairman (1994–2003) and head of the NEP 2020 drafting committee, died on 25 April 2025.
Astrophysicist Dr Jayant Narlikar, founder-director of IUCAA, Pune, and co-author of the Hoyle–Narlikar theory, died on 20 May 2025.
Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani died in the Air India AI171 crash on 12 June 2025.
Kannada novelist S. L. Bhyrappa died on 24 September 2025.
Veteran actor Dharmendra died on 24 November 2025 in Mumbai.

Important days and years 2025

Republic Day 2025 (76th): Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto was the chief guest, and an Indonesian armed forces contingent marched on Kartavya Path.
International Day of Yoga 2025 (21 June): theme 'Yoga for One Earth, One Health'; the main national event was held in Visakhapatnam.
World Environment Day 2025 (5 June): theme 'Ending plastic pollution'; global host: Republic of Korea.
The UN declared 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, the International Year of Cooperatives and the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation.

Quick facts

Republic Day 2025 chief guest: Prabowo Subianto (Indonesia)
Yoga Day 2025 theme: Yoga for One Earth, One Health (Visakhapatnam)
World Environment Day 2025: Ending plastic pollution; host Republic of Korea
UN years 2025: Quantum Science & Technology; Cooperatives; Glaciers' Preservation
Jayant Narlikar: Astrophysicist, IUCAA founder; died 20 May 2025
Manoj Kumar: 'Bharat Kumar'; died 4 April 2025

💡 Make a small table of 'Post – Person – Date'. Appointments and deaths are among the easiest marks in current affairs.

📝 5-question quiz on this lesson: enrol free to take it and track your score.

Other modules in Current Affairs 2025: India & World

Polity & Governance 2025FREE PREVIEW → Economy, Budget & Banking 2025FREE PREVIEW → Government Schemes & Social Sector 2025FREE PREVIEW → Science, Space, Technology & Defence 2025FREE PREVIEW → Environment, Geography & Disasters 2025FREE PREVIEW → World Politics and Leaders 2025FREE PREVIEW → India's Foreign Relations 2025FREE PREVIEW → International Organisations and Summits 2025FREE PREVIEW → Global Economy, Science and Technology 2025FREE PREVIEW → World Sports, Awards and Important Days 2025FREE PREVIEW → Final AssessmentFREE PREVIEW →

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