FREE PREVIEW Week 6 3 lessons

World Sports, Awards and Important Days 2025

The 2025 Nobel Prizes, Booker Prizes and other major awards, themes of important international days, and the biggest world sports results of 2025.

Lessons in this module

Nobel Prizes 2025

Lesson • 5 quiz questions

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Books, Films and Important Days

Lesson • 5 quiz questions

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World Sports 2025

Lesson • 5 quiz questions

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Lesson notes

1. Nobel Prizes 2025

The Nobel Prizes for 2025 were announced in October 2025 and presented in December. Exams ask for the winners and the subject of their work.

Science prizes

Physiology or Medicine: Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi, for discoveries about peripheral immune tolerance (how 'regulatory T cells' stop the immune system attacking the body).
Physics: John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis, for discovering macroscopic quantum tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit.
Chemistry: Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi, for the development of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), materials with large spaces inside that can capture gases or water.

Literature, Peace and Economics

Literature: László Krasznahorkai of Hungary, for a 'compelling and visionary' body of work that 'reaffirms the power of art'.
Peace: María Corina Machado of Venezuela. The Norwegian Nobel Committee cited her work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela.
Economic Sciences: Joel Mokyr (one half), and Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt (the other half), for explaining innovation-driven economic growth.
Aghion and Howitt were recognised for the theory of sustained growth through 'creative destruction'.

Other top prizes of 2025

Abel Prize (mathematics): Masaki Kashiwara of Japan, the first Japanese winner.
Turing Award (computing, 2024 award given in 2025): Andrew Barto and Richard Sutton.
Ballon d'Or 2025 (football): Ousmane Dembélé (men) and Aitana Bonmatí (women, her third in a row).

Quick facts

Medicine 2025: Brunkow, Ramsdell, Sakaguchi: peripheral immune tolerance
Physics 2025: Clarke, Devoret, Martinis: quantum tunnelling in electric circuits
Chemistry 2025: Kitagawa, Robson, Yaghi: metal–organic frameworks
Literature 2025: László Krasznahorkai (Hungary)
Peace 2025: María Corina Machado (Venezuela)
Economics 2025: Mokyr, Aghion, Howitt: innovation-driven growth
Abel Prize 2025: Masaki Kashiwara (Japan)

💡 Link a keyword to each prize: Medicine = T cells, Physics = circuits, Chemistry = MOFs, Economics = creative destruction.

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

2. Books, Films and Important Days

Literary and film awards, and the themes of international days, are common in exams. 2025 was a special year for Kannada literature.

Books and films

International Booker Prize 2025: 'Heart Lamp' by Banu Mushtaq, translated from Kannada into English by Deepa Bhasthi (announced 20 May 2025).
It was the first book written in Kannada to be nominated for the prize, and the first collection of short stories ever to win it. The award was announced at Tate Modern, London.
Booker Prize 2025: David Szalay for his novel 'Flesh' (announced in November 2025).
Oscars 2025 (97th Academy Awards, 2 March 2025): 'Anora' won Best Picture; Sean Baker won Best Director; Adrien Brody won Best Actor; Mikey Madison won Best Actress.

Important days and their 2025 themes

World Health Day (7 April): 'Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures', focused on the health of mothers and newborn babies.
World Environment Day (5 June): hosted by the Republic of Korea, with a focus on ending plastic pollution (#BeatPlasticPollution).
International Day of Yoga (21 June): 'Yoga for One Earth, One Health'. The main event in India was held at Visakhapatnam.
World Water Day (22 March): 'Glacier Preservation'.

International Years of 2025 (declared by the UN)

International Year of Glaciers' Preservation.
International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, marking 100 years of quantum mechanics.
International Year of Cooperatives, and International Year of Peace and Trust.

Quick facts

International Booker 2025: Heart Lamp, Banu Mushtaq; translated by Deepa Bhasthi (Kannada)
Booker Prize 2025: David Szalay, 'Flesh'
Oscars 2025 Best Picture: Anora (director Sean Baker)
World Health Day 2025: Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures
World Environment Day 2025: Host: Republic of Korea; #BeatPlasticPollution
Yoga Day 2025: Yoga for One Earth, One Health
World Water Day 2025: Glacier Preservation

💡 Karnataka exams (KPSC and others) are very likely to ask about 'Heart Lamp'. Remember: author Banu Mushtaq, translator Deepa Bhasthi, language Kannada.

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

3. World Sports 2025

2025 saw a new, larger FIFA Club World Cup, a sharing of tennis Grand Slams between two young stars, a first Formula 1 title for Lando Norris, and a chess World Cup in India.

Football

FIFA Club World Cup 2025 (first edition with 32 teams, held in the USA): Chelsea beat Paris Saint-Germain 3–0 in the final on 13 July 2025 at MetLife Stadium, New Jersey.
Cole Palmer of Chelsea scored twice in that final.
Ballon d'Or 2025 (awarded in Paris in September 2025): Ousmane Dembélé of France and Paris Saint-Germain (men), and Aitana Bonmatí of Spain (women).

Tennis Grand Slams 2025 (singles)

Australian Open: Jannik Sinner (men), Madison Keys (women).
French Open: Carlos Alcaraz (men), Coco Gauff (women).
Wimbledon: Jannik Sinner, the first Italian to win the Wimbledon singles title; Iga Świątek (women).
US Open: Carlos Alcaraz (men), Aryna Sabalenka (women).

Motorsport, cricket, chess and athletics

Formula 1: Lando Norris (McLaren) won his first world championship at the final race in Abu Dhabi on 7 December 2025, two points ahead of Max Verstappen.
ICC World Test Championship final (Lord's, June 2025): South Africa beat Australia by five wickets; Aiden Markram scored a century.
FIDE Chess World Cup 2025 (Goa, India, 31 October–27 November): Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan won at age 19, the youngest winner; Wei Yi of China was runner-up.
FIDE Women's World Cup 2025 (Batumi, Georgia): Divya Deshmukh of India beat Koneru Humpy in the final and became a Grandmaster.
Athletics: Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis of Sweden set a pole vault world record of 6.30 m at the World Championships in Tokyo (September 2025).
Cycling: Tadej Pogačar of Slovenia won the Tour de France for the fourth time.

Quick facts

FIFA Club World Cup 2025: Chelsea beat PSG 3–0 (13 July 2025, USA)
Wimbledon 2025: Jannik Sinner and Iga Świątek
US Open 2025: Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka
F1 champion 2025: Lando Norris (McLaren)
WTC final 2025: South Africa beat Australia at Lord's
Chess World Cup 2025: Javokhir Sindarov (Uzbekistan), held in Goa

💡 In tennis, Sinner and Alcaraz shared all four men's Grand Slams in 2025: Sinner won the Australian Open and Wimbledon, Alcaraz won the French Open and US Open.

📝 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 → Sports, Awards, Persons in News & Important Days 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 → Final AssessmentFREE PREVIEW →

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