Who is the sponsor of the six-nation Olympic hockey qualifiers currently being held in India?

Hero MotoCorp Ltd , one of the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturers, will be sponsor the men's and women's hockey qualifying events from February 18-26 for the 2012 London Olympics. The qualifiers will feature six teams in both categories for two Olympic berths in the mega sporting event scheduled for July. The HeroFIH Road to London is the first of the three-leg Olympic qualifying events for the Olympic Games.

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was the biggest draw for the franchises with the Chennai Super Kings buying him for a whopping $2 million (Rs9.72 crore ). Jadeja, whose base price was $1,00,000, went to Chennai after the tie-breaker clause was invoked when two teams — CSK andDeccan Chargers — bid the maximum ($2 million) for the Saurashtra player.

ndia relied on the young brigade to finally break their prolonged winless streak by spanking Australia by eight wickets in the second Twenty20 International and level the series 1-1. After restricting the fancied Australians to 131 in 19.4 overs, riding on some brilliant fielding and disciplined bowling, the Indians overhauled the target with two balls to spare to record their first overseas win in close to seven months.

World No 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic was crowned the world sportsman of the year at the Laureus Awards in London. Djokovic succeeds his Australian Open final opponent Rafael Nadal as sportsman of the year, while Roger Federer won the title four times between 2005 and 2008

Yuvraj Singh, who played a stellar role in India's ODI World Cup triumph last year, was diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy in the United States. The 30-year-old left-hander has been in US since last month being treated for what was earlier claimed to be a tumour in the lungs by his family. But it has now been diagnosed as malignant and Yuvraj is currently undergoing chemotherapy in the Cancer Research Institute in Boston.

Ricky Ponting is the only batsman to register three double hundreds against India. He scored two double hundreds against Pakistan and one against the West Indies. Ponting's three double centuries against India are — 257 at Melbourne and 242 at Adelaide -- both in 2003-04, and 221 at Adelaide in January 2012. Ponting's magnificent 221 is his sixth double hundred in Tests. Only Don Bradman has more double hundreds to his credit than Ponting for Australia.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko congratulated Victoria Azarenka for winning the Australian Open women's title and awarded her the Order of the Motherland. The US-based Azarenka became the first Belarusian to win a grand slam singles title when she crushed Russia's Maria Sharapova 6-3 6-0 in the 2012 Australian Open final. The 22-year-old Minsk native also became the first player from her country to top the world rankings.

Wayne Rooney has been voted as soccer’s 'manliest, player in a poll of men and women, while Chelsea’s Ashley Cole was listed as the biggest wimp. Rooney, 26, pipped Manchester United team-mate Ryan Giggs to the title, after a fifth of everyone in the survey organised by leading British grooming brand The Bluebeards Revenge picked him.

India’s football legend Sailendra Nath Manna, 87, popularly known as Sailen Manna, died at a private hospital. He was admitted to the AMRI Hospital, Salt Lake. He died due to old age complications and leaves behind his wife and daughter.

Liverpool beat Cardiff City 3-2 on penalties to win the English League Cup for the eighth time following a thrilling game which ended 2-2 after extra time at Wembley. Cardiff's Anthony Gerrard, fired the final spot kick wide as the Championship (second division) side's hopes of becoming the first Welsh club to win the trophy ended in heartache.