Egypt and Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah has made the world player of the year shortlist for the first time, along with Luka Modric and five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo.

Lionel Messi, who has won the award five times since 2008, failed to make the three-man shortlist for the first time in 12 years.

Salah, who netted 44 goals in all competitions for Liverpool last season, helped the club achieve second place in the Premier League and also helped Jurgen Klopp’s side reach the Champions League final.

Modric helped Real Madrid to a third straight Champions League title and then led Croatia to the World Cup final.

In his six seasons at Real, Modric has scored 13 goals and made 28 assists.

Broken down over the seasons, he made five assists in his debut 2012/13 season, six in 2013/14, three in 2014/15, three in 2015/16, three in 2016/17 and eight last season.

According to Marca, his work with Toni Kroos in Real’s “engine room” gave the team the “fluidity to achieve superiority in the midfield and generate chances”.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo, Modric’s former teammate, is looking to make it a hat-trick of awards after helping Real Madrid to a third consecutive Champions League title.

He also captained Portugal to the last 16 at the World Cup in Russia before securing a move to Italian champions Juventus this summer.

The award is decided through a combination of votes from national team coaches, captains, members of the media and fans, and will be presented at the Best FIFA Football Awards on September 24 in London.

(Aljazeera)

As the clock goes tick tock for the Tokyo Olympics at the conclusion of the Asian Games here on Sunday, the focus has shifted to the the five sports which will debut at the 2020 Olympic Games.

Apart from surfing which is also included in 2020, the four new Olympic sports of baseball and softball, karate, sport climbing and skateboarding have been fanfaring well in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta and Palembang, the capital city of south Sumatra Province, as more and more young audience are embracing them in the sports world, reports Xinhua news agency.

Besides, three-on-three basketball, to be a new event in Tokyo, just made its debut in the Asiad, attracting the hearts of the young people into the showcase stage of the biggest Asian continental sports gala.

And the Jakarta Asiad has testified to the fact that the host countries of either Asiad or Olympics can surely boost their ratings, attract more sponsors, and enrich the lives of the young generation by introducing these sports into the world sports arena.

“3X3 is now quite popular in China. I believe that our victory here will attract more and more people into the new Olympic event,” said Huang Wenwei, the winning member of the Chinese men’s 3×3 basketball team.

The 3×3 basketball has been generating fresh vitality into the ancient Olympic sport as it runs faster with much more bursts of blitz attacks, allowing only 12 seconds to complete each attack instead of the traditional 24-second rule, changing smoothly from defense to offense during the whole 10-minute competition with only one 30-second timeout for each side.

Many players even put it as nothing short of a 10-minute anaerobic devil confrontation.

Furthermore, the lighting settings at the venue are even more fascinating with pop music being played, and the DJ interacting with audiences all the time, making it a vogue for the young people.

The Jakarta Asiad also witnessed another debutant of sport climbing, a combination of strength, endurance and flexibility. It requires accurate calculation to decide every movement in the wall climbing as a simple error could evolve into a fall.

“Climbing represents the only basic human movement not yet included in the Olympic Games, it brings the missing vertical dimension to the world’s most prestigious sporting event,” said Nick Colton, deputy chief officer at the British Mountaineering Council.

For baseball and softball, Asiad has become the springboard to jump into the Olympic arena as baseball was included in the Hiroshima Asian Games 1994, and softball made it into the Beijing Asian Games 1990.

Softball is a modified form of baseball with seven innings instead of nine, as well as underarm bowling. And both sports are very popular in Japan, which will host the 2020 Olympic Games.

“Olympic baseball and softball in Japan would be the biggest and most exciting international competition in the history of our sport, and would help the Olympic Games touch the entire host nation and worldwide community,” said World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) president Riccardo Fraccari.

As the sport returns to the Olympic program in 2020 Tokyo, ace Yukiko Ueno and Japan asserted their authority by winning their fifth straight Asiad title with a 7-0 win over Chinese Taipei.

“The Asian Games has increasingly become a place to show the strength of Japanese softball,” said Ueno, a four-time Asiad athlete, “we have had easier games this time by being able to score lots of runs.”

And karate will also become the sport from which Japan hopes to reap more during the 2020 Tokyo Games, after it had its Asiad debut in Hiroshima 1994. In Jakarta, Japan took four golds in the men’s and women’s kata and kumite events.

Introduction of new sports into the Olympic Games is a trend to meet the needs of the young generation, and the Asiad has become the whetstone for Asian athletes to better their skills.

England’s Test opener and leading run-scorer Alastair Cook on Monday announced that he will retire from international cricket after the fifth Test against India.

“After much thought and deliberation over the last few months I have decided to announce my retirement from international cricket at the end of this Test series against India,” Cook was quoted as saying by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

“Although it is a sad day, I can do so with a big smile on my face knowing I have given everything and there is nothing left in the tank,” The 33-year-old added.

Cook was the leading batsman in two of England’s greatest overseas triumphs in Test history, England’s Ashes win in 2010/11, and their victory in India in 2012/13, according to the statement issued by ICC.

However, his form has waned in recent times, and despite scoring double hundreds against the West Indies and Australia within the last year, he has averaged less than 35 since giving up the captaincy at the end of 2016, a move many expected to rejuvenate him.

Cook has only passed fifty once this year, and has decided that now is the right time to call it a day.

Cook has totalled 12,254 Test runs and 32 Test centuries so far, his final Test at The Oval will be his 159th consecutive game in the longest format, the longest such streak in all international cricket.

“I have achieved more than I could have ever imagined and feel very privileged to have played for such a long time alongside some of the greats of the English game. The thought of not sharing the dressing room, again, with some of my teammates was the hardest part of my decision, but I know the timing is right,” he said.

“I have loved cricket my whole life from playing in the garden as a child and will never underestimate how special it is to pull on an England shirt. So I know it is the right time to give the next generation of young cricketers their turn to entertain us and feel the immense pride that comes with representing your country,” the former captain added.

Cook praised his long-time mentor, coach, and childhood idol Graham Gooch.

“There are too many people to thank individually, but a special mention must go to Graham Gooch. As a seven year-old I queued for his autograph outside Essex County Cricket Club and years later was so fortunate to have him mentoring me.”

“Graham was my sounding board, especially in the early years of my career, spending hour after hour throwing balls at me with his dog stick. He made me realise you always need to keep improving whatever you are trying to achieve,” he added.

Cook also gave credit to his family for supporting him through his career.

“My family and I have had 12 wonderful years fulfilling my dreams and this could not have been done without them. So I wish to thank my parents and brothers, my wife, Alice, and her family for their quiet, unwavering support behind the scenes. As cricketers, who travel frequently, we often don’t realise just how important our families are to our success,” the left-hand Test opener said.

He will continue to play cricket domestically, for his county Essex.

“I would also like to thank Essex County Cricket Club for their help and support ever since I was 12, and I can’t wait to get fully involved with them in the 2019 season. I wish the England team every success in the future, and I will be watching with great excitement,” cook said.

The Indian skipper Virat Kohli retained his number one spot in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Test batsmen rankings with a career-high 937 rating points, despite the defeat in the fourth Test against England.

Although India lost the fourth Test by 60 runs and conceded an unassailable 3-1 lead to England in the five match Test series, Kohli’s 46 and 58 in the two innings helped him retain the top spot.

Kohli, who has scored 544 runs in his eight innings this series, is 11th on the list of best ever in terms of rating points, just one adrift of a group of four — Gary Sobers, Clyde Walcott, Vivian Richards and Kumar Sangakkara, an ICC statement said on Monday.

Similarly, Cheteshwar Pujara stayed at the sixth position but his unbeaten 132, which helped India take the first innings lead, has lifted him from 763 to 798 points.

India fast bowler Mohammad Shami progressed back to the top 20 as his six-wicket match haul has lifted him three places to 19th position among bowlers, while his fellow fast bowler Ishant Sharma’s four wickets saw him move up one place to the 25th position.

Jasprit Bumrah continued the strong start to his Test career, moving to a career-best 487 points while retaining the 37th position after his fifth Test.

Among others, England all-rounder Sam Curran made quick gains in the ICC Test Player Rankings while spinner Moeen Ali also moved up after the Southampton Test.

The 20-year-old Curran moved up 29 places to the 43rd position among batsmen after producing crucial knocks of 78 and 46 in his fourth Test match.

The left-hander, son of former Zimbabwe cricketer Kevin Curran and younger brother of England player Tom Curran, also gained 11 places to reach the 55th place in the bowlers’ list and 15th position among all-rounders after gaining 27 slots.

Player of the match Ali’s haul of nine wickets helped him move up three places to the 33rd position with a huge gain in rating points.

The off-spinner, who grabbed five for 63 and four for 71 in the two innings, gained 66 points to reach 543 points in bowling, while also gaining one slot to reach seventh place among all-rounders.

Buttler gained 15 slots to reach a career-best 32nd position on the batsmen’s list and 584 rating points, just five behind England all-rounder Ben Stokes, who has also gained three places to reach 29th position. Opener Keaton Jennings is another one to gain, moving up four places to 86th position on the list for batsmen.

 Ace Indian player Sania Mirza says she wants to give back to the world through tennis.

She has been honoured by Sony YAY! as part of their flagship Teachers’ Day initiative ‘Heroes Behind The Heroes’. The initiative honours and recognises the hard work put in by the teachers of global icons from diverse fields.

“So honoured to win this award.. giving back through tennis is something that I could only dream of and I feel so blessed to make a small difference,” Sania said in a statement to IANS.

She thanked the channel for the recognition

Sania, who is married to cricketer Shoaib Malik, is currently expecting their first child. They have decided to give the child the surname Mirza-Malik, an amalgamation of their own last names.

(IANS)

Following is the top-10 positions of the medal table at the 18th Asian Games after the conclusion of competitions on Sunday, (tabulated under delegations, gold, silver, bronze and total).

Country        Gold   Silver   Bronze   Total

China          132       92        65      289
Japan      75 56 74 205
South Korea 49 58 70 177
Indonesia 31 24 43 98
Uzbekistan 21 24 25 70
Iran 20 20 22 62
Taiwan 17 19 31 67
India 15 24 30 69
Kazakhstan 15 17 44 76
North Korea 12 12 13 37

(IANS)

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday announced a cash award of Rs 50 lakh each for the two Odia players Birendra Lakra and Amit Rohidas for winning bronze medal at 18th Asian Games in Indonesia.

Both were part of the Indian men’s hockey team that won bronze medal by thrashing Pakistan.

The Chief Minister also congratulated the Indian men’s hockey team for winning the bronze medal.

Earlier, the Chief Minister had announced a cash reward of Rs 1 crore each for four women hockey players from the state for winning silver medal at Asian Games.

The cash award was announced for Sunita Lakra, Namita Toppo, Nilima Minz and Deep Grace Ekka, who were part of Indian Women’s Hockey team.

The state government had also announced Rs 3 crore for sprinter Dutee Chand, who won double silver medals in 100m and 200m events.

New York, Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro advanced to the US Open quarter-finals after an easy 6-4,6-3,6-2 win against Croatia’s Borna Coric.

At the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday, the match lasted two hours and four minutes. Del Potro made 33 winning shots and 24 unforced errors compared to Coric’s 23 and 29 respectively, reports Efe news agency.

Del Potro, 29, ranked world No. 3 and playing his 10th US Open, will go up against local favorite John Isner who defeated Canada’s Milos Raonic 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

Del Potro and Isner, 33, who will play his 13th US Open and second quarterfinals, will face off for the 12th time, with the Argentinian leading with a 7-4 advantage after winning in the Round of 16 (6-4, 6-4, 6-4) at Roland-Garros.

[IANS]

Southampton, India suffered a 60-run defeat against England in the fourth Test at the Rose Bowl Cricket Stadium here on Sunday to go down 1-3 in the five-match series.

Chasing 245 runs for victory, the visitors were bowled out for 184. The visitors resumed the evening session at 126/4 and lost six wickets in quick succession adding only 58 runs.

[IANS]

India’s Seema Punia had to settle for the bronze medal in the women’s discus throw event at the 18th Asian Games here on Thursday.

Seema registered a throw of 62.26 metres to ensure a place on the podium.

China clinched the top two positions with Chen Yang (65.12m) and Feng Bin (64.25m) getting gold and silver respectively.