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In the world of football, Lionel Messi has been shortlisted as one of the three players in line to win the FIFA Best Men’s Player of the Year award for 2023 later this month. Talking about wrestling, the United World Wrestling (UWW) named Indian wrestler Antim Panghal the Women’s Rising Star of the Year 2023. While in the tennis world, Jannik Sinner was named Most Improved Player Of The Year Honours For 2023.
Read below to learn details about these top stories and other happenings in the sporting world in the last 24 hours.
Football
Lionel Messi gets shortlisted for FIFA Best Men’s Player of Year award
The Argentine and Inter Miami star Lionel Messi has been named alongside Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe for the FIFA Best Men’s Player of the Year award for 2023, with performances from December 19, 2022 - a day after the FIFA World Cup 2022 final - to August 20, 2023, set to be counted. On the women’s side of things, Aitana Bonmati, Linda Caicedo and Jennifer Hermoso are finalists with the award to be given for performances from August 1, 2022, to August 20, 2023, which includes Spain’s FIFA Women’s World Cup victory.
Joao Pedro calls Brighton advancing to UEL round of 16 “best moment of his life”
Brighton qualified through to the round of 16 in the UEFA Europa League after defeating Marseille by 1-0 at the Falmer Stadium, thanks to an 88th-minute winner from Joao Pedro. Following a very emotional victory at home, the 22-year-old spoke to the media and said, “I'm very happy, these are the best moments of my life. Thank you to my team-mates, they always support me”.
Saudi Pro League official speaks about not making first move to sign Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in January
During a chat with Sky Sports, the Director of Football of the Saudi Pro League, Michael Emenalo stated that the initiative to sign Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in January to a club in the Middle Eastern country won’t come from them. When asked about whether he is ruling out a move in January for the Egyptian footballer, his response read, “We respect Liverpool and in this scenario, the initiative to do anything won't come from us. There has to be an aligned interest from all parties involved.”
Paris Saint-Germain interested in signing Casemiro from Manchester United: Reports
Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly interested in signing Casemiro from Manchester United ahead of the January transfer window as per the Sports Zone. Apart from the French giants, the 31-year-old could also move to Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League for a potential move worth over £15 million, while an unnamed Italian club are looking to bring him to the Serie A too.
Vinicius Jr joins Brazilian esports organisation LOUD as co-owner
Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr. joined the Brazilian esports organisation LOUD as their co-owner. The winger will now assist the organisation with content production and expanding educational initiatives created by the Vini Jr Institute. Not only this, but Vinicius will also produce an exclusive range of content for LOUD’s social media. The organisation, in an official release, said that by joining hands with the footballer, LOUD intends to ‘refocus on entertainment’s next generation’.
Some major results in football are as under:
UEFA Europa League 2023-24
West Ham United 2-0 SC Freiburg
Ajax 3-1 AEK Athens
Brighton 1-0 Marseille
Real Betis 2-3 Rangers
Union Saint-Gilloise 2-1 Liverpool
Roma 3-0 Sheriff
Bayer Leverkusen 5-1 Molde
UEFA Europa Conference League 2023-24
Lille 3-0 Kl Klaksvik
Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 Ballkani
Legia Warsaw 2-0 AZ Alkmaar
Zrinjski Mostar 1-1 Aston Villa
Aberdeen 2-0 Eintracht Frankfurt
Saudi Pro League 2023-24
Al-Fayha 0-4 Al-Ahli
Antim Panghal awarded Women’s Rising Star of the Year 2023 by UWW
The United World Wrestling (UWW) named Indian wrestler Antim Panghal the Women’s Rising Star of the Year 2023. The U20 women’s champion has had a stellar season and was able to overshadow the senior player Vinesh Phogat, who competes in the same category as hers, i.e. 53kg. Panghal kicked off the year with a silver medal at the Asian Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan. She lost the finale bout to Japan’s Akari Fujinami, who is running on an undefeated streak in her senior wrestling career.
Jannik Sinner named Most Improved Player Of The Year Honours For 2023
Jannik Sinner has been named the Most Improved Player of the Year. It is Sinner’s second ATP Award of 2023 after he won the Fans’ Favourite Award earlier this week. The Italian entered the 2023 season at No. 15 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, having clinched six tour-level trophies. The 22-year-old won four tour-level titles, including his maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown in Toronto and made it to the finals of the Nitto ATP Finals championship match. Earlier this week, Sinner’s coaches Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi won the Coach of the Year Award.
NBA
Boston Celtics 116-107 Clevland Cavaliers
Chicago Bulls 124-116 Miami Heat
Dallas Mavericks 101-119 Minnesota Timberwolves
Denver Nuggets 124-101 Brooklyn Nets
Portland Trail Blazers 114-122 Utah Jazz
