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In the footballing world, CONMEBOL announced the 14 host cities for COPA America 2024. Continuing in the USA, Argentina great Lionel Messi was named the Time magazine 'Athlete of the Year' for 2023. Moving up north in the continent, Canadian great Christine Sinclair announced retirement from international football.
Read below to learn details about these top stories and other happenings in the sporting world in the last 24 hours.
14 US cities to host Copa America 2024
Copa America 2024 will be played across 14 cities in the U.S.A with the final at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The semi-finals will be at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and the other at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The quarterfinals will be in Arlington, Houston, Las Vegas and Glendale. The other host cities are Atlanta, Las Vegas, Orlando, Santa Clara, Inglewood, Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas.
Time Magazine names Lionel Messi as 'Athlete of the Year' for 2023
Time Magazine named Argentina and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi the 'Athlete of the Year' for 2023. The accolade comes after Messi won the Ballon d'Or for a record-extending eighth time. Talking after winning the award, Messi said: "The truth is that fortunately, I had several options on the table that were interesting, and I had to analyse them and think, even weigh them up with my family, before making the final decision to come to Miami."
Canada legend Sinclair announces retirement from international football
Christine Sinclair bid adieu to international football on Tuesday with one final match against Australia. Sinclair concluded a magical career as she played a crucial cog in the Canadian national women's team which won the Olympic gold. In her final game, the Maple Leaves registered a 1-0 win over Australia.
Inter Milan's de Vrij and Dumfries out with muscle injuries
Inter Milan lost the Dutch defence duo of Stefan de Vrij and Denzel Dumfries with muscle injuries. The Nerrazurri confirmed the development after Sunday's 3-0 victory in Napoli. Both players started against the defending champions but centre-half De Vrij was substituted early in the game. Then after the game, full-back Dumfries hobbled off the field. As per media reports, the duo are sidelined for around 20 days.
Major football results:
Premier League:
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 - 0 Burnley
Luton Town 3 - 4 Arsenal F.C
La Liga:
Celta Vigo 1 - 1 Cadiz
Serie A:
Torino 3 - 0 Atalanta
I’d have probably won one if Liverpool were owned by nation-state: Jamie Carragher responds to Pep Guardiola’s comments
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher responded to Pep Guardiola's comments and said that he would have won if Liverpool were owned by a nation-state. The comment came in response to Manchester City, owned by the City Football Group. Carragher took to Twitter and said, “I think I’d have probably won one if Liverpool were owned by a nation-state, and pushed the rules so far that the PL charged us 115 times!! I was actually praising Pep’s team after the game on Sunday” Notably, City are facing 115 charges from the Premier League for breaching financial regulations from the 2009-10 season.
Gabriel Martinelli celebrates with his father after Arsenal’s win over Luton in seven-goal thriller
Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli celebrated with his father after their 4-3 win against Luton at Kenilworth Road. Gabriel Martinelli netted the first goal for his side, which gave the North London side a lead over their counterparts 20th minute into the game.
After the victory, Martinelli ran to his father and celebrated his side’s first triumph at Luton since 1986. He posted the celebration video on his social media, and captioned it, “A goal and a last minute winner with your Dad in the away end? Perfect” Rice, who scored the 97th minute goal for his side said, "To score in the last minute and keep the momentum building, it's massive for us. Those are the moments you look back on. What a game. To score the winner is an honour."
Shooting
National-level shooter loses left thumb after pistol's gas cylinder explosion
A national-level shooter, Pushpender Kumar, a corporal with the Indian Air Force, lost his left thumb while practicing. While practicing, Kumar was filling the 10m air pistol cylinder with compressed air, when the cylinder exploded. The incident happened at the shooting range for the National Championships, where Pushpender is training.
The NRAI Senior Vice President Kalikesh Singhdeo said in a statement, "While the NRAI has no involvement in his training at the range, we are deeply concerned and wish the shooter a speedy recovery. General safety guidelines provided by the ISSF (International Shooting Sports Federation) and manufacturers should be strictly adhered to by shooters and range officials. Care should be taken to not use old cylinders, past its validity date or fill excessive gas.”
Badminton
PV Sindhu recalls sustaining knee injury during 2023 French Open
Ace Indian badminton player PV Sindhu recalled her knee journey that she sustained during the 2023 French Open tournament. In an exclusive interview with First Sports, she said, “I was playing in France against Supanida from Thailand. It was the pre-quarterfinals. In the first game, everything was going on well. In the end, I think at 18-20, I hard a sound in my knee, maybe it was just normal, sand I continued to play the rally. I won the first game. Of course, when I obviously changed courts, I was feeling a bit uncomfortable, I didn’t know what was happening.”
Tennis
Rafael Nadal to enter Brisbane International without any expectation
Spanish tennis wizard Rafael Nadal said that he will enter Brisbane International 2024 without any expectations. He said in a video, "I have been afraid to announce things because in the end it's [been] a year without competing and it's a hip operation. But what worries me most is not the hip, it's everything else. I think I'm ready and I trust and hope that things go well and that it gives me the opportunity to enjoy myself on the court.
"I hope to feel again those nerves, that illusion, those fears, those doubts. I expect myself not to expect anything. This is the truth. To have the ability not to demand from myself what I have demanded throughout my career. I believe I'm in a different moment, in a separate situation and in an unexplored terrain.”
