Ashish Shelar appointed as MCA president
- BJP Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelar has been appointed as Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) president. He was elected as Vice President of MCA on 17 June 2015.
- Sylar takes over from the former ICC president Sharad Pawar.
Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri named as FIFA Coach of the Year 2016
- Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri has been named as the Coach of the Year at the FIFA Football Awards in Zurich.
- The Italian was up against Fernando Santos, who led Portugal to Euro 2016 glory in the summer, and Zinedine Zidane, who guided Real Madrid to the Champions League title last season.
FIFA council unanimously votes to expand the soccer world cup from 32 to 48 teams
- FIFA council unanimously votes to expand the soccer world cup from 32 to 48 teams; new schedule to be implemented from 2026 World Cup and thus the changes mark the first World Cup expansion since 1998.
- An initial stage of 16 groups of 3 teams will precede a knockout stage for the remaining 32 when the change is made for the 2026 tournament.
- The tournament will be completed within 32 days - a measure to appease European clubs, who objected to reform because of a crowded international schedule.
Mohd Faiz Subri Wins FIFA Puskas Award
- Malaysia’s Mohd Faiz Subri has won the Puskas Award of 2016 at the FIFA Best Football ceremony with with 59.5% votes, ahead of Marlone with 22.86%.
- He scored an outstanding, swerving free-kick for Penang against Pahang in the Malaysia Super League
- The award was named in honour of Real Madrid legend Ferenc Puskas.
Djokovic wins Qatar Open tennis title
- Novak Djokovic has won the Qatar Open tennis title. In an epic final in Doha, the Serbian defeated Andy Murray of UK by 6-3 5-7 6-4.
- Djokovic missed out on three match points and had to repel a roaring Murray comeback before ending the Briton's 28-match, five-tournament winning streak.
Sania wins Brisbane women's doubles title
- Indian tennis player Sania Mirza won her first title of the season Brisbane International women's doubles by combining with American Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
- The top-seeded Indo-American duo triumphed 6-2 6-3 against the second-seeded Russian team of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in the final.
- However, Sania's 91-week reign as the world No.1 doubles player in the WTA rankings. That position was taken over by her partner Bethanie.
Lloyd Wins The Best FIFA Women’s Player
- Carli Lloyd from USA has been named FIFA’s top female player of 2016 in world football for the second year in a row as in 2016, she scored 17 goals and had 11 assists in 21 games.
- Lloyd beat Brazil’s Marta and Germany’s Melanie Behringer for the honor.
Ronaldo Wins FIFA’s Player of the Year
- Cristiano Ronaldo won FIFA’s player of the year award for the fourth time, beating his old rival Lionel Messi as Messi was second and Frenchman Antoine Griezmann third.
- Ronaldo was rewarded for his performance in 2016 when he won the Champions League with his club Real Madrid and then Euro 2016 with Portugal.
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- Italian Claudio Ranieri won the coach of the year award.
Roberto Bautista Agut (Spain) won Chennai Open 2017
- Roberto Bautista Agut won the men’s singles title of the Chennai Open 2017 for the fifth time by defeating 20-year-old Daniil Medvedev (Russia) in the final on 8 January 2017.
- Medvedev was chasing his first ATP title while Agut had already won four singles titles including two in 2016 when he won in Sofia and Auckland.
Table tennis Olympic champion Li Xiaoxia announces retirement
- China's table tennis Olympic champion Li Xiaoxia has announced her retirement.
- She is the eighth table tennis Grand Slam winner in history with singles crowns from the 2008 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, 2012 Olympics in London and 2013 world championships in Paris.
