The contest for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award promises to be one of the most competitive ever with the likes of Usain Bolt, Cristiano Ronaldo and Andy Murray vying for top honours.
Rafael Nadal is in contention for the 'World Sportsman of the Year' award alongside six-time Formula 1 World champion Lewis Hamilton, six-time World MotoGP champion Marc Mrquez and six-time FIFA World Footballer of the Year Lionel Messi.
Here are some of the other events -- in pictures -- that made news last week.
From soccer genius Lionel Messi to sprint king Usain Bolt, a shimmering array of the world's greatest sports stars are in the race for top honours at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards -- also called the 'Oscars of Sport' -- to be presented.
Lionel Messi and Antonela Roccuzzo turn heads with their stunning looks at the 2023 Laureus World Sports Awards
Centenarian sprinter Man Kaur, who has featured among the nominees for the prestigious 'Laureus World Best Sporting Moment of the Year 2017' Award, has sought the support of countrymen and sports enthusiasts around the world to vote for here in a global online poll.
He is the lone face of Indian sports in a high-profile gathering of international stars at the Laureus World Sports Awards and football skipper Bhaichung Bhutia on Monday said it is the ultimate honour to be in a crowd that features the likes of the legendary Sir Bobby Charlton, Boris Becker and Patrick Vieira.
Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia will rub shoulders with a host of yesteryear stars, including World Cup winner Marcel Desailly of France and former England winger Steve McManaman, in the Laureus Football Challenge charity match in Abu Dhabi on February 7.
Germany's Sebastian Vettel, the youngest four-time Formula One world champion in history at 26, was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, US swimmer Missy Franklin, at 18, became the youngest ever winner of the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award.
World tennis number one Roger Federer won the prestigious Laureus Sportsman of the Year award for a record fourth year in a row on Monday.
The ceremony will now be hosted by Hugh Grant, the Golden Globe-winning actor, though the organisers had earlier announced that the host will be Sharon Stone.
ODIs will remain relevant because World Cup is Olympics of cricket: Steve Waugh
Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva was named World Sportswoman of the Year.
Legendary pole vaulter Sergey Bubka reckons the 6.14m mark he set way back in 1994 still remains uneclipsed because his successors are not technically equipped enough.
Pole vault sensation Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis, crowned World Sportsman of the Year at the Laureus Awards, says no competitor in history could match him jump for jump.
Tennis ace Rafael Nadal pipped star footballers Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta to clinch the World Sportsman of the Year, whilst the World Cup winning Spanish football side expectedly walked away with the World Team of the Year trophy at the Laureus World Sports Awards night in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and British heptathlete Jessica Ennis won the Laureus World Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards on Monday following their success at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Roger Federer, Michael Schumacher and Tiger Woods are all in the running for a third Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award.
Rafael Nadal's dominance on the red claycourts in Paris is unmatched, the Spaniard picking up his 13th French Open trophy last year to match Roger Federer's 20 Grand Slam singles titles.
2012 Olympic gold medallist swimmer Missy Franklin was so inspired by the girls from Yuwa and the work done by the organisation that she kept in touch with the organisation and has recently accepted the invitation to join its board.
'The gold medal (in Tokyo) has motivated me in life to do even better. Performing well and ending up on podium will be my target in the World Championship (in July)'.
Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta find themselves competing against each other along with four other top sporting icons, including Rafael Nadal, for the 'World Sportsman of the Year' trophy at the prestigious Laureus Awards to be announced in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher was named Laureus world sportsman of the year for the second time.
A refugee team that competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics with 10 athletes from countries including Syria and South Sudan was named on Monday as winner of a Laureus Award for sporting inspiration.
Olympic gold medallist sprinter Usain Bolt was tonight named as the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for the second consecutive time in a glittering function at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi.
'I've just done everything I wanted to do in the sport'
World number one Novak Djokovic is considering going without a coach after 20 years in professional tennis, the Serb said after receiving the top men's honour at the Laureus awards.
Reigning F1 champ warns Bottas about Hamilton rivalry
As the curtains fall on another year, Rediff.com brings you all the action from the sports field that defined 2019.
Not only the senior team but the young Blue Colts also emerged victorious in the SAFF Men's U-19 champions after hammering Pakistan in the final and clinching a vigorous 3-0 victory.
Tennis is going through 'tricky' times amid the swirling 'rumours' of doping and betting, concedes Novak Djokovic but the World No.1 says he would not question the sport's integrity till the time concrete evidence is presented to prove wrongdoing.
India is leaving no stone unturned to succeed at the forthcoming World Cup, beginning February 19. While renowned sports psychologists, like Sandy Gordon and Rudi Webster, were hired in the past, it was interesting to see world-famous adventurer Mike Horn overseeing the team's preparations at the training camp in Bangalore on Thursday.
Calling Mahendra Singh Dhoni one of the best finishers in limited-overs game, cricket legend Kapil Dev has backed the Indian captain to continue leading the team in all three formats and said there should not be any question about his replacement.
The journey of Afghan cricket from the refugee camps to World Cup is nothing short of a fairytale.
West Indian legend Michael Holding has been impressed with the growth of fast bowling in India but rued the decline of the art in world cricket due to an overkill of the game.
Cricket's world champions Australia will have to fend off a tough challenge from the Iraqi football team which won the AFC Asian Cup for the Team of the Year title in the coveted Laureus World Sports Awards.
Former Australia captain Steve Waugh has no ambitions of coaching the Indian cricket team, at least not in the near future. 'It's a difficult job. You have to know the culture; there is a lot of expectation from the team,' he says.
Lance Armstrong and Roger Federer were nominated for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award.
Athletics legend Michael Johnson feels Usain Bolt has surpassed the likes of him and Carl Lewis by his sheer consistency and can easily be considered the 'greatest' track-and-field star in the world at this point.
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