Turkey’s Emre Sakçi made history, breaking his own and the European record in the men’s 50-metre and 100-metre breaststroke at the International Swimming League held in Budapest, Hungary. Sakçi is pictured celebrating his achievement at Turkey’s Ülker Stadium (Credit: Elif Öztürk/ Anadolu Agency)

Boxing

Two-time World champion Amir Khan will spearhead the development of boxing in the Middle East under the World Boxing Council (WBC) Middle East Continental Federation through tailored development projects in affiliated countries.

Khan, the current President of the newly formed WBC Middle East Boxing Council and senior Vice President Tahir will lead the project, said WBC President Mauricio Sulaimán. According to a statement, Khan will further commit to the long-term project when he moves with his family from his native home in Bolton, England, to the Middle East where he will oversee the work of his team as they embark on the landmark project.

Cricket

Misbah-ul-Haq has stood down as Pakistan’s chief selector but will continue as head coach. The former captain has combined both roles for the past 12 months, including during the tour of England in the summer.

Misbah said he had “thoroughly enjoyed both roles” but would focus on coaching in an attempt to manage his workload. The 46-year-old will select the squads for upcoming series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand before a new selector takes over on December 1.

Football

AC Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimović hinted at a possible return to the Swedish national football team on November 2. ‘Long time no see,’ Ibrahimović said on Twitter, alongside an old photo of him wearing Sweden’s yellow jersey. 39-year-old scored 7 goals for Milan to top the 2020-21 Italian Serie A goal scorers list.

Long time no see pic.twitter.com/1VQR3PMh4s

— Zlatan Ibrahimović (@Ibra_official) November 2, 2020

He quit the national team in 2016 after Sweden were eliminated from the UEFA EURO 2016 in the group stage. Ibrahimovic, a former Paris Saint-Germain forward, is still his nation’s all-time top goal scorer. He scored 62 goals in 116 caps for Sweden.

Mixed Martial Arts

UFC President Dana White, has insisted that Khabib Nurmagomedov will keep his lightweight title, revealing his hopes for the Russian Dagestani star to come out of retirement for one final fight.

Dana White confirms he's targeting Abu Dhabi for @DustinPoirier vs. @TheNotoriousMMA on Jan. 23 – but no title on the line: "Khabib's gonna fight."#UFC257 | Full interview: https://t.co/DLO6rlNabI pic.twitter.com/564iNAA3qQ

— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) November 18, 2020

The 32-year-old sensationally announced he will retire following dominant win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 on October 24, with the lightweight king revealing he cannot continue fighting without his late father, Abdulmanap, who died of Covid-19 this year. Nurmagomedov took his unblemished record to 29 wins after the win over Gaethje, and it was thought that he would target 30-0 before retiring, a record that his father wanted him to attain

Champions who retire typically vacate their belt, but White says that the title remains Nurmagomedov’s and that he believes the Dagestani may return to notch his thirtieth win.

Swimming

Turkish swimmer Emre Sakçi made history, breaking his own and the European record in the men’s 50-metre breaststroke as well as the 100-metre breaststroke. Sakçi broke the records on November 5 and 10. ‘Turkish swimmer @sakciemree [Emre Sakci] won in the 50M Breaststroke, setting a new European record of 25.29 seconds that was only 0.04 seconds away from breaking the world record (25.25)!,’the International Swimming League said on Instagram, covering the competition in Budapest, Hungary.

Sakci, 22, last month broke the record in the same competition with a time of 25.50. Before the race in Hungary, Sakçi wrote Izmir on his chest in honor of quake victims. After winning the breaststroke, Sakçi made a heart-shape hand gesture over the word Izmir on his chest to show his solidarity and support.In the 100m breastbone he finished with a time of 55.74 seconds, ahead of Ilya Shymanovich from Belarus. South Africa’s Cameron van der Burgh holds the world record in this category with 55.61 seconds.