Yearender: World sports 2016 year in review

Following are the top world sports news items in 2016 selected by Xinhua News Agency (in time sequence):

1. FIFA PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Gianni Infantino, 45, beat Sheikh Salman of Bahrain, Prince Ali of Jordan and Jerome Champagne of France to become the ninth president the world football governing body FIFA on Feb. 26. The law graduate replaced 79-year-old Sepp Blatter to become the second Swiss to run the 112-year organization, with a four-year term running until 2019. Before the election, the FIFA Congress had passed a set of reforms intended to make the organization more transparent. The reforms include a term limit; Infantino will be the first FIFA chief to serve no more than three terms. In December, Blatter lost his appeal against a six-year ban for ethics violations, imposed amid the corruption scandal that rocked the organization.

2. MACHINE'S VICTORY OVER HUMAN IN GO GAME

Google's artificial intelligence program AlphaGo nabbed a 4-1 victory over South Korean Go master Lee Se-dol in a five-round showdown from March 9 to 15. It was the first time that computer program defeated a top professional Go player. Go is a board game that originated in China more than 2,500 years ago. It is arguably the most creative and complicated board game in the world.

3. KOBE BRYANT'S RETIREMENT

Kobe Bryant wrapped up 20 NBA seasons on April 13 with 60 points in his final game for the Los Angeles Lakers, playing against the Utah Jazz. The 37-year-old has five championship rings to his name, two MVP titles, 18 All-Star selections and two Olympic gold medals. On June 24, Bryant held a special retirement ceremony in Beijing.

4. LEICESTER CITY'S FAIRYTALE WIN IN ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Leicester City nailed the English Premier League title for the first time in their 132-year history on May 2, with two games left to play. Relegation threatened last season, Leicester started the season as 5,000-1 outsiders and ended it as only the sixth team to lift the trophy in the league's history.

5. LEGENDARY BOXER MUHAMMAD ALI' S DEATH

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali died on June 4, at the age of 74 after battling the Parkinson's disease for 32 years. Ali was a record three-time heavyweight world champion between 1964 and 1978 and was considered one of the greatest athletes in the 20th century. More than just a boxer, Ali fought both his disease and racial discrimination over the course of his long career. He was the final torchbearer at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, lighting the cauldron at the opening ceremony.

6. PORTUGAL'S FIRST EUROPEAN TITLE

Portugal stunned hosts France 1-0 to win their first ever European Championship. And they did it the hard way, losing top star and captain Cristiano Ronaldo to a knee injury in the 25th minute of the final. At Euro 2016, the number of participants in the final stage of the continental soccer tournament increased from 16 to 24 teams.

7. DOPING SCANDALS

Russia was accused of state-backed doping in July in a report authored by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren, an independent investigator appointed by the World Anti-Doping Agency, who said in the second part of the report in December that more than 1,000 Russians were involved in or benefiting from doping violations.

Russia vigorously denied the charges, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had ruled against a blanket ban over Russia from the Rio Olympics. IOC President Thomas Bach recently threatened life-time bans for doping violators. The IOC would eventually retest all 254 urine samples taken from Russian athletes that participated in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

In September, a hacker group known as 'Fancy Bears' leaked records of "therapeutic use exemptions" for many athletes. They alleged that "dozens of American athletes had tested positive" and said athletes were permitted to take prohibited products for supposedly therapeutic reasons.

8. NEW SPORTS ADDED TO 2020 OLYMPICS

The IOC voted unanimously on August 3 to add five more sports to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: karate, sports climbing, surfing, skateboarding, baseball and softball.

9. FIRST OLYMPICS AND PARALYMPICS IN SOUTH AMERICA

The curtain fell on the first Olympic Games in South America on August 21 in Rio de Janeiro, when IOC president Bach closed the "marvelous Games in the marvelous city."

The Rio Olympics featured the first refugee team, saw American swimmer Michael Phelps raise his Olympic medal tally to 28, including 23 gold, and the Jamaican 'lightning' Usain Bolt snatch three gold medals on the track for the third Olympics in a run. The United States topped the medals table, followed by Britain in second, with China in third. China came in second in the overall medal tally, with 70 medals in total.

At Paralympics that ran from September 7 to 18, China stood atop the gold medals tally and the overall standings for the fourth time running.

10. COLOMBIA AIR CRASH

A charter plane carrying Brazilian Serie A soccer team Chapecoense crashed in the Colombian mountains, killing 71 people. Nineteen Chapecoense players lost their lives in the tragedy. The team were on their way to face Atletico Nacional of Medellin in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final. At Atletico Nacional's request, South American soccer authorities awarded the Copa Sudamericana trophy to Chapecoense in honor of the team. Endit