Manny Pacquiao received an early Christmas present on Wednesday as he advanced to the Finals of ESPN STAR Sports? Champion of Champions competition, an online poll that will decide the Sports Personality of the Year who made the biggest impact in the world of sport.
Pacquiao knocked out Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar in the semifinals after voting ended Wednesday morning. The world?s best pound-for-pound boxer will now face world No. 1 squash player Nicol David of Malaysia. David defeated another Indian cricketer in Sourav Ganguly in the other semifinal bracket. The Champion of Champions will be announced live on SportsCenter this December 31.
Prior to his victory over Tendulkar, Pacquiao outvoted Liverpool striker Fernando Torres of Spain in the quarterfinal round and motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi in the first round.
The initiative, led by ESPN STAR Sports? web site www.espnstar.com, in conjunction with Asia?s most popular sports news show SportsCenter, aims to garner public opinion to determine the individual who has gone beyond achievements and new levels of excellence to leave his mark on sports fans in 2008.
The ?People?s Choice? had a list of 16, which was pre-determined by fans across the region through forums, and the voting mechanism will be in the form of a knockout format. The sports personalities were drawn against each other in pairs through an open draw conducted LIVE on ESPN?s SportsCenter as well as live streaming on www.espnstar.com in November 28.
Other personalities who made the last 16 include football superstars Cristiano Ronaldo, F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, world No. 1 tennis player Rafael Nadal, cricket hero MS Dhoni, reigning National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Kobe Bryant, golf superstar Tiger Woods, Beijing Olympics record-breakers and headliners, Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt and air rifle sharp-shooter Abhinav Bindra, India?s first Olympic gold medallist in 28 years.
