As we move towards the close of another hectic, controversial, spectacular, worrying (please employ another five or so random adjectives of your choice, to taste) sporting year it is clear that we have had some very obvious highs and, yes, some very clear lows.

The ancient stories told by the people of Australia tell us that even though we are far away, we are

go to the netball final at the Gold Coast Games, where England beat the home world number one team Australia

Hosts Australia topped the medal table with swimmer Mitch Larkin winning five golds ©Getty ImagesEngland's

leading the men's marathon ©Getty ImagesEngland won a dramatic last-gasp netball gold against hosts Australia

World Sailing have opened the bidding process for the Youth Sailing World Championships in 2021 and 2022, they have announced.

sailors.Notable past winners include Olympic medallists Ben Ainslie from Great Britain, Elise Rechichi from Australia

The International Wheelchair Rugby Federation (IWRF) will liaise with World Rugby in the New Year to develop a strategic plan as it seeks to introduce itself to Asian multi-sport events in the next four years.

chairman of World Rugby ©IWRFJapan are the current wheelchair rugby world champions, shocking hosts Australia

Australian Olympic taekwondo champion Lauren Burns has asked her fellow athletes for help in gaining a postgraduate qualification.

says completing the survey will help athletes plan for the future.The governing body of taekwondo in Australia

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has signed a partnership agreement with sports technology and management company Global Sports Commerce (GSC) for a duration of four years.

in Singapore, GSC has a worldwide presence with offices in 16 cities, across 10 countries including Australia

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) have confirmed the 12 qualified nations for the second edition of their Premier12 event.

Taipei and Cuba secured places at the event, as the top five teams in the current rankings.Mexico, Australia

Canada, France, Japan and hosts Britain will contest the second edition of the Wheelchair Rugby Quad Nations in March.

winner of the Quad Nations when the tournament debuted in March, after they saw off the challenge of Australia

Belgium have topped the men's International Hockey Federation (FIH) world rankings for the first time after winning the World Cup yesterday.

beating England 8-1 at the World Cup to win the bronze medal ©Getty ImagesSitting in second is now Australia

Belgium have won the International Hockey Federation Men’s World Cup for the first time with a dramatic shoot-out victory over The Netherlands in Bhubaneswar.

 Earlier in the day, the bronze medal was claimed by former world champions Australia, who obliterated

The United States dominated the final day of action at the International Swimming Federation (FINA) World Short Course Championships in Hangzhou, winning six of the 10 scheduled finals.

set by the Dutch in 1:34.24, but they could not match that this time, settling for silver in 1:34.55.Australia

Belgium will play The Netherlands in the final of the International Hockey Federation Men's World Cup in Bhubaneswar in India after two contrasting last four ties today.

Kalinga Stadium, before European gold medallists The Netherlands surpassed the defending champions Australia

The second semi-final between The Netherlands and Australia was a repeat of the last final in 2014.In

So while today's two winners will go head-to-head for gold tomorrow, England and Australia will also

Such is the high standard of swimming on show at the International Swimming Federation's World Short Course Championships in Hangzhou, after four days of action today was the first not to feature a world record.

China win the women's 4x200m freestyle relay ©Getty ImagesSilver went to Thomas Fraser-Holmes from Australia

breaststroke.She finished just in front of Katie Meili from the US who touched the wall in 1:03.63, while Australia

Britain's Sochi 2014 gold medallist Kelly Gallagher and France's quadruple Pyeongchang 2018 champion Marie Bochet maintained their dominant form on the second day of the World Para Alpine Skiing Europa Cup in St Moritz.

both runs, posting times of 55.87sec and 1mim 01.43 sec to earn 77.64 points.Melissa Perrine of Australia

In the New Year, former television executive Susanna Dinnage succeeds Richard Scudamore at the helm of what she describes as "the pinnacle of professional sport". When it was announced, her appointment to head the Premier League was widely welcomed.

 In light of the success of the Women's Big Bash in Australia, the authorities in India could do