South Korea’s former Manchester United star Park Ji-sung announced his retirement on Wednesday, ending a trailblazing career which made him Asia’s most decorated player.
Park, 33, said a long-running knee problem had finally forced him out of a sport in which he reached the 2002 World Cup semi-finals and became the first Asian to play a Champions League final.
The last game for the industrious and versatile midfielder was on May 3 for Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, where he had been on loan from Queens Park Rangers in the English Championship.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that I cannot go on any longer,” Park told a press conference in his hometown Suwon, around 45 kilometers (30 miles) south of Seoul.
“Because of my weak knee, I don’t think I could last another season,” he added.
Park underwent a major operation on his right knee in 2007 that kept him out of the game for eight months, and the joint continued to give him trouble for years afterwards.
“I have no regrets about my career,” he said. “I do think about what might have been if I hadn’t been injured, but I have no feelings of disappointment or sorrow as I leave the sport.”
His retirement ends a circular European adventure which started at PSV, before he joined Manchester United in 2005 and became the first Asian winner of the Uefa Champions League in 2008.
Park missed that Champions League final against Chelsea but the following year, he became the first Asian to play the European title match when United lost 2-0 to Barcelona.
Park, the first South Korean to play in the English Premier League, also picked up four league titles in a seven-year stint in which he became a favourite lieutenant of Sir Alex Ferguson.
He left in 2012 after 203 appearances and 27 goals, but the move to a rebuilding QPR proved ill-fated and the London club were relegated from the Premier League last year.
Park also played in three straight World Cups starting in 2002 when co-hosts South Korea made history with a shock run to the semi-finals, the best performance by an Asian team.
He is fondly remembered in that tournament for scoring the winner in the 1-0 victory over Portugal which took South Korea into the knockout stages for the first time.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
UPI facts
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More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
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Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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