Beijing - The Colombian pro soccer player James Rodríguez stands out today as the main card of Latin America for the delivery of the Laureus Sports Awards, in the Chinese city of Shanghai on Wednesday.

Rodriguez is nominated in the category of Revelation of the Year, after winning the Golden Boot of the World Cup Brazil-2014, with six goals, and guide the selection of his country for the first time in history to the quarter-finals of a universal event.

In addition, Latin America has Argentinean soccer player Diego Milito between the candidates, nominated for Best Return.

After scoring two goals from the triumph of the Inter Milan (Italy) in the 2010 Champions League final against German Bayern Munich, Milito passed several years of injuries and won in his return to another club, the Racing de Avellaneda, in which he was formed as a player, the Argentine title for the first time in 13 years.

The region also has the Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina, first world champion of his country in the discipline and the second to win a title with only 20 years old, nominated for the category of Best Athlete in Action.

For his part, Spanish Marc Márquez, who retained the world title in MotoGP, Serbian Novak Djokovic and Britain's Lewis Hamilton, who won for the second time in Wimbledon and the world title of Formula one, respectively, stand out for the award for Best Male Athlete.

Along with Marquez, Hamilton and Djokovic (winner in 2012) other award aspirants, the French Renaud Lavillenie, pole vault world record holder, the Northern Ireland golfer Rory McIlroy, number one in the world, and Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo, last winner of the Golden Ball.

Among the ladies, American tennis player Serena Williams is the big favorite, after winning the Australia Open, her 19th Grand Slam, last January, to overcome her compatriots Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova (with 18 each), who had matched in 2014, to be awarded the United States Open.