A SPORTS journalist from Sale has made history as the first non-Russian recipient of a prestigious international media award.

Daniel Etchells, 27, a reporter with insidethegames.biz, an Olympic, Commonwealth and Paralympic Games news site, has been crowned Sambo Journalist of the Year.

He received the award from Vasily Shestakov, president of the International Sambo Federation, during a World Cup event in Moscow at the weekend.

Daniel has built up a reputation for his in-depth coverage of Sambo, a prospective Olympic martial art favoured by Russian president Vladmir Putin.

He is the first person outside of Russia to win the accolade.

The former Ashton-on-Mersey School student said: “It’s a real honour to receive this award, especially from the FIAS president Vasily Shestakov.

“Having covered several Sambo events since joining insidethegames.biz, it’s become clear to me that the sport has very big ambitions.

“Sambo is striving to one day feature on the Olympic programme and if my coverage of the sport can help towards achieving that goal in any way, shape or form, I’d be delighted.”

Daniel graduated from the University of Huddersfield with a BA honours degree in Media and Sports Journalism in 2010 and received his NCTJ qualification from News Associates in Manchester in 2011.

After a stint with national sports editorial freelance agency Wardle Whittell and undergoing placements with Manchester United, MEN and BBC Sport, Daniel joined the insidethegames.biz team in 2014.

He has covered Sambo events in Zagreb, Baku, Morroco, Moscow and even Manchester.

Sarah Bowron, managing director of insidethegames.biz, said she was delighted that Daniel has been rewarded for his hard work.

“To be internationally recognised at such a young age is a great achievement,” she said.

“We are all very proud of Daniel.”