Belgian rider provisionally suspended over doping case

Published>Thu, Sep 09 10 12:37 AM

Belgian Roy Sentjens has been provisionally suspended over a possible doping case, cycling's world governing body (UCI) said on Wednesday.

UCI said in a statement that Sentjens, who was competing in the Tour of Spain with the Milram team, had returned an "adverse analytical finding" in an out-of competition 'A' test for the banned blood-booster EPO.

"The provisional suspension remains in force until a hearing panel convened by the Belgian Cycling Federation determines whether Mr Sentjens has committed an anti-doping rule violation," the statement added.

The 29-year-old was 49th in the overall Tour of Spain standings after stage 11.

A professional since 2002, Sentjens's most notable win was the Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne one-day Classic in 2003.

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Serbia stun holders Spain to reach semi-finals

Wed, Sep 08 10 11:57 PM

World championship dark horses Serbia upset holders Spain to reach the semi-finals on Wednesday with a heart-stopping 92-89 win secured by Milos Teodosic's three-pointer three seconds from time.

Teodosic, who otherwise had a poor shooting day, launched the winning shot with a Spanish defender in his face to send his team mates and a handful of Serbia fans into raptures.

"This is a fantastic win and we hope it's not our last, we now have to come down to earth quickly and prepare for the semi-final," Teodosic, who finished the game with 12 points and eight assists, told Serbian television.

"I didn't have a good game by my standards but I kind of made up for it with the final shot; it was a team effort and we wouldn't be here now if everyone hadn't performed," he said.

The Serbians, emphatically beaten by Spain in last year's European championship final, raced into a 23-13 lead in the first quarter and appeared set to avoid the late drama after leading 86-78 with four minutes left.

But the resilient Spaniards, led by Barcelona guard Juan Carlos Navarro who was the game's top scorer with 27 points, drew level with tight defence and several fast breaks.

With time running out and Serbia's last possession falling apart, Teodosic struck from nine metres and Spain, looking for a three-pointer to force overtime, lost the ball in the final three seconds.

"It was a mentally and physically exhausting battle, I feel great and I have to thank my team mates for playing their hearts out to make this happen," Serbia captain Nenad Krstic said.

Serbia will meet on Saturday either hosts Turkey or Balkan rivals Slovenia, who play later on Wednesday, for a place in Sunday's final.

Tournament favourites the U.S. play Russia and Lithuania take on Argentina in the other two quarter-finals on Thursday.

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Raid-de-Himalaya Rally from October 10

Wed, Sep 08 10 11:27 PM

Shimla, Sep 8 (PTI) A record number of 175 teams will participate in the 12th Raid-de-Himalaya, 2010 to be held from October 10-15. The six day long rally would be flagged off from Peter Hoff here and culminate at Manali on October 15, traversing 2500km, passing through Nalagarh, Solan, Manali and high altitude tribal areas of Kaza, Keylong, Sarchu. The Raid-de-Himalaya rally is being organised by the Department of Youth Services and Sports in collaboration with Federation of Motor Sports Club of India and Himalaya Motor Sports. 175 teams, including Teams like Thundervolt led by driver Suresh Rana, W+K Team led by driver Sunny Sidhu, champion of Moghul Rally and team of the Indian Army are also participating in the mega-event. In the X-treme Motorcycle category, Team Contiger of Austria has fielded six Motorcycle entrants, which also include woman biker Klaudia Honeder. Team W+K Racing''s Jonah Street, who was a Dakar 2010 top ten finisher was also participating in the event. V C Pharka, Principal Secretary (Youth services and Sports) said that foolproof safety and other arrangements would be made to make the rally a big success and directed all the concerned Departments to provide every possible assistance. The rally will concentrate in Spiti tribal area, known as cold deserts, for the most part driving past rough, bumpy and dusty roads around Kaza to provide scenic backdrops to this International Event. Due to the ongoing relief operations of the Army and the Administration in cloudburst hit area of Leh, the Rally would skip Leh and Laddakh area and culminate at Manali, Pharka added. The Himalayan Motorsport Association, the organisers of this event would contribute towards flood relief in cash and kind once the event concludes.

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Cricketers not guilty until proven: PCB chief

Published>Wed, Sep 08 10 11:17 PM

Islamabad, Sep 8 (IANS) Despite questioning them for over nine hours, the Scotland Yard could not press any charges against three Pakistani cricketers accused of spot-fixing and they cannot be held guilty 'unless something is proved', Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ijaz Butt said Wednesday.

Three Pakistani cricketers - captain Salman Butt and pacers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer - are being investigated on charges of spot-fixing during the Lords Test match.

Wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt have also been served notices on the Asia Cup match against Sri Lanka.

'Nobody can be held guilty unless something is proved,' Butt told the media after his return from London at Lahore's Quaid-i-Azam international airport, amidst booing by the general public gathered there.

Butt said the International Cricket Council (ICC) had replied to a letter by the PCB and 'the board is not planning to sue anybody on the match-fixing scandal at this stage'.

'The ICC has only suspended the three players temporarily and all of them will individually respond to these notices,' he said.

He urged the fans to disregard all the rumours and wait for the investigation to complete.

'We cannot take any action against the players before anything is proved,' he said, adding that there was no need for the PCB to initiate any parallel probe.

'The allegations have been leveled by a newspaper only,' he said while referring to the sting operation by the News of the World.

'Such things are part of the game and there is no big deal about it,' he said before being escorted to his vehicle by police, who were there to protect him from the wrath of angry slogan-chanting fans.

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Hayden calls for eradication of corrupt practices in cricket

Wed, Sep 08 10 11:07 PM

Melbourne, Sep 8 (PTI) Former Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden has called on the cricket fraternity to resolve in order to weed out the corrupt practices like match-fixing from the game. "If governments can''t control illegal gambling then what chance has a small organisation like the ICC got of making an impact on the global footprint of gambling. "The only way that you can build integrity into the sport is if players and administrators make the choice to reject corruption and choose integrity," Hayden told The Australian. "There is no other way. The decision has to be made by those in the trenches and those on the front line because there is not enough resources to do anything different," the left-hander added. International cricket has been rocked by a spot fixing scandal with Pakistan captain Salman Butt and pacer duo of Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir''s roles in the recent Lord''s Test against England coming under investigation by the Scotland Yard and ICC. The ICC has also sent an official notice to Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal telling him that he is under probe for allegedly fixing the Sydney Test.

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Aerostat for CWG opening ceremony unveiled

Published>Wed, Sep 08 10 11:01 PM

New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS) The aerostat, or helium-balloon, touted to be the star attraction at the opening ceremony of the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games was unveiled amidst heavy rain at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Wednesday.

The aerostat, worth Rs.40 crore, is 80m by 40m and 12m high. It was raised to a level of 10m above the base Wednesday and will be raised to its maximum height of 30m in the next two days.

Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi said the aerostat will be able withstand the rains, which has obstructed preparations for the Games.

'The aerostat is no ordinary balloon but a piece of technology, piece of art. Even during rains, it stands tall with no problems at all,' Kalamadi said in a press release.

The aerostat will be multi-purpose, with video content being projected on it, which will include animation and graphics and will be synchronised with the events that will take place during the opening ceremony.

The projection will be high-resolution and multi-dimensional. Some of the live events will also be projected on the aerostat. The aerostat will lift scenic elements and create dramatic effects.

'The USP of this aerostat is that it is used for projection in 360 degrees so every person in the stadium can view the entire effect of the aerostat,' Viraf Sarkari, director of Wizcraft International Entertainment, said.

There will be light fixtures with mirrors which will be fixed on the belly of the balloon and this will emit a warm glow.

Competition Manager for Athletics, C. K. Valson, said the athletic track at the stadium has received Class 1 certification, making it the first one in India to receive it and among the very few in Asia.

He said the ongoing rains would not affect the track and that it has been covered completely. He said he expected new records to be made on this track.

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ICC pitch consultant inspects Motera stadium for 2011 WC

Wed, Sep 08 10 10:51 PM

Ahmedabad, Sep 8 (PTI) ICC pitch consultant Andy Atkinson today inspected the Sardar Patel stadium at Motera here for its preparedness for the Test match between India and New Zealand in November and for the Cricket World Cup in 2011. Atkinson arrived in the city this afternoon and examined the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) owned stadium. According to GCA secretary Rajesh Patel, Atkinson was happy with the arrangements at the stadium. "Atkinson inspected the outfield, pitch and other parts of the stadium. He was happy with the arrangements. He even appreciated our efforts as the stadium was flooded during heavy rains last month," Patel told PTI. Atkinson was apprised of the ground conditions by Patel as well as the pitch curator Dhiraj Parsana. Sardar Patel stadium is venue for three matches (in Feb-Mar 2011) during the 2011 World Cup including a quarter final match. The stadium is also scheduled to host the first Test match between India and New Zealand between November 4-8. More PTI PB PD AMA AT

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