■ SAILING
Simon Daubney cleared
The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) cleared four-time America's Cup-winning crew member Simon Daubney of a doping ban following a positive drug test. The ISAF backed up the Swiss Olympic Association's ruling, which said that the New Zealand resident had "not infringed the anti-doping rules and that the chamber has withdrawn any sanctions." Daubney was facing up to a two-year ban. Daubney, who helped Alinghi win its second straight America's Cup trophy in July, quit the Swiss syndicate in September. He denied knowingly taking a banned substance. The case was the first failed doping test in America's Cup history.
■ SKATING
Kristina Groves triumphs
Kristina Groves won a 1,500m speedskating race in Baselga Di Pine, Italy, on Saturday to strengthen her hold on second place in the overall World Cup standings. Groves finished in 2 minutes, 1.07 seconds, ahead of Martina Sabilkova of the Czech Republic in 2:02.93. Canada's Christine Nesbitt was third, 0.05 behind Sabilkova. Nesbitt retained the overall lead with 490 points. Groves is second with 450 points and Anni Friesinger of Germany, who finished ninth in Saturday's race, is third overall with 312 points. There is one more 1,500m race left in the season. The men's 5,000m was canceled as a result of bad weather.
■ BOBSLED
Matthias Hoepfner wins
Matthias Hoepfner won his first two-man bobsled race of the season in the World Cup at Koenigsee, Germany, on Saturday. The German, who couldn't make the cut for the Germany team early in the season, put together the fastest first heat of 50.06 seconds with pusher Alexander Mann. He completed both runs in 1 minute, 39.85 seconds. "Everything just fit," Hoepfner said. "My mama has her birthday today, I couldn't give her a better gift." Germans Andre Lange and Kevin Kuske, the Olympic and world champions, took second in 1:39.92 with Pierre Lueders and Lascelles Brown of Canada third in 1:40.05. Lange leads the season standings with 1,482 points.
■ LUGE
Huefner sets record
Tatjana Huefner set a World Cup record on Saturday by winning her fifth-straight luge race in Altenberg, Germany. The 24-year-old Huefner timed 1 minute, 47.290 seconds to lead a sweep for Germany in the women's singles race. Silke Kraushaar-Pielach was next in 1:47.611, followed by Natalie Geisenberger in 1:47.652. "Tatjana is really in top form this season -- nothing bothers her," said Sylke Otto, two-time Olympic champion. Kraushaar-Pielach could draw level with Otto's career record of 37 World Cup victories if she wins the last two races in Latvia. Huefner, who is chasing her first World Cup title, leads the standings with 536 points.
■ BOXING
Amir Khan retains title
British Olympic silver medalist Amir Khan retained his Commonwealth lightweight title with a unanimous points win over Australian Gairy St Clair in London on Saturday. Khan was taken the distance by the former IBF world super-featherweight champion and then declared that he wants to win a world title this year at the age of 21. "I've done 12 rounds there against a world class opponent," Kahn told ITV Sport at ringside after repelling a late St Clair flurry. "I want to become a world champion this year."
■ FIELD HOCKEY
France rebound to beat US
Frederic Soyez scored five goals as France rebounded from an opening loss to Ireland to beat the US 7-4 at an Olympic qualifying tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, yesterday. Soyez kept alive France's slim hopes of winning the six-nation tournament, from which only the winner will qualify for the Beijing Olympics. Meanwhile, Mati Vila and Lucas Vila each scored two goals as tournament favorites Argentina beat Trinidad and Tobago 7-1 in their second round match. Rodri Vila, Lucas Rossi and Fernando Zylberberg also scored goals for Argentina. New Zealand beat Ireland 3-1 in a crucial match which could well decide which of those teams opposes Argentina in the tournament final next Sunday.
■ CRICKET
Cook sets up England win
Alastair Cook blasted an unbeaten century as England cruised to an easy seven wicket victory over Canterbury in the second match of their tour of New Zealand yesterday. Cook thumped 138 not out from 140 balls to steer England to victory with more than seven overs to spare in Christchurch, New Zealand. England opened their tour with a comfortable win over Canterbury on Saturday and the victories will have given them confidence ahead of this week's two Twenty20 matches against New Zealand. England restricted Canterbury to 218 for nine from their 50 overs. One-day captain Paul Collingwood was the best of the English bowlers, capturing three wickets, while James Anderson collected two scalps.
■ BADMINTON
Judges made errors: official
Some line judges were guilty of making calls before the shuttlecock hit the floor at the recent Korean Open, Badminton World Federation (BWF) events manager Venu Mahalingam said yesterday. However, the world governing body said it still had faith in the standard of South Korean line judges and would continue to stage big tournaments in the country. Last month's Korean Open was marred by a series of controversial line calls. "The problem is that some of the line judges at the Korean Open were ex-players and they are sometimes over confident when it comes to making calls," Mahalingam said. "Having been players, they think they know where the shuttle is going to land and often they raise their hand before it has even reached the floor."
■ SOCCER
Draft dodgers indicted
South Korean prosecutors yesterday indicted 92 soccer players for deliberately damaging their bodies in a bid to dodge compulsory military service, a report said. The players dislocated their shoulders by using dumb-bell exercises to get orthopedic operations which helped them justify their absence from service in 2006 and last year, Yonhap news agency said. After making themselves physically unfit for the military, six were completely exempted from service while 86 were allowed to do community service at state offices instead, the report said. Some of the soccer players ruptured muscles to help dislocate the shoulder, the report added. It did not disclose the names of the indicted players, but said they included 15 former and incumbent players from the country's top professional league, with others from minor and amateur leagues. An orthopedist, identified only by his family name Yoon, who did the surgery has been also indicted over the scam.
North Korea’s FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup-winning team on Saturday received a heroes’ welcome back in the capital, Pyongyang, with hundreds of people on the streets to celebrate their success. They had defeated Spain on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the U17 World Cup final in the Dominican Republic on Nov. 3. It was the second global title in two months for secretive North Korea — largely closed off to the outside world; they also lifted the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in September. Officials and players’ families gathered at Pyongyang International Airport to wave flowers and North Korea flags as the
Taiwan’s top table tennis player Lin Yun-ju made his debut in the US professional table tennis scene by taking on a new role as a team’s co-owner. On Wednesday, Major League Table Tennis (MLTT), founded in September last year, announced on its official Web site that Lin had become part of the ownership group of the Princeton Revolution, one of the league’s eight teams. MLTT chief executive officer Flint Lane described Lin’s investment as “another great milestone for table tennis in America,” saying that the league’s “commitment to growth and innovation is drawing attention from the best in the sport, and we’re
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For King Faisal, a 20-year-old winger from Ghana, the invitation to move to Brazil to play soccer “was a dream.” “I believed when I came here, it would help me change the life of my family and many other people,” he said in Sao Paulo. For the past year and a half, he has been playing on the under-20s squad for Sao Paulo FC, one of South America’s most prominent clubs. He and a small number of other Africans are tearing across pitches in a country known as the biggest producer and exporter of soccer stars in the world, from Pele to Neymar. For
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