Inbrief

SFI secretary-general Veerendra Nanavati expressed 8220;shock8221; at the reports about Xavier and said the swimmer had not been tested at all in Kathmandu. He said the Indian Olympic Association had made it mandatory for every athlete to get cleared of 8220;drug abuse8221; before leaving for Kathmandu. The tests were done by the Sports Authority of India.

Three Indian shuttlers make progress

DUISBURG: National champions P Gopi Chand, Aparna Popat and Nikhil Kanetkar have entered the pre-quarterfinals of the 50,000 German Open badminton tournament in Duisburg one of the qualifying tournaments for the Sydney Olympics.

Gopi Chand beat Vondre Jan Czech Republic 15-4, 15-1 and then overcame Neils Christian Kaldau Denmark 15-8, 9-15, 15-4. He now meets Ji Xinpeng China.

Aparna whipped Joanna Poland 11-0, 11-0 in the first round and now meets Wan Tin Ling Hong Kong. Kanetkar recorded a 15-8, 15-3 win over Denmark8217;s Martin Delfs and then beat Conrad Hueckstaedt Ger 15-8, 15-8 to make the last 16. Nikhil play second seed Thomas Johannson Sweden in the next round.Abhinn Shyam Gupta defeated Fumihiko Machida Japan in the first round before losing to Jason Wong Malaysia 10-15, 12-15. Sachin Ratti lost to James Chua Malaysia 12-15, 10-15 in the first round and Neelima Chaudhary lost 11-5, 4-11, 5-11 to Ukrainian Elena Npzdran.

Nine-member chess team for China

MUMBAI: A nine-member Indian team will be leaving for China to take part in the Asian Team Championships to be held at Shenyang from October 9 to 18.The team Men: K Sasikiran, Pravin Thipsay, Abhijit Kunte, GB Prakash, DV Prasad. Women: S Vijayalakshmi, Swati Ghate, Safira Shanaz and Bhagyashree Thipsay. Abhay Thipsay is the coach while SL Harsh is the manager.

Boxer says he pinched,8217; not bit rival

LONDON: British boxer Adrian Dodson said he has no regrets for being disqualified for biting Canada8217;s Alain Bonnamie in their Commonwealth middleweight title fight.

Dodson claimed he merely 8220;pinched8221; Bonnamie with his mouth and said he8217;s only sorry for the attention his actions received.

8220;My head was lodged between his midriff and protector when I pinched him with my mouth,8221; Dodson said. 8220;My gumshield is in two parts and cemented to my teeth and it was in my mouth the entire contest. It was Bonnamie8217;s gumshield that the referee retrieved from the floor and handed to my corner.8221;

Edmundo freed after night in prison

RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazilian soccer star Edmundo has been released after a night in prison as his lawyers won a further hearing into his four-and-half- year sentence for manslaughter. Edmundo had spent his first night behind bars at a local police station after earlier this week losing a first appeal against the semi-open sentence, imposed for his part in a fatal car accident.

Waugh slams 38-hour, five-nation trip

BULAWAYO, ZIMBABWE: Australian captain Steve Waugh slammed an airline sponsorship deal that forced his team to arrive exhausted in Zimbabwe after a 38-hour flight from Sri Lanka through five countries.

Waugh hinted he might refuse to embark on any more such marathon trips. 8220;I actually thought it was Wednesday but someone told me it was Thursday so that about sums it up at this stage.8221;

8212;ENS and Agencies

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