Man U to announce record revenues
london: Football giants Manchester United are set to announce record revenues of around £420 million ($676 million, 523 million euros) for last season when they publish their annual results on Wednesday. Figures are also expected to include £25m in profit, aided by worldwide sales of two million replica shirts. The results should also include details of the pay-off to former manager David Moyes, sacked less than one season after succeeding long-serving and multiple trophy-winning boss Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford. However, this set of accounts is not expected to include the scale of losses incurred as a result by the club’s failure to qualify for lucrative European tournaments as a result of finishing an unusually lowly seventh in the English Premier league last season.
Book to tell the Pistorius story
New Delhi: With the judgement in the Oscar Pistorius trial slated to be delivered tomorrow, a new book seeks to go beyond the facts of the case in search of a wider context behind the shocking tragedy and motive of the ‘Blade Runner’ in murdering his model girlfriend last year. “Behind The Door: The Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp Story” by South African journalists Mandy Wiener and Barry Bateman explores the characters involved, relates courtroom interactions and unpacks the forensic and circumstantial evidence. The book, brought out by Pan Macmillan India, has details of what happened on that fateful night of February 14, 2013 when double-amputee Pistorius shot dead Steenkamp at his house near Pretoria and the trial that followed. It is likely to hit the bookstores in the first week of October and will also incorporate details of the verdict.
Boxing India elections today
Mumbai: Close to two years after the national federation’s suspension sent Indian boxing into a downward tumble, a fresh beginning is all set to be made tomorrow with the conduct of elections to form a new governing body even though the run up to the polls has been marred by controversies. Boxing India, the preliminary body recognised by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) as India’s representative, will be conducting the election, the build-up to which has been marred by allegations of manipulation. The body, which will take shape after tomorrow’s voting, will be called Boxing India instead of the previous Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF), terminated earlier this year after a suspension dating back to December 2012. Two AIBA observers — legal manager Cliodhna Guy and India’s representative in the world body Kishan Narsi — will oversee the proceedings and submit a report which would decide the fate of Boxing India. The proceedings will be video-recorded to avoid any unsavoury phase of allegations after voting.
Al-Amin’s action suspected
Dubai: Just a day after ace Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal was handed a bowling ban for illegal action, Bangladesh pacer Al-Amin Hossain has been reported for chucking during his side’s 10-wicket loss against West Indies in St Vincent. With new and stringent rules in place, the International Cricket Council (ICC) is sure cracking the whip on defaulters with three off-spinners including Ajmal, Zimbabwe’s Prosper Utseya and Bangladesh’s Sohag Gazi reported for suspect action last month. like all the others, Hossian must undergo testing within 21 days though he is permitted to continue bowling in international cricket until the results of the testing are unknown, explained an ICC media release.
Women wrestlers also draw blank
Tashkent: After a disappointing show by the Indian men in freestyle category, the women grapplers also failed to make their presence felt with Commonwealth Games silver medallist Sakshi Malik (60kg) bowing out of the FIlA World Championships in the quarterfinal here on Wednesday. Other Indians in the fray on Wednesday — Priyanka Singh, Pooja Dhanda and Suman Kundu — also crashed out of the prestigious tournament after losing in the initial round of their respective bouts. Sakshi was the lone Indian wrestler who could clear the first hurdle after she defeated Anta Sambou of Senegal 4-1 in the Round of 16 to advance to the quarterfinals. But her elation was short lived as she went down 1-3 to Finland’s Petra Maarit Olli in the round of eight.
Manavjit misses out on final berth
Granada (Spain): Indian shooters failed to impress on the third day of competitions in the 51st Shooting World Championship as trap ace Manavjit Singh Sandhu missed out on a final berth by a whisker while Rahi Sarnabot and Anisa Sayyed disappointed in women’s 25-m pistol here on Wednesday. Former world champion Manavjit, having produced excellent shooting over the past couple of days, lost in the shoot-out after managing 23 in the last qualification.
Judgement day for Pistorius
Pretoria: “Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius appears in court on Thursday to face judgement over the killing of his model girlfriend, ending a six-month trial that turned the amputee’s private life into a global spectacle. The 27-year-old celebrity athlete faces life behind bars — and notoriety that would eclipse his athletic achievements — if found guilty of deliberately killing lover Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013. Judge Thokozile Masipa’s ruling, on charges of murder and three firearms offenses, will likely be laid out in two days of careful legal argument and then a final verdict, perhaps on Friday.
UEFA unsure about Euro 2020 bids
Nyon (Switzerland): UEFA has raised concerns about Israel’s and Russia’s capacity to host matches for the 2020 European Championship because of the political instability in both countries. UEFA will choose 13 host cities across Europe for the tournament at a Sept. 19 meeting of its executive committee. It must decide on whether to pick St. Petersburg and Jerusalem among the hosts. In its evaluation report of the bids published Wednesday, UEFA said that the political situation in Israel is “complex” and acknowledged Russia’s political situation as “increasingly complex.” A UEFA ruling in July stopped Israel from playing international matches in the country during the conflict with Hamas militants in Gaza. Russia, which will host the 2018 World Cup, has been widely criticized for its involvement in the Ukraine crisis.
IOC, Interpol to fight fixing
lausanne: Olympic officials are increasing their collaboration with Interpol to combat match-fixing and illegal betting. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach met on Wednesday with Ronald Noble, secretary general of the international police agency. The IOC says the talks focused on “the risks related to the manipulation of competitions, intelligence gathering, the conducting of investigations and prosecution procedures.” The IOC says Interpol’s expertise in investigations and intelligence is “critical.” The two bodies signed a memorandum of understanding in January. Bach called on all governments, police authorities and betting regulators to join the effort. The IOC recently set up the “Integrity Betting Intelligence System” to monitor any suspicious betting patterns during the Olympics or other sports events.