Aus beat UAE 2-0; in final
Newcastle (Australia): Australia remained on course for its maiden Asian Cup title after defeating United Arab Emirates 2-0 in a semifinal at Newcastle Stadium on a wet Tuesday. Playing in Newcastle for the first time in almost 20 years, the Socceroos took a firm grip on the contest when defenders Trent Sainsbury and Jason Davidson punched in their first international goals inside the first 15 minutes. Australia march on to the final against South Korea at Sydney on Saturday, when the host hopes to go one step better than its 2011 final loss to Japan.
Delhi Open from Feb 16
New Delhi: The second edition of the Delhi Open, a combined tennis event for men and women, will be held here from February 16, DlTA announced on Tuesday. The $125,000 ATP Challenger tournament is likely to feature players such as Australia’s James Duckworth (world number 120) and Japan’s Yuichi Sugita (world number 136) apart from a host of Indian players, led by defending champion Somdev Devvarman. Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni who are competing in the Hong Kong Challenger this week, will also be seen in action. Vishnu Vardhan, by the virtue of his title win at the 2014 Fenesta National hard court championship, will get a wild card entry into the main draw. Prerena Bhambri will get a wild card entry into the $25,000 ITF women’s event.
Dutch FA chief vs Sepp
The Hague: In the biggest challenge yet to Sepp Blatter, Dutch football association leader Michael van Praag entered the FIFA presidential election race on Monday. Van Praag became the first would-be Blatter opponent to announce he has the required nominations from five of FIFA’s 209 member federations. “It’s widely known that I’m very worried about FIFA,” Van Praag said in a statement. The Netherlands association said in a statement that Van Praag will send his official candidacy letter along with five declarations of support from unnamed federations to FIFA headquarters on Tuesday.
No Saudi-Bahrain Joint Bid
london: The IOC has dismissed a suggestion by a Saudi Arabian official that the ultraconservative nation could seek to co-host the Olympics with neighboring Bahrain and hold men’s and women’s events in separate countries. Prince Fahad bin Jalawi Al Saud, an international relations consultant to the president of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee, told a French Olympic website that resolutions passed by the IOC last month open the door for a potential joint bid with men’s events on Saudi territory and women’s competitions in Bahrain. But IOC President Thomas Bach says in a statement that Saudi Arabia would be ineligible to bid unless it complies with rules on non-discrimination against women in sports.
Swimmer fails drug test
Seoul: South Korea’s four-time Olympic swimming medallist Park Tae-hwan has failed a dope test, local media reported on Monday. But his management were quick to blame an injection given to the national pin-up by a local doctor. Park received chiropractic treatment at a local hospital prior to last year’s Asian Games, when he was given an injection that contained a banned substance, news agency Yonhap reported his management agency as saying.