■ Athletics
Gatlin out of sprint battle
Olympic champion Justin Gatlin has pulled out of his eagerly-awaited showdown with joint world 100m record holder Asafa Powell which had been planned for the London Grand Prix on July 28. Gatlin picked up what was first thought to be a minor leg injury in the US which ruled him out of the Athens IAAF Super Grand Prix. But now he has discovered the problem is more serious than first thought and he will miss the meeting at Crystal Palace. "We have worked extremely hard to bring Gatlin and Powell together at the London Grand Prix but, clearly, in top-level professional sport when athletes are running at their physical limits, injuries can occur," said UK Athletics spokesman Jon Ridgeon.
■ Tennis
Nadal out of Mercedes Cup
Wimbledon finalist Rafael Nadal withdrew on Friday as top seed at next week's Mercedes Cup clay event with what his management said was an injury to his left hand. Spain's double French Open champion was said to have suffered the problem during his shock run to the Wimbledon final. It was his second straight pullout after skipping this week's Swedish Open in Bastad. Nadal showed no signs of hand troubles during the grass-court fortnight, where he lost the title match to Roger Federer.
■ Soccer
Arena sacked as US coach
US coach Bruce Arena has been dismissed after a disappointing performance at the World Cup, US Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati said on Friday. Arena met with Gulati and US Soccer secretary general Dan Flynn here at LaGuardia Airport for more than four hours on Thursday and spoke twice to Gulati on Friday before the announcement. "I've reached the decision that we will not be renewing Bruce's contract. We will start an immediate search for someone to guide the program going forward," Gulati said.
■ Betting
Jockey Club betting surges
Hong Kong Jockey Club saw its turnover from football betting surge almost 17 percent in the last year, with the boost coming from the World Cup, club officials confirmed yesterday. Turnover from soccer betting rose to US$4.02 billion in the year ending June, compared to US$3.4 billion the previous year. However, its revenue from the club's other sources, horse racing and the Mark Six lottery, fell by more than 4 percent. Turnover for the 2005-2006 horse racing season which came to a close early this month reached its lowest level in 13 years at US$7.7 billion compared to US$8.06 billion the previous year. However, he said illegal gambling was still siphoning money. The Jockey Club is the only form of legal betting in Hong Kong. However, in recent years it has suffered with the growth in illegal betting rings which continue to operate despite a continued police clampdown.
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