■ SWIMMING
Coughlin breaks record
Five-time Olympic medal winner Natalie Coughlin set a world record in the 100m backstroke on Sunday during a preliminary race at the Missouri Grand Prix. Coughlin finished in 59.21 seconds, lowering her previous world record in the event by 0.23 seconds. The world record was the second in two days at the meet: on Saturday, Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe set the mark in the 200m backstroke. "I was thinking about barbecue and no warm down," Coughlin said after the race. "I really didn't expect it."
■ Soccer
Milan keeper injured
AC Milan goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac may miss tomorrow's Champions League game against Arsenal because of a finger injury. Kalac dislocated the index finger on his right hand during a training session on Sunday, Milan said. The Australia goalkeeper recently won the starting position from Dida, who was out with a back injury and never regained his spot. Kalac made several key saves in Saturday's 0-0 draw with Parma. Dida is also a question mark for tomorrow's game after a recurrence of his back pain during Saturday's match, which he was watching from the bench. If neither Kalac nor Dida can play against Arsenal, Milan will have to call on Valerio Fiori, who has not played an official game since December 2003.
■ SOCCER
Three teams receive bans
North Korea, Iraq and Tajikistan were banned from the Asian under-16 championships and each fined US$4,000 after medical tests confirmed they had used over-age players in qualifying matches. The Asian Football Confederation said it had conducted Magnetic Resonance Imaging tests during last year's qualifying tournaments and found that several teams had broken the rules regarding age limits. The AFC Disciplinary Committee announced the ban yesterday. Bhutan, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan and Macau, all fined US$4,000 for using ineligible players, did not qualify for the championships. The AFC said it would soon announce the full list of teams for the under-16 championship, to be held in Uzbekistan in October.
■ CRICKET
Aussies play waiting game
At least five Australian players are waiting until the last minute to sign up for the Indian Premier League, with 15 mentioned by local media as likely starters in the lucrative Twenty20 competition. The Indian league's Australian agent Neil Maxwell said yesterday that five players who had been granted an extension to the deadline to sign contracts were spending the day going through last-minute details before committing to the competition. He said the players needed to assure themselves that they were not in breach of any contractual arrangements with Cricket Australia regarding existing sponsors. He declined to name the last five players to sign.
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