Australia’s high-profile cricket Test series in India will begin as scheduled in Bangalore in October, even though a tennis tournament was called off there over security fears, officials said yesterday. India’s four-match series against world champions Australia opens in Bangalore from Oct. 9 to Oct. 13. The remaining Tests will be played in Mohali, New Delhi and Nagpur.
A string of bomb blasts last month in Bangalore, the country’s high-tech hub in the south, left one person dead and a dozen injured. The ATP confirmed in a statement issued yesterday that the tournament due to begin on Sept. 29 had been canceled.
■PARALYMPICS
Beijing calls in cheerleaders
Beijing will mobilize 350,000 people to boost spectator figures and liven up the atmosphere for the Paralympic Games, state media reported yesterday, amid flagging ticket sales for the event. The vast crowds would be organized by the Beijing Federation of Trade Unions to attend Paralympic events at 17 venues, the Beijing Times said. These “cheerleaders” would be required to watch track and field and other events, it said, while also bumping up spectator numbers and adding atmosphere. The paper’s Web site said only one-third of the tickets had so far been sold. The Paralympics start next Saturday and run through Sept. 17.
■OLYMPICS
Yao Ming’s bed for sale
China plans to auction off 20 million items related to the Beijing Olympics, including the bed that basketball star Yao Ming slept in while taking part in the Games, state media reported yesterday. Also on the block will be electric appliances used by Liu Xiang, the celebrity 110m hurdler forced to quit the Games with an injury, and ancient musical instruments from the opening ceremony, the Beijing Times said. There are so many items it could take up to two years to auction them all, it said. The auctions will be conducted by the China Beijing Equity Exchange, which mostly sells off shares in state-owned enterprises to private buyers.
■MOTOR RACING
Sato talking to Toro Rosso
Japan’s Takuma Sato has had talks with Toro Rosso about a possible return to Formula One next season, but a test has yet to be agreed, the team said on Tuesday. “We have had talks, but there is nothing to confirm yet,” a spokeswoman said when asked whether they might try out the 31-year-old at Jerez in southern Spain after next month’s Italian Grand Prix. Sato is Japan’s most successful Formula One driver, but he has been looking for a way back into the sport since his Super Aguri team folded in May. The driver’s manager Andrew Gilbert-Scott said they were talking to several teams.
■BOXING
Ali ex-manager dies at 79
Jabir Herbert Muhammad, a longtime manager of boxer Muhammad Ali, has died following heart surgery. He was 79. His oldest son, Elijah Muhammad III, said he died on Monday at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago. Muhammad was born in Detroit and lived most of his life on Chicago’s South Side. He managed Ali’s boxing career from 1966 until 1981 and managed his post-fighting career for another 10 years. He went on to a career in business. A Muslim prayer service was to be held yesterday, with a memorial service on Saturday.
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