■ BADMINTON
England withdraws players
England withdrew two players from this week’s India Open badminton tournament because of security concerns, Indian media reported on Saturday. Organizing secretary Punnaiah Choudhary told the Indian Express that Carl Baxter and Rajiv Ouseph, seeded 11 and 12, had pulled out of the event in Hyderabad. “The communication stated that they were advised by the Foreign Office to withdraw,” Choudhary said. Security fears in the Indian subcontinent have increased following an attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team bus in Lahore, Pakistan, earlier this month, and last November’s militant attacks in Mumbai. World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei will head a field that includes former Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat and former all England champion Muhammad Hafiz Hashim.
■ RUGBY UNION
Baxter to miss matches
New South Wales Waratahs prop Al Baxter will miss up to four Super 14 rugby matches after suffering a calf strain in a loss to the Canterbury Crusaders, the club said yesterday. The injury was a recurrence of the problem that kept the Test prop on the sidelines earlier this season, Waratahs coach Chris Hickey said. “We’d expect him to be out for around a month, but depending on how his rehab goes maybe sooner,” Hickey said.
■ ICE HOCKEY
NHL suspends Ben Eager
The National Hockey League’s disciplinary committee slapped Chicago forward Ben Eager with a three-game suspension on Saturday. The 25-year-old Canadian was suspended for delivering a high, hard check to the head area of an Edmonton player during a 5-4 loss to the Oilers on Friday. The suspension was handed down by the league despite a decision by two on-ice referees not to call a penalty on the play. It was the second three-game ban for Eager this year. He was also suspended during the league’s exhibition season. This time he delivered a blow to the head of Edmonton’s Liam Reddox halfway through the final period. Reddox left the game and did not return.
■ SPORTS CAR RACING
Audi wins Sebring again
Audi introduced a new car with the same old winning results in the 12 Hours of Sebring in Sebring, Florida. Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello, who now have a combined total of 12 victories in the sports car classic at Sebring International Raceway, outdueled a Peugeot shared by Franck Montagny, Sebastien Bourdais and Stephane Sarrazine on Saturday in a battle of diesel-powered prototype sports cars. It is Audi’s ninth win in the endurance race in the past 10 years — a string broken only by Porsche’s victory last year — and the third time in that stretch that Audi has won in the debut of a new car.
■ BIATHLON
Bjorndalen extends lead
Norway’s legend Ole Einar Bjorndalen extended his lead in the World Cup overall standings on Saturday when he won the men’s pursuit in Trondheim, Norway, for his 88th career win. Germany’s Andrea Henkel triumphed in the women’s event. Bjorndalen, who holds the record for the most world championship wins with 14, finished the 12.5km race in a time of 33 minutes, 36.3 seconds with two penalties, ahead of Austria’s Simon Eder with Tomasz Sikora of Poland third. With four events remaining in the season only Sikora can threaten Bjorndalen’s overall lead. Henkel achieved her 16th World Cup victory by completing the 10km course in 30 minutes, 8.8 seconds.
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