Mon, Dec 11, 2006 page19

• Sports Briefs

  • AGENCIES
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  ■ Biathlon
  Russia edges Germany

  Olympic and world champions Russia rallied to edge Germany in a 4x6km women's relay biathlon race at a World Cup meet in Hochfilzen, Austria, yesterday. Natalia Guseva overtook Kati Wilhelm in the final lap for Russia to finish in 1 hour, 18 minutes, 24.7 seconds -- 0.7 seconds in front of Germany. Norway was 1:50.4 back in third place. It was the first World Cup relay of the season.

  ■ Motorsport

  Jonny Reid wins Grand Prix

  Jonny Reid of New Zealand won yesterday's A1 Grand Prix feature race in Sentul, Indonesia, holding to on to victory by just two seconds in a race that started late after a rain shower. Earlier in the day, Reid won the sprint race at the Sentul circuit, marking his country's first A1 victory. Reid won the 47-lap feature race Sunday in 1 hour, 10 minutes and 36 seconds. Niko Hulkenberg of Germany finished second in 1 hour, 10 minutes and 38 seconds, while France's Nicolas Lapierre was third. Polesitter Reid led into the first corner but was pressed heavily by Mexico's Salvador Duran and Great Britain's Robbie Kerr. South Africa's Alan van der Merwe shot from eighth to fourth by the end of the first lap.

  ■ Boxing

  Harrison stops Williams

  Former Olympic super-heavyweight champion Audley Harrison stopped Danny Williams in the third round on Saturday in a non-title heavyweight fight at ExCel Arena in London. Harrison, the 2000 Sydney winner who lost a decision to Williams a year ago, floored Williams with a left uppercut. With accurate shots, the 35-year-old left-hander opened up deep gashes on the bridge of Williams' nose and underneath his left eye. "They don't give away Olympic gold medals. I can fight," said Harrison, who exchanged punches with Williams at Friday's weigh-in. "In 2007 I will win the world title, in 2008 I will be undisputed. You saw today I have definitely got the skills. People say I've got no heart and am petrified. The bottom line is that we all have bad days at the office. Last year I was not in the right place," he said.

  ■ Cricket

  Simmons hits half century

  Lendl Simmons scored his maiden limited-overs half century yesterday as the West Indies made 207 for seven in the third game against Pakistan in Lahore in an innings shortened by malfunctioning of flood-lights. The floodlights went off in the 28th over at Gaddafi Stadium before umpires stopped play in the 47th due to poor natural light in the day-night game with 3.3 overs still to be bowled in the West Indies innings. Simmons made 70 off 130 balls with seven fours before he was bowled by Rana Naved (3-37) in his return spell to become the seventh wicket to fall. One ball later, umpires walked off the field due to poor visibility with thick cloud cover. "Pakistan's target will be revised once the flood lights are switched on," an official said.

  ■ Golf
  Nick O'Hern claims title

  Nick O'Hern ended a long victory drought when he holed out from a bunker at the fourth sudden death playoff hole in the Australian PGA Championship yesterday. O'Hern, who has finished second in 12 events in the US, Europe and Australia since his maiden 1999 Coolum Classic triumph, struck a superb shot from the sand to deny fellow Australian Peter Lonard a third title at Coolum. Both carded four-under-par 68s in their final round to finish on 22-under for the tournament, three clear of Wade Ormsby and four ahead of another Australian Paul Gow. The win also secured the Australasian order of merit title for O'Hern.

  ■ Cricket

  Ashes glory beats sex

  Australian men would go without sex to see their national team beat England in the current Ashes cricket series, a survey has found. The survey by men's magazine Zoo Weekly found 41 percent of its 20,000 respondents would forego sex for a month if it meant Australia regained the Ashes. Four percent were willing to go without sex for a year if it ensured an Australian win. Captain Andrew Flintoff was rated England's most overrated player by 42 percent of survey respondents. Kevin Pietersen was named the player Australians most love to hate, gaining 42 percent of the vote ahead of Flintoff with 23 percent. Sixty two percent of respondents said Shane Warne, the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket with 694 victims, should be knighted.

  ■ Soccer

  Military man re-elected

  Cambodia's soccer federation re-elected a military man as its new president and asked soccer's world governing body to accept the candidate this time. Sao Sokha, a lieutenant general and commander of the military police force, was elected on Saturday as head of the Cambodian soccer federation -- the second election in eight months. Sao Sokha was first elected in April, but FIFA refused to recognize the vote, citing political interference from the government. At the time, FIFA threatened to suspend Cambodia's membership.

  ■ Soccer

  Zidane returns to roots

  Zinedine Zidane will visit the birthplace of his parents for the first time in 20 years for charity work. The three-time FIFA World Player of the Year will stay four days in Algeria, government minister Djamal Ould Abbas said on Saturday. Zidane will visit the Mustapha Bacha hospital for children with cancer and another hospital for disabled children. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is also scheduled to meet Zidane. The 34-year-old retired after this year's World Cup and has since worked for charitable organizations. He last visited the country in 1986. His parents were born in a village in the Kabylie region.

  ■ Cricket

  India win warmup match

  India defeated the Rest of South Africa by 96 runs on Saturday on the third day of their four-day warmup game played at Sedgars Park. Set 321 for victory, Rest of South Africa was bowled out for 224. Zaheer Khan took three wickets for 36 runs, while Vikram Singh took 2-41 and Harbhajan Singh returned to form with 3-39. Vaughan van Jaarsveld hit 66 and Justin Kemp 53 for the home side. Earlier, India was bowled out for 142 in its second innings. Opening bowler Alfonso Thomas finished with 7-56. Irfan Pathan followed his first innings score of 111 not out with an unbeaten 40. India scored 316-7 declared in its first innings and the home team 138.
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