| India book
berth in Asian meet New Delhi: India assured themselves
of a place in the Asian basketball championship to be held in China in September
as the hosts recorded their third straight win, brushing aside Sri Lanka 101-54
in a middle-Asia zone qualifying round match here Friday. India
joined Uzbekistan at the top of the table with six points and the two teams will
square up in the concluding match of the qualifier at the Talkatora Stadium Saturday. Hefty
‘price’ on Becks’ head Beijing: Chinese football fans
will have to pay a hefty price for a glimpse of David Beckham and his Real Madrid
colleagues when they play in Beijing. Ticket prices for the
Spanish team’s match against a Chinese XI at the 60,000-seat Worker’s Stadium
are expected to cost up to 2,000 yuan ($250), more than a month’s salary for the
average Beijing resident, the Shanghai Evening Post reported. Standard tickets
are expected to fall into one of five price categories, ranging from 180 to 1,280
yuan. The Spanish League champions take to the field for the exhibition match
on August 2. City memorial for
Foe Manchester: Marc-Viven Foe’s last club Manchester
City have announced a memorial service at Manchester Cathedral for the Cameroon
international. Foe was on loan at City last season and the club
will pay their respects to the midfielder in the service, which takes place on
Wednesday, July 16. Up to 1,000 people are expected to fill the cathedral and
a PA system will be set up to relay the service to supporters outside. Indian
juniors in semi-finals New Delhi: India thrashed Puerto
Rico 25-17, 25-14, 25-11 to advance to the semi-finals of the boys’ U-19 world
junior volleyball championship in Bangkok on Friday. According
to information received here, India who upset defending champions Brazil in the
preliminary round, will take on Iran, who beat Thailand 25-16, 25-22, 25-19 in
Saturday’s semi-final. In the other semi-final, Brazil will take
on the Czech Republic. Brazil beat Russia 25-22, 17-25, 25-19, 20-25, 17-15, while
the Czech Republic defeated Australia 20-25, 25-16, 25-18, 25-19. Going
by their present form, India start as favourites to beat Iran. When the teams
met last time — in the final of the Asian Championship in Visakhapatnam in April
last — India won 3-1. Honour for
Murali Colombo: Sri Lanka is to honour their top wicket-taker,
Muttiah Muralidharan by naming the country’s main cricket academy after him, a
press report here said on Friday. The government decided on
the naming to honour one of the most prolific wicket-takers in the modern game,
the Island newspaper quoted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as saying. The
champion off-spinner with 459 Test scalps was given permission earlier this month
by the cricket governing body’s executive committee to play six weeks of County
cricket with Kent in England. Peace
Cup in Korea Seoul: Olympique Lyon are one of eight
international club sides competing in the inaugural Peace Cup tournament in South
Korea from July 15-22. Clubs from five continents will take part in the event
which offers $2 million for the winners. The line-up also includes
Germany’s TSV 1860 Munich, Besiktas of Turkey, Uruguay’s Nacional, Kaizer Chiefs
from South Africa, Dutch side PSV Eindhoven, Los Angeles Galaxy and domestic league
champions Seongnam Ilhwa. The event is being hosted by Sunmoon
Peace Football Foundation, which is linked to Reverend Moon Sun-myung’s Unification
Church. Cycling, Tour de France: Highlights from 1.00pm
on ESPN
Cricket, NatWest Series final: England vs South Africa,
live from 3.00 pm on ESPN
Pool, World championship: Live from 6.30
pm and 11.30 pm on STAR Sports | 
