Zidane to end career at Real

Madrid: France midfielder Zinedine Zidane has said he will end his playing days at his Spanish club Real Madrid and is also considering when to quit the national side.

“Today I am sure that I will end my career at Real Madrid. It’s the best thing I can do. It’s unlikely that I’ll play for another team and carry on for more years,” Zidane said in an interview with the Spanish sports daily Marca.

Last month Zidane, 31, told France’s Onze magazine he was not certain if he would retire when his Real Madrid contract ended in 2005. “I’m also thinking about when I’m going to retire from the French team,” Zidane added. “We’ll see what happens in Euro 2004. I’ll take a decision after that competition.”

Railways keep winning run

Tuticorin: The South Central Railways, Secunderabad continued their winning spree defeating Western Railways, Mumbai 25-16, 18-25, 25-17, 25-20 in the women’s 8th National League volleyball championship on Friday.

In the 85-minute tussle, last years runners up received a shock when the rivals bounced back to win the second set. However, South Central Railwas played with full confidence to win the remaining sets. For the winners, Jyothy and Nagavardhini played well while Vincy and Siji John performed well for the Mumbai team. In the earlier match, Karnataka Police defeated GKM Foundation, Kancheepuram 25-16, 28-26, 25-17 to register their first win.

Lawsuit against Nimni

Jerusalem: Israeli champions Maccabi Tel Aviv have slapped their former player Avi Nimni with a 21.5-million shekel (about $5 million) lawsuit in a counter-move to the player's similar suit which was issued last month. Nimni, 31, was sacked by Maccabi in August after which a war of words ensued between the parties.

He signed for Betar Jerusalem in November, but the commotion over his acrimonious departure from Maccabi became the most controversial issue in Israeli soccer in the early part of the season.

IOC official gives in

Seoul: International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice president Kim Un-yong voluntarily turned himself over to prosecutors for questioning on Friday following corruption allegations against him, officials said.

Kim presented a written statement to the Seoul district prosecutors office before being turned away to be summoned at a later date, they said. “He returned home because he has yet to be officially summoned,” a prosecution source said. “But, the office plans to call him in next week.”

The 72-year-old IOC official denied on Monday that he was involved in corruption after prosecutors arrested a former sports official accused of bribing him. In a statement Kim said he was ready for investigation by prosecutors and denounced local media reports which described him as “a corrupt figure.”

63 sailors to take part

Mumbai: As many as 63 sailors from 13 countries would sail through the waters of Arabian Sea in the Asian sailing championship beginning here from December 28. The highlight of this week-long event is that all the participants, including 11 girls, are below 15 years of age. The sailors from Malaysia, China, Chinese Taipei, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan besides India will vie for honours.

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