5 dead, 100 hurt in stampede

Damascus: Five people were killed and more than a hundred injured when spectators went on a stampede during a riot in a soccer stadium in northern Syria, hospital officials and witnesses said. The official Syrian news agency Sana said clashes broke out between supporters of the Al-Jihad and Al-Fatwa teams shortly before the start of a Syrian championship match in Qameshli, northeast of Damascus. The game was cancelled. The “regrettable incident” resulted in a number of casualties, Sana said. Ibrahim Hussein, a lawyer who witnessed the incident, said the clashes began when Al-Fatwa supporters began throwing stones at Al-Jihad players and fans in the grandstand. “When Al-Jihad fans tried to flee the grandstands, the spectators went on a stampede,” Hussein said. “Some were hit by stones, fell to the ground and were crushed.”

Eriksson disappointed

London: England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has said he is disappointed that plans to introduce a winter break in England have been blocked by the FA. The FA Cup Committee voted this week against a winter break because it would mean the end of FA Cup replays in fifth and sixth-round ties. “I think it is very wrong,” Eriksson said on Friday. “You cannot find one manager not wanting a break. I don’t understand why the committee went against it.” Eriksson said he was determined to keep trying to bring in a scheduled break to prevent his from players being burnt out for major meets.

Zickler under threat

Berlin: The career of Bayern Munich striker Alexander Zickler is under threat after he broke his leg for the second time in a few months during a match on Friday. The Bundesliga champions said on Saturday that the German international had fractured his right leg while playing for Bayern’s amateur side in a regional league game against SC Feucht on Friday. Bayern said a tackle from a Feucht player had caused the injury to the 30-year-old forward, who broke the same leg just before the start of the season.

Kournikova to play in China

Beijing: Anna Kournikova will play two matches with unknown Chinese players in May.

Kournikova, who has not played on the WTA Tour for a long time, will play Yang Shujing in Changsha, capital of central China’s Hunan Province on May 16, and meet Hunan’s Ag Ain in Shenzhen City in south China’s Guangdong Province on May 17, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Hewitt satisfied

Indian Wells: Lleyton Hewitt, who failed to capture a Grand Slam title in 2003 for the first time in three years, says winning the Davis Cup title for Australia more than made up for any disappointments. “I put all my eggs in one basket,” said Hewitt. “I saw the Davis Cup as an opportunity with the great team we had. It is not very often you get a chance to play at home in a Davis Cup final. That is something you just don’t pass up.”

Hewitt helped lead Australia last year to its second Davis Cup title in the past 17 years.

2-week deadline

Athens: The IOC gave Greece’s new government a two-week deadline on Saturday to take tough decisions on delayed Athens Olympic projects. While praising PM Costas Karamanlis’ efforts in his first week in office and giving an upbeat forecast that Athens could be ready, IOC President Jacques Rogge said the time had come for “right decisions.”

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